ESXi Mini PC Server with the GMKtek Nucbox K10

I had a lot of comments about mini pcs that are compatible with VMware ESXi. The GMKtek Nucbox K10 sports the Ryzen 7 5800U process with 16 threads and also has the Intel i225 2.5 Gbps network adapter, making it fully compatible with ESXi, at least from a consumer hardware/home lab perspective. This video takes a look at the GMKtek Nucbox K10 and running workloads that I had ran on an old Supermicro Xeon-D 1541-based host.
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Introduction - 0:00
Discussing the mini PC market and VMware options - 0:32
Utilizing onboard networking with VMware - 0:56
i225 or i226 option s- 1:11
Introducing the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 1:19
It runs the i225 network adapter - 1:49
How viable is this to replace my old Xeon-D 1541? 2:10
Advanced look at the hardware in the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 3:05
K10 comes with other features you can use for desktop replacement - 3:52
Looking at the GMKtec Nucbox K10 in my vCenter Server inventory - 4:33
Talking about the workloads thrown at the Nucbox K10 - 5:30
Looking at the 2.5 Gbps LAN adapter on the K10 - 6:40
CPU utilization - 7:00
Discussing some of the downsides of the K10 when thinking of it as a server - 7:19
What types of ESXi hosts I think the K10 is good for - 8:40
Concluding thoughts about the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 8:55
Read the written writeup of the GMKtek Nucbox K10 here:
www.virtualizationhowto.com/2...
Things to know before you buy a mini PC as a server:
www.virtualizationhowto.com/2...

[@jobbagyferi]

Thanks for the idea! I have just replaced my old gen8 hp to an acemagic a06pro which is also fully compatible and consumes much less energy. :D

[@awrosemba]

Thanks for doing this video!

[@cybr774]

Cool, I see you're trying out microstack

[@jeffnew1213]

It's so nice to see a PC review that doesn't concentrate on gaming performance. Sheesh! It would be interesting to see a box similar in performance and price to the K10, but with an Intel processor in it so that I could vMotion between it and my other servers. I don't think a mini PC is a replacement for my PowerEdge R750 or R740, but as an addition, it might have a purpose where the usual tiny/mini/micro off-lease system falls short. 2.5Gb isn't fast enough for running VMs off network storage, but running them from a local M.2, performance would be fine. An Intel solution? Keeping in mind that ESXi doesn't schedule against performance and efficiency cores, so the latter would likely be turned off in BIOS.

[@screamingiraffe]

Great review, can you do a review of the ZimaBoard? thanks

[@ronm6585]

Thanks.

[@DavidVincentSSM]

you mentioned backup software in the video.. would you care to mention which backup software you use with vsphere?

[@psycl0ptic]

what about that Thunderbolt port? or is that port mislabeled?

[@tomheinrich7776]

Is it possible to share the custom ESXI image ? Perfect would be Version 7U3 with integrated community drivers.

[@ronwatkins5775]

I have a micro PC with the realtek adapter and I ran across your video because I was not able to get esxi to recognize the nic. You mentioned there was a workaround with a USB dongle? Can you point me to such a device please?

[@VirtualizationHowto]

@ronwatkins5775 thank you for the comment. Sign up on the forum here and let's talk through your questions. I can give more personalized help here: www.virtualizationhowto.com/community. Thank you again.

[@dhiaahmed5420]

Is the gmktec m4 suitable for esxi ?

[@davidcooke285]

Ordered one 9 days ago and have no status and no response from Gmktec.

[@eman0828]

The thing with mini pcs is the form factor. It's proprietary format would make it hard for finding replacement parts once something goes wrong. Sure you can use parts or relace the whole unit but your limitation is only upgrading the ram and cpu. I like using standard Desktop PC hardware to build all my servers with since the market is limitless with PC parts. I built two servers out of Desk hardware and installed all the parts in a 4U rack mount server chassis with an ATX motherboard. My ESXi server idles around 55watts while my trueNAS server idles at only 35Watts of electricity. My setup is very energy efficient compared to my previous setup from 2015 using two Dell Power Edge servers.