Installing VMware Components

Module 14

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You Are Here

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Importance

A VMware ESXi host provides the physical resources used to

run virtual machines. A correctly installed ESXi host can reduce the
support costs and impact performance.

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Module Lessons

Lesson 1:

Installing ESXi

Lesson 2:

Installing vCenter Server

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Lesson 1:
Installing ESXi

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Learner Objectives

After this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

Describe how to install ESXi interactively.
Identify the basic requirements for a boot from SAN configuration.

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ESXi Hardware Prerequisites

Processor 64-bit x86 CPU:

All AMD Opteron processors

Up to 160 logical CPUs (cores or hyperthreads)

All Intel Xeon 3000/3200, 3100/3300, 5100/5300, 5200/5400, 5500/5600,

7100/7300, 7200/7400, and 7500 processors

Memory 2GB RAM minimum

One or more Ethernet controllers:

Gigabit or 10Gb Ethernet controllers are supported.

For best performance and security, use separate Ethernet controllers for the
management network and the virtual machine networks.

Disk storage:

A SCSI adapter, Fibre Channel adapter, converged network adapter, iSCSI

adapter, or internal RAID controller

A SCSI disk, Fibre Channel LUN, iSCSI disk, or RAID LUN with unpartitioned
space: SATA, SCSI, SAS

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Installing ESXi 5.0

Install
Option

Required/
Optional

Default
Selection

Host name

Required

None

Install
Location

Required

None

Keyboard
Language

Optional

U.S. English

VLAN ID

Optional

None

VLAN ID Range: 0 through 4094

IP Address

Optional

DHCP

Subnet
Mask

Optional

Calculated based on IP
address

Configure a static IP address or use DHCP to

configure the network.

Gateway

Optional

Based on IP address and

subnet mask

Primary
DNS

Optional

Based on IP address and

subnet mask

Secondary DNS server can also be defined.

Root
Password

Optional

None

Must contain between 6 and 64 characters.

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Comments

Must be at least 5GB if you install the

components on a single disk.

IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS

network settings can be changed after
installation.

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Installing ESXi
You must have the ESXi 5.0 ISO file on CD or DVD media.
Boot from the CD or DVD to start the ESXi installer.
Make sure that you select a disk that is not formatted with VMware
vSphere VMFS.
Choose a volume
that has not been
formatted with
VMFS.

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Boot from SAN

VMware ESXi

ESXi may be booted from SAN.

Supported for Fibre Channel SAN

Supported for iSCSI and FCoE for certain
qualified storage adapters

SAN connections must be made through a

switched topology unless the array is certified
for direct-connect.

The ESXi host must have exclusive access

to its own boot LUN.
Use different LUNs for VMFS datastores and
boot partitions.

boot LUN
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Review of Learner Objectives

You should be able to do the following:

Describe how to install ESXi interactively.
Identify the basic requirements for a boot from SAN configuration.

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Lesson 2:
Installing vCenter Server

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Learner Objectives

After this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

Identify system requirements to install VMware vCenter Server.
Install vCenter Server on a supported Windows operating system.

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vCenter Server Deployment options

physical host

Deployed on physical host or virtual machine and

installed with a supported version of Windows.

Reasons to use Windows-based vCenter Server

instead of the vCenter Server virtual appliance

-OR-

virtual machine

Linux based

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Support staff trained only on Windows operating

systems

Applications that depend on a specific Windows

version

Prefer to use a physical host

Deployed as a virtual appliance that runs the SuSE

Linux operating system

No operating system license required

Simple configuration using web browser
Offers same user experience as Windows based
version
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vCenter Server Hardware and Software Requirements

Hardware requirements (physical or virtual machine):

Number of CPUs Two 64-bit CPUs or one 64-bit dual-core
processor
Processor 2.0GHz or higher Intel or AMD processor*
Memory 4GB RAM minimum*
Disk storage 4GB minimum*
Networking Gigabit connection recommended
* Higher if database runs on the same machine
Software requirements:
64-bit operating system is required.
See vSphere Compatibility Matrixes.

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vCenter Database Requirements

Each vCenter Server instance must have a connection to a database
to organize all the configuration data.
Supported databases:
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP3 (required)

SP4 recommended

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Oracle 10g R2 and 11g

IBM DB2 9.5 and 9.7

Default database Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express:

Bundled with vCenter Server
Used for product evaluations and demos
Also used for small deployments (up to five hosts and 50 virtual
machines)
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Considerations for Calculating the Database Size

Use the vCenter Server
5.x Database Sizing
Calculator:
For Microsoft SQL
Server and Oracle
Or use the what-if
calculator built into
vCenter Server.

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Before Installing vCenter Server

Before beginning the vCenter Server installation, make sure that the
following prerequisites are met:
Ensure that vCenter Server hardware and software requirements are
met.
Ensure that the vCenter Server system belongs to a domain rather
than a workgroup.
Create a vCenter Server database, unless you are using the default
database.
Obtain and assign static IP address and host name to the vCenter
Server system.

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Installing vCenter Server and Its Components

Use the VMware vCenter Installer to install vCenter Server and its
components.
Install vCenter
Server.
Install VMware
vSphere Update
Manager

Install VMware
vSphere
Client.

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Standalone Instance or Linked Mode Group

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vCenter Server Installation Wizard

The vCenter Server Installation wizard asks for the following data.

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vCenter Server Services

Instead of using the vCenter Serer appliance, you can install vCenter
Server on a Windows system.
After vCenter Server is installed, a number of services start upon
reboot and can be managed from the Windows Control Panel
(Administrative Tools > Services).

*
* Do not start automatically

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Lab 21
In this lab, you will install vCenter Server components.
1. Access your vCenter Server system.
2. Configure a SQL Server ODBC connection to a remote database
(if necessary.)
3. Install vCenter Server.

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Review of Learner Objectives

You should be able to do the following:

Identify system requirements to install vCenter Server.
Install vCenter Server on a supported Windows operating system.

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Key Points

ESXi installation requires little configuration during installation.

vCenter Server installed on Windows operating systems can run on
physical machines or virtual machines.

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