The ESXi installer must be accessible to the system on which you are installing ESXi.
The following boot media are supported for the ESXi installer:
- Boot from a CD/DVD. See Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD.
- Boot from a USB flash drive. See Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade.
- Boot from a network. See Network Booting the ESXi Installer.
- Boot from a remote location using a remote management application. See Using Remote Management Applications.
Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
If you do not have an ESXi installation CD/DVD, you can create one.
You can also create an installer ISO image that includes a custom installation script. See Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script.
Procedure
- Follow the procedure Download the ESXi Installer.
- Burn the ISO image to a CD or DVD.
Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
You can format a USB flash drive to boot the ESXi installation or upgrade.
The instructions in this procedure assume that the USB flash drive is detected as /dev/sdb.
Prerequisites
- Linux machine with superuser access to it
- USB flash drive that can be detected by the Linux machine
- The ESXi ISO image, VMware-VMvisor-Installer-version_number-build_number.x86_64.iso, which includes the isolinux.cfg file
Procedure
Results
You can use the USB flash drive to boot the ESXi installer.
Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
You can use a USB flash drive to store the ESXi installation script or upgrade script that is used during scripted installation or upgrade of ESXi.
When multiple USB flash drives are present on the installation machine, the installation software searches for the installation or upgrade script on all attached USB flash drives.
The instructions in this procedure assume that the USB flash drive is detected as /dev/sdb.
Prerequisites
- Linux machine
- ESXi installation or upgrade script, the ks.cfg kickstart file
- USB flash drive
Procedure
Results
The USB flash drive contains the installation or upgrade script for ESXi.
What to do next
When you boot the ESXi installer, point to the location of the USB flash drive for the installation or upgrade script. See Enter Boot Options to Run an Installation or Upgrade Script and PXELINUX Configuration Files.
Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
You can customize the standard ESXi installer ISO image with your own installation or upgrade script. This customization enables you to perform a scripted, unattended installation or upgrade when you boot the resulting installer ISO image.
See also Installing ESXi by Using a Script and About the boot.cfg File.
Prerequisites
- Linux machine
- The ESXi ISO image VMware-VMvisor-Installer-x.x.x-XXXXXX.x86_64.iso,where x.x.x is the version of ESXi you are installing, and XXXXXX is the build number of the installer ISO image
- Your custom installation or upgrade script, the KS_CUST.CFG kickstart file
Procedure
Results
The ISO image includes your custom installation or upgrade script.
What to do next
Install ESXi from the ISO image.