Running OS X 10.10 Yosemite on ESXi 5.5

[KamAzadi]

So I've read article after article about running OS X 10.9 on ESXi, but until recently hadn't seen any guidance on how to run 10.10. Then I saw an article that guided you through installing OS X 10.10 on VMWare Fusion by first downgrading the OS Selection from 10.10 to 10.9, then changing the compatibility to use Hardware Version 10 from 11, so that you could later upload the newly created VM to your ESXi 5.5 Server, and make a few modification including adding back in the config line smc.present = "TRUE", and voila, everything should magically work. But I've been stuck for a number of days now.

I tried the above steps, but every time I try to run the VM, I just get the grey VMWare boot loader screen that says failed to load operating system from SATA dis, then failed CDRom, then attempting network, then eventually failing completely. I even read up more on what people did on 10.9 and found another couple of config strings such as:

   smc.present = "TRUE"

   smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE"

    ich7m.present = "TRUE"

Once again, overtime I've made a change and tried it I'm left with the same exact outcome. Failure. Am I supposed to also have installed the ESXi unlocker script? Because I tried that earlier as well with no luck either, so I figured maybe I should be attempting this install without it, and re-installed the host OS without making any changes.

My config is as follows. Dell PowerEdge R610 with two Hex core 2.8Ghz Xeon Processors, 64GB memory and 6 148GB SAS drives So performance is definitely not an issue. I even have a Sinology ISCSI LUN created and attached with 4TB Storage.

Can Anyone help? Has anyone else successfully installed and is running OS X 10.10 on your ESXi 5.5 server? Mind you, I'm running the free version, so maybe theres limitations there also that I'm unaware of. But any and all advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

[Darius Davis]

The Apple Software License Agreement requires that OS X be only run on Apple-branded hardware.  The VMware Community Terms of Use prohibit assistance with a configuration that would be in breach of a license agreement.

If you have an Apple-branded host system, the instructions you have already followed should have worked.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[HiFra]

Hello dariusd,

i face exact the same issues as KamAzadi, but my hardware is probably better suited:

"every time I try to run the VM, I just get that grey VMWare boot loader screen that says failed to load operating system from SATA dis, then failed CDRom, then attempting network, then eventually failing completely. I even read up more on what people did on 10.9 and found another couple of config strings such as:

   smc.present = "TRUE"

   smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE"

   ich7m.present = "TRUE"

"

My setup:

-ESXi5.5.0.update02 bld2068190

-VM base template OS X 10.7 64bit

-host hardware MacPro 5,1

-RAID-controller removed

-SATA HDDs

-"Install OS X Yosemite.app" uploaded to store and included InstallESD.dmg mapped to virtual DVD

-InstallESD.dmg converted to InstallESD.iso and mapped to virtual DVD

-smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE" added to the VM config

but nothing gets me be beyond failing "Attempting to start up from: EFI VMware Virtual IDE CDROM Drive (IDE 1:0)".

Is there any tip you could provide me with?

I'd like to fail on a much higher level at least, it shouldn't be at that early stage ;-)

Best regards

[Darius Davis]

As of OS X 10.9, the InstallESD.dmg image is no longer directly bootable (even if you convert it from .dmg to .iso).  The most sane way to install 10.9 or newer is to start with 10.8 and upgrade it to 10.9... See VMware Documentation for OS X 10.9.

The next best way is to convert the .dmg to an installable image.  Apple includes a createinstallmedia script within Install OS X <codename>.app/Contents/Resources for that purpose.  You could use that to create a USB key from which you can install Yosemite.  Attach the USB key to the virtual machine and boot it into the OS X installer from that.

You can also create the OS X virtual machine on VMware Fusion, if you have Fusion available, and then upload the installed OS to your datastore.  VMware Fusion takes care of the "createinstallmedia" stuff for you.  (If you use Fusion 7's "upload" functionality, note that it might not work correctly with OS X virtual machines, and you might need to add smc.present = "TRUE" back to the virtual machine's configuration file after uploading.)

Hope this helps!

--

Darius

[HiFra]

Hello Darius,

thanks a lot for your quick reply. That must be the explanation; i didn't question the .dmg/.iso step, since the GUI still offers it (for the iso at least) and this obviously worked for the older versions of OSX, which all the info on the net is about so far.... Thus i'll try the "createinstallmedia" option using a USB drive. Maybe i even manage the straight installation of 10.10 this way..

From my perspective this is an answer.

Thanks a lot again,

best

Hi

[HiFra]

O.k.: this is really weired:

while my first attempt at the 20th of Jan. was a successfull installation of OSX 10.10.1 on ESXi 5.5.0u2 and i explored all the configuration options and backup-restore scenarios with that installation, i now try a clean install of the production system, but fail at the very same point: the VM is unable to pick up the OS on the very same USB installer drive (OSX 10.10.1) i used back then, it's the SAME drive, the same host hardware (MacPro5,1).

Configuration settings for the VM are also the same.

1) The USB drive is listed in ESXi:

"Bus 02 Device 02: ID 05dc:a201 Lexar Media, Inc."

2) ...and "connected" to the VM according to vSphere client; with the UID "host: localhost path:2/4 version:2"

3) and listed in "Boot Manager" as one of the "Bootable Operating Systems and Devices"

4) Boot option "Force EFI Setup" is set

5) the following parameters are set:

   smc.present = "TRUE"

   smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE"

   ich7m.present = "TRUE"

But any time i try to boot off that drive, it fails, with lots of Event "No operating system was found. If you have an operating system installation disc, you can insert the disc into the system's CD-ROM drive and restart the virtual machine".

The single difference this time: the ESXi 5.5 is fully patched, and the "Free" license has been applied (my first, successful attempt was a host in "Trial" mode).

Since i know that a lot of features get lost upon registering the "Free" license, is it possible that some functionality got lost, required for the same installation that succeeded the last time?

I try everything to avoid to install the 10.10-server as an upgrade from earlier versions, since my experiences with upgrades from 10.8 to 10.9 and then to 10.10 have been pretty bad in terms of system stability etc, while the clean installations run just fine...

Is there anything else a can try in order to help the VM to recognize the system?

Any hint highly appreciated

[HiFra]

Hello,

progress here:

i obviously identified the root of the problem: the symlinks used within the installer for Yosemite (at least the installer usb-boot-drive created using the createinstallmedia routine) are obviously not readable by the ESXi 5.5.0u2bld2403361 boot process. I noticed it when attempting to browse the filesystem of the USB thumb drive using the boot manager in an effort to force boot up from a specific file and consistently hit the wall on all directories that symlink. When customizing the installer by resolving those symlinks, ESXi 5.5u2 is able to boot off that drive...

Nevertheless still obscure: that installer i customised was exactly the same i used for test driving the concept earlier successfully, with no [far less/other] needs to jump through hoops, the only difference was: ESXi 5.5.0u2bld2068190 - in trial mode...

Result this time as before: a version 8 ESXi 5.5.0u2 VM for a straight OSX10.10.2 installation.

I definitely would feel better about the entire concept if the boot process of ESXi for OSX media would be less flaky - too dreadful to imagine i'd have to repeat such an installation with an meanwhile updated OSX installer and/or an updated ESX host anytime in the future in an emergency sort of situation...

Not sure if this is the solution, but it is one solution...

Best, HiFra

[virtualhobbit]

Hi HiFra,

In your post you commented "When customizing the installer by resolving those symlinks"... how exactly did you do that?

Thanks,

-Mark

[Asbeste]

In USA : Yes, in Europe : it's prohibited.

It's perfectly legal in Europe to use HP Hardware for use OS X with ESXI, if OS X is legally obtained.

Apple can't requires that OS X be only run on Apple-branded hardware in Software License Agreement for Europe.

European's laws are traducted in country laws, for exemple in France it's about L. 518-1 of Consumer Code

[als_btate]

Darius,

I have a MacMini 7,1 which has 5.5u2 on it. I cannot get a 10.10 vm that I installed on Fusion Pro 7 as 10.9 with hardware level 10 to boot past 50% at the apple screen.

I added the smc.present = "TRUE" to the vmx file however this vm will not load past 50% (see attached image). Thoughts anyone?

Brian

[Darius Davis]

Hi Brian, and welcome to the VMware Communities!

Can you please attach the vmware.log from inside the virtual machine's directory on the datastore?  (To attach the log, compose a reply here in the forum, and look above the Post Message button for the file attachment facility.)

--

Darius

[als_btate]

It seems the issue with booting was resolved. I directly went to the datastore within the ESXi client and examined the configuration parameters. I noticed that the smc.present value had been set to false for some reason. Setting this to true did permit the host to boot however 10.10 on HL10 as 10.9 is not ideal. It appears that the VMware Tools do not seem to deploy correctly therefore resolution and vm fluidity is lacking at best.

[jimharle]

Hi,

I have Yosemite running in Fusion on the Mac, and in Workstation on a Windows PC (copied Fusion VM). For the latter I needed to add smc.version = 0 to the VMX file, and run an "unlocker" script (courtesy of the InsanelyMac forums).

I'm now thinking about importing the Workstation VM into ESXi 5.5, just out of pure geek curiosity to see if it will run.

Has anyone tried this?

-Jim

[luk6230]

I can confirm that you need to install 10.8 and then upgrade. You CANNOT boot off the 10.9, 10.10, or 10.11 dmg files (I tested all three) no matter what you set your parameters to.

[vAdmin]

Does running macOSX on any other hardware apart from the Apple hardware is considered breaking the law ?

Source: http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/OSX1011.pdf

2.A, 2.B i and 2.B iii all make references like this:

you are granted a limited, nonexclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at any one time.

And there's this line below:

I. Other Use Restrictions. The grants set forth in this License do not permit you to, and you agree not to, install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so.

[BoneTrader]

if you run an apple Operating System on other Hardware other than genuine Appe Hardware then you violate the EULA.

...and the EULA also states that you can only run two (2) virtualized copies of your MAC OS ontop of one (1) genuine Apple Computer, that also includes the "Server" addon, as it is seen as an addon to MAC OS.

cheers Bone

[james_taylor]

Oh dear..

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..

That would be all well and fine; however since OS X is a descendent/fork of BSD 4.4 (no arguments.. honestly), regardless of how much Apple rewrote - they have consented to the BSD4.4 license and must adhere to the agreement (and all clauses) they have entered into by using the BSD4.4 codebase.

There are several conditions that then apply; chief of which is '1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.'
The second is '2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.'; meaning that it is fine for Apple to use existing code - as long as they release the source code.

This appears in all different flavours of the license; so it is not unique to any one flavour.

I'm yet to see Apple do this; so they are clearly breaking the law.
Additionally; they have intentionally crippled what does exist already, so it only boots under certain hardware conditions.

Had they used the IBM 'clean room' approach (in regards to replication of functionality/API calls/compatibility) and rewritten using clear original notes; this wouldn't even be an issue for them, I'm not sure why they'd do this - but then again, looking at the quality of the machines they build (have you seen a MacBook Pro motherboard? or DVD drive? Absolute rubbish, built to be replaced upon failure), I'm guessing they didn't rewrite to keep their costs lower.

In short; Apple has reused a codebase but doesn't want to abide by the agreements set out by given codebase.

Even if they developed their codebase to the point where it had been rewritten incrementally, it would still be a descendant of BSD4.4.

How a multi-billion dollar conglomerate does this without facing the law is beyond me. Money talks, dirty money.

In short; do whatever you like with their software. Its not theirs.

These guys defending Apple are obviously fanboys (or idiots); take their advice with a grain of salt.

Apple's introduction of UEFI into the marketplace is the result of a sore and bruised ego after being forced to move their entire computer product line from a proprietary line of hardware to Intel architecture; as they desperately tried to stay competitive, and as a result has ruined computing for the rest of the industry (further hammered into place by Microsoft using UEFI; and Redhat bending over and buying a certificate).

Meaning you don't have the right (or means) to run whatever OS you like; on your own computer.

Go to hell Apple.

People will do whatever they like with your software regardless (usually just to compile a flavour of their application for your OS and delete the install once done).

baz