ESXi into production: Configuration replication and automated activation

[Hector86]

Hi all!!! 

I am considering ESXi for a virtualization solution (I havent tested it yet) and I have some concerns on how to take it into production level before actually trying to use it:

- Once I configure ESXi on a real equipment, how do I streamline that configuration and installation? Is it possible to create an image or something similar to install it on the factory?

- How could ESXi license activation be automated (at factory) if  every equipment has with its own ESXi?

Thanks in advance!

[daphnissov · Accepted solution]

ESXi has the ability to run a kickstart script, allowing for automated installation. These scripts are quite simple to write and can be used to produce a fully automatic deployment experience.

vCenter is the management layer for ESXi, and combined they make up what's called vSphere. You probably shouldn't be deploying individual ESXi hosts to different locations without having them all managed under vCenter. Once that management is there, license application can also be scripted with something like PowerCLI or similar.

Like with all things automation, these are only single options and many others exist.