VMware ESXi Installation and Setup
About VMware ESXi Installation and Setup
Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup
Overview of the vSphere Installation and Setup Process
About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes
Installing and Setting Up ESXi
ESXi Requirements
ESXi System Storage Overview
ESXi Hardware Requirements
Supported Remote Management Server Models and Firmware Versions
Recommendations for Enhanced ESXi Performance
Incoming and Outgoing Firewall Ports for ESXi Hosts
Required Free Space for System Logging
VMware Host Client System Requirements
ESXi Passwords and Account Lockout
Preparing for Installing ESXi
Download the ESXi Installer
Options for Installing ESXi
Interactive ESXi Installation
Scripted ESXi Installation
vSphere Auto Deploy ESXi Installation
Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer
Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
Network Booting the ESXi Installer
Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
Using Remote Management Applications
Customizing Installations with vSphere ESXi Image Builder
Understanding vSphere ESXi Image Builder
vSphere ESXi Image Builder Overview
VMware.ImageBuilder Cmdlets Overview
Image Profiles
Acceptance Levels
Structure of ImageProfile, SoftwarePackage, and ImageProfileDiff Objects
vSphere ESXi Image Builder Installation and Usage
Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite Software
Configure the vSphere ESXi Image Builder
Using VMware.Image Builder Cmdlets
Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with the vSphere Client
Add a Software Depot
Import a Software Depot
Clone an Image Profile
Create an Image Profile
Edit an Image Profile
Compare Image Profiles
Move an Image Profile to a Different Software Depot
Export an Image Profile to ISO or Offline Bundle ZIP
Regenerate an Image Profile
Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Clone an Image Profile with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Add VIBs to an Image Profile with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Export an Image Profile to an ISO or Offline Bundle ZIP with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Create a Custom ESXi ISO Image with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Create a Custom PXE Image with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Preserve Image Profiles Across Sessions with PowerCLI
Compare Image Profiles with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Compare VIBs with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Working with Acceptance Levels
Change the Host Acceptance Level
Set the Image Profile Acceptance Level
vSphere ESXi Image Builder Workflows with PowerCLI Cmdlets
Examine Depot Contents
Create Image Profiles by Cloning Workflow
Create New Image Profiles Workflow
Edit Image Profiles Workflow
Required Information for ESXi Installation
Installing ESXi
Installing ESXi Interactively
Install ESXi Interactively
Install ESXi on a Software iSCSI Disk
Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script
Approaches for Scripted Installation
Enter Boot Options to Run an Installation or Upgrade Script
Boot Options
About Installation and Upgrade Scripts
About the Default ks.cfg Installation Script
Locations Supported for the Installation Script
Path to the Installation or Upgrade Script
Installation and Upgrade Script Commands
Disk Device Names
About the boot.cfg File
Install or Upgrade ESXi from a CD or DVD by Using a Script
Install or Upgrade ESXi from a USB Stick by Using a Script
Network Boot the ESXi Installer for a Scripted Installation or Upgrade
Overview of the Network Boot Installation Process
Boot the ESXi Installer by Using PXE and TFTP
Boot the ESXi Installer by Using iPXE and HTTP
Boot the ESXi Installer by Using Native UEFI HTTP
Network Boot Background Information
PXELINUX Configuration Files
Sample DHCP Configurations
Installing ESXi Using vSphere Auto Deploy
Understanding vSphere Auto Deploy
Introduction to vSphere Auto Deploy
Rules and Rule Sets
vSphere Auto Deploy Boot Process
Overview of the vSphere Auto Deploy Process by Using the vSphere Client
Overview of the vSphere Auto Deploy Process by Using PowerCLI
Preparing for vSphere Auto Deploy
Prepare Your System for vSphere Auto Deploy
Using vSphere Auto Deploy Cmdlets
Set Up Bulk Licensing
Managing vSphere Auto Deploy with PowerCLI Cmdlets
vSphere Auto Deploy PowerCLI Cmdlet Overview
Assign an Image Profile to Hosts
Write a Rule and Assign a Host Profile to Hosts
Write a Rule and Assign a Host to a Folder or Cluster
Configure a Stateless System by Running a Custom Script
Test and Repair Rule Compliance
Register a Caching Proxy Server Address with vSphere Auto Deploy
Managing vSphere Auto Deploy with the vSphere Client
Create a Deploy Rule
Clone a Deploy Rule
Edit a Deploy Rule
Activate, Deactivate, and Reorder Deploy Rules
View Host Associations
Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host
Remediate a Non-compliant Host
Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy Inventory
Add a Host to a Cluster That Uses a Single Image
Working with Script Bundles
Download vSphere Auto Deploy Logs
Start, Stop, or Restart the vSphere Auto Deploy Service
Provisioning ESXi Systems with vSphere Auto Deploy
Provision a Host (First Boot)
Reprovisioning Hosts
Reprovision Hosts with Simple Reboot Operations
Reprovision a Host with a New Image Profile by Using PowerCLI
Reprovision a Host with a New Image Profile by Using the vSphere Client
Update the Host Customization in the vSphere Client
Provision ESXi Host by Using an Image Profile Without VMware Tools
Use vSphere Auto Deploy for Stateless Caching and Stateful Installs
Introduction to Stateless Caching and Stateful Installs
Understanding Stateless Caching and Stateful Installs
Configure a Host Profile to Use Stateless Caching
Configure a Host Profile to Enable Stateful Installs
Setting Up a vSphere Auto Deploy Reference Host
Understanding Reference Host Setup
Options for Configuration of a vSphere Auto Deploy Reference Host
Configure ESXi Dump Collector with ESXCLI
Configure ESXi Dump Collector from the Host Profiles Feature in the vSphere Client
Configure Syslog from the Host Profiles Feature in the vSphere Client
Enable NTP Client on a Reference Host in the vSphere Client
Configure Networking for Your vSphere Auto Deploy Host in the vSphere Client
Configure a Reference Host for Auto-Partitioning
Converting Stateless Hosts to Stateful Hosts
Convert a Diskless ESXi Host
Convert a Stateless ESXi Host with Enabled Stateless Caching
Convert a Stateless ESXi Host with a Single VMFS Partition on the Local Disk
Convert a Stateless ESXi Host with a Single VMFS Partition on a Remote Disk
vSphere Auto Deploy Best Practices
vSphere Auto Deploy Best Practices
Set Up Highly Available vSphere Auto Deploy Infrastructure
vSphere Auto Deploy Security Considerations
Device Alias Configuration
Using ESXi Shell Commands to View Device Alias Information
Change Device Aliases on an ESXi Host by Using Host Profiles
Change Device Aliases on a Stateful ESXi Host by Using ESXCLI Commands
Set Up vSphere Auto Deploy and Provision Hosts with vSphere PowerCLI
vSphere Auto Deploy Preinstallation Checklist
Install the TFTP Server
Install PowerCLI
Prepare the vSphere Auto Deploy Target Hosts
Prepare the DHCP Server for vSphere Auto Deploy Provisioning
Configure the vSphere Auto Deploy and TFTP Environment in the vSphere Client
Prepare the ESXi Software Depot and Write a Rule
Provision the First Host with vSphere Auto Deploy
Extract and Configure a Host Profile from the Reference Host
Create a Rule that Provisions Hosts from a Specific IP Range
Provision Hosts and Set Up Host Customizations
Troubleshooting vSphere Auto Deploy
vSphere Auto Deploy TFTP Timeout Error at Boot Time
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Boots with Wrong Configuration
Host Is Not Redirected to vSphere Auto Deploy Server
Package Warning Message When You Assign an Image Profile to a vSphere Auto Deploy Host
vSphere Auto Deploy Host with a Built-In USB Flash Drive Does Not Send Coredumps to Local Disk
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Reboots After Five Minutes
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Cannot Contact TFTP Server
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Cannot Retrieve ESXi Image from vSphere Auto Deploy Server
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Does Not Get a DHCP Assigned Address
vSphere Auto Deploy Host Does Not Network Boot
Recovering from Database Corruption on the vSphere Auto Deploy Server
Setting Up ESXi
ESXi Autoconfiguration
About the Direct Console ESXi Interface
Configure the Keyboard Layout for the Direct Console
Create a Security Banner for the Direct Console
Redirecting the Direct Console to a Serial Port
Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port by Setting the Boot Options Manually
Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port from the vSphere Client
Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port in a Host Deployed with Auto Deploy
Enable ESXi Shell and SSH Access with the Direct Console User Interface
Managing ESXi Remotely
Set the Password for the Administrator Account
Configuring the BIOS Boot Settings
Change the BIOS Boot Setting for ESXi
Configure the Boot Setting for Virtual Media
Configuring Network Settings
Network Access to Your ESXi Host
ESXi Networking Security Recommendations
Choose Network Adapters for the Management Network
Set the VLAN ID
Configuring IP Settings for ESXi
Configure IP Settings from the Direct Console
Configure IP Settings from the vSphere Client
Configuring DNS for ESXi
Configure DNS Settings from the Direct Console
Configure DNS Suffixes
Configure the Network Settings on a Host That Is Not Attached to the Network
Test the Management Network
Restart the Management Agents
Restart the Management Network
Test Connectivity to Devices and Networks
Restoring the Standard Switch
Storage Behavior
About the Scratch Partition
Set the Scratch Partition from the vSphere Client
Configuring System Logging
Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts
Set ESXi Syslog by using the vSphere Client
Set ESXi Syslog by using the VMware Host Client
Set ESXi Syslog by using ESXCLI
Fine-tune Syslog on ESXi Hosts
ESXi Syslog Options
Configure Log Filtering on ESXi Hosts
Set the Host Image Profile Acceptance Level
Remove All Custom Packages on ESXi
Modify ESXi Configuration Files
Deactivate Support for Non-ASCII Characters on ESXi
Reset the System Configuration
After You Install and Set Up ESXi
Licensing ESXi Hosts
Recording the License Key of an ESXi Host
View the License Keys of ESXi Hosts from the vSphere Client
Access the ESXi License Key from the Direct Console
View System Logs
Troubleshooting ESXi Booting
Host Stops Unexpectedly at Bootup When Sharing a Boot Disk with Another Host
Host Fails to Boot After You Install ESXi in UEFI Mode
Decommission an ESXi Host