is this the 3i blog??? Need help with installing a ESX Server 3i

[calhouninc]

I am a newbee installing the ESX Server 3i product for the first time, and it will be a stand-alone host (no other servers) The server screen says "Download tools to manage this host" - where and what tools do I download???

Thanks, Mitch, Phone: 972-239-1234

[azn2kew]

Personally, I wouldn't post my phone up here for reasons but no one really cares. Anyways, depends how you install your 3i? Is it embedded or 3i installer version? 3i doesn't have service console interface so you have to connect it with Virtual Center Client download and install on your PC. Connect to your 3i ESX host and manage from it. You can also hack a little bit to play with same basic service console commands but not interested. You can find it in google.com how to work around.

"The Power of Knowledge"

[azn2kew]

If you're new here are some basic FAQs:

ESX Server 3i will make VMware's the thinnest, most secure, and reliable virtualization platform available today, in my opinion. If you did not have scripts or installed applications in the current Linux service console, I don't see any reason not to upgrade to ESX 3i when it is available. ESX Server 3i is the next major architectural change of ESX Server - a move toward thin, embedded virtualization. While I am sold on VMware for my virtualization purposes, the new 3i makes me wonder what the competition (mainly the one that starts with a M) will do to try to top a 32MB virtualization OS. I mean, can Microsoft even make a patch that is less than 32MB?

Here are some frequently asked questions about ESX 3i:

*

Is 3i a replacement for ESX Server 3? No. VMware has pledged to support both the traditional ESX Server 3.x and ESX Server 3i for the foreseeable future. Still, it is just a matter of time before the embedded / thin version of ESX server is the only version available.

**

What about my scripts and installations I have on the Linux service console? Many ESX server commands are still available but the Linux scripting and installable applications will not be available anymore. 3rd party vendors who make installable applications for ESX will have to migrate those to using the ESX API.

**

Will 3i eliminate patches for ESX Server? No. 3i is expected to cut the number of ESX patches in half. When there is a patch for ESX 3i, it will just be a 32MB flash replacement file and the server can just be rebooted to the new 32MB 3i flash file.

**

When will 3i be available? VMware is saying that in the 4th quarter of 2007, 3i will be available both as a downloading disk install on your existing servers and as an embedded flash version inside new server hardware. If you have software maintenance on your current ESX server software, you will be able to download ESX 3i at no cost.

**

Does ESX 3i offer greater performance? It is speculated that ESX Server 3i will provide greater performance than the traditional ESX. This could simply be true because you are putting fewer demands on the server and freeing up resources for running virtual servers.

*

"The Power of Knowledge"

[Dave_Mishchenko]

The console screen should display an IP address. You'll go to https:// and there you'll see a link to "Download VMware Infrastructure Client". You'll download and install that onto your Windows PC (there is no Linux or other client). You'll then start that client and connect to it with the host. For the hostname you can use the IP of the ESX 3i host, the login of root and the password that you've set at the console. To set the password, press F2 at the console of the 3i host and then select Configure Root Password.