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jimitsalvi
Contributor
Contributor
‎04-25-2015 01:52 PM

how to make a fresh ESXi installation on a dell poweredge r610.

Hi,

I am on a task to install VMware ESXi 5.5 on a dell poweredge r610 and create a few linux VMs.

I have a vague idea of how to implement this.

I have no hands-on experience working with servers or either ESXi.

What would be the best approach to this task?

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5 Replies
cykVM
Expert
Expert
‎04-25-2015 02:12 PM

I would start with downloading the DELL customized VMWare installation image, e.g. this one: VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Driver Details | Dell US

Prior to installing anything I would update all BIOS and firmware (NICs, storage controller, DRAC card etc.) for the server.

jimitsalvi
Contributor
Contributor
‎04-25-2015 05:04 PM

Thank you.

How do we go about updating all the drivers for the server?

Is there any specific BIOS setting that needs to be done prior to installation?

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cykVM
Expert
Expert
‎04-26-2015 01:10 AM

How do we go about updating all the drivers for the server?

The DELL server should have a service tag, you can entert this at dell support pages. There should be some BIOS/firmware update bootable DVD ISOs available. DRAC firmware can be also updated via drac web-interface.

Is there any specific BIOS setting that needs to be done prior to installation?

As far as I know you only have to enable VT in BIOS. See for example Dell PowerEdge R610 Bios Settings for Vsphere ESX 4.0 (Vmware)

I'm not a DELL server specialist Smiley Wink Sometimes it's adviseable to set the power management to high/max performance for stability,

jimitsalvi
Contributor
Contributor
‎04-26-2015 10:31 PM

Found your links quite helpful.

Thanks a lot.

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