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VirtuallyBozo
Contributor
Contributor

Custom ESXi install with custom default password

So I have customer that we are building systems for and we are now working on an "appliance" that has 51 different nodes each using ESXi.

As it is now, we have to install ESXi, login, change the password rules file to accommodate the custom password as it does not adhere to the default password rules (much more complex), then reboot and log back in and change the password. This is a very time consuming process due to boot times and hands on access to the rack. Each rack gets a different password.

  1. Is there a way to automate this process or more likely, is there a way to generate a custom install of ESXi on the fly, using the generated password? (probably not likely)
  2. Instead of creating a custom install with the password, can I create a custom ESXi install that already has the password rules file updated for the complexity of the password required? At least this would save some time.

I would prefer option 1 to remove human error out of the process, but option 2 would work, however it would require extra QA steps to make sure passwords were entered correctly.

Since we are going to be manufacturing several of these "appliances" a week we would prefer not to spend a full day modifying the rules file and entering a password.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the help!

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7 Replies
IRIX201110141
Champion
Champion

I cant your answer but we do it the following way....

1. Log into the default password from the installation or manufacture[1]

2. Edit /etc/shadow

Done.

[1] I use a lot of preinstalled Dell ESXi installation and they comes with  ServiceTag + !   as default password. Duno how they managed it.

Regards,
Joerg

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VirtuallyBozo
Contributor
Contributor

In this instance we need to modify the pam_passwdqc,so  file to allow the password they require.

Having ESXi preloaded would be nice, but our test system wipes out any data on the drives and breaks the raid setup.

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berndweyand
Expert
Expert

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VirtuallyBozo
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you!

This may do the trick.  I'll do some testing and report back by Wednesday.

Been a long time since I used PowerShell so I have to brush up on it again.

Looks like I can run it on Linux which is even better since I don't have a windows machine in manufacturing.

Is it possible to change the password using PowerShell?

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VirtuallyBozo
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you once again!

We don't have Vcenter installed anywhere. Is it possible to get the hostnames and run the password change without it?

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berndweyand
Expert
Expert

yes its possible - in the command Connect-Viserver -server xx.xx.xx.xx just put in the hostname and login with root-user

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