Darryl Hoytt's Personal Blog

January 23, 2026
by dhoytt
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Working on New Virtual Servers

Making lots of progress on my new virtual servers that will take over for my Bl460C blades servers, I’m running out of a C7000 blade chassis from HPE. I can’t believe I have been running the C7000 blades for almost 6 years now. Time to get a little relief from power usage and noise. It’s gotten to the point its way to noisy to stay in my office and the power companies ridiculous even with my 11.5kw solar system.

I did a lot of searching around for motherboards that hold at least 1tb RAM hopefully dual 10gb interfaces, dual CPUs, decent amount of pcie slots, and good IPMI/baseboard management. Then they had to be reasonably priced with fairly recent chip sets so they would not get deprecated anytime soon. Then I had to decide on which of my dozens of chassis’ to choose from and whether to go 2u or 4u.

I had everything with motherboards, cpus, ram, heat sinks and add on dual 10gbe NICs with prices back in 08/2025. I had other things come up and then went back to my spreadsheet around the end of November and saw that the prices on RAM had quadrupled! Then the motherboards I wanted on the recycle resale market a lot of other people did as well!

The RAM prices hurt a lot but I was able to get 128GB on each server and will hopefully get more soon. The motherboards I wanted sold out almost completely so I ended up getting a brand I used before on the consumer side but never for their server motherboards which turned out to be a better motherboard than the ones I was targeting!

I ended up going with some 4U chassis I had in my closet that fit my 11.5″x14″ server motherboard.

I got them installed finally with xcp-ng 8.3 after a lot of sizing up everything from motherboard standoffs to proper sfps that are recognized in xcp-ng. I bought some high air flow 120mm and for the front of the 4U chassis and 40mm fans serving as exhaust in the rear of the chassis. I may still go with some active heat sinks with fans on the CPUs in place of the passive ones even with that good airflow I now have. They will have some noise but nowhere as much as my current c7000 blade chassis.

After playing around with my current SCSI hba controller cards and UEFI for booting I decided to go with standard SATA SSDs so I wouldn’t have to play around with different firmware updates and switching between scsi adapters getting them recognized at boot. They work fine with UEFI for capacity after booting but not for booting unless I flash the firmware possibly. I’ll setup a test system for flashing the scsi adapters later. I hate using sata but will update that later as these systems will not be coming up and down or be written too much anyway. XCP-ng and Xen before them has proven easy enough to recover from, and I’ll backup the configs plus get an image to store.

Tonight, I resolved my 10gbe add on card issue. I ordered Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port SFP+ 10GB NIC and they didn’t show up properly in XCP-ng with an error in dmesg “failed to load because an unsupported SFP+ or QSFP module type was detected” I saw in the xcp-ng forum (https://xcp-ng.org/forum/topic/4055/xcp-ng-8-2-xcp-ng-and-intel-x520-da2-10gbit-card-with-non-intel-sfp-transceivers) others ran into this issue when the transceiver was not genuine Intel. I pulled out the transceivers, and they were a Citrix transceivers!

That was last week and today the genuine Intel transceivers came in and dmesg looked recognized the new NICs but didn’t present then in the UI network session of the dashboard or in the cli as eth4 and eth5 as they were shown in dmesg

[ 10.807221] ixgbe 0000:86:00.1 side-2640-eth5: renamed from eth5

[ 10.857857] ixgbe 0000:86:00.0 side-2856-eth4: renamed from eth4

Recalled and found a procedure to properly add the NICs https://docs.xcp-ng.org/networking/#add-a-new-nic. Props also to https://christoph-jahn.com/xcp-ng-new-network-card-not-visible/.

This is what I did to find the host uuid:

# xe host-list
uuid ( RO)                : 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90
          name-label ( RW): mojave
    name-description ( RW): Default install

This is what I did to show current recognized network interfaces:

# xe pif-list
uuid ( RO)                  : b216bcff-ed61-19db-6db9-2b892dbc4b5b
                device ( RO): eth3
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f3
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 1e220677-6f50-b52c-7912-0415f47c62e7
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : 0aa14f8c-1930-1ecb-e381-63c3aad87823
                device ( RO): eth0
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f0
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 139e13fc-8a0d-8584-33b5-e43fe9abf46d
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : ae6f1d91-7f19-565c-3b39-c2bda8ea9188
                device ( RO): eth1
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f1
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 11c83dc4-1843-76f5-c813-d31eae38061d
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : 87669ed1-9979-6476-e346-df5daf1929a7
                device ( RO): eth2
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f2
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 5d63b2c9-b17e-fee7-41f1-c7448cfe43fd
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90

Scan for new network interfaces:

#xe pif-scan host-uuid=20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90

Verify newly recognized network interfaces along with prior ones:

# xe pif-list
uuid ( RO)                  : b216bcff-ed61-19db-6db9-2b892dbc4b5b
                device ( RO): eth3
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f3
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 1e220677-6f50-b52c-7912-0415f47c62e7
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : a6043d0a-169e-0bc3-155b-9d55ddde3deb
                device ( RO): eth4
                   MAC ( RO): b4:96:91:b7:d6:1c
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 4c5a9530-2319-3a21-45ae-5166060f3213
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : 0aa14f8c-1930-1ecb-e381-63c3aad87823
                device ( RO): eth0
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f0
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 139e13fc-8a0d-8584-33b5-e43fe9abf46d
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : 88d4884c-ab08-9bde-6e09-315a11b6e8f0
                device ( RO): eth5
                   MAC ( RO): b4:96:91:b7:d6:1e
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 0b4a0127-395a-c504-d186-e61b674975e6
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : ae6f1d91-7f19-565c-3b39-c2bda8ea9188
                device ( RO): eth1
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f1
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 11c83dc4-1843-76f5-c813-d31eae38061d
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90


uuid ( RO)                  : 87669ed1-9979-6476-e346-df5daf1929a7
                device ( RO): eth2
                   MAC ( RO): d8:5e:d3:8d:b1:f2
    currently-attached ( RO): true
                  VLAN ( RO): -1
          network-uuid ( RO): 5d63b2c9-b17e-fee7-41f1-c7448cfe43fd
             host-uuid ( RO): 20816004-5e79-4f5b-bc8c-1d98d3ad6e90

Plugin newly recognized network interfaces:

#xe pif-plug uuid=a6043d0a-169e-0bc3-155b-9d55ddde3deb
#xe pif-plug uuid=88d4884c-ab08-9bde-6e09-315a11b6e8f0

Here are UI Images of XO Lite XCP-Ng interface after various commands.

This is how the UI looked with Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port SFP+ 10GB NIC prior to pif scan.

This is how the UI looked with Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port SFP+ 10GB NIC after pif scan.

This is how the UI looked with Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port SFP+ 10GB NIC after plugin command. The two disconnected NICs are on board 1gbe NICs I will not be using.

This is my current situation with the HP C7000 blade chassis and blades servers. Wire management is not great right now!

Current build of virtual server number one. Messy but will be cleaned up once all done and tested.

Current build of virtual server number two. Messy but will be cleaned up once all done and tested.

Currently whats in the new virtual servers subject to change with additions on the way.

Gigabyte MD71-HB0 2x LGA3647 C622 DDR4 2x 10GbE M.2/U.2 E-ATX Motherboard
Intel Xeon Gold 6248 2.5 GHz 20 Cores SRF90 CD8069504194301
Supermicro SNK-P0068PS LGA3647-0 2U & UP X11 Scalable CPU Heatsink Narrow ILM
256GB 8x 32GB 4Rx4 PC4-17000L DDR4 2133 MHz ECC LRDIMM Server Memory RAM
Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port SFP+ 10GB NIC
4U Case 16″x22″ with 11.5″x14″ for motherboard
60mm x 25mm Dual Ball Bearing High Air Flow Server DC 12V Cooling Fan
ARCTIC S12038-8K 120mm 8k rpm Server Fan
1TB Pony SATA ssd for booting.

January 21, 2026
by dhoytt
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Hot Honey Garlic Breast and Wings

I decided to liven things up and cut up some chicken breasts and cook them the same way I cook my chicken wings on my Traeger smoker\grill!

I really enjoyed them like that, so definitely doing this again! Was moist and flavorful!

I soaked them in brine, coated them in my rib rub, smoked at 225 degrees , then bumped them up to 400 degrees until 165 for breasts and 175 for wings.

Then sauced them up with my hot, honey and garlic sauce. I ended up stretching the recipe a bit due to the amount of chicken which was just right with an extra quarter cup of honey, hot sauce and butter. Normally it’s half cup of hot sauce and a quarter cup of the other two. I added a bit more garlic as well.

Everything was good with the day old black eyed peas that were so flavorful and corn on the cob I was very satisfied.

What a delicious and dynamic combo!

January 18, 2026
by dhoytt
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Winter Garden Clean Up Planting

I removed a lot of weeds and this is a great time to get rid of more of mint roots. Still paying for putting mint in the garden years later instead of an enclosed area. I then planted some thyme, collard greens, snow peas and social garlic to prevent varmints from chewing on my plants.

These plants will go along with my plants doing well in the winter of mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, cilantro, Swiss chard, Bok Choi, rosemary, marjoram, oregano,peppermint sage, lavender and remaining peppers.

Mustards, garlic and social garlic newly planted.

Lavender, Brussel sprouts, social garlic, rosemary and newly planted collards.

Bok Choi, Swiss chard, peppers with black berries and grape vines in the background.

January 8, 2026
by dhoytt
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Best Batch Bacon So Far

This batch of homemade bacon might be the best batch I have made.

Carving it up I had to make a quick sandwich with avocado and egg. The bacon was nice thick with an easy bite through without any tug.

Was a nice flavor without too much salt and a nice smoked all around flavor. Had a little whiskey, bit of sweet, and mild pepper flavor.

December 27, 2025
by dhoytt
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Good Morning Eggs Benedict

Made a nice Eggs Benedict since I picked up some English muffins, plus have been playing with different Hollandaise sauce recipes.

I poached the eggs in a couple of ramekins pouring the additional egg whites leftover after separating the yolks used to make the hollandaise sauce.

Topped with avocado added some blueberries slightly smashed with a bit of brown sugar and voila!

December 20, 2025
by dhoytt
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Fall Days on Sacramento and American Rivers

A couple of days of short videos of part of my trips on two rivers here in Sacramento on separate days of the fall 2025.

December 11, 2025
by dhoytt
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Updated the Web Server OS and WordPress

I backed up the MySQL database of WordPress and then updated to 6.9 version of WordPress,then updated the OS patches which were quite a few including going to the latest kernel version on Rocky Linux 9.

I also updated my other Rocky Linux and Fedora Linux servers all except my primary Shoutcast/Icecast relay server. That’s several Rocky 9.x, Rocky 8.x and Fedora 41.

Logged into an old W2012 server trial version I only boot up within my Linux desktop that is currently at Fedora 42 in QEMU/KVM so I can run ILO to the old G7 bl460 blade server. After I’m done I shutdown that W2012 instance. That Bl460 g7 runs an instance of Zoneminder and PlexServer.

October 8, 2025
by dhoytt
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Dehydrating Herbs Trimmed During Garden Cleanup

Weeds and some herbs were in need of trimming for my garden to make room for other vegetables. Mint and pineapple sage needed to be trimmed back to make room for squash and cucumbers where I had the 3 sisters of beans, corn and squash earlier.

I also elevated the squash and cucumber vines for more separation.

I want to be a bit more ready when I trim back plants in my garden to get them dehydrated right away. I wasn’t ready with prior batches of mint and rosemary when trimming them back.

Now the dehydrator has space on the cabinet down from the top of the cabinet, cleaned and ready to be utilized!

I put the pineapple sage on the bottom and the mint on top.

Mint washed ready for the dehydrator after drying.

October 4, 2025
by dhoytt
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Server UPS’ Crashed but Back Up

One of my UPS went out (has a flaky controller) and then overloaded my other UPS’ for my servers and took down my NAS storage I use iSCSI with, the ProLiant BL460c Gen8 blade servers I run the virtual environment of XCP-ng on as well as my ProLiant BL460c G7 I run my music from before streaming over my virtual relay music servers in XCP-ng.

For the UPS with the issue I unplugged it from the wall and disconnected from internal battery sources, put on battery support then plug in the internal connections to wall power to get it out of it’s seized up condition. I then plugged that problem UPS back into one of my dedicated 20amp circuits. After that my C7000 blade chassis had power to bring up all of my blade servers I use.

The chassis shows some warnings etc but when you have to scavenge and use the firmware versions available without contract that’s what you get sometimes. It has all been working splendidly for several years now. I will be soon moving off it back to individual rack mount servers soon though for power and performance especially now that I can readily get 10gb NICS and have several 10gbe switches in my environment outside of my c7000 chassis.

I also had to go into the bios of my SuperMicro NAS server and switch to a mirror boot device for it to come up. I will have to try to re-mirror that again in FreeNAS. Yes I have not yet gone up to TrueNAS but I’m planning on it real soon. Then I will up the capacity with new drives as well. This configuration lasted me almost five years.

Since the systems were down I decided to perform updates of the OS on my virtual web server running Rocky 9 and my music relay server running Fedora 41. I updated my W2019 Datacenter server as well but that required no boot and its running bare metal on one of my ProLiant BL460c G7 blade servers.

Servers are up and communicating with each other now to deliver my sites to the internet so I will continue to listen to my music from Snakeice’s House of Beats and fall off to sleep. I had a nice set started and was a couple of hours into it but I still have some setup for the next few hours then its on the scripts.

September 28, 2025
by dhoytt
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Fall Backyard Garden Look

This is how the backyard gardens are looking currently.