VMware ESXi

Keys

The hypervisor keys are available for free. To obtain one:

• Go to https://my.vmware.com/en/group/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6
• Log in. Go to "License & Download" and look under the "License Information" section.

The license key 'VMware vSphere Hypervisor 6 License' works on all 6.x hypervisors.

Without a key, ESXi enters the "Evaluation Mode" which has all the features enabled for 60 days.

The features between an 'Evaluation' and 'VMware vSphere 6 Enterprise Plus'

Evaluation Mode

Enterprise Plus

Key: 00000-00000-00000-00000-00000 Expiration date: Features: Unlimited virtual SMP H.264 for Remote Console Connections vCenter agent for VMware host vSphere API Content Library Storage APIs vSphere vMotion X-Switch vMotion vSphere HA vSphere Data Protection vShield Endpoint vSphere Replication vShield Zones Hot-Pluggable virtual HW vSphere Storage vMotion Shared Smart Card Reader vSphere FT (up to 4 virtual CPUs) Virtual Volumes APIs for Storage Awareness Storage-Policy Based Management vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration vSphere DRS Remote virtual Serial Port Concentrator MPIO / Third-Party Multi-Pathing Big Data Extensions Reliable Memory vSphere Distributed Switch vSphere Host Profiles vSphere Auto Deploy SR-IOV vSphere Storage I/O Control Direct Path vMotion vSphere Storage DRS vSphere vMotion Metro vSphere View Accelerator vSphere App HA vSphere Flash Read Cache Cross Virtual Center vMotion vGPU vSphere Proactive HA vSphere VM Encryption vSphere Encrypted vMotion vSphere Predictive DRS

Key: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx Expiration date: Never Features: Unlimited virtual SMP H.264 for Remote Console Connections vCenter agent for VMware host vSphere API Content Library Storage APIs vSphere vMotion X-Switch vMotion vSphere HA vSphere Data Protection vShield Endpoint vSphere Replication vShield Zones Hot-Pluggable virtual HW vSphere Storage vMotion Shared Smart Card Reader vSphere FT (up to 4 virtual CPUs) Virtual Volumes APIs for Storage Awareness Storage-Policy Based Management vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration vSphere DRS Remote virtual Serial Port Concentrator MPIO / Third-Party Multi-Pathing Big Data Extensions Reliable Memory vSphere Distributed Switch vSphere Host Profiles vSphere Auto Deploy SR-IOV vSphere Storage I/O Control Direct Path vMotion vSphere Storage DRS vSphere vMotion Metro vSphere View Accelerator vSphere App HA vSphere Flash Read Cache Cross Virtual Center vMotion vGPU vSphere Proactive HA vSphere VM Encryption vSphere Encrypted vMotion

Installation

The easiest way is to just burn the iso image and install via CD/DVD.

But if your server doesn't have a CD/DVD reader, you can try getting a USB stick.

USB Stick

I suggest using rufus on Windows to build the USB stick. I was able to get it working with ESXi 6.5 no problem.

If you're on Linux, you can try to do it manually using the steps below. Warning: These steps didn't work for me for ESXi 6.5. I kept on getting failed to load COM32 file menu.c32 when booting. I tried replacing the menu.c32 file from /usr/share/syslinux/menu.c32 to no avail.

## Set up the USB drive
root@nas:/mnt/iso# fdisk /dev/sdk

Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.28.2).
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
Be careful before using the write command.

Command (m for help): o
Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xde56333a.

Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sdk: 14.7 GiB, 15720251392 bytes, 30703616 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xde56333a

Command (m for help): n
Partition type
   p   primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)
   e   extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (1-4, default 1):
First sector (2048-30703615, default 2048):
Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-30703615, default 30703615):

Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 14.7 GiB.

Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Partition type (type L to list all types): c
Changed type of partition 'Linux' to 'W95 FAT32 (LBA)'.

Command (m for help): a
Selected partition 1
The bootable flag on partition 1 is enabled now.

Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sdk: 14.7 GiB, 15720251392 bytes, 30703616 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xde56333a

Device     Boot Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdk1  *     2048 30703615 30701568 14.7G  c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Command (m for help): wq
The partition table has been altered.
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.

## Format the drive
root@nas:/mnt/iso# mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n USB /dev/sdk1
mkfs.fat 4.1 (2017-01-24)

## Use the syslinux utility (from syslinux-nonlinux-6.04-0.1.fc25.noarch)
root@nas:/mnt/iso# syslinux /dev/sdk1
root@nas:/usr# cat /usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin > /dev/sdk

## Copy the files
root@nas:/mnt# mount /dev/sdk1 usb
root@nas:/mnt# cp -r iso/* usb

## Edit the syslinux.cfg file
root@nas:/mnt/usb# mv isolinux.cfg syslinux.cfg

## Edit syslinux.cfg so that the APPEND line is 'APPEND -c boot.cfg -p 1'
root@nas:/mnt/usb# cat syslinux.cfg
DEFAULT menu.c32
MENU TITLE ESXi-6.5.0-20170104001-standard Boot Menu
NOHALT 1
PROMPT 0
TIMEOUT 80
LABEL install
  KERNEL mboot.c32
  APPEND -c boot.cfg -p 1
  MENU LABEL ESXi-6.5.0-20170104001-standard ^Installer
LABEL hddboot
  LOCALBOOT 0x80
  MENU LABEL ^Boot from local disk

## Unmount the image

Updating

6.0 to 6.5

Download the offline depot package and apply the update:

# esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-6.5.0-4564106-standard -d /vmfs/volumes/vol/VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-4564106-depot.zip

This package requires a subscription. If you're using the free license, either get the evaluation or install the update by booting with the ISO image.

5.5 to 6.0

To update a ESXi install from 5.5 to 6.0, download the ESXi 6.0 offline bundle and upload it to a datastore on the server.

Log in via SSH and execute

# esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/ESXi600-201504001.zip

Then reboot to apply the changes.

See Also:

• http://www.vladan.fr/patch-esxi-5-5-to-esxi-6-0/

Other Notes

When upgrading ESXi, keep in mind that newer versions may drop support for older CPUs.

According to the Release Notes, ESXi 6.5 drops support for the following CPUs:

Intel Xeon 51xx series
Intel Xeon 30xx series
Intel core 2 duo 6xxx series
Intel Xeon 32xx series
Intel core 2 quad 6xxx series
Intel Xeon 53xx series
Intel Xeon 72xx/73xx series

On a Xeon X5570 (HP DL380 G6), installing ESXi 6.5 gave a CPU_SUPPORT warning.

Troubleshooting

IOMMU Hangs

If your ESXi server hangs while "Initializing IOV", disable IOMMU by appending 'noIOMMU' to the kernel immediately after the new kernel boots by hitting Shift-O (letter O, not zero)

To make the changes persistent, add it to the boot arguments in /bootbank/boot.cfg

See Also:

• https://communities.vmware.com/message/2354177