How to Install and Configure ESXi 6

In this video tutorial we look at the installation of VMware ESXi 6. First up we look at the installation process via booting from the ISO file. Secondly we run through the configuration and the new options of ESXi 6. Lastly, we show you how to download and install the vSphere 6 client and connect to your ESXi 6 host.

If you are installing ESXi 6 as a nested virtual machine in an existing vSphere environment, be sure to login into vCenter web and turn on the option – Expose hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS

vSphere 6 – How to Install and Configure VMware ESXi 6

How to Install and Configure vCenter 6 Appliance

In this video tutorial we walk you through how to install the new VMware vCenter 6 Appliance. The installation process steps you through the following:

• Creating DNS entries for vCenter 6 Appliance
• Launching the vCenter 6 Appliance installation wizard web page
• Detailed description of what each step in the wizard means
• Deploying the vCenter 6 Appliance into ESXi
• Connect for the first time to the vCenter 6 Appliance
• Adding your first ESXi 6 host

As you will see in the video the deployment of the vCenter 6 Appliance is a little different to previous versions

How to Install and Configure VMware vCenter 6 Appliance

This is a very short tutorial illustrating how to bring the vCenter 6 appliance (VCSA) web admin interface back, before update 1. That’s right if you didn’t notice before update 1 there is no web admin interface available, the only way to get it back is to upgrade your vCenter 6 appliance to update 1.

Because there is no web admin interface available to perform the upgrade we must do this via CLI.

VMware vCenter 6 Appliance Upgrade

First up we must download the VMware vCenter 6 Appliance Patch. We can obtain the patches from the VMware Product Patches site:

https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch#search

In the select a product drop down box on the above website, select VC.

I have downloaded VC-6.0.0U1b-Appliance for this tutorial

Next we’ll take a quick backup of the virtual machine so we can fail back in the event the upgrade is unsuccessful. To do this I shut down the virtual machine to a powered off state and take a snapshot. Once the snapshot has been taken I power on the vCenter Server 6 appliance.

For the remaining upgrade steps I have created the following video

VMware vCenter 6 Appliance CLI Upgrade

Once the VMware vCenter 6 Appliance is updated to Update 1, you can enjoy the new web admin interface

Disclaimer:
All the tutorials included on this site are performed in a lab environment to simulate a real world production scenario. As everything is done to provide the most accurate steps to date, we take no responsibility if you implement any of these steps in a production environment.

How to upgrade VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5 to VCSA 6.0

In this video tutorial, I walk you through how to perform an upgrade of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5 to VCSA 6.0. Both VCSA appliances will contain an embedded platform services controller.

The VCSA upgrade procedure does not perform an in-place upgrade of the current VCSA appliance. The upgrade consists of deploying a new VCSA 6 appliance and copying all the existing data from the source VCSA 5.5

During the upgrade process we will encounter two common errors:

VCSA upgrade error 1 – vCenterServer FQDN does not match DNS server

VCSA upgrade error 2 – Auto Deploy service is not running or not configured properly

Within the video, I include the fixes for the two errors shown above.

Lastly, don’t forget to upgrade your Update Manager server to version 6.0. You will need to download the full VMware vCenter 6.0 for Windows ISO file (VMware-VIMSetup-all-6.0.0-4637290.iso), mount it on your update manage server, and run the setup wizard. When installer opens you need to click on Server which is located under vSphere Update Manager and then click on Install.

You will  then be prompted to upgrade an earlier version of Update Manager.

Here is the link to the VMware vCenter Server 6.0 Deployment Guide that I refer to at the end of the video.

Upgrading VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5 to VCSA 6.0

How to Install and Configure VMware ESXi 6.5

In this video tutorial I walk you through an installation of VMware ESXi 6.5 covering such components as:

• ESXi 6.5 Setup Wizard
• System Configuration
• ESXi 6.5 Web User Interface walkthrough
• Role Based Access Control
• Creating a New Virtual Machine

If you are installing this VMware ESXi 6.5 as a nested virtual machine, please be sure to Expose Hardware Assisted Virtualization to the Guest OS. This option can be found in the vSphere Web UI, edit the virtual machine settings, virtual hardware and expand CPU – Hardware Virtualization. If the setting is greyed out, it is because your Virtual Machine is powered on. Shut the virtual machine down and try the setting again.

How to Install and Configure VMware ESXi 6.5

How to Install and Configure VMware vCenter 6.5 Server Appliance (VCSA)

In this video tutorial, I walk you through the installation and configuration of VMware vCenter 6.5 Appliance (VCSA).

VMware vCenter 6.5 topics covered in this video:

1. Installation of the vCenter 6.5 appliance
2. vCenter Server appliance management options
3. Adding an Active Directory identity source for authentication
4. Adding folders with vSphere web client and with PowerCLI
5. Adding Datacenters with vSphere web client and with PowerCLI
6. Adding two ESXi 6.5 hosts with vSphere web client and with PowerCLI
7. Setting our vMotion and Storage networks on ESXi 6.5 hosts
8. Mounting NFS Storage to our ESXi 6.5 hosts
9. Creating a Cluster
10. Adding ESXi 6.5 hosts to the cluster
11. Setting vSwap datastore location
12. Creating a Resource Pool
13. Creating a new Windows 2012 R2 Virtual Machine and installing VM tools

This tutorial is designed to get you up and running from scratch. In my lab, I have already built two VMware ESXi 6.5 hosts that I reference in this video. If you are unfamiliar with the installation of VMware ESXi 6.5 you can follow my installation and configuration of VMware ESXi 6.5 by clicking on this link

How to install and configure VMware vCenter 6.5 Appliance

In this video tutorial, I demonstrate how to upgrade your VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.0 to 6.5. This includes the embedded platform services controller within VCSA.

VMware VCSA 6.5 Upgrade Notes

The upgrade is a 2 stage process that includes:

1. Deploying the new VCSA 6.5 virtual appliance
2. Copying the configuration from VCSA 6.0 to the new VCSA 6.5

Once the configuration has been copied, the existing VCSA is shut down and the new VCSA 6.5 takes on the same IP address.

VMware VCSA 6.5 Pre-Requisites

Ensure your VMware ESXi hosts are on version 5.5

All other compatibility requirements please check the VMware Compatibility Matrix

The full VMware vSphere 6.5 Documentation can be found here

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Upgrade to VCSA 6.5

How to Install and Configure VMware ESXi 6.7

In this video tutorial, I walk you through the installation and configuration of VMware ESXi 6.7, explaining each setting along the way. I cover such components as:

• Building a nested ESXi 6.7 virtual machine for lab testing
• Installing VMware ESXi 6.7
• A walk through of the system customization
• Logging into the ESXi 6.7 webui including a thorough explanation of all tabs and settings
• Creating your first Virtual Machine
• Basic Virtual Machine monitoring of CPU, Memory and Hard Drive

Following on from this tutorial, your next step will be to become familiar with VMware vCenter Server.

I have completed a, how to install and configure VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 video tutorial that will teach you all the components you need to do in order to get your vCenter server up and running successfully.

vSphere 6.7 – How to install and configure VMware ESXi 6.7

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 (VCSA) – How to Install and Configure

This tutorial is designed for anyone that wishes to learn how to install the vCenter 6.7 Server Appliance as well as understand some of the most common vCenter settings

Based on previous feedback I’ve tried to add more content into this video compared to previous vCenter videos, however still keeping the video length relatively short at under 45mins.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them in the comments section below, or within the comments section of the youtube video.

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 topics covered in this video:

1. DNS Setup in preparation for our vCenter Server

2. How to download the vCenter ISO image

3. Deploying vCenter stage 1

4. Deploying vCenter stage 2 (SSO Setup)

5. VCSA Appliance Management interface walkthrough

6. VCSA Backups

7. vCenter Server HTML 5 Interface

8. Creating datacenter objects and adding ESXi hosts

9. Adding vCenter to Microsoft Windows Active Directory

10. Configuring vCenter authentication via Windows Active Directory

11. Configuring vCenter general settings

12. Renaming and organizing datastores for easy administration

13. Creating a new Windows 2016 Virtual Machine

14. Basic Virtual Machine Monitoring

VMware vCenter 6.7 Pre-Requisites:

• Windows Active Directory Server (Used for authentication and DNS)
• VMware ESXi 6.7 Host -> VMware ESXi 6.7 Installation and Configuration
• Filezilla FTP Server -> Downloaded from https://filezilla-project.org

VMware vCenter 6.7 Optional Components:

• VMware Log Insight, Syslog monitoring -> VMware vRealize Log Insight Installation and Configuration

How to install and configure VMware vCenter 6.7 Server Appliance