You can start an installation or upgrade script by typing boot options at the ESXi installer boot command line.
At boot time you might need to specify options to access the kickstart file. You can enter boot options by pressing Shift+O in the boot loader. For a PXE boot installation, you can pass options through the kernelopts line of the boot.cfg file. See About the boot.cfg File and Network Booting the ESXi Installer.
To specify the location of the installation script, set the ks=filepath option, where filepath indicates the location of your kickstart file. Otherwise, a scripted installation or upgrade cannot start. If ks=filepath is omitted, the text installer is run.
Supported boot options are listed in Boot Options.
Procedure
- When the ESXi installer window appears, press Shift+O to edit boot options.
Example: Boot Option
ks=http://00.00.00.00/kickstart/ks-osdc-pdp101.cfg nameserver=00.00.0.0 ip=00.00.00.000 netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=00.00.00.000
Boot Options
When you perform a scripted installation, you might need to specify options at boot time to access the kickstart file.
Supported Boot Options
| Boot Option | Description |
|---|---|
BOOTIF=hwtype-MAC address |
Similar to the netdevice option, except in the PXELINUX format as described in the IPAPPEND option under SYSLINUX at the syslinux.org site. |
gateway=ip address |
Sets this network gateway as the default gateway to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media. |
ip=ip address |
Sets up a static IP address to be used for downloading the installation script and the installation media. Note: the PXELINUX format for this option is also supported. See the IPAPPEND option under SYSLINUX at the syslinux.org site. |
ks=cdrom:/path |
Performs a scripted installation with the script at path, which resides on the CD in the CD-ROM drive. Each CDROM is mounted and checked until the file that matches the path is found.
Important: If you have created an installer ISO image with a custom installation or upgrade script, you must use uppercase characters to provide the path of the script, for example,
ks=cdrom:/KS_CUST.CFG.
|
ks=file://path |
Performs a scripted installation with the script at path. |
ks=protocol://serverpath |
Performs a scripted installation with a script located on the network at the given URL. protocol can be http, https, ftp, or nfs. An example using NFS protocol is ks=nfs://host/porturl-path. The format of an NFS URL is specified in RFC 2224. |
ks=usb |
Performs a scripted installation, accessing the script from an attached USB drive. Searches for a file named ks.cfg. The file must be located in the root directory of the drive. If multiple USB flash drives are attached, they are searched until the ks.cfg file is found. Only FAT16 and FAT32 file systems are supported. |
ks=usb:/path |
Performs a scripted installation with the script file at the specified path, which resides on USB. |
ksdevice=device |
Tries to use a network adapter device when looking for an installation script and installation media. Specify as a MAC address, for example, 00:50:56:C0:00:01. This location can also be a vmnicNN name. If not specified and files need to be retrieved over the network, the installer defaults to the first discovered network adapter that is plugged in. |
nameserver=ip address |
Specifies a domain name server to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media. |
netdevice=device |
Tries to use a network adapter device when looking for an installation script and installation media. Specify as a MAC address, for example, 00:50:56:C0:00:01. This location can also be a vmnicNN name. If not specified and files need to be retrieved over the network, the installer defaults to the first discovered network adapter that is plugged in. |
netmask=subnet mask |
Specifies subnet mask for the network interface that downloads the installation script and the installation media. |
vlanid=vlanid |
Configure the network card to be on the specified VLAN. |
systemMediaSize=small |
Limits the size of system storage partitions on the boot media. The selected value must fit the purpose of your system. You can select from the following values:
|
For more information on ESXi booting options post installation, see VMware knowledge base article 77009.
