PowerEdge: How to Install and Manage VMware ESXi on PowerEdge Servers

Table of Contents

• Installing ESXi Using a Dell Customized ISO
• Installing and Assigning Licenses
• VMware Drivers and Firmware HCL
• Installing and Connecting to OMSA
• Installing RACADM
• Using the DCUI Console
• Generating VMware Support Bundles
• Uninstalling or Removing VIB Packages

Installing ESXi Using a Dell Customized ISO

Download the Custom Dell ISO

1. Download the latest version of the custom Dell ISO from Broadcom's VMware Download Page.
2. See the steps to find the required ISO from this article: VMware vSphere: How to Download and Use Dell Customized VMware ESXi Images for PowerEdge Servers.

If an older version is required, download it from the Dell support site: PowerEdge: How to Find the Older Versions of Dell Customized ISOs for VMware.

Booting the ISO

Mount the ISO

• If iDRAC Enterprise is available, mount the ISO on the host using iDRAC Enterprise. See more information on this process here: PowerEdge: How to Use the Virtual Media Function on iDRAC6, iDRAC7, iDRAC8, and iDRAC9.
• Optionally, create a bootable USB using the ISO following the steps here: PowerEdge: How to Create a Bootable USB Drive for OS Installation.

Boot the media

• If booting the ISO directly using the iDRAC Virtual Console, boot the media by pressing F11 during boot and then select Virtual CD/DVD from the one-time boot menu, or use the iDRAC next boot option.
• If booting from USB, with the USB drive connected to one of the USB ports, select the USB drive from the one-time boot menu.
• Once the media is loaded, the ESXi boot screen shows the options to boot the installer or boot the local disk. The installer boots automatically if no selection is made.

Installing ESXi

1. The VMware installer loading screen (commonly called the "Bumblebee screen" due to its color scheme) loads the installer components. After the boot has finished, the main welcome screen appears.

   

2. Press the F11 key to accept the user license.
3. Select the disk to install the OS onto.

   

4. Choose to install or upgrade the existing installation.

   

5. Select the keyboard layout.

   

6. Set the root password.
   Caution: Record this password in a secure location. If the root password is lost, password recovery requires additional steps and may require reinstallation in some scenarios.

   

7. Verify that the install disk is correct and choose to install (F11) or go back to make changes (F9).

   

8. Once the install process has completed, a prompt to reboot the server is shown. The server then proceeds with a first-time boot of the OS to begin configuration, such as assigning a management IP address.

Installing and Assigning Licenses

Install the license using the host web client, or if the host is managed by vCenter, the license can be applied using the vCenter Licenses section.

Installing the License Using the Host Web Client

1. To add the license to a single host, log in to the host web client by entering the host's management IP address in a web browser and logging in. Use the host's root user and the password set during installation.

   

2. Select Manage on the left navigation panel and then select the Licensing tab.
3. On the Licensing page, click Assign License and enter the license key to assign it to the host.

   

Installing the License Using vCenter

1. Log in to vCenter using the vCenter SSO login.

   

2. Select the Menu button and choose Administration.

   

3. Choose the Licenses option under the Licensing section.

   

4. Click the ADD option in the upper left to start the New License wizard.

   

5. Enter the license key into the New License dialog box and then click Next.

   

6. Assign a name to the license (for example, ESXi License).
7. Once back on the Licenses page, click the Assets tab and go to the product that requires the license. For this example, select the HOSTS tab.
8. Select the host from the list to assign the license to.
9. Click ASSIGN LICENSE and select the license to assign using the name assigned when adding the license.

   

   

Understanding License Basics

Downgrade or Upgrade Licenses

VMware licenses are not version-locked and can be upgraded or downgraded as needed. For additional information on how to downgrade or upgrade a license from the Broadcom account portal, see Upgrade and Downgrade VMware License Keys.

Combining Licenses

VMware licenses can be combined to be easier to manage. For example, instead of having multiple ESXi host licenses, combine them into a single license that can be applied to multiple hosts.

Host licenses are assigned by CPUs. If the ESXi license is for a host with two CPUs, a license with at least two CPUs included is required. If there are three licenses that each contain two CPUs, combine them into a single license that covers six CPUs. Each time a license is assigned to a host, the used CPUs are subtracted from the total in the license.

Some licenses are sold as a single-CPU license. A server with two CPUs installed requires a single license that can support two CPUs. It is not possible to assign a single-CPU license to a host with more than one CPU, because it cannot cover the host on its own. The licenses must be combined into a single license that supports at least two CPUs.

For guidance on combining licenses from the Broadcom account portal, see Merge and Split License Keys for VMware.

VMware Drivers and Firmware HCL

The Dell VMware drivers are integrated into the Dell Custom ISOs. Sometimes an upgrade of a specific driver is required without doing a full upgrade of the OS and all drivers. In this scenario, download the driver manually by finding the version needed from the VMware HCL. Then download the driver from the Broadcom download page.

Find the I/O Device Information

1. Use a Dell SupportAssist Collection (TSR) pulled from the iDRAC to verify information such as the installed firmware and Device IDs for the component that needs a driver. For assistance exporting a TSR, see Export a SupportAssist Collection Using an iDRAC9.
2. For this example, an updated driver for an X710 Network Adapter installed in the server is required. With the NIC selected in the TSR, view the Part Information section that provides the PCI IDs and the firmware version required to find the driver.

   

   In the image above, the firmware version installed is 22.5.7, and the device IDs are 8086:1572:8086:0006.

3. Go to the VMware HCL and select I/O Devices from the list under Platform and Compute. On the left side, scroll down and use the drop-down menus to select the device IDs needed.

   

   

4. Once the IDs have been set, scroll back up to the top to click the View Results button.

   

5. The results indicate one entry matched the adapter IDs requested. Select the ESXi version that drivers are needed for. In this example, select ESXi 7.0U3. It is also possible to filter for the release version in the search options.

   

6. Review the list of driver versions and the minimum firmware version required for each.

   

   Note: If the minimum version required shows firmware newer than what is installed, the device's firmware must be upgraded before installing the driver.

   For this example, firmware version 22.5.7 is installed, allowing installation of any driver that lists 22.5.7 or older as its minimum requirement. Given the firmware version and driver requirements, install the latest driver listed: i40en version 2.5.11.0-10EM.

7. Go to Broadcom's VMware ESXi driver portal, VMware Driver Download Page, and select the version needed. For ESXi 7.0, select 7.x.

   

   Note: A Broadcom account with an active Site ID and entitlement is required to access the download portal and download files.
8. In the search field, filter using the driver name. For this example, search for i40en.

   

9. Once the required driver version is found, click it to open its download option, and then click the Download button.

   

10. Once downloaded, the .zip file contains another .zip file inside it. Extract the inner .zip file and copy it to the host. The install command fails if the double-zipped file is used directly.
11. Install the driver manually over SSH by running the following command:

    esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/bundlefilename.zip

    Note: When running the install command, provide the full path to the file even if running from the same directory.

Installing and Connecting to OMSA

1. Use the host web interface or command line (CLI) to install the OMSA VIB (similar to the process of installing a driver).
2. Install OMSA on a client system, or access another system with OMSA already installed.
3. Connect to the ESXi host management IP from OMSA on the client system.

For more detailed instructions, see How to Install OpenManage Server Administrator on VMware to Collect Logs.

Installing RACADM

Download the RACADM iDRAC Tools VIB

1. On the Dell Support site, provide your service tag or server model and then select the version of ESXi installed.
2. From the download list, filter for iDRAC Tools and then expand the version needed and click View full driver details.

   

   

Install RACADM on the Host

1. Copy the .zip file to a folder on the host, such as /tmp.
2. SSH into the host and run the install command:

   esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/DellEMC-iDRACTools-Web-ESX70i.VIB-10.2.0.0-4631_A00.zip

   Note: The -d flag specifies a .zip file. If the file is a .vib file, use -v instead.
3. Once installed, run racadm commands. The racadm files are located in the /opt/dell/racadm folder.

Using the DCUI Console

The Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) is the main console screen seen when connecting to the system monitor or iDRAC Virtual Console. It allows for basic configuration options, such as setting up the management IP or changing the root password. It is also possible to trigger a reboot or shutdown from the DCUI.

DCUI Configuration Section

Press the F2 key to log in to the DCUI. Once logged in, the System Configuration options appear as seen in the image below.

From the configuration options, configure the network settings or enable options under the Troubleshooting Options section.

Troubleshooting Options

• Enable ESXi Shell — Enables the local ESXi console shell. If enabled, access the shell console by pressing Alt + F1.

• Enable SSH — Allows remote access to the shell from SSH connections.
• Restart Management Agents — Restarts the network services. This can help restore connectivity if network issues are seen.

Configure the Management Network

From the main DCUI screen, select Configure Management Network. From here, choose different options to configure the network.

• Network Adapters — Select which network adapters the management vSwitch uses for connection.
• VLAN — Specify a VLAN for the management network to use.
• IPv4 Configuration — Choose either DHCP or specify static IPv4 settings.
• IPv6 Configuration — Choose either DHCP or specify static IPv6 settings.
• DNS Configuration — Choose to obtain automatically (DHCP) or provide a static IPv4 address for the DNS servers.
• Custom DNS Suffixes — Specify the DNS domain name.

Generating VMware Support Bundles

Generate a VMware support bundle from either the host directly or from vCenter.

Generate the Support Bundle from the Host

1. Access the host login page by entering the host's management IP address in a web browser.
2. Log in using the host's root user and password.
3. On the host page, click the actions drop-down and select Generate support bundle.

   

4. The bundle begins to generate and downloads using the web browser's default download location.

Generate the Support Bundle from vCenter

1. From vCenter Inventory, select the host on the left, right-click it to open the options menu, and select Export System Logs.

   

2. Select the components to collect or leave the default options checked.

   

3. Click Export Logs.

Uninstalling or Removing VIB Packages

1. Use grep with the list command to filter the list of installed VIB packages and confirm the VIB name. SSH into the host and run the command:

   esxcli software vib list | grep -i DEL

   Example output:

   dell-shared-perc8              06.806.92.00-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807     BCM      VMwareCertified   2022-04-08
   dcism                          4.3.0.0.2781-DEL.700.0.0.15843807      DEL      VMwareAccepted    2023-01-18
   dell-configuration-vib         7.0.0-A00                              DEL      PartnerSupported  2022-04-08
   dell-system-update             2.0.0.0.751-DEL.700.0.3                DEL      PartnerSupported  2023-01-18
   dellemc-fac-dcui               7.0.3-A00                              DEL      PartnerSupported  2022-04-08
   dellemc-osname-idrac           7.0.0-A00                              DEL      PartnerSupported  2022-04-08
   openmanage                     10.1.0.0.4634-DEL.700.0.0.15843807     DEL      VMwareAccepted    2024-05-11
   racadm                         10.2.0.0.4631-DEL.700.0.0.15843807     DEL      PartnerSupported  2024-05-11
   lsuv2-oem-dell-plugin          1.0.0-1vmw.703.0.20.19193900           VMware   VMwareCertified   2022-04-08

2. From the list, identify the name of the VIB in the left column.
3. Uninstall the VIB package using the name from the list with the remove command:

   esxcli software vib remove -n openmanage