Initial ESXi Configuration

ESXi Autoconfiguration

When you turn on the ESXi host for the first time or after resetting the configuration defaults, the host enters an autoconfiguration phase. This phase configures system network and storage devices with default settings.

By default, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) configures IP, and all visible blank internal disks are formatted with the virtual machine file system (VMFS) so that virtual machines can be stored on the disks.

Managing ESXi Remotely

You can use the VMware Host Client, the vSphere Client and vCenter Server to manage your ESXi hosts.

For instructions about downloading and installing vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components, see vCenter Server Installation and Setup. For information about installing the VMware Host Client, see vSphere Single Host Management.

About the Direct Console ESXi Interface

Use the direct console interface for initial ESXi configuration and troubleshooting.

Connect a keyboard and monitor to the host to use the direct console. After the host completes the autoconfiguration phase, the direct console appears on the monitor. You can examine the default network configuration and change any settings that are not compatible with your network environment.

Key operations available to you in the direct console include:

Configuring hosts
Setting up administrative access
Troubleshooting

You can also use vSphere Client to manage the host by using vCenter Server.

Table 1. Navigating in the Direct Console
Action	Key
View and change the configuration	F2
Change the user interface to high-contrast mode	F4
Shut down or restart the host	F12
View the VMkernel log	Alt+F12
Switch to the shell console	Alt+F1
Switch to the direct console user interface	Alt+F2
Move the selection between fields	Arrow keys
Select a menu item	Enter
Toggle a value	Spacebar
Confirm sensitive commands, such as resetting configuration defaults	F11
Save and exit	Enter
Exit without saving	Esc
Exit system logs	q

Configure the Keyboard Layout for the Direct Console

You can configure the layout for the keyboard that you use with the direct console.

Procedure

From the direct console, select Configure Keyboard and press Enter.
Select the layout to use.
Press the spacebar to toggle selections on and off.
Press Enter.

Create a Security Banner for the Direct Console

A security banner is a message that is displayed on the direct console Welcome screen.

Procedure

From the vSphere Client, connect to the vCenter Server.
Select the host in the inventory.
Click the Configure tab.
Under System, select Advanced System Settings.
Select Annotations.WelcomeMessage.
Click the Edit icon.
Enter a security message.

Results

The message is displayed on the direct console Welcome screen.

Redirecting the Direct Console to a Serial Port

To manage your ESXi host remotely from a serial console, you can redirect the direct console to a serial port.

vSphere supports the VT100 terminal type and the PuTTy terminal emulator to view the direct console over the serial port.

You can redirect the direct console to a serial port in several ways.

Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port by Setting the Boot Options Manually

When you redirect the direct console to a serial port by setting the boot options, the change does not persist for subsequent boots.

Prerequisites

Verify that the serial port is not in use for serial logging and debugging.

Procedure

Start the host.
When the Loading VMware Hypervisor window appears, press Shift+O to edit boot options.
Deactivate the logPort and gdbPort on com1 and set tty2Port to com1 by entering the following boot options:
"gdbPort=none logPort=none tty2Port=com1";
To use com2 instead, replace com1 with com2.

Results

The direct console is redirected to the serial port until you reboot the host. To redirect the direct console for subsequent boots, see Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port from the vSphere Client

Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port from the vSphere Client

You can manage the ESXi host remotely from a console that is connected to the serial port by redirecting the direct console to either of the serial ports com1 or com2. When you use the vSphere Client to redirect the direct console to a serial port, the boot option that you set persists after subsequent reboots.

Prerequisites

Verify that you can access the host from the vSphere Client.
Verify that the serial port is not in use for serial logging and debugging, or for ESX Shell (tty1Port).

Procedure

From the vSphere Client, connect to the vCenter Server.
Select the host in the inventory.
Click the Configure tab.
Under System, select Advanced System Settings.
Make sure that the VMkernel.Boot.logPort and VMkernel.Boot.gdbPort fields are not set to use the com port that you want to redirect the direct console to.
Set VMkernel.Boot.tty2Port to the serial port to redirect the direct console to: com1 or com2.
Reboot the host.

Results

You can now manage the ESXi host remotely from a console that is connected to the serial port.

Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port in a Host Deployed with Auto Deploy

After you redirect the direct console to a serial port, you can make that setting part of the host profile that persists when you reprovision the host with Auto Deploy.

Prerequisites

The serial port must not already be in use for serial logging and debugging.

Procedure

From the , connect to the vCenter Server.
Select the host in the inventory.
Under System, select Advanced System Settings.
Make sure that the VMkernel.Boot.logPort and VMkernel.Boot.gdbPort fields are not set to use the com port that you want to redirect the direct console to.
Set VMkernel.Boot.tty2Port to the serial port to redirect the direct console to: com1 or com2.
Click OK.
Save the host profile and attach the host to the profile. See the vSphere Host Profiles documentation.

Results

The setting to redirect the direct console to a serial port is stored by vCenter Server and persists when you reprovision the host with Auto Deploy.