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VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x on Dell PowerEdge Systems Installation Instructions and Important Information Guide

PDF

Installing ESXi on flash media

Prerequisites

To deploy VMware ESXi 8.0 see SD card/USB boot device revised guidance. On installing the SD card in your system, locate the ESXi installer media that you had created in Download the Dell customized ESXi image files.
NOTE:For more information about supported configurations of the PowerEdge servers with the SD memory card, see the VMware ESXi 8.0 on Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Compatibility Matrix at Virtualization solutions.
NOTE:For instructions to install the SD memory card on the system board for supported PowerEdge servers, see the system-specific Owner's Manual or Information Update at PowerEdge Manuals.

About this task

To install ESXi on the flash media, perform the following steps:

Steps

  1. Turn on the system.
    NOTE:Before installing ESXi, enable the flash storage device. For more information, see Download the Dell customized ESXi image files.
  2. Insert the ESXi installer media into the optical drive.
  3. Restart the system.
  4. When the Dell logo is displayed, press F11 immediately.
  5. At the Boot Menu, use the up- and down-arrow keys to select the optical drive and press Enter.
    The installer environment starts. When the installer image loads, the system is ready to begin the flash storage imaging process.
    CAUTION:Step 6 deletes all data on SD storage device.
  6. On the Select a Disk page, select the SD storage device on which you want to install ESXi and press Enter.
  7. Enter the root password and press F11 to start the installation.
  8. When the installation process is complete, press Enter to restart the system.
  9. When the Dell logo is displayed, press F11 immediately.
  10. At the Boot Menu, use the up- and down-arrow keys to select the SD storage device, and then press Enter.
    The system boots and starts ESXi.
  11. To enable recurring boot, see Configuring boot sequence to ESXi.
  12. Set the correct licensing mode.

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