Chapter 8

Installing VMware ESX or ESXi

This chapter summarizes the necessary steps for installing:

VMware ESX 4.0 Update 2 and 4.1 (and subsequent releases)
VMware ESXi 4.0. Update 2 and 4.1 (and subsequent releases)

This chapter includes the following topics:

Installing VMware ESX or ESXi Using Local or Remote Media
VMware ESX and ESXi Post Installation Tasks

Installing VMware ESX or ESXi Using Local or Remote Media

The procedures in this section describe how to install the VMware (ESX or ESXi) software from local or remote media. It assumes that you are booting the VMware installation media from one of the following sources:

VMware ESX or ESXi 4.0 Update 2 or 4.1 CD or DVD (internal or external CD or DVD)
VMware ESX or ESXi 4.0 Update 2 or 4.1 ISO image (network repository)

Note - The VMware ISO image can be used for remote installations or for creating an installation CD or DVD.

Refer to the following procedures to install the VMware software from local or remote media:

Install VMware ESXi 4 From Local or Remote Media
Install VMware ESX 4 From Local or Remote Media

Before You Begin

Prior to performing the installation, the following requirements must be met:

All applicable installation considerations for installing the virtual machine software should have been met. For details, see VM Software Installation Considerations.
Gather the VMware ESX or ESXi documentation. This documentation should be used in conjunction with the installation procedure presented in this chapter.

The VMware ESX and ESXi documentation is available at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html
For VMware ESX installations, determine the network management interface you will use for the VM service console.

The VM service console and management interface require a network interface. The service console does not automatically use the first interface with a live connection. Therefore, you will need to select a network interface for the service console during installation since the network interface defaults to vmic0.

Install VMware ESXi 4 From Local or Remote Media

Ensure that the install media is available to boot.
- For Distribution CD/DVD. Insert the VMware ESXi 4 Distribution media boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or the single DVD) into the local or remote USB CD/DVD-ROM drive.
- For ISO images. Ensure that the ISO images are available and that the boot disc image (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) has been selected in the ILOM Remote Console application (Devices menu --> CD-ROM Image).
For additional information about how to set up the installation media, see Appendix A, Supported Installation Methods.
Reset the power on the server.
For example:
- From the ILOM web interface, select Remote Control --> Remote Power Control, then select Reset from the Select Action list box.
- From the local server, press the Po wer button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, then press the Power button again to power on the server.
  Note - The next events occur very quickly; therefore, focused attention is needed for the following steps. Watch carefully for these messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time. You might want to enlarge the size of your screen to eliminate scroll bars.
In the BIOS screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the VMware installation.
The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.
In the Boot Device menu, select either the external or virtual CD/DVD device as the first boot device, then press Enter.
The device strings listed in the Boot Device menu are in the following format: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.
After a few seconds, the splash screen for the VMware installation program appears.
To complete the installation, refer to the VMware ESXi 4 installation documentation.
You can access the VMware ESXi 4.0 installation documentation at: http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html
After installing VMware ESXi 4, proceed to VMware ESX and ESXi Post Installation Tasks.

Install VMware ESX 4 From Local or Remote Media

Ensure that the install media is available to boot.
- For distribution CD/DVD. Insert the VMware ESX 4 Distribution media boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or the single DVD) into the local or remote USB CD/DVD-ROM drive.
- For ISO images. Ensure that the ISO images are available and that the boot disc image (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) has been selected in the ILOM Remote Console application (Devices menu --> CD-ROM Image).
For additional information about how to set up the installation media, see Appendix A, Supported Installation Methods.
Reset the power on the server.
For example:
- From the ILOM web interface, select Remote Control --> Remote Power Control, then select Reset from the Select Action list box.
- From the local server, press the Power button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, then press the Power button again to power on the server.
  Note - The next events occur very quickly; therefore, focused attention is needed for the following steps. Watch carefully for these messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time. You might want to enlarge the size of your screen to eliminate scroll bars.
In the BIOS screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the VMware installation.
The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.
In the Boot Device menu, select either the external or virtual CD/DVD device as the first boot device, then press Enter.
The device strings listed in the Boot Device menu are in the following format: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.
After a few seconds, the splash screen for the VMware installation program appears.
Continue the VMware installation program and, when necessary, refer to the VMware ESX 4 installation documentation.
You can access the VMware ESX 4.0 installation documentation at: http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html
When the Network Configuration dialog appears, perform the following steps:
1. In the Network Adapter field, click the drop-down arrow and select the desired network adapter, then click Next.
  In this dialog, a live network adapter (that is, an adapter connected to the network) must be specified for the VMware service console (vmnic0). Each network adapter that is live has a green check mark next to it as shown in the above dialog. Also, notice that the MAC address that is associated with the network port (for example: NET0, NET1, NET2, or NET3) appears. You can use the MAC address to determine which physical network port is present.
  Alternatively using the ILOM command-line interface (CLI), you can determine the MAC addresses that are associated with the server’s physical network ports. For example, in the ILOM CLI you would type the following command to determine the MAC address that is associated with the physical network port known as NET0:
  -> show /SYS/MB/NET0
  In the sample output shown below, the MAC address for NET0 is 00:14:4F:CA:B8:36.
```
->show /SYS/MB/NET0
 /SYS/MB/NET0
 Targets:
 Properties:    type = Network Interface 
 ipmi_name = MB/NET0 
 fru_name = GIGABIT ETHERNET CONTROLLERS 
 fru_manufacturer = INTEL
 fru_part_number = 82575EB
 fru_serial_number = 00:14:4F:CA:B8:36
 fault_state = OK
 clear_fault_action = (none)
```
  Note - If you are unsure which network adapter to select, contact your network administrator.
  
  The ESX 4 Network Configuration dialog appears enabling you to specify the network adapter settings.
2. In the Network Configuration dialog, do one of the following:
  - To auto-configure the network adapter, select Set automatically using DHCP, then click Next.
    - or -
  - To manually configure the network adapter, select Use the following network settings, and specify the network settings in the appropriate fields, then click Next.
Complete the VMware ESX 4 Server installation and, when necessary, refer to the VMware ESX 4 Server installation documentation.
After completing the installation, proceed to VMware ESX and ESXi Post Installation Tasks.

VMware ESX and ESXi Post Installation Tasks

After completing the ESX or ESXi installation, review the following post installation tasks and, if necessary, perform the tasks that are applicable to your system.

Configure Network Adapters for VMware ESXi Installations
Local Storage Drive Not Seen After Performing VMware ESXi Installation
Update the ESX or ESXi Software
Manage VMware Resources

Configure Network Adapters for VMware ESXi Installations

The following procedure describes how to configure the VMware ESXi settings for the network adapter(s) installed on your server. These instructions also include steps for discovering the physical port location of each network adapter installed on your server.

Configure Network Adapter Settings

Log in to the VMware ESXi Server.
Access the System Customization dialog and select Configure Management Network.
The Configure Management Network dialog appears.
In the Configuration Management Network dialog, select Network Adapters.
The Network Adapters dialog appears.
In Network Adapters dialog, select a live network adapter (that is, an adapter connected to the network) for the VMware service console (vmnic0), then press Enter.
A live network adapter (that is, an adapter connected to the network) must be specified for the VMware service console (vmnic0). Notice that the MAC address that is associated with the server’s physical network port (for example: NET0, NET1, NET2, or NET3) is displayed in the Hardware Label column. Therefore, you can use the MAC address to determine which of the server’s physical network ports are being displayed. For example, to determine the MAC address for each server network port, enter the following command in the ILOM command-line interface (CLI) for each server network port:
-> show /SYS/MB/NETn
Where is n is 0, 1, 2, or 3
If the network adapter shown in the above dialog were associated for network port NET0, then the CLI command show /SYS/MB/NET0, would produce the following output, where the fru_serial_number field lists the MAC address.
```
-> show /SYS/MB/NET0
 /SYS/MB/NET0
 Targets:
 Properties:
 type = Network Interface ipmi_name = MB/NET0 
 fru_name = GIGABIT ETHERNET CONTROLLERS
 fru_manufacturer = INTEL
 fru_part_number = 82576EB
 fru_serial_number = 00:21:28:3D:B7:96
 fru_extra_2 = 00:21:28:3D:B7:96
 fault_state = OK
 clear_fault_action = (none)
```
Note - If you are unsure of which network adapter to select, contact your network administrator.

Local Storage Drive Not Seen After Performing VMware ESXi Installation

If your local storage drive on the server is attached to a Sun Storage 6 Gb SAS PCIe Host Bus Adapter (SG-SAS6-INT-Z or SG-SAS6-EXT-Z), the VMFS datastore on the local storage drive is not visible after performing the VMware ESXi installation. In this case, perform the following procedure to make the existing VMFS datastore on the local storage drive visible and ready for use.

Make Local VMFS Datastore Visible to VSphere Client

Connect to the VMware ESXi server by using the VSphere Client.
In the VSphere Client interface add the ESXi host to the datacenter of your choice.
Select the ESXi host that you added to the datacenter in Step 2, then click the Configuration tab.
In the Configuration tab, do the following:
1. In the Hardware box, select Storage, then click the Add Storage link.
2. Verify that the Disk/LUN Storage Type is selected, then click Next.
3. Select the vmhba entry that corresponds to the local disk, then click Next.
4. Select Use Free Space, then click Next.
5. Create a datastore name (for example, local_storage), then click Next.
6. Adjust the maximum file size if needed, then click Next.
7. Verify that the proposed disk layout is acceptable, then click Finish.
  The local VMFS datastore is visible and ready for use.

Update the ESX or ESXi Software

The VMware ESX or ESXi installation media might not contain the most up-to-date versions of the software.

If necessary, update the ESX or ESXi Server software with the latest updates and patches. For download instructions, see this web site:

http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/

It is recommended to install patch ESX400-201002001 for ESX or patch ESXi400-201002001 for ESXi.

Manage VMware Resources

To learn more about configuring and managing VMware resources, refer to the VMware documentation at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pages/vsp_pubs_esxi40_i_vc40.html

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Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers Installation Guide for Linux, Virtual Machine Software, and Oracle Solaris Operating Systems

Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers Installation Guide for Linux, Virtual Machine Software, and Oracle Solaris Operating Systems