Setup Guide

Getting started with VMware vSphere

This document helps you in setting up your Dell EMC PowerEdge server and configuring VMware vSphere.

NOTE: If you had ordered VMware ESXi with your Dell EMC PowerEdge server, it is preinstalled on your server. The

ESXi installer media is required for reinstallation. The Boot Optimized Storage Solution (BOSS) card is the preferred

non-HDD or SSD device for VMware ESXi 7.0 installation. The Dell Internal Dual SD Module (IDSDM) install is no longer

recommended due to write endurance issues with the SD flash media. For more information, see the

Storage Requirements for ESXi 7.0 Installation or Upgrade section on the VMware ESXi Installation and Setup Guide or

see VMware Knowledge Base article 2145210.

Topics:

• Important information

• Downloading Dell EMC customized ESXi images

• Configuring ESXi on Dell EMC PowerEdge server

Important information

• Your Dell EMC customized VMware ESXi 7.0 A00 image must be installed as a new installation or deployment.

• Dell EMC recommends you to follow the VMware recommendations published in VMware Knowledge Base article 78487 and Dell

Knowledge Base article SLN320957.

• After upgrading to 7.0.x, downgrading to 6.7.x or 6.5.x is not possible.

For all the Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with factory-installed VMware ESXi operating system:

• Dell EMC PowerEdge yx4x and yx5x server's username is root and password is your Service Tag of your system followed by the

character '!'.

NOTE: To locate the Service Tag of your system, see Locating Service Tag of your system..

• Dell EMC PowerEdge yx3x servers do not have password for the username root.

For the Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with a factory-installed VMware ESXi operating system on a BOSS-S1 device:

• The VMFS datastore is not enabled by default on Dell EMC PowerEdge yx4x and yx5x servers. Use the BOSS-S1 device as an

operating system boot device and vSphere ESXi logging device. See VMware Knowledge Base article 2145210.

Before deploying the system, it is recommended that you see the VMware vSphere 7.0 on Dell EMC PowerEdge Server Release Notes at

www.dell.com/virtualizationsolutions.

Downloading Dell EMC customized ESXi images

Dell EMC has migrated the latest revision of the Dell customized ESXi images with customized drivers to VMware’s website. This change

aligns with industry-standard practices and brings the Dell EMC-customized image to the same location as that of our competitors. For

customers who manage heterogeneous fleets, this simplifies the procurement of software images as they will all be housed in one location.

Please go to your my.vmware.com license portal or click on My VMware Downloads. Older versions of these images can be downloaded

from www.dell.com/support.

For information about Dell EMC's customization of VMware ESXi images and its advantages, see Dell's Customization of VMware ESXi

and Its Advantages.

NOTE:

Your Dell EMC customized VMware ESXi 7.0 A00 image must be installed as a new installation or deployment.

See VMware Knowledge Base article 78487 and Dell Knowledge Base article SLN320957

4 Getting started with VMware vSphere