VMware® Infrastructure 3 FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter 5. ESX Installation — Now the Fun Begins

ESX hosts are a critical piece of VMware Infrastructure 3. They manage and provide all the hardware that your virtual machines use. Long-term VMware users might tell you the best way to get things done is through the command line, but the latest version of the system (3 and on) is designed to be managed by a GUI interface. VI Client provides that interface. So without further ado, it is time to install — and connect to — your ESX.

What You Need to Know Before You Install

By themselves, ESX host installations are extremely easy. You'll have to invest only about 15 minutes from the time you pop in the CD to when the installation is finished. (I wish all installations were like this!) However, you'll have to put in some time upfront to get to the point of installation.

Note

Before you're ready to install your ESX host, you need to have completed your capacity planning (Chapter 2), SAN design (this is dependent on your individual situation), and your VMware design (Part IV of this book). Additionally, you should have a fully functional IP network infrastructure (this is also dependent on your individual situation). The preinstall steps are what really take up a lot of time!

You also need to know that after you have completed the installation, you will have a server that is running two distinct operating systems:

• VMkernel: The VMkernel loads in high memory and controls all the hardware. Furthermore, it assumes that all the hardware in the system ...