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XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 3:07 am
by rfaircloth
Hello all. I have a recent Fit-PC3 with the 120GB SSD and would like to run XenServer 6.2 on it as a home server. I was successful in getting the software installed, but on a reboot I get the boot/app screen. This suggests to me that the bootblock isn't getting written correctly and a bootloader cannot be found on the SSD.

Has anyone gotten XenServer 6.2 to run on this neat little machine, and how did you do it?

What should I be looking for/at to figure out why this won't boot?

Thanks
Randy

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:56 am
by gabrielh
We don't have experience with XenServer. May be other users that have a one will share it.

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:58 am
by witda
Hi i have the same problem with all of the XenServer Releases

from 6.0 to 6.2 i think the problem is the Bios ?!
i install the VM Ware Server as well and it works..


fyi dani

CCEE

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:09 am
by kevtcg
Hi Guys

Having the same problem and would LOVE a solution. I have a Fit-PC3 (4 of them) and I have tried the following hypervisors with the following results

XENServer 5.6 - Installed Successfully
XENServer 6.2 - Installs but gets boot menu
VMWare ESXi 5.0 - Installs but gets boot menu
VMWare ESXi 5.1 - Installs but gets boot menu

My current BIOS is SBC_2.1.0.333_12.2 X64

All the posts I see in the Forums seem to be BIOS Related but none tells me which Bios Works. What BIOS Do you have running rfaircloth?

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:11 am
by rfaircloth
Thanks Kev.

I was able to get XenServer 5.6 SP2 to install and boot. The next test was 6.1 and 6.2, neither of which would boot, just go to the boot/app menu.

I'm currently running vSphere 5.1 (Build 1065491).

I'm running BIOS SBC_2.1.0.333_13 X64 according to the vSphere management tool.

Thanks
Randy

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:44 am
by kevtcg
THanks Randy

Did you just do a straight install? I may update the Bios on my FitPC and see if I can get that to work.

.....now to work out how to do that........

I'll Keep you posted

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 3:30 am
by kevtcg
IT WORKED!!!

So for anyone following this thread. Although I have had no luck getting XENServer to run on the FitPC3 Hardware, VMWare ESXi will run perfectly provided you are running BIOS SBC_2.1.0.333_13 X64

The hardware actually runs admirably well as a Virtualisation server. It's a shame I couldnt get XENServer to run but at least Virtualisation is possible

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 7:19 am
by rfaircloth
I'm glad you got it to work, and I agree with you. This really is a nice little platform for virtualizing home servers. I'm currently running a DLNA media server, DNS/DHCP server, squid cache, and a build host. No problems here so far.

Randy

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:12 am
by rfaircloth
Update: Success!

I decided to give XenServer 6.5 (Creedence) shot. I ended up with the same problem as last time: Boot menu. Since I had a bit of time and I really want to run Creedence, I started digging around and found these instructions:

http://www.ulrikchristensen.com/2013/07 ... tallation/

It appears that the Fit-PC3 isn't able to boot to a GPT disk. All you do is prevent the installer from using GPT and it works.

I'll come back later after I've had time to work with 6.5 and let you know if there's any insurmountable problems.

Randy

Re: XenServer 6.2 on Fit-PC3 Pro

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:47 pm
by rfaircloth
It looks like the link in my last post is 404.

I decided to upgrade XenServer from 6.5 to 7.2 this evening and ran into the same GPT problem. The instructions are below:

This is an excerpt from https://major.io/2012/01/13/xenserver-6 ... partition/ but it is still valid for (and validated on) XenServer 7.2.

1. Boot to your installation media. I used a thumb-drive built from the XenServer Standard 7.2 ISO on Windows using Rufus to copy it to the thumb-drive.
2. When you see the installation screen, press F2 for the Advanced options
3. Type "shell" to start a shell session during the installation session.
4. Once you have your shell, type "vi /opt/xensource/installer/constants.py"
5. Search for "GPT_SUPPORT = True" and change it to "GPT_SUPPORT = False".
6. Save the file and type "exit" to exit the shell and finish the install.

This gave me a functional installation of XenServer 7.2 on my fit-PC3. And for a bonus, they fixed the infinite timeout so you don't need to keep a keyboard attached to press "enter" on the boot menu!

Hope this helps someone.

Randy