VMware vSphere 5.5 announced, with general availability the week of September 9 2013 likely
The RTM code is now generally available, as of Sep 22 2013, announced by here. So if you're just looking for the exact files you'll want to grab, check out the simpler, newer, shinier articles:
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started by Paul Braren on Sep 22 2013
Build your own VMware vSphere 5.5 Datacenter with ESXi and VCSA by Paul Braren on Sep 30 2013
Original article appears below.
Sep 22 2013 02:37am Update: The download URL for VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) has just gone live!
TinkerTry.com/download-vmware-vsphere-hypervisor-esxi-5-5-links-now-live
(links went down, then began to work Sep 22 2013 02:06pm ET), here's the short URL to share with all the latest links for the download:
bit.ly/downloadesxi55
Re: "ESXi 5.5 release date" - VMware's August 26 2013 relevant press release here, and all recent press releases here. As of Sep 20 2013, the general availability date for a free Hypervisor 5.5 download hasn't yet been announced, but the client code has surfaced on vmware.com, explained below. Meanwhile, you can read through or watch video at TinkerTry's Build your own VMware vSphere Datacenter in under an hour with the free ESXi 5.5 hypervisor, which will be revisited/refined once ESXi 5.5 once the final build # is confirmed, skipping DVDs for a simpler USB install.
I didn't manage to get to VMworld this year. But the good news is that I'll have a bit more time to get cranking on some content about 5.5 right away, starting tonight. I'll be doing my usual hands-on, step-by-step approach to highlighting new features I care most about in a home lab situation, with full 1920x1080 video accompanied by my live narration, like I did last year, on the day 5.1 was announced. I'll be cooking up a collection of articles and videos with the latest code I have access to at this time, which is 5.5.0 Build 1266856 installable media.
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1266856.x86_64.iso
I do not know if this will be the same generally available code version that'll likely show up at vmware.com/go/download-vspherehypervisor on the week of September 9 2013. But I did secure official permission to demonstrate this build publicly, moments ago. I'm preparing screenshots and walkthroughs right now, to share with you as soon as possible. Please be sure to follow TinkerTry to stay tuned!
Meanwhile, I've got a tantalizing list of enhancements to chew on. The 2 chosen areas of focus in this list below are virtual drive sizes finally breaking past the 2TB limitation, and improvements to the vCenter Server Appliance. Those items will help me the most in my own home-lab situation. So, now can you guess what my first 5.5 related articles and demonstrations will be showing?
(Aug 27 2013 update, new first look video now available here)
(Aug 29 2013 update, new 5.5 overlook 1 hour video now available here)
(Sep 03 2013 1st update, new 5.5 comprehensive, step-by-step install and configuration video now available here)
(Sep 03 2012 2nd update, slightly later code may turn out to be the release to manufacture/generally available level)
latest updates at the end of the below article
Storage limits, and vSphere Flash Read Cache
Introduction to vSphere Flash Read Cache aka vFlash Aug 26 2013 by Duncan Epping
One of the features which I think people will appreciate is vSphere Flash Read Cache (vFRC), formerly known as vFlash. vFlash was tech previewed last year at VMworld and I recall it being a very popular session. In the last 6-12 months host local caching solutions have definitely become more popular and interesting as SSD prices keep dropping and thus investing in local SSD drives to offload IO gets more and more interesting.
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.5 Platform - vSphere Storage Enhancements, page 13:
Support for 62TB VMDK
VMware is increasing the maximum size of a virtual machine disk file (VMDK) in vSphere 5.5. The previous limit
was 2TB—512 bytes. The new limit is 62TB. The maximum size of a virtual Raw Device Mapping (RDM) is also
increasing, from 2TB—512 bytes to 62TB.
VMware vSphere 5.5 Storage New Features Aug 26 2013 by Vladan Seget
62 Tb VMDKs (smaller VMDKs can be grown offline) – only through vSphere Web Client.
62Tb RDMs supported as well
Supported on VMFS 5 and NFS
The existing VMs with VMDKs smaller be resized offline
64TB VMDKs? Yes we can. Aug 26 2013 by Josh Townsend
vCenter Server Appliance
vSphere 5.5 nuggets: vCenter Server Appliance limitations lifted! Aug 26 2013 by Duncan Epping
the vCenter Server Appliance limitations that there were around the number of virtual machines and hosts are lifted. Where the vCenter Server Appliance with the embedded ternal database used to be limited to a maximum of 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines this has been increased with vSphere 5.5 to 500 hosts and 5000 virtual machines. If you ask me, this means that the vCenter Server Appliance with the embedded database can be used in almost every scenario! That makes life easier indeed.
Aug 27 2013 Update:
- VMFS 5.60 is the new file system, seen featured in the picture I updated above.
- For a look at ESXi 5.5 installation, see also:
First look at VMware ESXi 5.5 installation on a flash drive, followed by the vSphere client install.
Aug 30 2013 Update:
I need to clarify that I have no special knowledge of when 5.5 will be generally available for download. My title says "likely" because it was an estimate made based on the timings of last year's 5.1 release, which I documented back in 2012 here.
As I mentioned on the air yesterday, here's the timeline:
- Monday August 27 2012, VMware vSphere 5.1 announced at
vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-vmworld-smb-082712.html, which said:
VMware vSphere 5.1 and VMware vSphere Storage Appliance 5.1 are expected to be generally available on September 11, 2012.
- Monday, August 26 2013, VMware vSphere 5.5 announced at
vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-vmworld-sddc-082613.html
with no mention of generally available dates.
So far, since that post, there has been no followup announcements either. We'll just have to stay tuned to the VMware News Releases site here:
vmware.com/company/news/releases
or watch the "Download VMware vSphere Hypervisor for Free" site here.
Sep 03 2013 09:00am ET Update:
It has just come to my attention there may be newer builds of ESXi hypervisor and appliance, which might mean my ESXi 5.5.0 Build 1266856, and vCenter Appliance 5.5.0.5100 Build 1266838, aren't the release to manufacture code. There's still value in leaving the related articles and video in place, as an early look at how ESXi 5.5 will likely look and behave, once Generally Available. Whether there winds up being any slight changes to the behavior remains to be seen. One thing I'll be keen on re-testing is whether the name and/or IP of the appliance can be changed, without killing the appliance's "Configuring SSO" step roughly 9 out of 10 times.
Sep 03 2013 09:51pm ET Update:
In the very-recently-available-to-me, installable ESXi ISO named
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1289304.x86_64.iso
I have located this file in the root (dated Aug 22 at 11:31 PM, as are all the files in that ISO)
VMWARE-ESX-BASE-OSL.TXT
which contains the following line of text (GA-Generally Available):
**VMware ESXi 5.5 GA**
Contrast that promising bit of info with the version I used for all my 5.5 related articles, where I used
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1266856.x86_64.iso
which contains the following line of text (RC-Release Candidate):
**VMware ESXi 5.5 RC**
with all the files from from August 9th, just 13 days earlier.
Same kind of thing going on inside the definitely-GA VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 Update 1:
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.1.0.update01-1065491.x86_64.iso
which contains the following line of text:
VMware ESXi 5.1u1 GA
While not definitive, this does seem to indicate that the code I have permission to demonstrate is more likely to be the final GA (Generally Available) release, expected for public download soon.
I also have VCSA (vCenter Server Appliance) 5.5.0.5100 Build 1289424, as well as the vSphere Client Version 5.5.0 Build 1281650 (dated Aug 23 2013) from the vCenter 5.5.0 Build 1289423 ISO, so I'm in good shape to continue testing.
We won't really know anything 100% for sure, until the GA code shows up at the "Download VMware vSphere Hypervisor for Free" site here. My apologies for any confusion I may have inadvertently caused you, my valued reader, and I sincerely hope this addendum helps clear things up.
Sep 10 2013 Update:
I need to wait until I know for sure this is the RTM code that'll become GA, before proceeding with more lab tests and screenshots. Still no announcement of download date here.
Sep 15 2012 Update:
Apparently still no official word on when the RTM download will be generally available, or even what the final RTM build #s will be.
In the very-recently installable ESXi ISO named:
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1302513.x86_64.iso
I have located this file in the root (dated Aug 31 2013 12:03 PM, as are all the files in that ISO)
VMWARE-ESX-BASE-OSL.TXT
which contains the following line of text (GA-Generally Available):
**VMware ESXi 5.5 GA**
These files seemingly go along with vSphere 5.5 VMware-VIMSetup-all-5.5.0-1304123.iso and the vSphere vCenter Appliance VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.5.0.5100-1303566_OVF10.ovf.
Sep 17 2013 Update:
We have vivek chaturved leaving this comment below the video:
"First Look at VMware ESXi 5.5" TinkerTry.com LIVE Hangout On Air (recorded 8/29/2013)
Regarding licensing, if you have 5.0 license then I think you can manage 5.5.... Also, the ETA for 5.5 is 19th sep 2013
Then there's this VMware Community guess-the-date thread still going strong, since Sep 09 2013:
Any ETA on release of 5.5?
Sep 20 2013 Update:
Not sure what this means yet, and no press announcements of RTM ESXi 5.5/vSphere 5.5 yet. But I did notice that a public URL of the "traditional" C# 32 bit Windows "VMware vSphere Client 5.5" is now live. The direct download URL is from pointing my browser to the ESXi 5.5 Build 1331820 host, and hovering my cursor over "Download vSphere Client" as pictured below.
http://vsphereclient.vmware.com/vsphereclient/1/2/8/1/6/5/0/VMware-viclient-all-5.5.0-1281650.exe
All Comments on This Article (29)
Running VM version 9 on a HP ML310e G8 GPU
Going to try setting the VM bios to EFI as mentioned here
https://communities.vmware.com/message/2292137#2292137
Yea looks like it, tried no go. Something broke in ESXi 5.5 for HP Microserver Gen8 (possibly other). The proper alternative for me will be to go back to 5.1, migrate a windows VM to Server 2012 to support xHCI of USB 3 passthrough. One last thing I am trying is disabling VT-D and virtualization in the bios, fully booting, rebooting and re-enabling the VT-D/virtualization but if i dont report back then it didnt work.
--vhymetoo
doesn't make a difference with vcenter, web client and hw v10, allready tested.
Strange step backward, but overall, passthrough has been a flaky multi-year ride for many folks.
I hope my friends over at the Home Server Show thread about this are able help you out!
http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6242-warning-esxi-55-appears-to-break-any-and-all-passthrough-capabilities-on-hp-microserver-gen8/?hl=esxi
ESXi 5.5 seems to break ANY and ALL passthrough capabilities on HP Microserver Gen8?
Selecting the hardware for passthrough is successful. However when adding that hardware to a VM and attempting to start the VM it fails with "Failed to register the device pci Passthrough due to unavailable hardware or software support"
Downloading vCenter in the hopes that version 10 machines may operate better but unlikely.
Running HP's custom ESXi 5.5 image
-vhymetoo
James/Benjamin, so glad you were able to communicate so easily here, and it seems the single sign on I recently implemented may have helped folks get comfortable with using Disqus, much like they would use a forum.
I've also recently added Google Site Search, seen at top right, super fast, with no ads. The first 2 results might interest you:
http://TinkerTry.com/?s=GPU+pass
this is a screenshot running 5.1 U1 with the same hardware, notice the extra checkbox.
for the sake of giving an example i checked to pass-through the iLO4 device. Notice how the 00:1c.7 gets selected automaticly!
for the other card in 5.5 it won't get selected. In 5.0 and 5.1 there is a checkbox for 00:1c.6 automaticly checked when you enable the dvbs card.
^^ this!! i have exactly the same problem with a pci-sat card and a 3ware sas controller. In advanced settings where you check the box for the device to enable passthrough on you are supposed to get the altert that there is a depened device that also needs to be passed through. But in the case of the dvb-s card the box of the dependant pci-e root (which is greyed out) will not be auto selected!
When you try to start a VM you get the msg "Failed to register the device pci Passthrough due to unavailable hardware or software support"
in 5.0 and 5.1 all is working well which is the reason i downgraded to 5.1 U1
I'm unable to get pass through working with an Ati 7950 which worked under 5.1 "Failed to register the device pci Passthrough due to unavailable hardware or software support"
read: https://communities.vmware.com/thread/297072 for ATI and passthrough :)
Will GPU passthrough work fine? Cannot seem to passthrough Intel HD4000 based on H77 nor any ATI/AMD/Nvidia cards to Win 7 machine. WIndows just bluescreens or is not responding.
62TB virtual drives are a very good thing, see two pictures below.
On laptop:
http://www.tinkertry.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TRANSCEND-JetFlash-ATTO.png
and in VM
(below)
As explained in this article:
TinkerTry.com/usb-3-0-thumb-drive-speeds-thumb-drives-vary-widely
here's the Transcend 8GB USB 3.0 flash drive, tested on USB 3.0 port of a laptop running Windows 8:
http://www.tinkertry.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TRANSCEND-JetFlash-623x323.png
Here is the same test, done with a Windows 8.1 Preview VM running under ESXi 5.5, with USB 3.0 1144A card passed through to the VM:
http://usbflashspeed.com/51148
Hey Rich, I don't have any spare Radeon's laying about, and I'm my goals in creating vZilla was never to get GPU passthrough going (necessarily), seen here:
TinkerTry.com/?s=gpu+passthrough
But, moments ago, I got 5.5 VMDirectPath working, for that 1144A card. This is good! I believe this screenshot will speak volumes.
Thanks for the tip! You probably know this but, ESXi 5.1 no longer supports some PCI passthrough devices like internal USB controllers which worked fine in ESXi 5.5. As a workaround I hoped to find an external USB hub that I could passthrough via USB 2.0 or 3.0 port but haven't succeeded yet (although a simple USB soundcard worked fine.) You'd be a hero you do a blog post that shows a home lab able to passthrough a graphics card, keyboard, and mouse to a vm from ESXi 5.5. FWIW, I got a Radeon HD 7770 working with ESXi 5.1 host and Ubuntu 12.04 guest -- but can't do the same with Windows 7 64-bit guest without intermittent crashes. Thanks again!
It should work, but I need to retest, and publish an update to this article:
http://TinkerTry.com/usb3passthru
where I used my 1144A PCI-e card:
http://amzn.to/12IEa8B
FYI, there's also a newer model out:
1144C
http://amzn.to/15xQ5lr
the servers are in vmware HCL.
the nics are visible on both servers. what i saw now in one of the esxi 3 nic are working and on another 2 nics are working. both server are of same model. nothing change.
i have for sas drive with raid 5 configure on it. i have esxi and two other vm like DC and Cas server of exchange on it.
hardly 4 gm ram is in use.
thanks for your response.
Does ESXi 5.5 support passthrough of USB hub to vm? If not by internal PCI card, then at least by external USB hub? I'm hoping 5.5 supports popular USB 3.0 hubs (VIA VL812 chipset, etc.) that can be purchased these days -- the compatibility list for ESXi 5.1 only lists a Cables to Go USB 2.0 hub that isn't for sale anymore.
Hard to say, from this description. "Feels" like a NIC driver issue, see sampling here:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2045582
with a variety of possible causes and fixes.
So I'll start with, do you happen to know if the brand and model of NIC you have is on the VMware HCL?
www.vmware.com/go/hcl
As far as CPUs, you should probably stick with just one or two CPUs max per VM. But the speed of your underlying disk subsystem is key too, do you have multiple VMs running off one traditional spinning drive on a SATA port, a RAID, or SSDs? Looking at the performance of VMs is a good way to start to try to see where your bottlenecks are.
Hey,
i have another problem now, i have 4 nic in my esxi server and i can see them in networking area of my esxi server. the network cables are plug how ever its its not working..i mean i can assign it to vswitch but 2 nic card are not working. i mean there is a red cross sign in front of them, so only two are working.
can you guide me what could be the problem ?
again i ave 4 nic in which two are working and two are not working..but all 4 are appearing in esxi server..
there is another thing my server has single cpu with 12 core/or you can say hyperthreading enable and 16 gb of ram, i assigne 4/4 cpu to each vm and 8/6 gb ram to both vm. the server response is quite slow as compare to other environment i had seen.
also make suggestion for that.
thanks
Glad to hear it worked out, thank you for sharing!
Hi,
thanks for quick response.
it was a issue of Large memory page. TPS i mean.
i solve it by puting the value 0 in front of it.
Regards
sajid
This is a challenge, hard to determine what is going on, can you give more detail?
Perhaps a summary of the VM's settings (RAM, etc)?
Curious, a while after the initial boot, did it settle down (as far as memory use)?
Consumed versus active, can you share those numbers, or even better, a screenshot (seen in example below)?
hey,
my vmware esxi 5.1 hyperviser consume too much ram
when i install windows server 2012..its the only vm with no role
while in vm it show 1 g.b
on Esxi 5,1 it shows 6 to 7 gb but in vm it show 1 g.b.. i have install vmware tools also..
any idea plz ?
Regards
It appears it does not, according to this article:
http://up2v.nl/2013/08/26/what-is-new-in-vmware-vsphere-5-5/
which says:
"VCSA doesn’t support Linked Mode, and therefore can’t support SSO multi-site without vCenter on Windows (mixed vCenter deployments to achieve single pane of glass management)"
Tom N
Hi Paul, Tom here again. I have seen your article about installing Win 8 machine in ESXI 5.1. In ESXI 5.5 I am tring to install it using EFI (UEFI) bios. When I boot up it does not detect mounted CD/ISO at all. Even when going through the EFI VMware bios to add the boot file manually, file explorer shows nothing. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks in advance!