How to Install and Configure VMware ESXi 5.5

VMware ESXi 5.5 is the bare metal hypervisor from VMware. This is the software we install onto physical servers in Datacenter.

1. Bare-Metal Hypervisors - Run directly on the host server hardware to control resources and manage guest operating systems. Ex. VMware ESXi, Citrix Xen Server, Microsoft Hyper-V
2. Hosted Hypervisors - Run on-top of an existing operating system. This type of hypervisor runs as a separate layer on-top of the existing operating system as an application. Usually this type of hypervisor is for testing/lab purpose we use. Ex. VMware workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, etc..

Following are the system resources required to install ESXi 5.5:

• ESXi 5.5 will install and run only on servers with 64-bit x86 CPUs.
• ESXi 5.5 requires a host machine with at least two cores.
• ESXi 5.5 supports only LAHF(Load AH From Flags) and SAHF(Store AH Into Flags)  CPU instructions.
• ESXi 5.5 requires the NX/XD bit to be enabled for the CPU in the BIOS.
• ESXi requires a minimum of 4GB of Physical RAM. Provide at least 8GB of RAM to take full advantage of ESXi features and run virtual machines in typical production environments.
• To support 64-bit virtual machines, support for hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD RVI) must be enabled on x64 CPUs.
• One or more Gigabit or 10GB Ethernet Controllers.

LAHF & SAHF: LAHF stands for Load AH from Flags and SAHF stands for Store AH into Flags. LAHF & SAHF are used to load and store instructions for certain status flags. Instructions are basic commands composed of one or more symbols that that are passed to a CPU as input. These instructions related to LAHF & SAHF are used for virtualization and floating-point condition handling.

NX(Never eXecute)/XD(eXecute Disable):  The NX/XD bit is a CPU feature called Never eXecute, hence the NX name. What the NX bit does is enable the ability to mark certain areas of memory as non-executable with a flag. When this happens the processor will then refuse to execute any code that resides in those areas of memory. Any attempt to execute code from a page that is marked as no execute will result in a memory access violation. This feature adds a layer of security to a computer by providing a protected area against malicious code such as viruses and buffer overflow attacks.

So you may be wondering about the XD part, well that is simply Intel’s name for the same feature which they refer to as eXecute Disable.

Install ESXi 5.5:

Download the ESXi 5.5 ISO image from the Vmware Download Center and burn it in DVD or CD if we are going to install in Physical Servers.

1. Insert the Vmware ESXi 5.5 CD/DVD and Power on the server. The first option we see is to either boot from the local drive or run the installer. Run the Vmware 5.5 Installer.

Once done the installer loads the required files into memory  to install Vmware ESXi 5.5.

Once all the modules are loaded successfully, you will get following screen with server configuration.

It shows welcome screen. To continue the installation, just press the enter key.

By default, you have to accept the license to continue the installation by pressing F11.

Select the disk in which you would like to install VMware ESXi 5.5. It requires minimum 4 to 5 GB space. Enter to continue.

Select the keyboard layout. Here I am selecting "US Default".

Its time to secure ESXi by providing the complex root password. Enter to continue.

Here the installer gathers the system information before start copying the files to the disk.

Here will be the final confirmation you need to give before destroying any data on the disk. Press F11 to continue the installation.

Installation begins.

Reboot the system to complete the installation. Make sure that you have removed the installation media from the server.

Some of the console message while rebooting the system.

Now Vmware ESXi 5.5 will boot from hard disk and you will get the below screen, once its completely up.

Many of them wonder that, how to login to the system. You can get login screen by just pressing F2.

Configure - Hostname, IP address, Gateway, DNS, Password on ESXI 5.5:

• Once reboot is completed, your installation is now complete. The next step is to configure ESXi  5.5 Host.
• Press F2 to enter the configuration mode
• You will promoted for the password which you provided during the installation ( note - the default user name is root
• The next step is to configure the management network interface. Select "Configure Management Network" > Press Enter.

Select IP configuration and Press Enter.

Select "Set Static IP Address and Network Configuration" -> Type the static IP address/Subnet mask and default gateway for ESXi host.

Select "DNS Configuration" and Press Enter.

Type the Primary DNS Server / Alternate DNS Server and Hostname for ESXi.

You will currently be in the "Configuration Management Network" Menu. You have completed all configuration required for ESXi5.5. To exit this menu and save configuration -> Press ESC -> Type [Y] to "Apply changes and restart management network". This will allow you to successfully exit the ESXi 5.5 configuration menu, back to home screen.