vSphere ISO not bootable

[netlib]

I purchased vSphere and downloaded the ISO: VMware-VIMSetup-all-4.0.0-208156.iso

I then burned a DVD from it. It created an apparently readable DVD, but unfortunately it is not bootable. Is there some special secret trick I am supposed to use to install it on the server?

Thanks.

[asatoran]

What program did you use to burn the ISO? And is this ESX or ESXi? IIRC, you need a CD for ESXi 4. Only ESX4 is a DVD. (At least, it didn't work for me when I burned the ESXi4 ISO to a DVD. It only worked for me on a CD. Correct me if I'm wrong. )

[netlib]

I purchased vSphere Essential Edition and I was directed to this download page by the sales rep:

Download VMware vSphere 4

This is a brand new install (not an upgrade) andto be honest, I didn't have the slightest idea what to download. I guessed that it was the 3rd in the list: VMware vCenter Server 4 Update 1. That ISO is 1.8GB, too large for a CD. Did I download the wrong thing?

What is the difference between ESX and ESXi and how do I tell which one I purchased?

Thanks for the reply.

[asatoran]

I purchased vSphere Essential Edition...This is a brand new install (not an upgrade) andto be honest, I didn't have the slightest idea what to download. I guessed that it was the 3rd in the list: VMware vCenter Server 4 Update 1. That ISO is 1.8GB, too large for a CD. Did I download the wrong thing?

There are several components to download for each version. But for all you start with "ESX 4 Update 1" or "ESXi4 Update 1". vCenter is used to manage ESX and ESXi hosts and is installed later. (Technically, if you don't need central managment of multiple ESX hosts, then vCenter does not need to be installed.)

What is the difference between ESX and ESXi and how do I tell which one I purchased?

Since you've paid, you're entitled to both. ESXi is also available with a "free" license (and limited features.) The primary differences are that ESXi does not have a Linux based service console and ESXi install footprint is much smaller. (ESXi can be installed to a 1GB USB thumb drive, if desired.) Opinions vary as to which is "better". Some third party apps use the service console. (i.e.: UPS shutdown software.) But VMWare says their future direction is ESXi. I'd recommend you download both and try practice installing both to see which you want. Both with install in "evaluation mode" if you don't enter your license number.

You'll also want to take a look at some of the documentation. Ignore the documentation for "embedded" versions for now, as those are for systems where ESXi comes preinstalled on your server.

Don't feel bad. When I first started using ESX, it took me a while to get through the concepts and figure out the basic pieces of Virtual Infrastrure and vSphere, despite me having used VMWare Workstation and VMWare Server for sometime before that.

[DSTAVERT]

I would have a look through Webcast QuickStart and Webcast ESXi Webstart .

[netlib]

Which one would allow us to connect to Virtual Machines remotely: ESX or ESXi?

Which is easier to install and maintain?

Thanks for the reply.

[asatoran]

Which one would allow us to connect to Virtual Machines remotely: ESX or ESXi?

You manage both with the same vSphere client software. So you can use either one. They have the same capabilities, as far as what you can do through the vSphere client software, anyway.

Which is easier to install and maintain?

Both are quite easy to install. Compared to installing Windows, installing ESX or ESXi is trivial. ESXi, having a smaller install footprint, installs faster. If you can keep your virtual machines on separate hard drives than the ESX(i) install, then the install and possible future reinstall for each is equally easy. Maintenance is the same, for the most part. As I mentioned earlier, ESX has a Linux based service console so certain things are possible on ESX that are not possible on ESXi. But if you're not comfortable with Linux, then you'll likely not touch the service console much anyway, so it may be a moot point. At my company, our ESX needs are still small and we don't have any third party apps that need the service console. So although we've deployed the full ESX, I've not had to use the console at all. Thus far I've been able to do everything I need though the vSphere client. YMMV, of course, depending on the complexity of your network, but on my small network, without a SAN and without goodies like vMotion, there's really not much to maintain in ESX once you get it configured.

[netlib]

According to the sales rep we needed to use one or the other (ESX or ESXi) in order to allow us to connect remotely to virtual machines. Now he isn't sure which one it is. Can we use either one for that purpose?

Incidentally, we may add a second server to the mix. The vSphere license allows up to three.

Thanks for the reply.

[asatoran · Accepted solution]

According to the sales rep we needed to use one or the other (ESX or ESXi) in order to allow us to connect remotely to virtual machines. Now he isn't sure which one it is. Can we use either one for that purpose?

ESX and ESXi host the virtual machines. You then use the vSphere client program to connect to the ESX & ESXi hosts. (IOW, install ESX or ESXi on one machine. Then install the vSphere client program on a separate machine running Windows. That Windows machine can be on the LAN or connected remotely to the LAN by VPN, etc.) You can use either ESX or ESXi. At this point, it won't make much difference for you, since I'm assuming you don't have any third party apps that need the ESX service console or have any other incompatibilities with ESXi. Like I said, try installing both. Play with each for a short bit before you commit. Just to see what the setup process is like and what the differences are. Installing and reinstalling ESX is quite trivial so it's easy to practice the install several times without wasting too much time.

Incidentally, we may add a second server to the mix. The vSphere license allows up to three.

And since you've paid for it, take a look at installing vCenter. While it may be overkill for your setup, vCenter is necessary for some of the more advanced features of vSphere like vMotion. You don't have a license for vMotion, but as you virtualize more, you may see a need for vMotion in the future, so having become accustomed to vCenter will help in that regard.

[netlib]

Sorry to be lame, but how do I install VCenter? I downloaded and burned the VCenter DVD, but I am not sure how to install it from the default ESX Unix console. Thanks.

[asatoran]

vCenter is installed on a separate Windows PC. Page 10 of the vSphere Introduction has a picture that may help with understanding the components of vSphere. Notice how vCenter is separate from the ESX hosts. (e.g.: Server Group1-3)

Installation instructions for vCenter start at Chapter 11 of the Installation Guide.

Don't worry too much about vCenter in the beginning. Become familiar with ESX and the vSphere client with just your one ESX host. If you were planning to immediately have multiple ESX hosts and advanced features like HA or vMotion, then you'd need vCenter. But with a single ESX host or even just two ESX hosts, adding vCenter later is usually not much of a problem. vCenter can be overwhelming to learn at the same time as learning ESX. If you can give yourself some time to play and learn ESX & vCenter before you deploy into production, that would benefit you greatly. If you need to get ESX into production right away, then just concentrate on ESX for now.

[netlib]

Thanks. Isn't vCenter needed to Clone Virtual Machines and import/convert VMWare Workstation VMs?

[jb12345]

You can use the free VMware Converter to clone VMs and also to convert physical (P2V) or virtual machines (V2V) also before you install vCenter.

[asatoran]

Thanks. Isn't vCenter needed to Clone Virtual Machines and import/convert VMWare Workstation VMs?

vCenter does clone, but you can also do the same by just copying the VM manually and using Sysprep. How much you need to clone through vCenter is up to you. In my work, I don't need to clone much so the manual copy is sufficient. YMMV.

As stated, VMWare Converter is available as a standalone free version that does import of VMs and physical machines. So even if you don't install vCenter, you can still import into ESX at no additional cost.

[netlib]

Ok, sorry to be slow, but how do I copy converted VMs to the ESX server? I'm not familiar enough with Unix to know that. In the past (eg using Redhat) I've always used the built-in GUI. The ESX server is on the same lan as the Windows server that has the VMs, but how do I copy them over? So far the only way I've been able to do it is to burn them to a DVD and then copy from the DVD. I know there has to be a better way.

[asatoran]

Use SCP to access the datastores. The most often recommended is WinSCP or FastSCP. (I use FastSCP.)

Although it doesn't seem intuitive, you can also use VMWare Converter to copy VMs into ESX. You can specify a Workstation/Player/Fusion virtual machines as a source as well as VirtualPC virtual machines or physical machines.

If you don't use Converter, then try to make your virtual machines "ESX compatible". In the past, ESX didn't support things like IDE virtual disks or thin disks (a.k.a. growable.) So you used Converter to change that while it copied. But if your settings were already compatible with ESX, then you could just copy using SCP.

[admin]

You can also use Workstation to 'export' the VM directly from Workstation to the ESX server host if everything is compatible. Export the VM and make the 'destination' a VMware Infrastructure Virtual Machine, then it will ask you for the destination server. Pretty handy, but it's not hard to make VMs in WS that won't actually translate over effectively.

-Toby