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BillStirling
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Merits of hardware specific ESXi versus generic ESXi

Hi you can get hardware specific versions of ESXi (IBM/Dell/HP) which give better support/integration with the underlying hardware - but as I see the advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages.

As I see it:

Pros:

         Better intergration with hardware

         hardware specific CIM

Cons:

         Generally the hardware specific versions are more out of date than the generic

         If you use VMware update manager it will, presumably, install the generic version.

         If you cannot use update manager Then you must re-install an updated version which means re-configure the host from scratch (if you do not have Enterprise Plus with host profiles)

Regards

Bill

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weinstein5
Immortal
Immortal

Actually Update Manager should just update the VMWare Components and not change any of the hardware specific software - Also anything that is installed with hardware specific ESXi you should also be able to obtain from the hardware manuifacturer for installation into the 'Generic' ESXi because both utilize the same underlying code for the hypervisor.

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chriswahl
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

If you don't want to use a OEM custom image, there may be an offline bundle you can add to a generic ISO install via VUM.

HP for example:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware-esxi/offline_bundle.html

VCDX #104 (DCV, NV) ஃ WahlNetwork.com ஃ @ChrisWahl ஃ Author, Networking for VMware Administrators
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DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal

Without the hardware specific CIM providers your have a very much reduced view of your hardware. You will not likely get notice of disk or array failures especially. You will not be able to monitor and recieve notification on those types of failures from within vCenter. Make sure your specific model is supported by the manufacturer for ESXi otherwise use the generic install.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
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