To install a guest operating system and its applications or other media on a virtual machine, you can connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device on the system from which you access the vSphere Client.

By default, passthrough IDE mode is used for remote client device access. You can write or burn a remote CD only through passthrough mode access.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is turned on.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to a virtual machine in the inventory and click the Summary tab.
  2. In the VM Hardware panel, click the CD/DVD drive connection icon, select an available drive to connect to, and browse for the CD/DVD media.
    An Access Control dialog box opens. Click allow to proceed. To change your selection, click the connection icon, select Disconnect, and select a different option.