ESXi v 7.0.2 - Admin passed away

[keljoh]

Hi - 

We recently built a lab environment and had and ESXi server running two or three VMs. One of the VMs happen to be the domain controller. The lab was built by one primary administrator who subsequently got very sick and passed away. Unfortunately, we did not get to the point of vaulting all the lab key's and passwords. 

I'm lucky enough to be a domain admin so I can get into the guest VM and maybe do a backup. My thought is to run NirSoft product key recovery and at least get the windows product keys out of the guest VM's, I also want to backup the domain controller, this is where things get a bit messy as it's probably easiest to do that from a vsphere client. 

I do not have the root password for esxi host (I've heard re-installing ESXi, could possibly preserve the VMs), but I'm guessing ESXi 7.0.2 needs a product key for reinstallation? I'm also guessing I need to be root or connected via vsphere client to figure out what that is?


Goals...
Identify ESXi License key to enable reinstall
Reset ESXi root password
Somehow backup the VM that is the domain controller
Find a place to download vmware client
Maybe use VMware client to backup VMs

I'm accepting ANY advice... 

[degvm]

Hi, some things comes to my mind:

Open a technical request or a non-technical

https://customerconnect.vmware.com/support/create-request/technical

https://customerconnect.vmware.com/support/create-request/non-technical-options

Ask the support team for the "super-User" of the account of your company, probably someone with your domain-extension of the email, like someone@a-company.com, to find out how to contact the right person. In case your old admin is the only registered person, ask to transfer the license to you. Perhaps it will need an agreemend of upper IT-Management.

Reinstall the host preserving VMFS. Download the latest 7.0 versions from https://customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vspher...

For Backup the domain controller, it is not best practice to use snapshots or something like that, better to do https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/active-directory-backup-restore

VI Client is not necessary anymore, use the HTML5-Client (Web-Client) https://servername.some.domain/ui to access your host.

Vi Client is not for backup, perhaps have a look at Veeam
https://www.veeam.com/vm-backup-recovery-replication-software.html?st=adwordspaidsearch&utm_source=g...

In case you are satisfied with the answer, please Kudo/like or ask additional questions.

[pmichelli]

You can use Veeam community edition to backup the DC, that is 100% supported and is free, unless you have other backup software in your org.

Reinstalling will preserve the VMs, Are you running vCenter on top of ESXI, or just ESXI?

My condolences for the loss of your coworker. Never easy.

[BiosMaster0x000]

1. Reboot the ESXi server and press "Shift + R" to enter the Recovery Mode.

2. Once in Recovery Mode, press "F11" to start the system in Single User Mode.

3. The system will then ask for the root password. Leave it blank and press "Enter."

4. Now the system has entered into the Single User Mode. Run the given command to edit the password file.

`# mount -o remount, rw /`

`# /usr/lib/passwd.root -st`

5. Now you can reset your ESXi root password and save changes.

6. After setting the new password, reboot the system and login with your new root password.

Please ensure that you have appropriate access or the necessary permissions to perform these actions. It's recommended to consult the relevant documentation or seek assistance from the ESXi support team if you are unsure about these steps.