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.