Installing VMware ESXi and vCenter 5.5 [Part 1]

Installing VMware vSphere 5.5 Series:

In this series I will be installing ESXi and vCenter using Microsoft Server 2012 R2 virtual machines.

Part 1: Introduction and ESXi Installation
Part 2: Microsoft SQL 2012 Installation
Part 3Creating the vCenter Database & ODBC Setup
Part 4: vCenter 5.5 Installation
Part 5: Initial Setup (Accessing vCenter, Configure Basic Permissions, Add Host)ESXi Hypervisor
Downloading ESXi: If you will be running ESXi from a physical server you will want to use the ESXi image provider by the hardware manufacture such as Dell, HP, Cisco. Their ESXi image has the drivers and software specific for the hardware. If you will be running ESXi in a nested environment, then the ESXi image from VMware is what you want. Here are the download links for each manufacturer:
HP: http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware/esxi-image.html
Dell: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverid=5YC4T
Cisco: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/release/notes/OL_26617.html
VMware: http://www.vmware.com/go/download-vspherehypervisor

ESXi Installation: First boot your server from the ESXi ISO. Depending on your hardware you should mount the ISO using iLo/iDRAC/etc. Another nice way is to boot it from a USB thumb drive. You can make your USB bootable by using this tool: http://rufus.akeo.ie/ . Of course you can do it the old fashion way and burn the ISO to a disc. The first screen that pops up should look like this. It has a timer that will count down and automatically take you into the installer unless you hit a button on your keyboard.

Installing VMware ESXi and vCenter 5.5

ESXi Installer Load Screen:

2 ESXi Installer Load Screen

Welcome to the ESXi 5.5 Installation. Hit Enter:

3 ESXi Welcome

Accept the license agreement and hit F11:

4 ESXi License Agreement

Here you select where you want to install ESXi. You will have already configured your hard drives with a RAID if applicable (if not go do that and start over). The installation of ESXi is very small, you could use a thumb drive and install to it. Once you select your install location hit Enter:

5 ESXi Disk Selection

Pick your keyboard layout and hit Enter:

6 Keyboard Layout

Enter a password for the root account. Hit Enter:

7 Set Root Password

ESXi is ready to begin the installation. Hit F11:

8 Confirm Install

ESXi Install Progress Screen:

9 Install Progress Screen

Installation is complete. Hit Enter to reboot:

10 ESXi Installation Complete

11 Rebooting Server

Here is what the ESXi screen looks like after booting. Lets do some basic configuration such as setting a static IP, naming this host and ensuring the correct uplinks are selected. Hit F2 to bring up the login menu:

12 First Boot

Enter the password that was set during the install, hit Enter:

13 ESXi Login

Scroll down to Configure Management Network, hit Enter:

14 Configure Management Network

Go to Network Adapters and hit Enter:

Network Adapters Selection

This is where you can select what uplinks the management network has. This screen might be different depending on your environment. Hit space bar on the vmnics that you want to use, when finished hit Enter:

15 Network Adapter

Now scroll down to IP Configuration, hit Enter:

17 IP Configuration

In my lab I want to set a static IP address, once finished hit Enter:

18 Default Gateway

If you are not using IPv6, go to IPv6 Configuration and disable it:

19 IPv6

Now go to DNS Configuration and hit Enter:

20 DNS Configuration

Set your DNS information and host name, hit Enter:

21 DNS Configuration Entry

Now hit ESC to exit, you will be prompted to reboot thehost for the changed to take affect. Hit Y to reboot:

22 Reboot Host

Now your ESXi host is ready for use:

23 Ready for Use

Continue to Part 2: https://boring.wpengine.com/installing-vmware-esxi-and-vcenter-5-5-part-2/

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