Before you can start the tasks in this vSphere Auto Deploy scenario, make sure that your environment meets the hardware and software requirements, and that you have the necessary permissions for the components included in the setup.

Table 1. Preinstallation Checklist
Required Software and Hardware Details
vCenter Server The vSphere Auto Deploy server is part of vCenter Server. You must enable and start the vSphere Auto Deploy service on the vCenter Server system. You can perform many of the setup tasks by logging in to vCenter Server. See Prepare Your System for vSphere Auto Deploy.
Storage

Storage for ESXi datastores NFS, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel, with servers and storage arrays that are configured so the servers can detect the LUNs.

  • A list of target IP addresses for NFS or iSCSI.
  • A list of target volume information for NFS or iSCSI.
Host information (for four ESXi hosts)

A list of target IP addresses for NFS or iSCSI.

A list of target volume information for NFS or iSCSI.

  • Default route, net mask, and primary and secondary DNS server IP addresses.
  • IP address and net mask for the VMkernel primary management network.
  • IP address and net mask for other VMkernel networks such as storage, vSphere FT, or VMware vMotion.

vSphere Auto Deploy does not overwrite existing partitions by default.

PowerCLI See Install PowerCLI.
ESXi software depot The location of the ESXi software depot on the Downloads page of the VMware website. You use a URL to point to the image profile stored at that location, or you download a ZIP file to work with a local depot. Do not download the ESXi image.
TFTP server TFTP installer software such as WinAgents TFTP server.
DHCP server The DHCP server is included in the vSphere supported Windows Server versions.
DNS server A working DNS server. You must add entries in both Forward (A Record) and Reverse (PTR Record) Zones for each target host.

You also need information about and administrator privileges to the core servers of the environment, including the ActiveDirectory server, DNS server, DHCP server, NTP server, and so on.

You must have complete control of the broadcast domain of the subnet in which you deploy the setup. Ensure that no other DHCP, DNS, or TFTP server are on this subnet.