Perform a scripted installation of ESXi

Requirements

To follow this topic, you need the following:

• An USB stick with 8GB at least
• Rufus to prepare the USB stick
• ISO of VMware ESXi 6.5

Prepare the USB stick

To prepare the USB stick, plug it into your computer and run Rufus. This software is portable. Select the ISO image of ESXi 6.5 and set Rufus as the following screenshot:

If you have the following message when you start the format, just click on Yes.

Build the unattend file

To deploy my ESXi, I have used the following script. You can find an explanation in the comments. This script can be used for each ESXi to deploy while the static IP in DHCP and DNS are set.

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#Accept VMware License agreement   accepteula     # Set the root password   rootpw MyPassword     # Install ESXi on the first disk (Local first, then remote then USB)   install --firstdisk --overwritevmfs     # Set the keyboard   keyboard French     # Set the network   network --bootproto=dhcp     # reboot the host after installation is completed   reboot     # run the following command only on the firstboot   %firstboot --interpreter=busybox     # enable & start remote ESXi Shell (SSH)   vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh   vim-cmd hostsvc/start_ssh     # enable & start ESXi Shell (TSM)   vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_esx_shell   vim-cmd hostsvc/start_esx_shell     # supress ESXi Shell shell warning - Thanks to Duncan (http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/07/21/esxi-5-suppressing-the-localremote-shell-warning/)   esxcli system settings advanced set -o /UserVars/SuppressShellWarning -i 1     # Get Network adapter information   NetName="vmk0"     # Get the IP address assigned by DHCP   IPAddress=$(localcli network ip interface ipv4 get | grep "${NetName}" | awk '{print $2}')     #Get the netmask assigned by DHCP   NetMask=$(localcli network ip interface ipv4 get | grep "${NetName}" | awk '{print $3}')     # Get the gateway provided by DHCP   Gateway=$(localcli network ip interface ipv4 get | grep "${NetName}" | awk '{print $6}')   DNS="10.10.0.229"   VlanID="50"     # Get the hostname assigned thanks to reverse lookup zone   HostName=$(hostname -s)   SuffixDNS="vsphere.lab"   FQDN="${HostName}.${SuffixDNS}"     # set static IP + default route + DNS   esxcli network ip interface ipv4 set --interface-name=vmk0 --ipv4=${IPAddress} --netmask=${NetMask} --type=static --gateway=${Gateway}   esxcli network ip dns server add --server ${DNS}     # Set VLAN ID   esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup set --portgroup-name "Management Network" --vlan-id 50     #Disable ipv6   esxcli network ip set --ipv6-enabled=0     # set suffix and FQDN host configuration   esxcli system hostname set --fqdn=${FQDN}   esxcli network ip dns search add --domain=${SuffixDNS}     # NTP Configuration (thanks to http://www.virtuallyghetto.com)   cat > /etc/ntp.conf << __NTP_CONFIG__   restrict default kod nomodify notrap noquerynopeer   restrict 127.0.0.1   server 0.fr.pool.ntp.org   server 1.fr.pool.ntp.org   __NTP_CONFIG__   /sbin/chkconfig ntpd on     # rename local datastore to something more meaningful   vim-cmd hostsvc/datastore/rename datastore1 "Local - $(hostname -s)"     # restart a last time   reboot

Save the file and name it ks.cfg. Copy the file in the root of the USB stick.

Use the unattend file during deployment

Now we have to configure the boot the load the ks.cfg automatically for the deployment. Open the USB stick and edit Boot.cfg. Replace the following line kernelopt=runweasel by kernelopt=ks=usb:/ks.cfg.

Unplug the USB Stick and plug it on the server. You can boot the USB key to run the installer.

Deployment

During deployment, the installer will load the ks.cfg config file.

It starts by check if the config file is correct.

After the first reboot, the installer configures the ESXi as specified in the config file.

Once the system has rebooted for a second time, the configuration is finished.

For example, the SSH and the ESXi Shell are well enabled.

Conclusion

VMware provides a way to deploy quickly standard ESXi. If your infrastructure is not ready and you have not yet Auto Deploy, the deployment with unattended file can be a good option.