6.0.2

Table Of Contents
Prerequisites
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Linux machine with superuser access to it
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USB ash drive that can be detected by the Linux machine
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The ESXi ISO image, VMware-VMvisor-Installer-version_number-build_number.x86_64.iso, which
includes the isolinux.cfg le
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Syslinux package
Procedure
1 If your USB ash drive is not detected as /dev/sdb, or you are not sure how your USB ash drive is
detected, determine how it is detected.
a At the command line, run the command for displaying the current log messages.
tail -f /var/log/messages
b Plug in your USB ash drive.
You see several messages that identify the USB ash drive in a format similar to the following
message.
Oct 25 13:25:23 ubuntu kernel: [ 712.447080] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable
disk
In this example, sdb identies the USB device. If your device is identied dierently, use that
identication, in place of sdb.
2 Create a partition table on the USB ash device.
/sbin/fdisk /dev/sdb
a Enter d to delete partitions until they are all deleted.
b Enter n to create a primary partition 1 that extends over the entire disk.
c Enter t to set the type to an appropriate seing for the FAT32 le system, such as c.
d Enter a to set the active ag on partition 1.
e Enter p to print the partition table.
The result should be similar to the following message.
Disk /dev/sdb: 2004 MB, 2004877312 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 243 1951866 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
f Enter w to write the partition table and exit the program.
3 Format the USB ash drive with the Fat32 le system.
/sbin/mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n USB /dev/sdb1
4 Install the Syslinux bootloader on the USB ash drive.
The locations of the Syslinux executable le and the mbr.bin le might vary for the dierent Syslinux
versions. For example, if you downloaded Syslinux 6.02, run the following commands.
/usr/bin/syslinux /dev/sdb1
cat /usr/lib/syslinux/mbr/mbr.bin > /dev/sdb
Chapter 8 Before Upgrading Hosts
VMware, Inc. 143