Installing VMware ESXi on a Single System Using Media

This section provides information about installing VMware ESXi 4.1 Update 1, 4.1 Update 2, 5.0, 5.0 Update 1, and 5.1 for x86 (64-bit) software.

• Install VMware ESXi Using Local or Remote Media

Install VMware ESXi Using Local or Remote Media

The following procedure describes how to install the VMware ESXi software from local or remote media. It assumes that you are booting the VMware installation media from one of the following sources:

• VMware ESXi CD or DVD (internal or external CD or DVD)

• VMware ESXi ISO image (network repository)

1. Ensure that the install media is available to boot.
   • For Distribution CD/DVD. Insert the VMware ESXi Distribution media boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or the single DVD) into the local or external 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 Oracle ILOM Remote Console application (Devices menu > CD-ROM Image).

   For additional information about how to set up the installation media, see Selecting the Boot Media Option.

2. Reset or power on the server.

   For example, to reset the server:

   • From the local server, press the Power button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, and then press the Power button again to power on the server.
   • From the Oracle ILOM web interface, select Host Management > Power Control, and then select Reset from the Select Action drop-down list.
   • From the Oracle ILOM CLI, type: reset /System

     The BIOS screen appears.

   
   

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   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.

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3. In the BIOS screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the VMware ESXi installation.

   The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.

4. In the Boot Device menu, select either the external or virtual CD/DVD device as the first boot device, and 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.

5. To complete the installation, refer to the VMware ESXi installation documentation.

   VMware ESXi 5 documentation is available at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html. VMware ESXi 4 documentation is available at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html.

6. When the following screen appears, select the storage drive on which to install the VMware ESXi software.
   
7. After completing the VMware ESXi installation, proceed to Chapter 4, Post Installation Tasks for VMware ESXi.