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Table Of Contents
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Have a network adapter connected to the network where the PXE server resides.
For details about guest operating system installation, see the Guest Operating System Installation Guide at
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/home.html.
Install a Guest Operating System from Media
You can install a guest operating system from a CD-ROM or from an ISO image. Installing from an ISO
image is typically faster and more convenient than a CD-ROM installation.
If the virtual machine’s boot sequence progresses too quickly for you to open a console to the virtual
machine and enter BIOS or EFI setup, you might need to delay the boot order. See “Delay the Boot
Sequence,” on page 160.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the installation ISO image is present on a VMFS datastore or network file system (NFS)
volume accessible to the ESXi host.
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Verify that you have the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.
Procedure
1 Log in to the vCenter Server system or host on which the virtual machine resides.
2 Select an installation method.
Option Action
CD-ROM
Insert the installation CD-ROM for your guest operating system into the
CD-ROM drive of your ESXi host.
ISO image
a Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. The virtual
machine Edit Settings dialog box opens. If the Virtual Hardware tab is
not preselected, select it.
b Select Datastore ISO File from the CD/DVD drop-down menu, and
browse for the ISO image for your guest operating system.
3 Right-click the virtual machine and select Power On.
A green right arrow appears next to the virtual machine icon in the inventory list.
4 Follow the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.
What to do next
Install VMware Tools. VMware highly recommends running the latest version of VMware Tools on your
guest operating systems. Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, you lose
important functionality and convenience without them. See Chapter 12, “Upgrading Virtual Machines,” on
page 225 for instructions on installing and upgrading VMware Tools.
Upload ISO Image Installation Media for a Guest Operating System
You can upload an ISO image file to a datastore from your local computer. You can do this when a virtual
machine, host, or cluster does not have access to a datastore or to a shared datastore that has the guest
operating system installation media that you require.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the Client Integration Plug-In is installed. See “Install the Client Integration Plug-In,” on
page 187. The installation process requires you to close any open browsers.
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Required privileges:
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Datastore.Browse datastore on the datastore.
Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines
VMware, Inc. 25