Mac Mini Server 4.1

Erk

Renowned Member
Dec 11, 2009
165
6
83
I have been trying to install Proxmox VE on one of the new Mac Mini Server models (4.1)

Ran into a few problems, the kernel that is required is 2.6.35 or later. I manged to get Proxmox VE running on it under the daily snapshot of Ubuntu Maverick server version with the kvm virtualization option installed, following the Debian instructions http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Lenny there were conflicts with the linux-firmware package so the setup scripts didn't quite complete. eg. I had to make the /var/lock/qemu-server directory manually and who knows what other little bits might have been missed, though it did seem to run quite well.

I was wondering if there was a possibility of releasing a
proxmox-ve-2.6.35 package?

It's just that the Mac Mini makes such an nice small office server.
 
I have been trying to install Proxmox VE on one of the new Mac Mini Server models (4.1)

Ran into a few problems, the kernel that is required is 2.6.35 or later. I manged to get Proxmox VE running on it under the daily snapshot of Ubuntu Maverick server version with the kvm virtualization option installed, following the Debian instructions http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Lenny there were conflicts with the linux-firmware package so the setup scripts didn't quite complete. eg. I had to make the /var/lock/qemu-server directory manually and who knows what other little bits might have been missed, though it did seem to run quite well.

I was wondering if there was a possibility of releasing a
proxmox-ve-2.6.35 package?

It's just that the Mac Mini makes such an nice small office server.

Hi Erk,

I have just bought exactly same machine and i need to run 2-3 VM and it seems my only option is KVM or Xen but i want to run KVM. How does it perform ? Does it work ok the way you have installed it ? Any thoughts on this would be cool.

donnib
 
The performance of the Mac Mini Server was fine with Proxmox, I didn't try the raid just a single drive. The new Mac Mini shape suits me as you can get two side by side into a 1RU space. 8GB RAM max limits the number of VM's you can run, seeing all my VM's have no GUI, I can run quite a few on each machine. I didn't leave the Proxmox on there, it was only a test of installing via packages. I will wait until Proxmox reaches the 2.6.35 kernel or something else comes along. As I plan to install on several Mac Mini's I don't want a patched distribution, just a clean install from an iso if I can. If you are trying linux on the Mac Mini, then you may need to set the nomodeset flag in the boot options or you will get a black screen. Ubuntu Server maverick installs/runs fine with that option.
 
Hi,
Thx a lot for your reply. I only need one machine to install it on so i am ok with some tweeking in the beginning as long as it works. You mention Ubuntu Server maverick. Does that one work out of the box then i have to install Proxmox or i need to do the nomodeset? Would ubuntu be the best distrib? I mean overhead wise ? If you could write the main steps to get this working i really would appreciate it :)

thx
donnib
 
Hi,
Thx a lot for your reply. I only need one machine to install it on so i am ok with some tweeking in the beginning as long as it works. You mention Ubuntu Server maverick. Does that one work out of the box then i have to install Proxmox or i need to do the nomodeset? Would ubuntu be the best distrib? I mean overhead wise ? If you could write the main steps to get this working i really would appreciate it :)

thx
donnib

You still need the nomodeset parameter with Ubuntu Maverick, as far as I know it's the only distribution that has a 2.6.35 or greater kernel. Ubuntu Server is nice because it shares the common Debian ancestry with Proxmox. Proxmox won't install cleanly from packages on Ubuntu as there is a conflict between the linux-firmware and pve-firmware packages. However Proxmox will run fine on top of the KVM in the default Ubuntu Server kernel. Ubuntu Server alone with KVM will do the virtualization for you, but the management tools are clumsy to use, that's where Proxmox shines.

As I mentioned above, I installed the daily snapshot of Ubuntu Server(Maverick) then followed the instructions at http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Lenny

I would not recommend doing this unless you are comfortable with linux tinkering, well beyond following step by step instructions, as you need do deal with the package conflicts.

If you just want to play around, Proxmox 1.6 ISO will install on the Mac Mini onto an external USB drive by just typing in linux nomodeset at the Boot: prompt. The 2.6.35 kernel is needed to operate the Mac Mini's internal drive controller chip, but the 2.6.32 with Proxmox will detect the USB drives. It's less than ideal, though you can get some very compact 2.5" external USB drives nowadays. I tested it on a Corsair 64GB SSD.
 
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Thx a lot for taking the time to write :)

What i am trying to do is to replace my old server at home which runs Windows SBS 2008 and ontop VMWare server with one VM beeing CentOS. So i bought the Mac Mini and i thought that i could run VMWare ESXi but it seems it does not support the Mac Mini so i then looked for alternatives because i don't want to run the VM in Windows 2008 again and i found KVM.

It's sad to hear that it very complicated to have it run with proxmox. The solution with the external drive was fine as you mention just for playing around but i need it to work so i don't have problems with the wife at home ;)))

I am no Linux guru, i know some commands but the rest i need to try so i guess ill have to wait and see if there is going to be a better solution.

Thx
donnib

I want to run it
 
I just had an interesting surprise. The 2.6.32 kernel on the Promox 1.7 installer now detects the internal drive on the normal 2010 model Mac Mini, someone must have back ported the MCP89 drive fix. It doesn't detect the on board ethernet, but hey it's a start. To get it to install I had to type "linux nomodeset" at the installer boot prompt to force the use of the BIOS video drivers instead of kernel ones, and once installed you have to edit the boot string and add "nomodeset" and "reboot=pci" to the kernel parameters in /boot/grub/menu.lst.

I put the 2.6.35 kernel, headers, firmware from pvetest onto a thumb drive and installed them with dpkg -i and that cleared up the ethernet problem.

It's no speed demon like my Xeon servers, but it doesn't need to be for what I need it to do.

I tried the Proxmox 1.7 installer on the Mac Mini Server version as well, it completed the install, but it freezes at the GRUB menu after reboot. So only the non-server Mac Mini is working at this stage.
 
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