Objective 9.1 – Install ESXi hosts with custom settings

Knowledge - Identify Custom Installation Options
Custom installation options allow you to create standard installation ISO files including any required drivers,  and or custom kernel settings.  There are other advanced boot loader options to facilitate custom kickstart scripted lights out installations.

Knowledge - Identify ESXi Image Builder Requirements

•     Microsoft .NET 2.0
•     Microsoft PowerShell
•     vSphere PowerCLI

Skills and Abilities - Create/Edit Image Profiles
The flow of what you are trying to create

A short video of adding FusionIO device drivers to ESXi 5 and forming out to iso

Commands pasted as test as used during the video which add FusionIO drivers to ESXi 5 base.

Skills and Abilities - Install/Uninstall Custom Drivers
# Import VMware and VMware Image Builder SnapIn's

Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core
Add-PSSnapin VMware.ImageBuilder

# Download the offline bundle version of ESXi from vmware.com
# import the VMware image into image builder builder
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot "C:\VMs\Home Lab Setup\CustomDepot\VMware-ESXi-5.0.0-469512-depot.zip"

# Download the offline driver bundle you want to add from vendor example HP IO Accelerator
# and import the VMware image into image builder builder
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot "C:\VMs\Home Lab Setup\CustomDepot\ioSphere3.6.1_ESXi-5.x\Utilities\fusionio-cimprovider-esxi5-bundle-3.6.1-114.zip"

# View contents of depot
Get-EsxSoftwareDepot

# View all images in depot
Get-EsxImageProfile

# Clone an existing image to form a new custom image
New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile ESXi-5.0.0-469512-standard -Name ESXi-5.0.0-469512.FusionIO -AcceptanceLevel PartnerSupported -Vendor HP

# Find name of packages
Get-EsxSoftwarePackage | where {$_.Vendor -eq "Fusion-io"} | Format-Table -AutoSize

# Add additional packages into new custom image
Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile ESXi-5.0.0-469512.FusionIO -SoftwarePackage fio

# Export image as ISO
Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile ESXi-5.0.0-469512.FusionIO -ExportToIso -FilePath "C:\VMs\Home Lab Setup\CustomDepot\ESXi-5.0.0-469512.FusionIO.iso"

Skills and Abilities - Configure Advanced Boot Loader Options
When booting ESXi you can enter boot options by pressing tab,  this allows you to modify from default mboot.c32 -c boot.cfg.

 

 A little later you can also interrupt the boot loader by pressing Shift+O

At the runweasel command prompt,

Point to any bespoke kickstart file you have created, this can be hosted for access via http \ ftp,  and to used by specifying using ks= option to specify the location of the installation script.
    ks=protocol://<serverpath>
    ks=file://etc/vmware/weasel/ks.cfg  (default)

Skills and Abilities - Configure Kernel Options


ESXi uses the common mboot.c32 boot loader during installation. The boot.cfg file contains the Kernel path, Kernel options and boot modules used by mboot.c32.

As above you can interupt the boot loader and point to an alternate boot.cfg.

Skills and Abilities - Given A Scenario, Determine When To Customize A Configuration

Many deployment tools allow PXE boot and deploy OS by way of custom kickstart files if you use such a tool to deploy other OS you can easily start deploying ESXi via kickstart method.

A common requirement for building custom images, is when you are using newly released hardware, or if you are building a home lab on some unusual hardware drivers.