HP T740 esxi host

[csp-guy]

Dear STH members!

Anyone interested in testing of hpt740 thin client with esxi?
I have got my one, its have been shipped today.

- AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B
- it has 8 gb ram, i limited video ram in bios to 256MB
- removed win 10 iot nvme ssd
- added 128GB sandisk x600 m.2 sata ssd
- added 4 port i350 gbe to pcie slot
- esxi 6.5 installed, mobo integrated lan not visible in esxi host screen (realtek patch: Net55-r8168 - V-Front VIBSDepot Wiki Before patching disable secure boot in BIOS.)
- i plan to use pfsense, w10 remote desktop, openvas etc.
- i plan to add 1-2 TB nvme to slot2 later

Power draw
- power off state: 2W
- basic usage (zero noise -> very quit fan): 20W
- cpu-z stress test, 8 thread -> loud cooler: 75W

Update: Cruical ram compatibility report: I will test 2x Cruical CT16G4TFD8266 ram modules, when they arrives.

The modules are working flawlessly. 32GB RAM is much better.

Update2: Added Toshiba xg5 NMVE 1TB ssd.

 

[csp-guy]

Update: Motherboard realtek lan interface works under esxi fine after patching esxi host with this realtek driver.
Net55-r8168 - V-Front VIBSDepot Wiki

Before patching disable secure boot in BIOS.

Now i have 4 xi350 LAN and 1x Realtek.

 

[Rand__]

is 8G memory not a bit on the short side for esxi? I mean you probably can run 3-4 *nix boxes on it but not much more - whats your use case?

 

[fossxplorer]

Hey @csp-guy
i'd like to hear your experiences with t740 along the way. May i ask how much you had to pay?

 

[csp-guy]

Hi Guys,

Fossxplorer: It was 365GBP and 25GBP postage from Uk to Hungary.

But i sold my HP microserverN54l before purchase for GBP 115, and I invested this money to T740.

Finally the pain was 275GBP.

In Hungary it is more than 515GBP.

 

[csp-guy]

is 8G memory not a bit on the short side for esxi? I mean you probably can run 3-4 *nix boxes on it but not much more - whats your use case?

Hello Thomas!

You are right, the 8GB is not too much.

Maybe I will buy more RAM later, but it is not urgent.

I installed ESXi 6.5 and patched realtek driver.
Installed pfsense 1-2 core 2GB ram.
Installed ubuntu 18.4 LTS 1-2 core 1GB ram (This will replace the unifi controller plus freeradius running on my t620 thin client.
I want to install openvas, too.

I need to rethink my network at home, and i want to test pfsense.

Basically i want to throw out my edgerouter x and I want to use only a simple 8 port linksys unmanaged switch and my 8 port 10GBE RJ45 managed switch, plus a unifi nanohd ap.

It is nice, quiet, and comes with 3 year warranty.

 

[Rand__]

so a low power low utilization virtualization option - ok, that makes sense
Whats the power draw?
I mean at that price point its probably competing with a bunch of other low power options (NUC et al) - but I suppose its main differentiating feature will be the pcie slot (just wondering - i have no clue of these devices as they never in my scope)

 

[fossxplorer]

@csp-guy, thanks. Is that R1505G or V1756B version?

 

[csp-guy]

It is AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B.

 

[csp-guy]

so a low power low utilization virtualization option - ok, that makes sense
Whats the power draw?
I mean at that price point its probably competing with a bunch of other low power options (NUC et al) - but I suppose its main differentiating feature will be the pcie slot (just wondering - i have no clue of these devices as they never in my scope)

I will test today with hirens bootcd and I will run a cpu and gpu benchmark

 

[csp-guy]

I will test today with hirens bootcd and I will run a cpu and gpu benchmark

This has 2 m2 port inside, 1 for m2sata and other to m2nvme.

It is equipped with intel 9260ngw wireless card, too.

 

[csp-guy]

I just ordered 2 pcs of Cruical CT16G4TFD8266 16GB ram. OK, I have results of powerdraw.

- power off state: 2W
- basic usage (with low noise -> very quit fan 20W
- cpu-z stress test, 8 thread, 75W -> loud cooler

I have found amd cpu and amd vega drivers on amd site, i downloaded it, and hirensbootcd didnt worked, I think this need to integrate in boot.wim file later.

 

[ReturnedSword]

This is great! If it's possible would you mind taking some pictures, especially of the internals?

 

[csp-guy]

Sure, I have some photos.

 

[csp-guy]

I attached photos

 

[csp-guy]

Updated: 2x16 GB ram works fine.

 

[WANg]

Is SRIOV/VMotion enabled by default? I ordered my t740 but don't expect to see it show up until June at the earliest.

 

[csp-guy]

No, it is not enabled. The integrated realtek is NOT SR-IOV capable. The INtel i350 T4 card has this option.

Installed: Windows 10, openvas, pfsense, graylog (centos), graylog-monitoring (centos)

 

[WANg]

No, it is not enabled. The integrated realtek is NOT SR-IOV capable. The INtel i350 T4 card has this option.

Installed: Windows 10, openvas, pfsense, graylog (centos), graylog-monitoring (centos)

You are running ESXi 6.5, right? If you go to Host -> Manage -> Under the hardware tab for PCI devices, does SR-IOV show "capable" or "not capable" under the i350-T4?

Also, can you boot the machine up using a Linux Live CD image and do a:

lspci -vvv | grep ACSCtrl

And paste the results here? I am looking for PCIe ACS (access control services), which is needed for SR-IOV.

 

[csp-guy]

Hi,

I350 is sr-iov capable, that is why i wrote the previous post.

The realtek network controller is only visible in esxi after patch, but it is not sr-iov capable.