Can only install VM using optical media

[glen4cincy]

I'm just learning about servers and VM's and such. I am in a home environment so I do not have any Windows servers or NSF File Servers.

The only way I have been able to find to spin up a VM is by using a +R optical disc. CD's work but -R DVD's do not. That could be just the drive, I'm not sure.

Even plugging in a USB device is not even recognized. I cannot add that device as a datastore and then use it to boot the VM.

"You are running DellEMC Customized Image ESXi 6.0 Update 3 A15 (based on ESXi VMKernel Release Build 13635687"

This is the version of ESXi that I am running.

Should I run something different? I'd like to be able to spin up VM's more quickly and easily than having to burn a +R disc.

Thanks in advance.

[continuum]

Why dont you use isos and copy them to a datastore ? - thats the most reliable option ...

[a_p_]

Typically you'd use ISO installation images for most guest operating systems.

These can either be mapped to the VM from e.g. a local drive on the system on which you run the web browser, and connect to the ESXi host, or by uploading the installation image to a folder on one of the ESXi host's datastores, and mapping the ISO to the VM's virtual CD-ROM drive from there.

André

[vFouad]

you "could" pass the usb device through to the VM, but the "normal" install guest OS method as described by others is to install from ISO...

This is facilitated by either copying the ISO to a datastore (local or mapped (block or file)) ESXi supports NFS so you could spin up a NFS share from your desktop machine and share the ISOs there...

https://windowsreport.com/windows-10-free-nfs-server/

See the above for some ideas

As far a USB drive for VM storage... I would never condone this in a production environment... but for lab usage there are ways around this

https://www.virten.net/2016/11/usb-devices-as-vmfs-datastore-in-vsphere-esxi-6-5/​

This might help you...

You may need to upgrade to ESXi 6.5 or newer for this to work... I'm not sure what your ESXi is installed on so I can't say if it will support a newer version of ESXi...

[glen4cincy]

All of these replies are helpful.

Likely one of my issues are the drives are not set up in an ideal fashion.

I have 4 300 GB drives and I only have them set up as a single drive. I'm not really concerned about data loss so the RAID level was not a concern. This also leaves me without space to add a datastore to do anything with.

Since I have 4 free slots would even adding 1 more drive to my current configuration give me that space to add the datastore ?

The "passthru USB" suggestion is one that I have tried with every USB port on the server. I do not see anywhere in the ESXi Host where it "sees" the USB stick so I can pass it through to a VM.

As far as upgrading the version I'm using, this is a Dell R710. The compatibility sheet shows that 6.0 is the highest version supported. This version came from the Dell Support website.