Posts Tagged ‘NVMe memory tiering’

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Run ESXi 9.0.0? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 11 Ultimate #homelab

Saturday, August 9th, 2025

 

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Run ESXi 9.0.0? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 11 Ultimate #homelab

Can the Minisforum MS-A2 handle VMware’s latest ESXi 9.0.0?

In Part 11 of the Ultimate #homelab series, we put the MS-A2 to the test with the brand-new VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi 9.0. From BIOS boot to creating a demo virtual machine, you’ll see the entire installation process and whether this mini PC can run the latest VMware tech.

What’s Inside This Video:

Installing ESXi 9.0.0 on the Minisforum MS-A2

BIOS boot & USB installer setup

First boot and installation walkthrough

Testing NVMe devices & enabling NVMe Memory Tiering

Creating and running a demo virtual machine

Connecting with the HTML Web Client and checking performance

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your homelab to vSphere 9.0, this is your step-by-step look at how it runs on a small but powerful platform.

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Run ESXi 9.0.0? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 11 Ultimate #homelab

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Run ESXi 8.0.3g ? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 10 Ultimate #homelab

Saturday, August 9th, 2025

 

Can the powerful Minisforum MS-A2 run VMware vSphere 8.0?
In Part 10 of the Ultimate #homelab series, we put this compact beast to the test by installing VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi 8.0.3g and seeing how it performs. From BIOS setup to creating a demo virtual machine, this episode covers the full journey.

What’s Inside This Video:

Installing ESXi 8.0.3g on the Minisforum MS-A2

BIOS configuration & USB boot with Ventoy

Full ESXi setup walkthrough

Creating & running a test VM

Enabling NVMe Memory Tiering with NVMe namespaces

Checking performance and confirming a successful install

If you’ve been wondering whether the MS-A2 can handle serious VMware workloads in a home lab, this is the episode to watch!

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Run ESXi 8.0.3g ? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 10 Ultimate #homelab

Minisforum MS-A2 NVMe namespaces U.2 Samsung PM9A3 Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 9 Ultimate #homelab

Friday, August 8th, 2025

 

Minisforum MS-A2 NVMe namespaces U.2 Samsung PM9A3 Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 9 Ultimate #homelab

In this episode of Hancock’s VMware Half Hour, we walk through configuring NVMe namespaces on a Samsung U.2 PMA9A3 enterprise SSD using the MINISFORUM MS-A2.

You’ll learn what U.2 NVMe SSDs are, their benefits in enterprise and homelab environments, and how to create, format, and attach namespaces for specific use cases like ESXi OS installs, NVMe memory tiering, and vSAN.

We also cover hands-on NVMe CLI commands in Ubuntu, capacity checks, alignment considerations, and how to avoid fake or counterfeit SSDs.

All the commands used in this video are here on GitHub

https://github.com/einsteinagogo/NVMe-namespaces

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, homelab, vExpert, vintage, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 NVMe namespaces U.2 Samsung PM9A3 Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 9 Ultimate #homelab