VMWare ESX Server v4.

0 Installation
1) Confirm licensing information for VMWare ESX Server software.
2) Obtain IP addresses for the ESX servers Service Console, VMKernel Port, and RSA/DRAC.
a) The Service Consoles IP address should be on the Avocent/RSA/BladeCenter Management
VLAN.
b) The VMKernel Ports IP address should be on a VLAN that is dedicated to VMWare VMotion
traffic. If such a VLAN does not exist at this location, request creation of a VLAN dedicated to this
purpose.
c) The IP address for the IBM RSA or Dell DRAC should be on the Avocent/RSA/BladeCenter
Management VLAN.
3) Confirm remote console connectivity via Avocent DSView.
4) Confirm network cable connections and switch port VLAN assignments following these guidelines:
a) Configure the RSA/DRAC to enable remote console access and remote power control.
b) All network switch ports should be set to static speed/duplex setting at 1000/FULL.
c) The add-on NIC cards should have all of their network switch ports configured for trunking (to
pass traffic for all VLANs).
d) The built-in NIC in the server will have either 2 or 4 ports. Half of these ports will be used for the
Service Console. The other half will be used for the VMKernel Port.
i) Determine the device numbers associated with each built-in NIC port. (If you cannot
determine the device numbers in advance, you may need to do these steps after ESX
installation.)
(1) The ports with the lowest device number will be used for the Service Console Port. Have
the Network team assign those switch ports to the Avocent/RSA/BladeCenter
Management VLAN.
(2) The ports with the highest device number will be used for the VMKernel Port. Have the
Network team assign those switch ports to the VMotion VLAN.
5) Create DNS forward and reverse lookup entries for the service console and RSA/DRAC IP
addresses. Verify name resolution functionality.
6) Verify that the fiber-optic cables have been installed from the HBAs to the SAN fabric, in preparation
for allocation of the datastore LUN(s) after ESX installation.
7) Configure the Hardware RAID set as detailed in the configuration documentation for the make/model
of this ESX server hardware.
If an IBM Bladecenter is being used, open the remote console from the Advanced Management Module
(AMM) and select the remote disk option. Click on Select Image and select Add. Navigate to the ISO
image for ESX 4.0 and click OK. Click Mount All on the Remote Disk window to mount the ISO to the
machine. Verify that the correct machine is selected for the Media Tray option.