In this video, we'll cover the process of installing and configuring VMware ESXi from CD or DVD to an SD card placed in the internal dual SD module on a PowerEdge server.
Before you begin, you must ensure that the minimum RAM size is 8 GB and the ESXi installer consists of the drivers for the storage controller and network data card or LAN on the motherboard.
To install VMware ESXi, turn on the system and insert the ESXi installer media into the optical drive and press F2 to open the System Setup page. Select System BIOS and then select Integrated Devices.
Set the internal SD card port option to On, the internal SD card redundancy option to Mirror, and then select SD Card 1 or SD Card 2 as the Internal SD Primary Card. Then click Back, select Boot Settings and then Boot Option Settings.
Here, select Boost Sequence. You must ensure that Hard drive C: is the first item in the list and then click OK. Next, select Hard-Disk Drive Sequence and ensure that Internal SD:IDSDM is the first item in the list.
Then click OK. Click Back until you can view the System BIOS Settings page. Click Finish and on the dialog box, click Yes. After this, click OK on the Success message to exit from the BIOS Settings.
To exit from System Setup, click Finish and then click Yes on the Confirm Exit message. The system restarts automatically. Press F11 to go to the Boot Manager.
Select the One-shot BIOS Boot Menu option and then select Embedded SATA Port Optical Drive. On the Boot Menu screen, select the Dell ESXi installer option and press Enter.
The system then loads the ESXi installer. This operation might take a few minutes to complete. Press Enter to continue with the installation, read through the license agreement and press F11 to accept and continue with the installation.
Select the target device to install the ESXi and press Enter to continue. Then press Enter to overwrite the existing data. Or you can press Escape to cancel the operation.
Next, select the US Default language and press Enter to continue. Type the password in the Root password and Confirm password fields and then press Enter to continue.
To confirm installation, press F11. This installation process might take a few minutes. Once the installation is complete, press Enter to reboot the system.
This operation will take a few minutes. After ESXi is installed, you can view the VMware ESXi version and Dell PowerEdge model number on the Direct Console User Interface or DCUI screen.
To log in to ESXi, press F2 and enter the login and password details. Then press Enter to continue. To configure ESXi, press F2. This will bring up the System Customization window.
Select Troubleshooting Options and then press Enter to enable the ESXi Shell option. By default, this option is disabled. Press Alt+F1 to go to the ESXi command line shell.
Enter the login and password details and then press Enter. You can now configure ESXi using its various commands. For more information about ESXi and PowerEdge servers, visit dell.com/support.
