Software Installation Options

This document covers local and remote interactive ESXi 5.0 installation. There are other options for installing the software that are described in the VMware ESXi 5.0 documentation.

The following installation options are available for VMware ESXi 5.0:

• Interactive ESXi Installation: This method is recommended for installation on fewer than five servers.

  See Single-Server Interactive Installation Methods for information on the interactive installation methods covered in this document.

• Scripted ESXi Installation: Running a script is an efficient way to deploy multiple ESXi hosts with an unattended installation.

  Refer to vSphere Installation and Setup for xSphere 5.0, ESXi 5.0, and vCenter Server 5.0 for instructions on scripted installation.

• vSphere Auto Deploy ESXi Installation: With the vSphere Auto Deploy ESXi Installation, you can provision and reprovision large numbers of ESXi hosts efficiently with vCenter Server.

  Refer to vSphere Installation and Setup for xSphere 5.0, ESXi 5.0, and vCenter Server 5.0 for instructions on Auto Deploy installation.

• ESXi Image Builder CLI: You can use ESXi Image Builder to create ESXi installation images with a customized set of updates, patches, and drivers.

  Refer to vSphere Installation and Setup for xSphere 5.0, ESXi 5.0, and vCenter Server 5.0 for instructions on ESX Image Builder CLI.

Related Information

• VMware ESXi 5 and Server Module Documentation

• Installing VMware ESXi 5