Install guest operating system VMware ESX Server

This article will provide step-by-step instructions on how to install VMware ESX Server Guest / Virtual Machine operating system.

David Davis

Network Administration - VMware ESX Server is completely free to download, evaluate and install a guest operating system. In this article you will see how to install a new guest operating system and your first virtual machine.

How to download and evaluate VMware ESX Server

If you have installed VMware ESX Server, you can skip this step to switch to the second part. If you still have not installed VMware ESX Server, download and evaluate. To do so, go to Evaluate the VMware ESX Server & VMware Infrastructure Suite. We will not go into Virtual Center and the rest of the VMware Infrastructure Suite features in this article.

Things to know before installing VMware ESX Server

Before installing VMware ESX Server, you need to know that there are some hardware requirements, it will not install on all PCs or laptops. Make sure that the hardware you will install must meet the conditions in the VMware Hardware Compatibility List list.

One thing you need to know here is that there are two versions of VMware ESX Server. The usual 'full' version with the service console is installed. That version is ESX Server 3.x. Another version is the "thin" version (VMware ESXi). Unless you need ESX 3.x, we recommend you to use ESXi because of its small size, easy to install and quick start.

Install the first guest operating system in VMware ESX Server

To create a new virtual machine in the ESX Server by first installing the client, simply follow the simple steps below:

Open the VMware Infrastructure Client (VI Client). Right-click on the ESX Server and select New Virtual Machine.

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Figure 1: Select New Virtual Machine

Choose to create a Typical virtual machine to reduce the number of questions during the process of creating a virtual machine and click Next.
Next, name the virtual machine. In the article we named it 'VA.com-1' , and clicked Next.

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Figure 2: Name the virtual machine

Select Datastore so that this new virtual machine will install in it. In this article, we used internal storage on ESX Server, and clicked Next.
Select the operating system that you will install. In this article, we selected 32-bit Windows XP , and clicked Next.

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Figure 3: Select the type of guest operating system

Select the number of Virtual Processors. In the lesson we left the default of 1 and clicked Next.
Select the amount of RAM this new client will have. In this, we leave 256MB of RAM for the new Windows XP virtual machine.

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Figure 4: Select the amount of RAM for the new guest virtual machine

Select the number of virtual NICs and virtual networks that these virtual NICs will connect to. We all choose the default.
Now, select the amount of disk space for the client's virtual drive. We choose the default of 8GB.

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Figure 5: Select the amount of disk space for the virtual machine

Finally, review the settings configured for the guest virtual machine. If all of them are correct, then click Finish.

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Figure 6: Verifying settings for the new virtual machine

Verify that the new virtual machine has been successfully created.
Before starting this new virtual machine, you need to connect the Windows XP installation CDROM to the new virtual machine. To do this, select the new virtual machine, then click Edit Virtual Machine Settings.

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Figure 7: Editing settings for virtual machines

In the properties page of the virtual machine, click Virtual CD / DVD Drive . In this article, we installed Windows XP in an ISO file and saved it in the internal ESX server database. In this case, just click Datastore ISO file , browse to this Windows XP ISO file. Click Connect at power on , then OK.

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Figure 8: Editing CD / DVD Drive, using ISO file

Now we are ready to install the operating system, Power On for the virtual machine and go to Console to perform the installation process.
Since the installation media is connected at power on, Windows CD will start automatically, check the hardware and start loading files for Windows Setup. Pressing F6 is a very important procedure, when you will see 'press F6 to load a SCSI driver' . This is because ESX uses the default Buslogic SCSI driver and you need to direct your installer to the Buslogic driver.

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Figure 9: Press 'S' to specify the SCSI driver

When you see the screen above, press 'S' to specify the SCSI driver.

You need to download VMware SCSI Drivers and place this file in your system.
Now, click the Connect Floppy button on the VI Client Toolbar and select VMware SCSI Drivers. The FLP file has been downloaded. Return to the Windows XP screen to INSERT FLOPPY AND PRESS ENTER , press Enter.

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Figure 10: VMware SCSI Driver was found

Now press Enter then continue Enter again .

You will see the Window XP Setup / Install screen below. Press Enter to install.

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Figure 11: Windows XP installation process starts, press Enter

Follow the typical Windows XP installation procedures. These procedures include pressing F8 to accept the registry, selecting the existing Windows XP installation, pressing 'C' to create a partition, pressing enter to create the partition, then press enter to install the system. onions. Select 'Format the partition (Quick) using the NTFS file system'.

When the file copy is complete, Windows XP will restart. Now disconnect the virtual floppy drive. When Windows XP restarts, you'll have to answer some questions in your Windows installation and your new Windows XP VMware ESX Server client will be ready for use! This is what when the installation is completed:

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Figure 12: Windows XP is successfully installed inside VMware ESX Server
as a virtual machine

Finally, when the new virtual machine runs, you should not forget to install VMware Tools to improve performance and provide some other features!

Conclude

In this article, I have shown you step by step how to install a new guest operating system in VMware ESX Server. Start by downloading and evaluating VMware ESX Server, providing information about what to expect when installing ESX Server, and installing a guest virtual machine, .