were configured. This post details the installation and initial setup of
the physical ESXi host (pesx0). I was hesitant to include the following
as a separate post since it is mostly just the installation process of
ESXi and details of the various install screens. Since it does contain
a few bits of information necessary to make the whole setup actually
function as intended, I'm including it. It can also serve as a reference
for the virtual ESXi host installs later. Our details for this are:
HOST: pesx0 HARDWARE: HP Pavillion p7-1254 CPU: 1 x AMD A6-3620 Quad-Core MEMORY: 8 GB PROMPTS: (glados [0] |pesx0> )To start, you'll need to download the ESXi iso image from VMware.com and
write the image to bootable media. As of this writing, the image I used
is 'VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.0.0-469512.x86_64.iso'. After getting
the install image, you'll want to update your BIOS settings to enable the
64 bit virtualization settings (Intel chips are VT-x (vmx) while AMD is
AMD-V (svm)). On my host, this is found in the 'HP Setup Utility (Aptio
Setup Utility)', specifically under 'Security' -> 'System Security'. The
option is 'Virtualization Technology':
Virtualization Technology > EnableAfter saving the BIOS configuration, boot the system from your install
media which should bring you to a screen similar to the following:
ESXi-5.0.0-469512-standard Boot Menu ESXi-5.0.0-469512-standard Installer <====== Boot from local disk Press [Tab] to edit options Automatic boot in 8 seconds...Selecting the first entry (ESXi Installer, noted by "<======"), will begin
the boot process. The next several screens are mostly informational,
simply accept the defaults if prompted:
Loading ESXi installer =============================================================================== <ENTER: Boot> <SHIFT+O: Edit boot options> Automatic boot in 5 seconds...Next screen:
Loading ESXi installer =============================================================================== Loading /tboot.b00 Loading /b.b00 Loading /useropts.gz Loading /k.b00 Loading /a.b00 <snip...>Initial service initialization and kernel module loads:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 (VMKernel Release Build 469512) VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform AMD A6-3620 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics 7.5 GiB Memory vmkibft loaded successfully. Running cdp start ==================================== || || || || || || || || || || || ||Next screen:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Welcome to the VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installation VMware ESXi 5.0.0 installs on most systems but only systems on VMware's Compatibility Guide are supported. Consult the VMware Compatibility Guide at: http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility Select the operation to perform. (Esc) Cancel (Enter) ContinueAccept the license agreement when prompted, the installer will start
scanning your hardware:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Scanning... Scanning for available devices. This may take a few seconds.Configure your storage on the ESXi host:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Select a Disk to Install or Upgrade * Contains a VMFS partition Storage Device Capacity ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Local: Local ATA Disk (t10... (mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0) 931.51 GiB Remote: (none) (Esc) Cancel (F1) Details (F5) Refresh (Enter) ContinueAfter selecting the install disk in previous screen, select keyboard
layout, etc. You'll then be prompted for a password for the "root" user.
Of note, the password must be at least 7 characters long:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Please enter a root password (recommended) Root password: ******_ Confirm password: Passwords must be at least 7 characters long. (Esc) Cancel (F9) Back (Enter) ContinueFollowing the password, secondary scanning is performed, informational
messages are given, etc. ESXi is now ready to install:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Confirm Install The installer is configured to install ESXi 5.0.0 on: mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0. Warning: This disk will be repartitioned. (Esc) Cancel (F9) Back (F11) InstallAfter hitting 'F11', you'll see an installation progress screen:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Installing ESXi 5.0.0 34 %The last screen should be fairly quick, maybe a couple of minutes(?),
bringing us to the completed installation and prompting to reboot:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Installer Installation Complete ESXi 5.0.0 has been successfully installed. ESXi 5.0.0 will operate in evaluation mode for 60 days. To use ESXi 5.0.0 after the evaluation period, you must register for a VMware product license. To administer your server, use the vSphere Client or the Direct Control User Interface. Remove the installation disc before rebooting. Reboot the server to start using ESXi 5.0.0. (Enter) RebootAfter the system reboots and the ESXi host is online, you'll see a screen
similar to the following:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 (VMKernel Release Build 469512) VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform AMD A6-3620 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics 7.5 GiB Memory Download tools to manage this host from: http://0.0.0.0/ <F2> Customize System/View Logs <F12> Shut Down/RestartWe'll need to make some changes so press 'F2' and supply "root" password.
This brings up the 'Customization screen'. Navigate to 'Configure
Management Network' (noted by <=====) and hit 'Enter':
System Customization Configure Management Network Configure Password Hostname: Configure Lockdown Mode localhost Configure Management Network <===== IP Address: Restart Management Network 0.0.0.0 Test Management Network Restore Network Settings To view or modify this hosts's management network settings in Restore Standard Switch detail, press <Enter>. Configure Keyboard Troubleshooting Options View System Logs View Support Information Reset System Configuration <Enter> More <Esc> Log OutSince I have 2 network adapters with only one physically connected
anywhere, I'll need to update which one to use for the 'management
network':
Configure Management Network Network Adapters Network Adapters <============= vmnic0 (38:60:77:bf:67:49) VLAN (optional) vmnic1 (68:05:ca:01:f1:18) IP Configuration The adapters listed here provide the default network IPv6 Configuration connection to and from this host. When two or more adapters DNS Configuration are used, connections will be fault-tolerant and outgoing Custom DNS Suffixes traffic will be load-balanced. <Enter> Change <Esc> Exit'Network Adapters' screen, select the appropriate adapter:
Network Adapters Select the adapters for this host's default management network connection. Use two or more adapters for fault-tolerance and load-balancing. Device Name Hardware Label (MAC Address) Status [ ] vmnic0 (38:60:77:bf:67:49) Not Connected [X] vmnic1 (68:05:ca:01:f1:18) Connected <D> View Details <Space> Toggle Selected <Enter> OK <Esc> CancelHit 'Enter' to save the adapter configuration, then move down to
IP configuration. In the next screen, I've set to use static IPv4
configuration and set the IP address and default gateway:
IP Configuration This host can obtain network settings automatically if your network includes a DHCP server. If it does not, the following settings must be specified: ( ) Use dynamic IP address and network configuration (o) Set static IP address and network configuration: IP Address [ 10.0.129.200 ] Subnet Mask [ 255.255.255.0 ] Default Gateway [ 10.0.129.220 ] <Up/Down> Select <Space> Mark Selected <Enter> OK <Esc> CancelOf note, I'm setting the gateway even though the router VM is not yet
set up. Additionally, since my management host, nameserver, etc.,
is on the same network segment, I don't really need to set up a default
gateway, however, I'm doing so as a formality. Hit 'Enter' to retain the
configuration. As an aside, IPv6 configuration is disabled by default.
Next, set up the DNS configuration to point to our lab nameserver
(lns1.lab.none (10.0.129.160)) and set the hostname of our ESXi host:
DNS Configuration This host can only obtain DNS settings automatically if it also obtains its IP configuration automatically. ( ) Obtain DNS server addresses and a hostname automatically (o) Use the following DNS server addresses and hostname: Primary DNS Server [ 10.0.129.160 ] Alternate DNS Server [ ] Hostname [ pesx0.lab.none ] <Up/Down> Select <Space> Mark Selected <Enter> OK <Esc> CancelHit 'Enter' and move onto the custom DNS suffixes:
Custom DNS Suffixes DNS queries will attempt to locate hosts by appending the suffixes specified here to short, unqualified named. Use spaces or commas to separate multiple entries. Suffixes: [ lab.none stor.lab.none vmo.lab.none vms.lab. ] <Enter> OK <Esc> Cancelvms.lab.none is not fully shown above as it scrolled off right side of
field. Hit 'Enter' then 'Esc' once at the "Configure Network Management"
screen to confirm the changes:
Configure Management Network: Confirm You have made changes to the host's management netowrk. Applying these changes may result in a brief network outage, disconnect remote management software and affect running virtual machines. In case IPv6 has been enabled or disabled this will restart your host. Apply changes and restart management network? <Y> Yes <N> No <Esc> CancelAfter networking has been restarted, I've personally opted to enable both
the ESXi shell and SSH, which are found under "Troubleshooting options"
(we'll also need to SSH to pesx0 in just a bit):
Troubleshooting Mode Options ESXi Shell Enable ESXi Shell ESXi Shell is Enabled Enable SSH Modify ESXi Shell timeout Change current state of the ESXi Shell Restart Management AgentsSimply select both ESXi shell and SSH and hit 'Enter' to enable both,
then hit 'Esc'. Both of these are disabled by default. Also, there's no
need to restart management agents since enabling them also starts them.
After hitting 'Esc', we should be presented with a screen similar to
the following:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 (VMKernel Release Build 469512) VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform AMD A6-3620 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics 7.5 GiB Memory Download tools to manage this host from: http://pesx0/ http://10.0.129.200 (STATIC) <F2> Customize System/View Logs <F12> Shut Down/RestartWe're now at the end of ESXi install and initial configuration; we can
now connect to the ESXi host via vSphere Client. For our physical ESXi
installation (pesx0), we need to set the ESXi host to allow nested 64
bit VMs. (This is to allow our nested, virtual ESXi hosts to run 64
bit VMs.) To do so, log into "pesx0.lab.none" (10.0.129.200) via 'ssh'.
(Since this would be the first time doing so, answer yes when prompted
about the "ssh key fingerprint":
glados [0] ssh -l root 10.0.129.200 Password: The time and date of this login have been sent to the system logs. VMware offers supported, powerful system administration tools. Please see www.vmware.com/go/sysadmintools for details. The ESXi Shell can be disabled by an administrative user. See the vSphere Security documentation for more information. ~ #Yes, I've changed the prompt in the following to allow easier
identification. We'll need to update "/etc/vmware/config", adding
"vhv.allow = "TRUE"", which will not exist in config by default:
pesx0> echo 'vhv.allow = "TRUE"' >> /etc/vmware/config pesx0> /bin/cat /etc/vmware/config libdir = "/usr/lib/vmware" authd.proxy.vim = "vmware-hostd:hostd-vmdb" authd.proxy.nfc = "vmware-hostd:ha-nfc" authd.proxy.nfcssl = "vmware-hostd:ha-nfcssl" authd.proxy.vpxa-nfcssl = "vmware-vpxa:vpxa-nfcssl" authd.proxy.vpxa-nfc = "vmware-vpxa:vpxa-nfc" authd.fullpath = "/sbin/authd" authd.soapServer = "TRUE" vmauthd.server.alwaysProxy = "TRUE" vhv.allow = "TRUE" pesx0> exit Connection to 10.0.129.200 closed. glados [0]Once "vhv.allow" has been appended, the above change is immediate and no
restart is necessary. This concludes the base ESXi host configuration.
Part 4 will detail the initial configuration on pesx0 in order to support
the rest of the lab infrastructure.
see also:
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 1: The Overview
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 2: The Management Hosts
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 4: Network Configuration on the Physical ESXi Host
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 5: Infrastructure VM Creation
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 6: Infrastructure VM Configurations and Boot Images
vSphere 5 Lab Setup pt 7: First VM Boot
VirtuallyGhetto's writeup on nesting 64 bit VMs
