Lab Update: Lab Version..3? I lost count..

So, I finally got around to finishing out my plans to try and do a HA setup in my lab, although I had to resort to eBay as the model of server I was using is not available from the refurb shop I was using before (not surprising really, given the age..) so I picked up 2 more R610s to add to the pool and a third to replace the 2950 as my OpnSense box. Initially I was looking for identical CPUs to the existing hosts (X5650s) but I stumbled upon the listing with 2 hosts with X5660s so I opted for those, repurposing the RAM out of the remaining unit as I don’t think I need 128+ GB of RAM for OpnSense. However, as luck would have it, the unit also included what appears to be a 10Gbps NIC in one of the PCIe slots so that could be handy someday.

The 2950 has been fully replaced, and the other new hosts have been added to my XCP-ng pool. I ended up tearing everything apart and redoing all of the port assignments on my switches as I had only planned for three VM hosts, not four. Most everything is up and running now except I came up a few cables short to be able to connect all of the NICs, at least to keep my color coding straight. This should hopefully be resolved this weekend provided my cable order arrives.

On a side note, forecast for Friday suggesting that we may see some severe weather, at least in the far eastern part of the state. Unfortunately I will be at work all day but I guess I should break the gear out this weekend on the off chance something pops up when I’m off work, plus to get ready for the road trip later in April.

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