VMware vSphere ESXi Installation

Installing VMware vSphere ESXi on an Internal Drive

Before You Begin

• Make sure you have completed the prerequisites described in Installation Prerequisites Checklist and

Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

• If you are installing vSphere 4.x, determine whether you need custom drivers in addition to the standard

system drivers that are included with the operating system.

To do so, open the Cisco UCS B-Series Drivers DVD or ISO file and navigate to

VMware/category/vendor/device_model/vSphere_version and read the README.html

file in that folder.

Procedure

Step 1 If you are installing the OS or drivers from virtual media, launch the KVM Console and mount the media as described in Mounting the Installation ISO Image.

Step 2 Power cycle the server using one of the following methods:

• In the KVM Console, go to the KVM tab and select Macros > Ctrl-Alt-Del.

• In Cisco UCS Manager GUI, click Reset in the Actions area of the General tab.

• On the physical server, press the Power button.

If the server does not boot from the installation media, verify that the correct boot order is set in the

associated service profile as described in Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

Tip

Step 3 To override the normal boot order and boot from the installation media, in the KVM tab of the KVM Console, watch the boot messages and press F6 when prompted to enter the Boot Menu.

Step 4 On the Boot Menu screen, do one of the following:

• If you are using an ISO image, select Cisco Virtual CD/DVD and press Enter.

• If you are using a physical install disk, select the disk drive in which that disk resides and press Enter.

The server reboots from the selected device and begins installing the OS from the image or disk.

Step 5 Wait until the ESXi Welcome screen displays, then press Enter to start the installation process.

If the installation disk or an installed network adapter cannot be detected, make sure that you are using

the ESXi installation image that VMware has customized for Cisco as described in Installation

Prerequisites Checklist.

Step 6 (Optional) If you are experiencing slow response times when using the KVM window, you can change the

mouse acceleration:

a) In the KVM tab in the KVM Console, select Tools > Session Options.

b) Select the Mouse tab.

c) In the Mouse Acceleration field, select Linux.

d) Click OK to apply your changes.

Step 7 When the installer prompts you to select the location where you want to install the OS, select the

installation-target drive and click Next.

All non-RAID drives are listed by name. Volumes created by a RAID controller are listed as logical drives.

Do not install the OS or drivers on any drive listed as “Viking eUSB”. While the OS considers

the eUSB drives to be the same as a local drive, Cisco UCS Manager does not let you specify

which local drive the server should use as the boot drive. Instead, it always boots the server from

the physical local drive and ignores any internal USB (eUSB) drives.

Important

Step 8 When the installer displays the Confirm Install screen, press F11 to confirm your selections and start the

installation process.

Step 9 When the installer displays the Installation Complete screen:

• If you installed from an ISO installation image, go back to the VM tab or the Virtual Media Session

dialog box in the KVM Console and unmap the installation ISO by clearing the check box in the Mapped

column.

• If you installed from physical disk, eject the disk and remove it from the server.

Step 10 Press Enter to boot the installation-target drive with ESXi.

For information about customizing ESXi, see your VMware ESXi documentation.

Installing VMware vSphere ESXi on an Bootable SAN LUN

Before You Begin

• Make sure you have completed the prerequisites described in Installation Prerequisites Checklist and

Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

• Configure a LUN or RAID volume on your SAN, then connect to the SAN and verify that one (and only

one) path exists from the SAN HBA to the LUN.

• If you are installing vSphere 4.x, determine whether you need custom drivers in addition to the standard

system drivers that are included with the operating system.

To do so, open the Cisco UCS B-Series Drivers DVD or ISO file and navigate to

VMware/category/vendor/device_model/vSphere_version and read the README.html

file in that folder.

Procedure

Step 1 If you are installing the OS or drivers from virtual media, launch the KVM Console and mount the media as

described in Mounting the Installation ISO Image.

Step 2 Power cycle the server using one of the following methods:

• In the KVM Console, go to the KVM tab and select Macros > Ctrl-Alt-Del.

• In Cisco UCS Manager GUI, click Reset in the Actions area of the General tab.

• On the physical server, press the Power button.

If the server does not boot from the installation media, verify that the correct boot order is set in the

associated service profile as described in Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

Tip

Step 3 To override the normal boot order and boot from the installation media, in the KVM tab of the KVM Console,

watch the boot messages and press F6 when prompted to enter the Boot Menu.

Step 4 On the Boot Menu screen, do one of the following:

• If you are using an ISO image, select Cisco Virtual CD/DVD and press Enter.

• If you are using a physical install disk, select the disk drive in which that disk resides and press Enter.

The server reboots from the selected device and begins installing the OS from the image or disk.

Step 5 Wait until the ESXi Welcome screen displays, then press Enter to start the installation process.

If the installation disk or an installed network adapter cannot be detected, make sure that you are using

the ESXi installation image that VMware has customized for Cisco as described in Installation

Prerequisites Checklist.

Tip

Step 6 (Optional) If you are experiencing slow response times when using the KVM window, you can change the

mouse acceleration:

a) In the KVM tab in the KVM Console, select Tools > Session Options.

b) Select the Mouse tab.

c) In the Mouse Acceleration field, select Linux.

d) Click OK to apply your changes.

Step 7 When the installer prompts you to select the location where you want to install the OS, select the

installation-target LUN and click Next.

Step 8 When the installer displays the Confirm Install screen, press F11 to confirm your selections and start the

installation process.

Step 9 When the installer displays the Installation Complete screen:

• If you installed from an ISO installation image, go back to the VM tab or the Virtual Media Session

dialog box in the KVM Console and unmap the installation ISO by clearing the check box in the Mapped

column.

• If you installed from physical disk, eject the disk and remove it from the server.

Step 10 Press Enter to boot the installation-target drive with ESXi.

For information about customizing ESXi, see your VMware ESXi documentation.

Installing VMware vSphere ESXi on an iSCSI Boot Drive

Before You Begin

• Make sure you have completed the prerequisites described in Installation Prerequisites Checklist and

Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

• If you are installing vSphere 4.x, determine whether you need custom drivers in addition to the standard

system drivers that are included with the operating system.

To do so, open the Cisco UCS B-Series Drivers DVD or ISO file and navigate to

VMware/category/vendor/device_model/vSphere_version and read the README.html

file in that folder.

Procedure

Step 1 If you are installing the OS or drivers from virtual media, launch the KVM Console and mount the media as

described in Mounting the Installation ISO Image.

Step 2 Power cycle the server using one of the following methods:

• In the KVM Console, go to the KVM tab and select Macros > Ctrl-Alt-Del.

• In Cisco UCS Manager GUI, click Reset in the Actions area of the General tab.

• On the physical server, press the Power button.

If the server does not boot from the installation media, verify that the correct boot order is set in the

associated service profile as described in Service Profile Configuration Prerequisites.

Step 3 To override the normal boot order and boot from the installation media, in the KVM tab of the KVM Console,

watch the boot messages and press F6 when prompted to enter the Boot Menu.

Step 4 On the Boot Menu screen, do one of the following:

• If you are using an ISO image, select Cisco Virtual CD/DVD and press Enter.

• If you are using a physical install disk, select the disk drive in which that disk resides and press Enter.

The server reboots from the selected device and begins installing the OS from the image or disk.

Step 5 Wait until the ESXi Welcome screen displays, then press Enter to start the installation process.

If the installation disk or an installed network adapter cannot be detected, make sure that you are using

the ESXi installation image that VMware has customized for Cisco as described in Installation

Prerequisites Checklist.

Tip

Step 6 (Optional) If you are experiencing slow response times when using the KVM window, you can change the

mouse acceleration:

a) In the KVM tab in the KVM Console, select Tools > Session Options.

b) Select the Mouse tab.

c) In the Mouse Acceleration field, select Linux.

d) Click OK to apply your changes.

Step 7 When the installer prompts you to select the location where you want to install the OS, select the

installation-target LUN and click Next.

Step 8 When the installer prompts you to select the location where you want to install the OS, select the

installation-target iSCSI boot drive and click Next.

Step 9 When the installer displays the Confirm Install screen, press F11 to confirm your selections and start the

installation process.

Step 10 When the installer displays the Installation Complete screen:

• If you installed from an ISO installation image, go back to the VM tab or the Virtual Media Session

dialog box in the KVM Console and unmap the installation ISO by clearing the check box in the Mapped

column.

• If you installed from physical disk, eject the disk and remove it from the server.

Step 11 Press Enter to boot the installation-target drive with ESXi.

For information about customizing ESXi, see your VMware ESXi documentation.

Step by Step Guide to Install Windows Hyper-V Guest Operating System

Step by Step Guide to Install Windows Hyper-V Guest Operating System

Requirements

Install Windows Server 2008/2003 or Linux as guest operating system into the Windows Hyper-V server.

Step by Step Guide

1) Create Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine

Make sure to create Windows Hyper-V virtual machine first. Please refer to Step by Step Guide to Create Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine.

2) Open Windows Hyper-V Manager

Windows Server 2008 Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Hyper-V Manager.

3) Start Virtual Machine

If the virtual machine is not running, You should start it first by right click virtual machine and select start.

4) Connect to Virtual Machine and Start to install guest operating system

Right click Virtual Machine name and select Connect. The Virtual Machine Connection tool window pops up.

5) Choose install media

Select Media > DVD Driver > Insert Disk... menu item if you want to install guest operating system from .iso file.

6) Select Windows Server 2003 install ISO file

Browse the hard driver and find the .iso file.

 

7) Install Windows Server 2003

Just click "Enter" key after step 6. Follow the screen to install window Server 2003.

8) Install Windows Server 2003 CD 2

Change the install media from CD1 to CD2 by choosing Media > DVD Driver > Insert Disk... menu item. Browse the hard driver and find the correct ISO file.

Click the "Ok" button to install the second CD.

9) Install Integration Services and Virtual Machine Drivers

This action will install hardware driver for the virtual machine.

10) Configure Network for Guest OS

Specify a dedicated IP for the virtual machine. So you can access the server from outside with the IP.

11) Enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

So you can login to the Hyper-V server with RDP.

12) Finish

Now your Hyper-V server should be ready for you to use.

Difference between vSphere, ESXi and vCenter

Difference between vSphere, ESXi and vCenter

VMware Inc. is a software company that develops many suite of software products  specially for providing various virtualization solutions. There are many cloud products , datacenter products ,  desktop products  and so on.

vSphere is a software suite that comes under data center product. vSphere is like Microsoft Office suite which has many software like MS Office, MS Excel, MS Access and so on. Like Microsoft Office, vSphere is also a software suite that has many software components like vCenter, ESXi, vSphere client and so on. So, the combination of all these software components is vSphere. vSphere is not a particular software that you can install and use, “it is just a package name which has other sub components”.

ESXi, vSphere client and vCenter are components of vSphere. ESXi server is the most important part of vSphere. ESXi is the virtualization server. It is type 1 hypervisor. All the virtual machines or Guest OS are installed on ESXi server. To install, manage and access those virtual servers which sit above of ESXi server, you will need other part of vSphere suit called vSphere client or vCenter. Now, vSphere client allows administrators to connect to ESXi servers and access or manage virtual machines. vSphere client is installed on the client machine (e.g. Administrator’s laptop). The vSphere client is used from client machine to connect to ESXi server and do management tasks. So now what is vCenter? Why we need it? Try cloning existing virtual machine using just a vSphere client without vCenter server.

vCenter server is similar to vSphere client but it’s a server with more power. vCenter server is installed on Windows Server or Linux Server. VMware vCenter server is a centralized management application that lets you manage virtual machines and ESXi hosts centrally. vSphere client is used to access vCenter Server and ultimately manage ESXi servers. vCenter server is compulsory for enterprises to have enterprise features like vMotion, VMware High Availability, VMware Update Manager and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS). For example, you can easily clone existing virtual machine in vCenter server. So vCenter is another important part of vSphere package. You have to buy vCenter license separately.

vSphere is a product suite, ESXi is a hypervisor installed on a physical machine. vSphere Client is installed on laptop or desktop PC and is used to access ESXi Server to install and manage virtual machines on ESXi server. vCenter server is installed as virtual machine on top of ESXi server. vCenter server is a vSphere component which is mostly used in large environment where there are many ESXi server and dozens of virtual machines. The vCenter server is also accessed by vSphere client for management purpose. So, vSphere client is used to access ESXi server directly in small environment. In larger environment, vSphere client is used again to access vCenter server which ultimately manages ESXi server.