ESXi 4.1.0 Update 1 : How to mount a remote ESXi’s vmfs from Ubuntu

I referred to the following URL.

http://thebsdbox.co.uk/?p=224

Ubuntu 11.04

VMware ESXi 4.1.0 build-348481

             

              mount ESXi’s vmfs

Ubuntu ---------------------------- ESXi

[ preparation ]

[ on Ubuntu ]

install sshfs

# apt-get install sshfs

To mount vmfs with sshfs from ubuntu , sftp is needed on a remote machine(ESXi).

copy sftp-server binary file to ESXi’s /sbin/directory.

on Ubuntu , download sftp-server.tar.gz , extract tar.gz , copy sftp-server file to ESXi’s /sbin directory.

# wget http://thebsdbox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sftp-server.tar.gz # tar xzvf sftp-server.tar.gz sftp-server # file sftp-server sftp-server: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), statically linked, for GNU/Linux 2.2.5, not stripped # scp sftp-server root@vmware:/sbin/

confirm there’s sftp-server file under ESXi’s /sbin directory.

[ on ESXi ]

~ # vmware -lv VMware ESXi 4.1.0 build-348481 VMware ESXi 4.1.0 Update 1~ # ls /sbin/sftp-server /sbin/sftp-server

[ mount a remote ESXi’s vmfs from Ubuntu ]

[ on Ubuntu ]

# sshfs -o idmap=user root@vmware:/ /root/tmp_dir root@vmware's password: # cd /root/tmp_dir/ # ls altbootbank  dev  lib64      opt            sbin     tmp  vmfs bin          etc  local.tgz  proc           scratch  usr  vmimages bootbank     lib  locker     productLocker  store    var  vmupgrade

unmount

# fusermount -u /root/tmp_dir

[ tips ]

Unfortunately , when rebooting ESXi , /sbin/sftp-server file will be removed.

To solve this , copy sftp-server file to ESXi’s oem.tgz file.

[ on Ubuntu ]

# scp root@vmware:/bootbank/oem.tgz . root@vmware's password: oem.tgz                                       100%  928KB 927.8KB/s   00:00 # cd zzz/ # cp /root/oem.tgz . # pwd /root/zzz # ls oem.tgz # tar xzvf oem.tgz # rm oem.tgz # ls etc  lib  oem.tgz  sbin  usr  var # cp /root/sftp-server sbin/ # tar czvf oem.tgz * etc/ etc/cim/ etc/vmware/ etc/vmware/init/ etc/vmware/init/manifests/ etc/vmware/init/manifests/Neterion-vxge.mf etc/vmware/init/manifests/LSI-3w-9xxx.mf etc/vmware/pciid/ etc/vmware/pciid/vxge.xml etc/vmware/pciid/3w-9xxx.xml etc/ipmi/ lib/ lib/cim/ sbin/ sbin/sftp-server usr/ usr/lib/ usr/lib/vmware/ usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/ usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/vxge.o usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/3w-9xxx.o usr/lib/ext/ usr/lib/pycim/ var/ var/db/ var/db/esxupdate/ var/db/esxupdate/oem-pkgdb.tgz var/lib/ var/lib/sfcb/ var/lib/sfcb/registration/

copy oem.tgz to ESXi’s /bootbank directory

[ on Ubuntu ]

# scp oem.tgz root@vmware:/bootbank/ root@vmware's password: oem.tgz                                       100% 2002KB   2.0MB/s   00:00

[ on ESXi ]

After rebooting ESXi , there’s sftp-server file under /sbin directory.

Tech Support Mode may be disabled by an administrative user. Please consult the ESXi Configuration Guide for additional important information. ~ # ls /sbin/sftp-server /sbin/sftp-server