After You Install and Set Up ESXi

After you install and set up ESXi, you can use manage hosts by various interfaces, license the hosts, and back up your configuration.

After ESXi is installed and set up, you can manage the host by using the vSphere Client and vCenter Server, license the host, and back up your ESXi configuration. You can also use the VMware Host Client to connect directly to the ESXi host and to manage it. For information about installing and using the VMware Host Client, see vSphere Single Host Management.

Note: When you install a standalone ESXi host with TMP enabled that is not connected to a vCenter Server instance, create a backup of the ESXi configuration recovery key. To get the recovery key, run the command esxcli system settings encryption recovery list on the ESXi host and note it down. It is possible that the host might not be able to complete booting due to host configuration encryption related problems and in such cases, you can restore the host configuration by using the recovery key and running the configuration recovery process.

For best practices and VMware recommendations, see Best Practices for Secure ESXi Configuration.