Configuring a VMware Enterprise vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi)

What is vSphere Hypervisor?

The vSphere Hypervisor (formerly known as ESXi), is the free edition of vSphere offering the bare-metal architecture for best possible performance. It installs during boot-time of the Hypervisor host.

The following components traditionally run on the Hypervisor platform:

• Index - MySQL Server stores the recording and management data
• Dashboard - Single ISR Dashboard for both the Administrator and User
• FACE API

Virtual Machine Default Resource Configurations

Any Hypervisor that Supports Oracle Linux Releases 7.2 - 7.7 are permitted. For more information, see the "Hardware" section of this guide.

Note:

A table on the VMWare Knowledge Base recommends certain VM virtual hardware versions (“VM Version” above) with Hypervisor (ESXi) platform versions. Although no misbehavior associated with the ISR hosts has been confirmed as related to hardware version incompatibilities, the latest virtual hardware version, vmx-10, has been successfully tested with the recommended Hypervisor version, VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 2. The following instructions from VMWare’s Knowledge Base explain upgrading the virtual hardware version of a VM:

1. Power on the VM to be upgraded.
2. Install VMware Tools using vSphere client by right-clicking on the VM, selecting the Guest menu, and the Install/Upgrade VMWare Tools option.
3. In vSphere client, right-click the entry for the VM and select Upgrade Virtual Hardware.
4. In vSphere Client’s General Summary of the VM confirm the VM Version value is vmx-10.
5. Power on the VM.

Installing vSphere Hypervisor

Use the following procedure to install vSphere Hypervisor. Before beginning this installation, be sure you have performed the tasks in the section Before You Begin.

To install vSphere Hypervisor:

1. Open a web browser and enter the following URL to navigate to the VMware download page:

   https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi5&lp=default

2. Download the ESXi 5.5 update 1 file to your server.

   Note:

   You may need to login into the VMware download page with a user name and password before downloading the file. If not already registered, please register and then login to download the applicable file.
3. Burn the ESXi 5.5 update 1 <filename>.ISO image to a CD.
4. Boot the server from the ESXi 5.5 update 1 CD you just created.
5. At the prompt, press Enter to proceed with the installation.
6. Press <F11> to accept the ESXi 5.5 license.
7. At the Select a Disk menu, press Enter to confirm the remote storage device and continue.
8. Press <F11> to install the ESXi 5.5 update 1.
9. When the installation is complete, remove the CD and press Enter to reboot the server.
10. Configure the vSphere Hypervisor using the procedures in Configuring vSphere Hypervisor.

Configuring vSphere Hypervisor

After installing the vSphere Hypervisor, you must perform two basic configuration step before you can use it. Use the following procedure to configure vSphere Hypervisor.

1. After installing vSphere Hypervisor and rebooting the server, press <F2> Customize System.
2. At the login prompt, enter the following:

   User name: root
   Password: <leave blank>

3. Select Configure Password and follow the instructions to assign a password to assign for logging into vSphere Hypervisor.

   The password rules as stated on the VMWare knowledge base are as follows:

   A valid password requires a mix of upper and lower case letters, digits, and other characters. You can use a 7-character long password with characters from at least 3 of these 4 classes, or a 6-character long password containing characters from all the classes. An upper case letter that begins the password and a digit that ends it do not count towards the number of character classes used. It is recommended that the password does not contain the username.

   WARNING:

   This password is required to login to your Hypervisor instance (this console) as well as for accessing through the vSphere client.

   Keep this password secure.

4. Press Enter when complete to enter the System Customization Menu.
5. Select Configure Management Network and press Enter.
6. Select Network Adapters and confirm at least one network interface card (NIC) has status showing "Connected". Press Enter.

   Note:

   Make a note of this NIC; you will need this information later.
7. Select IP Configuration and press Enter.
8. Press <space bar> to select Set Static IP Address and Network Configuration.
9. Enter the IP address of your ESXi Host and press Enter.
   For example, IP Address: 172.40.34.56
10. Enter the subnet mask and press Enter.
    For example, Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
11. Enter the default gateway and press Enter.
    For example, Default Gateway: 172.40.34.1
12. Press <Esc> to exit the IP Configuration Menu.
13. Select DNS Configuration.
14. In the DNS Server field, specify the domain name system (DNS) server addresses if required.

    Note:

    Internet access is required to download the vSphere Client in the next section.
15. In the Hostname field, specify the Hostname for the server to use.
16. Press <Esc> to exit the DNS Configuration Menu.
17. Press <Esc> to exit the Management Network Menu.
18. At the Save Changes prompt, press Y to apply the changes and restart the management network.
19. Select Test Management Network.
20. Attempt to ping your server in the network.

    Note:

    The ping you send out may include any DNS server configured in your network.

    If the first attempt fails, try pinging again. The test should show a response from your server indicating that your server was setup correctly for network management in your network.

    Note:

    If your hostname cannot be resolved by your DNS servers, or you didn’t configure any DNS servers, the resolving hostname test will fail. This does not adversely affect the CIS performance.
21. Press <Esc> to exit the Test Management Network Menu.
22. Press <Esc> to log out.

    Once the ESXi host is on the network, perform all configuration management through the vSphare client.