VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5.
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Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 5 vSphere 6.5.x architecture...................................................................................................................................................5 Overview of ESXi architecture............................................................................................................................................
Purple or pink screen while booting or running your ESXi........................................................................................23 Frequently asked questions................................................................................................................................................23 What is the minimum RAM required to install VMware ESXi..................................................................................
1 Introduction This document helps you to deploy VMware ESXi 6.5.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, and provides specific information about recommended configurations, best practices, and additional resources. NOTE: Before deploying the system, it is recommended that you see the VMware vSphere 6.5.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Release Notes at Dell.com/virtualizationsolutions.
Figure 1. vSphere components Overview of ESXi architecture ESXi is a bare-metal enterprise class hypervisor that can be preinstalled on the PowerEdge servers. With the reduced footprint of the hypervisor, ESXi is integrated with PowerEdge servers by using embedded Secure Digital (SD) card.
Figure 2.
2 Installing vSphere 6.5.x NOTE: If you have ordered VMware ESXi with the PowerEdge server, then the VMware ESXi is preinstalled on your system.
4. Click Custom ISOs. 5. Expand the OEM Customized Installer CDs option and then click Go to Downloads for the image that you want to download. Important information for the Dell EMC-customized ESXi image • The Dell EMC-customized ESXi installer ISO image content does not include OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) and iDRAC Service Module (iSM). For detailed instructions to install and use OpenManage Server Administrator, see the documentation at www.dell.com/ openmanagemanuals.
• • • • R930 • R830 • R730xd • R730 • R630 • T630 • M830 • M630 • FC830 • FC630 The BIOS version on your system must be 1.2.1 or later for 13th generation of Dell PowerEdge servers that supports VMware ESXi 6.5.x. The memory modules must be populated on the memory channels to support Mirror Mode. For more information, see your system Owner’s Manual at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals. You need vSphere Enterprise or Enterprise Plus licensing to enable the VMware Reliable Memory technology.
14th generation PowerEdge Servers 13th generation PowerEdge Servers R740 R630 R640 M830 M640 M630 FC640 FC830 T640 FC630 MX740c T630 MX840c • • • The BIOS version on your system must be 1.0.4 or later for 13th generation of the Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. The memory modules must be populated on the memory channels to support Mirror Mode. For more information, see your system Owner’s Manual at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals.
The system boots and starts ESXi. 11. To enable recurring boot, see Configuring boot sequence to ESXi. 12. Set the correct licensing mode. For more information, see Licensing information. Installing ESXi on the hard drive To install ESXi on the hard drive, complete the following procedure: 1. Turn on the system. 2. Insert the ESXi installer media that you created earlier into the optical drive. For more information, see Download Dell EMC customized ESXi image. 3.
Enabling or disabling internal SD card To install the ESXi on an internal flash storage device: 1. Turn on the system. 2. When the Dell EMC logo is displayed, press F2 immediately to open the System Setup page. NOTE: If you press a key on the keyboard for extended time, it may result in a keyboard failure. To avoid possible keyboard failure, press, and release F2 at even intervals until the System Setup page is displayed.
VMware ESXi Secure boot support for Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers VMware supports UEFI Secure boot on versions ESXi 6.5 or later. UEFI Secure boot in general verifies the integrity of every package loaded as part of the operating system (OS) bootup. Secure boot verifies the integrity of the vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) packages loaded from the boot device.
The BIOS of Dell's 13th generation of PowerEdge servers is preconfigured with the VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) in the UEFI Secure boot authorized DB. Download the latest server BIOS from the Dell EMC support page before enabling UEFI Secure boot. NOTE: UEFI Secure boot is supported only on Dell's 13th generation servers or later. For more information about Secure boot, see the following pages: • • Secure Boot for ESXi 6.
3 Deploying vSphere 6.5.x Important information For all the Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with factory-installed VMware ESXi operating system: • • VMware vSphere 6.x supports NVMe hotplug when the IOMMU Interrupt Remapping (ID) option is disabled on AMD EPYC(Rome) based ReadyNodes. For more information, see VMware Knowledge Base article 74726. The username for Dell EMC PowerEdge yx4x servers is root and password is the Service Tag of your system followed by the character '!'.
• • Configuring Lockdown mode Managing management network services vSphere configuration using Dell EMC Fibre Channel SAN If you use Fibre Channel storage, you can connect a single Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA) to a Fibre Channel switch that provides paths to both the storage controllers on the Fibre Channel storage unit.
Figure 5. Configuring vSphere with iSCSI SAN Booting ESXi This section describes performing the basic setup of your system based on the following assumptions: • You have already connected a keyboard, monitor, and mouse. • You have connected the first onboard NIC to your management network. • The network infrastructure between the two systems is working correctly prior to working with your system and the VMware management software. To set up your system: 1. Turn on your system. 2.
The Authentication Required screen is displayed. 2. Select Configure Password and then press Enter. 3. Enter the old and new passwords. If the password is accepted, the main DCUI screen is displayed. The new password is now set. 4. Press Esc to log out. Configuring Lockdown mode Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is disabled.
4 Configuration back up and restore procedures NOTE: Dell EMC recommends that you back up your VMware ESXi configuration after you complete the initial setup on a routine schedule that fits your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration captures the license code (host serial number). To back up or restore the configuration information, use the VMware vSphere CLI.
5 Licensing information This section discusses the different modes of obtaining vSphere license for your Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. NOTE: For more information about the different editions, see vmware.com. Topics: • • • License evaluation vSphere licensing Administering license keys License evaluation VMware enables a 60-day free evaluation period for all enterprise-level features of vSphere 6.5.x.
NOTE: If you receive a warning that you are disabling certain features by switching out of evaluation mode, click OK, and then click Yes. NOTE: Use all licensing information according to VMware’s End User Licensing Agreement.
6 Troubleshooting ESXi ESXi installation This section provides troubleshooting steps for common issues encountered during deployment of ESXi. ESXi does not boot or displays a no OS found message at start up Check the boot order. The correct storage device may no longer be selected as the first boot device. This can happen if the device has recently been removed due to failure.
Why are network adapters not detected during ESXi installation Cause: This issue occurs due to one of the following reasons: • • • • The ESXi image does not contain the latest version of network drivers, for Network Daughter Cards (NDCs) or network adapters used in Dell EMC servers. PowerEdge server does not have an NDC installed. The NDC installed on the PowerEdge server is faulty PowerEdge server has an NDC installed, but the NDC setting is disabled in the BIOS or UEFI. Resolution: 1.
Figure 8. Target devices not displayed Why does ESXi display the number of processors incorrectly Cause: This issue occurs if the Snoop mode option is set to Cluster on Die in the BIOS Memory Settings screen of a dual processor system. Resolution: To display the accurate number of processors, ensure that the Snoop mode option is not set to Cluster on Die in the BIOS Memory Settings screen.
7 Getting help Topics: • • • • • • Contacting Dell EMC Locating Service Tag of your system Related information for virtualization solutions Documentation resources Download the drivers and firmware Documentation feedback Contacting Dell EMC Dell EMC provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country, region, and product, and some services may not be available in your area.
Technical support resources • • • vmware.com/support Dell.com/support/home Dell.com/services Discussion forums • • • • communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn Dell Virtualization Wikis, Forums, Blogs, and Videos Dell Community Knowledge base • kb.vmware.com/kb NOTE: For more information that is related to the VMware ESXi installation on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, go to Dell Virtualization.
Task Document Location rack solution or the Getting Started Guide that is shipped with your server. For information about turning on the server and the technical specifications of your server, see the Getting Started Guide that is shipped with your server. Configuring your server Managing your server www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals For information about the iDRAC www.dell.
Task Document Location Enterprise Systems Management documents. For information about viewing www.dell.com/esmmanuals inventory, performing configuration, and monitoring tasks, remotely turning on or off servers, and enabling alerts for events on servers and components using the Dell EMC Chassis Management Controller (CMC), see the Chassis Management Controller User's Guide .
