Hướng dẫn cài đặt Vsphere esxi vcenter server

vSphere Installation and Setup
ESXi 6.5
vCenter Server 6.5

This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is
replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of
this document, see />
EN-002319-03


vSphere Installation and Setup

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
/>The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
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Contents

About vSphere Installation and Setup

5

Updated Information 7

1 Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup 9

Overview of the vSphere Installation and Setup Process 9
vCenter Server Components and Services 12
Overview of the vCenter Server Appliance 14
vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types 15
Understanding vSphere Domains, Domain Names, and Sites 18
Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller Instances and High Availability
Enhanced Linked Mode Overview 21
About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes 22

19

2 Installing and Setting Up ESXi 23
ESXi Requirements 23
Preparing for Installing ESXi 29
Installing ESXi 71
Setting Up ESXi 167
After You Install and Set Up ESXi

184

3 Deploying the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller

Appliance

187

System Requirements for the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller
Appliance 188
Preparing for Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller
Appliance 197
Prerequisites for Deploying the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller
Appliance 198
GUI Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance 199
CLI Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance 220

4 Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 235

vCenter Server for Windows Requirements 236
Preparing for Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 245
Required Information for Installing vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on Windows 264
Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 266

5 After You Install vCenter Server or Deploy the vCenter Server Appliance 275
Log in to vCenter Server by Using the vSphere Web Client 275
Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in 276

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Collect vCenter Server Log Files

276

Repoint vCenter Server to Another External Platform Services Controller 277
Reconfigure a Standalone vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller to a
vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller 279

6 File-Based Backup and Restore of vCenter Server Appliance 283

Considerations and Limitations for File-Based Backup and Restore 284
Back up a vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface
Restore a vCenter Server Appliance from a File-Based Backup 288

286

7 Image-Based Backup and Restore of a vCenter Server Environment 295
Considerations and Limitations for Image-Based Backup and Restore 296
Use vSphere Data Protection to Back Up a vCenter Server Environment 298
Use vSphere Data Protection to Restore a vCenter Server Environment 302

8 Troubleshooting ESXi Booting 329

Host Stops Unexpectedly at Bootup When Sharing a Boot Disk with Another Host
Host Fails to Boot After You Install ESXi in UEFI Mode 330

329

9 Troubleshooting vCenter Server Installation or Deployment 331

Collecting Logs for Troubleshooting a vCenter Server Installation or Upgrade 331
Attempt to Install a Platform Services Controller After a Prior Installation Failure 333
Microsoft SQL Database Set to Unsupported Compatibility Mode Causes vCenter Server
Installation or Upgrade to Fail 334

10 Decommissioning ESXi and vCenter Server 335
Decommission an ESXi Host 335
Uninstall vCenter Server 335

Index 337

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About vSphere Installation and Setup
®

vSphere Installation and Setup describes how to install and configure VMware vCenter Server , deploy the
®
VMware vCenter Server Appliance™, and install and configure VMware ESXi™.

Intended Audience
vSphere Installation and Setup is intended for experienced administrators who want to install and configure
vCenter Server, deploy and configure the vCenter Server Appliance, and install and configure ESXi.
This information is written for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with
virtual machine technology and data center operations. The information about using the Image Builder and
®

VMware vSphere Auto Deploy™ is written for administrators who have experience with Microsoft
®
PowerShell and VMware vSphere PowerCLI™.

vSphere Web Client and vSphere Client
Task instructions in this guide are based on the vSphere Web Client. You can also perform most of the tasks
in this guide by using the new vSphere Client. The new vSphere Client user interface terminology, topology,
and workflow are closely aligned with the same aspects and elements of the vSphere Web Client user
interface. You can apply the vSphere Web Client instructions to the new vSphere Client unless otherwise
instructed.
Note Not all functionality in the vSphere Web Client has been implemented for the vSphere Client in the
vSphere 6.5 release. For an up-to-date list of unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the
vSphere Client Guide at />
VMware Technical Publications Glossary
VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions
of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to
/>
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vSphere Installation and Setup

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Updated Information

This vSphere Installation and Setup is updated with each release of the product or when necessary.
This table provides the update history of the vSphere Installation and Setup.
Revision

Description

EN-002319-04

Updated topic “vSphere Web Client Software Requirements,” on page 196 to include the correct
supported browser versions.

EN-002319-03

Updated topic “vCenter Server for Windows Requirements,” on page 236 to state that the local policy
must allow assigning Log on as a batch job rights to new local users.

EN-002319-02

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EN-002319-01

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n
n

n
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EN-002319-00

VMware, Inc.

Updated topic “ESXi Hardware Requirements,” on page 23 to state that, starting with vSphere 6.5,
VMware Auto Deploy supports network booting and provisioning of ESXi hosts with UEFI.
Updated topic “Storage Requirements for the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services
Controller Appliance,” on page 189 to state that the storage requirements include the requirements
for the VMware Update Manager that runs as a service in the vCenter Server Appliance.
Updated chapter “Preparing vCenter Server Databases for Install,” on page 246 to improve the
information about configuring external databases.
Updated topic “Repoint vCenter Server to Another External Platform Services Controller,” on
page 277 to improve the task context and prerequisites.
Updated the keyboard command parameter from Default to US Default in “Installation and
Upgrade Script Commands,” on page 77.
Corrected DSN to DNS in “Required Information for Installing vCenter Server or Platform Services
Controller on Windows,” on page 264.
Updated “Preparing vCenter Server Databases for Install,” on page 246 and “vCenter Server
Database Configuration Notes,” on page 246 to remove the vCenter Server Appliance, which, starting
with vSphere 6.5, does not support external databases.
Updated Step 5 in “Configure a SQL Server ODBC Connection,” on page 254 to add a note that you
cannot use a database server alias to create a DSN.
Updated Step 3 in “Stage 2 - Transfer Data to the Newly Deployed Appliance,” on page 292 to add an

Important note that you must power off and delete a partially restored virtual machine.
Updated “Considerations and Limitations for File-Based Backup and Restore,” on page 284 to state
that when registering or relocating a virtual machine during vCenter Server backup operation if after
restore of the vCenter Server the virtual machine is orphaned, you must add it to the vCenter Server
inventory.
Updated “Considerations and Limitations for Image-Based Backup and Restore,” on page 296 to
include Platform Services Controller in the note for reconfiguring an IP address of a restored
instance.

Initial release.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

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Introduction to vSphere Installation
and Setup

1

vSphere 6.5 provides various options for installation and setup. To ensure a successful vSphere deployment,
understand the installation and setup options, and the sequence of tasks.
The two core components of vSphere are ESXi and vCenter Server. ESXi is the virtualization platform on
which you can create and run virtual machines and virtual appliances. vCenter Server is a service that acts

as a central administrator for ESXi hosts connected in a network. vCenter Server lets you pool and manage
the resources of multiple hosts.
You can install vCenter Server on a Windows virtual machine or physical server, or deploy the
vCenter Server Appliance. The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine
optimized for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components. You can deploy the
vCenter Server Appliance on ESXi hosts 5.5 or later, or on vCenter Server instances 5.5 or later.
Starting with vSphere 6.0, all prerequisite services for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server
components are bundled in the VMware Platform Services Controller™. You can deploy vCenter Server
with an embedded or external Platform Services Controller, but you must always install or deploy the
Platform Services Controller before installing or deploying vCenter Server.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Overview of the vSphere Installation and Setup Process,” on page 9

n

“vCenter Server Components and Services,” on page 12

n

“Overview of the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 14

n

“vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types,” on page 15

n

“Understanding vSphere Domains, Domain Names, and Sites,” on page 18

n

“Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller Instances and High Availability,”
on page 19

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“Enhanced Linked Mode Overview,” on page 21

n

“About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes,” on page 22

Overview of the vSphere Installation and Setup Process
vSphere is a sophisticated product with multiple components to install and set up. To ensure a successful
vSphere deployment, understand the sequence of tasks required.
Installing vSphere includes the following tasks:

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vSphere Installation and Setup

Figure 1‑1. vSphere Installation and Setup Workflow
Small envrionment with one
vCenter Server Instance

Large envrionment with multiple
vCenter Server Instances

Start the vSphere
installation and setup

Start the vSphere
installation and setup

Install ESXi
on at least one host

Install ESXi
on at least one host

Set up ESXi

Set up ESXi

Deploy or install vCenter Server
with an embedded Platform
Services Controller

Deploy or install the Platform
Services Controller instances
in a sequence

Log in to the vSphere Web
Client to create and organize
your vCenter Server inventory

Deploy or install the vCenter Server
instances and register them with the
external Platform Services
Controller instances

End of the vSphere
installation and setup

Log in to the vSphere Web
Client to create and organize
your vCenter Server inventories

End of the vSphere
installation and setup

10

1

Read the vSphere release notes.

2

Install ESXi.
a

Verify that your system meets the minimum hardware requirements. See “ESXi Requirements,” on
page 23.

b

Determine the ESXi installation option to use. See “Options for Installing ESXi,” on page 30.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup

c

Determine where you want to locate and boot the ESXi installer. See “Media Options for Booting
the ESXi Installer,” on page 31. If you are using PXE to boot the installer, verify that your network
PXE infrastructure is properly set up. See “PXE Booting the ESXi Installer,” on page 35.

d

Create a worksheet with the information you will need when you install ESXi. See “Required
Information for ESXi Installation,” on page 70.

e

Install ESXi.
n

“Installing ESXi Interactively,” on page 71

n

“Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script,” on page 73

Note You can also provision ESXi hosts by using vSphere Auto Deploy, but vSphere Auto Deploy
is installed together with vCenter Server. To provision ESXi hosts by using Auto Deploy, you must
deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or install vCenter Server.
3

Configure the ESXi boot and network settings, the direct console, and other settings. See “Setting Up
ESXi,” on page 167 and “After You Install and Set Up ESXi,” on page 184.

4

Consider setting up a syslog server for remote logging, to ensure sufficient disk storage for log files.
Setting up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts with limited local storage. See
“Required Free Space for System Logging,” on page 28 and “Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts,” on
page 180.

5

Determine the vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller deployment model that is suitable for
your environment.
vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller deployment is suitable for small-scale
environments. vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller deployment is suitable for
environments with several vCenter Server instances. See “vCenter Server and Platform Services
Controller Deployment Types,” on page 15.

6

Deploy or install vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller.
You can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller appliance on an ESXi host
or vCenter Server instance, or you can install vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on a

Windows virtual machine or physical server.
You can deploy or install multiple vCenter Server instances connected in Enhanced Linked Mode
configuration by registering them to a common or different joined Platform Services Controller
instances.
n

Deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller appliance.
1

Review the topics in “System Requirements for the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform
Services Controller Appliance,” on page 188 and verify that your system meets the hardware
and software requirements for deploying the appliance.

2

Determine the deployment method to use.
You can use the GUI method to deploy the appliance interactively. You can use the CLI method
to perform a silent deployment of the appliance. See “GUI Deployment of the vCenter Server
Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance,” on page 199 and “CLI Deployment of
the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance,” on page 220.

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3

Use the topic “Required Information for Deploying a vCenter Server Appliance or Platform
Services Controller Appliance,” on page 200 to create a worksheet with the information you
need for the GUI deployment, or use the topic “Prepare Your JSON Configuration File for CLI
Deployment,” on page 220 to create your JSON templates for the CLI deployment.

4

Deploy the appliance.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

n

Install vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on a Windows virtual machine or physical
server.
1

Verify that your system meets the hardware and software requirements for installing
vCenter Server. See “vCenter Server for Windows Requirements,” on page 236.

2

(Optional) Set up an external vCenter Server database. See “Preparing vCenter Server
Databases for Install,” on page 246.
For an environment with up to 20 hosts and 200 virtual machines, you can use the bundled
PostgreSQL database. For production and large scale environments, set up an external
database, because the migration from the embedded PostgreSQL database to an external
database is not a trivial manual process.

3

Create a worksheet with the information you need for installation. See “Required Information

for Installing vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on Windows,” on page 264.

4

Install vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller,
Platform Services Controller, or vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller.

7

Connect to vCenter Server from the vSphere Web Client. See Chapter 5, “After You Install vCenter
Server or Deploy the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 275.

8

Configure the vCenter Server Appliance or vCenter Server instance. See vCenter Server Appliance
Configuration and vCenter Server and Host Management.

vCenter Server Components and Services
vCenter Server provides a centralized platform for management, operation, resource provisioning, and
performance evaluation of virtual machines and hosts.
When you install vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller, or deploy the
vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller, vCenter Server, the
vCenter Server components, and the services included in the Platform Services Controller are deployed on
the same system.
When you install vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller, or deploy the
vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller, vCenter Server and the
vCenter Server components are deployed on one system, and the services included in the
Platform Services Controller are deployed on another system.
The following components are included in the vCenter Server and vCenter Server Appliance installations:
n

The VMware Platform Services Controller group of infrastructure services contains vCenter Single SignOn, License service, Lookup Service, and VMware Certificate Authority.

n

The vCenter Server group of services contains vCenter Server, vSphere Web Client, vSphere Auto
Deploy, and vSphere ESXi Dump Collector. vCenter Server for Windows also contains the VMware
vSphere Syslog Collector. The vCenter Server Appliance also contains the VMware vSphere Update
Manager Extension service.

Note Starting with vSphere 6.5, all vCenter Server services and some Platform Services Controller services
run as child processes of the VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service.

Services Installed with VMware Platform Services Controller
vCenter Single Sign-On

12

The vCenter Single Sign-On authentication service provides secure
authentication services to the vSphere software components. By using
vCenter Single Sign-On, the vSphere components communicate with each
other through a secure token exchange mechanism, instead of requiring each

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Chapter 1 Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup

component to authenticate a user separately with a directory service like
Active Directory. vCenter Single Sign-On constructs an internal security

domain (for example, vsphere.local) where the vSphere solutions and
components are registered during the installation or upgrade process,
providing an infrastructure resource. vCenter Single Sign-On can
authenticate users from its own internal users and groups, or it can connect
to trusted external directory services such as Microsoft Active Directory.
Authenticated users can then be assigned registered solution-based
permissions or roles within a vSphere environment.
vCenter Single Sign-On is required with vCenter Server.
vSphere License
Service

The vSphere License service provides common license inventory and
management capabilities to all vCenter Server systems that are connected to
a Platform Services Controller or multiple linked
Platform Services Controllers.

VMware Certificate
Authority

VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) provisions each ESXi host with a
signed certificate that has VMCA as the root certificate authority, by default.
Provisioning occurs when the ESXi host is added to vCenter Server explicitly
or as part of the ESXi host installation process. All ESXi certificates are stored
locally on the host.

For information about all Platform Services Controller services and capabilities, see Platform Services
Controller Administration.

Services Installed with vCenter Server
These additional components are installed silently when you install vCenter Server. The components cannot

be installed separately as they do not have their own installers.
PostgreSQL

A bundled version of the VMware distribution of PostgreSQL database for
vSphere and vCloud Hybrid Services.

vSphere Web Client

The vSphere Web Client lets you connect to vCenter Server instances by
using a Web browser, so that you can manage your vSphere infrastructure.

vSphere Client

The new user interface that lets you connect to vCenter Server instances by
using a Web browser. The terminology, topology, and workflow are closely
aligned with the same aspects and elements of the vSphere Web Client user
interface.
Note Not all functionality in the vSphere Web Client has been
implemented for the vSphere Client in the vSphere 6.5 release. For an up-todate list of unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vSphere
Client Guide at />
vSphere ESXi Dump
Collector

VMware, Inc.

The vCenter Server support tool. You can configure ESXi to save the
VMkernel memory to a network server, rather than to a disk, when the
system encounters a critical failure. The vSphere ESXi Dump Collector
collects such memory dumps over the network.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

VMware vSphere Syslog
Collector

The vCenter Server on Windows support tool that enables network logging
and combining of logs from multiple hosts. You can use the vSphere Syslog
Collector to direct ESXi system logs to a server on the network, rather than to
a local disk. The recommended maximum number of supported hosts to
collect logs from is 30. For information about configuring vSphere Syslog
Collector, see />The vCenter Server Appliance uses the built-in Rsyslog service of the Linux
OS. For information how to redirect the log files to another machine with the
Appliance Management Interface, see vCenter Server Appliance Configuration.

vSphere Auto Deploy

The vCenter Server support tool that can provision hundreds of physical
hosts with ESXi software. You can specify the image to deploy and the hosts
to provision with the image. Optionally, you can specify host profiles to
apply to the hosts, and a vCenter Server location (folder or cluster) for each
host.

VMware vSphere
Update Manager
Extension

Update Manager enables centralized, automated patch and version

management for VMware vSphere and offers support for VMware ESXi
hosts, virtual machines, and virtual appliances. The VMware vSphere
Update Manager Extension is an optional service of only the
vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.

Overview of the vCenter Server Appliance
The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine that is optimized for running
vCenter Server and the associated services.
The vCenter Server Appliance reduces the deployment time of vCenter Server and the associated services,
and provides a low-cost alternative to the Windows-based vCenter Server installation.
The vCenter Server Appliance package contains the following software:
®

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Project Photon OS 1.0

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The Platform Services Controller group of infrastructure services

n

The vCenter Server group of services

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PostgreSQL

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VMware vSphere Update Manager Extension

Version 6.5 of the vCenter Server Appliance is deployed with virtual hardware version 10, which supports
64 virtual CPUs per virtual machine in ESXi.
The vCenter Server Appliance uses the embedded PostgreSQL database that has the scalability of up to
2,000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines. During the deployment, you can choose the
vCenter Server Appliance size for your vSphere environment size and the storage size for your database
requirements.
Starting with vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server uses the VMware vSphere Update Manager Extension service.
An external VMware Update Manager instance on Windows is no longer required for vSphere centralized
automated patch and version management. For information about the vCenter Server and
Platform Services Controller services, see “vCenter Server Components and Services,” on page 12.
Starting with vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server Appliance supports high availability. For information about
configuring vCenter Server Appliance in a vCenter High Availability cluster, see vSphere Availability.

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Starting with vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller appliance support
file-based backup and restore. For information backing up and restoring, see Chapter 6, “File-Based Backup
and Restore of vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 283.
For information about the vCenter Server Appliance maximums, see the Configuration Maximums
documentation.

vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types

You can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or install vCenter Server for Windows with an embedded or
external Platform Services Controller. You can also deploy a Platform Services Controller as an appliance or
install it on Windows. If necessary, you can use a mixed operating systems environment.
Before you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or install vCenter Server for Windows, you must determine
the deployment model that is suitable for your environment. For each deployment or installation, you must
select one of the three deployment types.
Table 1‑1. vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types
Deployment Type

Description

vCenter Server with an embedded
Platform Services Controller

All services that are bundled with the
Platform Services Controller are deployed together with
the vCenter Server services on the same virtual machine or
physical server.

Platform Services Controller

Only the services that are bundled with the
Platform Services Controller are deployed on the virtual
machine or physical server.

vCenter Server with an external
Platform Services Controller
(Requires external Platform Services Controller)

Only the vCenter Server services are deployed on the

virtual machine or physical server.
You must register such a vCenter Server instance with a
Platform Services Controller instance that you previously
deployed or installed.

vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller
This is a standalone deployment type that has its own vCenter Single Sign-On domain with a single site.
vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller is suitable for small environments. You
cannot join other vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller instances to this vCenter Single Sign-On
domain.
Figure 1‑2. vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller
Virtual Machine or Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller
vCenter Server

Installing vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller has the following advantages:
n

The connection between vCenter Server and the Platform Services Controller is not over the network,
and vCenter Server is not prone to outages caused by connectivity and name resolution issues between
vCenter Server and the Platform Services Controller.

n

If you install vCenter Server on Windows virtual machines or physical servers, you need fewer
Windows licenses.

n

You manage fewer virtual machines or physical servers.

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Installing vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller has the following disadvantages:
n

There is a Platform Services Controller for each product which might be more than required and which
consumes more resources.

n

The model is suitable only for small-scale environments.

You can configure the vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller in vCenter
High Availability configuration. For information, see vSphere Availability.
Note After you deploy or install vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller, you can
reconfigure the deployment type and switch to vCenter Server with an external
Platform Services Controller.
See “Reconfigure a Standalone vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller to a vCenter
Server with an External Platform Services Controller,” on page 279.

Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server with an External
Platform Services Controller
When you deploy or install a Platform Services Controller instance, you can create a vCenter Single Sign-On

domain or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain. Joined Platform Services Controller instances
replicate their infrastructure data, such as authentication and licensing information, and can span multiple
vCenter Single Sign-On sites. For information, see “Understanding vSphere Domains, Domain Names, and
Sites,” on page 18.
For information about managing the Platform Services Controller services, see Platform Services Controller
Administration.
You can register multiple vCenter Server instances with one common external Platform Services Controller
instance. The vCenter Server instances assume the vCenter Single Sign-On site of the
Platform Services Controller instance with which they are registered. All vCenter Server instances that are
registered with one common or different joined Platform Services Controller instances are connected in
Enhanced Linked Mode.
See “Enhanced Linked Mode Overview,” on page 21.
Figure 1‑3. Example of Two vCenter Server Instances with a Common External
Platform Services Controller
Virtual Machine or Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or Physical Server

Virtual Machine or Physical Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

Installing vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller has the following advantages:

16

n

Fewer resources consumed by the shared services in the Platform Services Controller instances.

n

The model is suitable for large-scale environments.

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Installing vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller has the following disadvantages:
n

The connection between vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller might have connectivity and
name resolution issues.

n

If you install vCenter Server on Windows virtual machines or physical servers, you need more
Microsoft Windows licenses.

n

You must manage more virtual machines or physical servers.

For information about the Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server maximums, see the Configuration
Maximums documentation.

For information about the deployment topologies and Platform Services Controller high availability, see
“Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller Instances and High Availability,” on
page 19.
For information about configuring the vCenter Server Appliance with an external
Platform Services Controller in vCenter High Availability configuration, see vSphere Availability.

Mixed Operating Systems Environment
A vCenter Server instance installed on Windows can be registered with either a Platform Services Controller
installed on Windows or a Platform Services Controller appliance. A vCenter Server Appliance can be
registered with either a Platform Services Controller installed on Windows or a Platform Services Controller
appliance. Both vCenter Server and the vCenter Server Appliance can be registered with the same
Platform Services Controller..
Figure 1‑4. Example of a Mixed Operating Systems Environment With an External Platform Services
Controller on Windows
Windows Virtual Machine
or Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller on Windows

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Virtual Machine or Physical Server

Virtual Machine

vCenter Server on Windows

vCenter Server Appliance

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vSphere Installation and Setup

Figure 1‑5. Example of a Mixed Operating Systems Environment With an External Platform Services
Controller Appliance
Virtual Machine
Platform Services
Controller Appliance

Virtual Machine or Physical Server

Virtual Machine

vCenter Server on Windows

vCenter Server Appliance

Note To ensure easy manageability and maintenance, use only appliances or only Windows installations
of vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller.

Understanding vSphere Domains, Domain Names, and Sites
Each Platform Services Controller is associated with a vCenter Single Sign-On domain. The domain name
defaults to vsphere.local, but you can change it during installation of the first Platform Services Controller.
The domain determines the local authentication space. You can split a domain into multiple sites, and assign
each Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server instance to a site. Sites are logical constructs, but
usually correspond to geographic location.

Platform Services Controller Domain
When you install a Platform Services Controller, you are prompted to create a vCenter Single Sign-On

domain or join an existing domain.
The domain name is used by the VMware Directory Service (vmdir) for all Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP) internal structuring.
With vSphere 6.0 and later, you can give your vSphere domain a unique name. To prevent authentication
conflicts, use a name that is not used by OpenLDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, and other directory
services.
Note You cannot change the domain to which a Platform Services Controller or vCenter Server instance
belongs.
If you are upgrading from vSphere 5.5, your vSphere domain name remains the default (vsphere.local). For
all versions of vSphere, you cannot change the name of a domain.
After you specify the name of your domain, you can add users and groups. It usually makes more sense to
add an Active Directory or LDAP identity source and allow the users and groups in that identity source to
authenticate. You can also add vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller instances, or other VMware
products, such as vRealize Operations, to the domain.

Platform Services Controller Sites
You can organize Platform Services Controller domains into logical sites. A site in the VMware Directory
Service is a logical container for grouping Platform Services Controller instances within a vCenter Single
Sign-On domain.

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Starting with vSphere 6.5, sites become important. During Platform Services Controller failover, the
vCenter Server instances are affinitized to a different Platform Services Controller in the same site. To
prevent your vCenter Server instances from being affinitized to a Platform Services Controller in a distant

geographic location, you can use multiple sites.
You are prompted for the site name when you install or upgrade a Platform Services Controller. See the
vSphere Installation and Setup documentation.

Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller
Instances and High Availability
To ensure Platform Services Controller high availability in external deployments, you must install or deploy
at least two joined Platform Services Controller instances in your vCenter Single Sign-On domain. When you
use a third-party load balancer, you can ensure an automatic failover without downtime.

Platform Services Controller with a Load Balancer
Figure 1‑6. Example of a Load Balanced Pair of Platform Services Controller Instances
Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Platform Services
Controller

Platform Services
Controller

Load Balancer

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or

Physical Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

You can use a third-party load balancer per site to configure Platform Services Controller high availability
with automatic failover for this site. For information about the maximum number of
Platform Services Controller instances behind a load balancer, see the Configuration Maximums
documentation.
Important To configure Platform Services Controller high availability behind a load balancer, the
Platform Services Controller instances must be of the same operating system type. Mixed operating systems
Platform Services Controller instances behind a load balancer are unsupported.
The vCenter Server instances are connected to the load balancer. When a Platform Services Controller
instance stops responding, the load balancer automatically distributes the load among the other functional
Platform Services Controller instances without downtime.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

Platform Services Controller with Load Balancers Across vCenter Single SignOn Sites
Figure 1‑7. Example of Two Load Balanced Pairs of Platform Services Controller Instances Across Two
Sites
Site 1

Site 2

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Platform Services
Controller

Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Platform Services
Controller

Load Balancer

Platform Services
Controller

Load Balancer

Virtual Machine or

Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

Your vCenter Single Sign-on domain might span multiple sites. To ensure Platform Services Controller high
availability with automatic failover throughout the domain, you must configure a separate load balancer in
each site.

Platform Services Controller with No Load Balancer
Figure 1‑8. Example of Two Joined Platform Services Controller Instances with No a Load Balancer
Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Platform Services
Controller

Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

When you join two or more Platform Services Controller instances in the same site with no load balancer,
you configure Platform Services Controller high availability with a manual failover for this site.

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When a Platform Services Controller instance stops responding, you must manually fail over the
vCenter Server instances that are registered to it by repointing them to other functional
Platform Services Controller instances within the same site. See “Repoint vCenter Server to Another
External Platform Services Controller,” on page 277.
Note If your vCenter Single Sign-On domain includes three or more Platform Services Controller
instances, to ensure Platform Services Controller reliability when one of the instances fails, you can
manually create a ring topology. To create a ring topology, use the /usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin/vdcrepadmin
-f createagreement command against the first and last Platform Services Controller instance that you have
deployed.

Platform Services Controller with No Load Balancer Across vCenter Single
Sign-On Sites
Figure 1‑9. Example of Two Joined Pairs of Platform Services Controller Instances Across Two Sites with
No Load Balancer
Site 1
Virtual Machine or
Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller

Site 2
Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server
Platform Services
Controller

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

Virtual Machine or
Physical Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

Your vCenter Single Sign-on domain might span multiple sites. When no load balancer is available, you can
manually repoint vCenter Server from a failed to a functional Platform Services Controller within the same
site. See “Repoint vCenter Server to Another External Platform Services Controller,” on page 277.
Important Repointing vCenter Server between sites and domains is unsupported. If no functional
Platform Services Controller instance is available in the site, you must deploy or install a new
Platform Services Controller instance in this site as a replication partner of a functional
Platform Services Controller instance from another site.

Enhanced Linked Mode Overview
Enhanced Linked Mode connects multiple vCenter Server systems together by using one or more
Platform Services Controllers.
Enhanced Linked Mode lets you view and search across all linked vCenter Server systems and replicate
roles, permissions, licenses, policies, and tags.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

When you install vCenter Server or deploy the vCenter Server Appliance with an external
Platform Services Controller, you must first install the Platform Services Controller. During installation of
the Platform Services Controller, you can select whether to create a vCenter Single Sign-On domain or join
an existing domain. You can select to join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain if you have already
installed or deployed a Platform Services Controller instance and have created a vCenter Single Sign-On
domain. When you join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain, the infrastructure data between the

existing Platform Services Controller and the new Platform Services Controller is replicated.
With Enhanced Linked Mode, you can connect not only vCenter Server systems running on Windows but
also many vCenter Server Appliances. You can also have an environment where multiple vCenter Server
systems and vCenter Server Appliances are linked together.
If you install vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller, you first must deploy the
Platform Services Controller on one virtual machines or physical server and then deploy vCenter Server on
another virtual machine or physical server. While installing vCenter Server, you must select an existing
external Platform Services Controller. You cannot select an existing Platform Services Controller that is a
part of an embedded installation. For more information about the supported topologies, see “vCenter Server
and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types,” on page 15.

About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes
You can use evaluation mode to explore the entire set of features for ESXi hosts. The evaluation mode
provides the set of features equal to a vSphere Enterprise Plus license. Before the evaluation mode expires,
you must assign to your hosts a license that supports all the features in use.
For example, in evaluation mode, you can use vSphere vMotion technology, the vSphere HA feature, the
vSphere DRS feature, and other features. If you want to continue using these features, you must assign a
license that supports them.
The installable version of ESXi hosts is always installed in evaluation mode. ESXi Embedded is preinstalled
on an internal storage device by your hardware vendor. It might be in evaluation mode or prelicensed.
The evaluation period is 60 days and begins when you turn on the ESXi host. At any time during the 60-day
evaluation period, you can convert from licensed mode to evaluation mode. The time available in the
evaluation period is decreased by the time already used.
For example, suppose that you use an ESXi host in evaluation mode for 20 days and then assign a
vSphere Standard Edition license key to the host. If you set the host back in evaluation mode, you can
explore the entire set of features for the host for the remaining evaluation period of 40 days.
For information about managing licensing for ESXi hosts, see the vCenter Server and Host Management
documentation.

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Installing and Setting Up ESXi

2

You can install and set up ESXi on your physical hardware so that it acts as a platform for virtual machines.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“ESXi Requirements,” on page 23

n

“Preparing for Installing ESXi,” on page 29

n

“Installing ESXi,” on page 71

n

“Setting Up ESXi,” on page 167

n

“After You Install and Set Up ESXi,” on page 184

ESXi Requirements
To install or upgrade ESXi, your system must meet specific hardware and software requirements.

ESXi Hardware Requirements
Make sure the host meets the minimum hardware configurations supported by ESXi6.5.

Hardware and System Resources
To install or upgrade ESXi, your hardware and system resources must meet the following requirements:
n

Supported server platform . For a list of supported platforms, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
/>
n

ESXi 6.5 requires a host machine with at least two CPU cores.

n

ESXi 6.5 supports 64-bit x86 processors released after September 2006. This includes a broad range of
multi-core processors. For a complete list of supported processors, see the VMware compatibility guide
at />
n

ESXi 6.5 requires the NX/XD bit to be enabled for the CPU in the BIOS.

n

ESXi 6.5 requires a minimum of 4GB of physical RAM. It is recommended to provide at least 8 GB of
RAM to run virtual machines in typical production environments.

n

To support 64-bit virtual machines, support for hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD RVI) must
be enabled on x64 CPUs.

n

One or more Gigabit or faster Ethernet controllers. For a list of supported network adapter models, see
the VMware Compatibility Guide at />
n

SCSI disk or a local, non-network, RAID LUN with unpartitioned space for the virtual machines.

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vSphere Installation and Setup

n

For Serial ATA (SATA), a disk connected through supported SAS controllers or supported on-board
SATA controllers. SATA disks will be considered remote, not local. These disks will not be used as a
scratch partition by default because they are seen as remote.
Note You cannot connect a SATA CD-ROM device to a virtual machine on an ESXi 6.5 host. To use the
SATA CD-ROM device, you must use IDE emulation mode.

Storage Systems
For a list of supported storage systems, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at

For Software Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), see
“Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE,” on page 39.

ESXi Booting Requirements
vSphere 6.5 supports booting ESXi hosts from the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). With UEFI,
you can boot systems from hard drives, CD-ROM drives, or USB media.
Starting with vSphere 6.5, VMware Auto Deploy supports network booting and provisioning of ESXi hosts
with UEFI.
ESXi can boot from a disk larger than 2TB provided that the system firmware and the firmware on any addin card that you are using support it. See the vendor documentation.
Note Changing the boot type from legacy BIOS to UEFI after you install ESXi 6.5 might cause the host to
fail to boot. In this case, the host displays an error message similar to Not a VMware boot bank. Changing the
host boot type between legacy BIOS and UEFI is not supported after you install ESXi 6.5.

Storage Requirements for ESXi 6.5 Installation or Upgrade
Installing ESXi 6.5 or upgrading to ESXi 6.5 requires a boot device that is a minimum of 1GB in size. When
booting from a local disk, SAN or iSCSI LUN, a 5.2GB disk is required to allow for the creation of the VMFS
volume and a 4GB scratch partition on the boot device . If a smaller disk or LUN is used, the installer
attempts to allocate a scratch region on a separate local disk. If a local disk cannot be found the scratch
partition, /scratch, is located on the ESXi host ramdisk, linked to /tmp/scratch. You can
reconfigure /scratch to use a separate disk or LUN. For best performance and memory optimization, do not
leave /scratch on the ESXi host ramdisk.
To reconfigure /scratch, see “Set the Scratch Partition from the vSphere Web Client,” on page 180.
Due to the I/O sensitivity of USB and SD devices the installer does not create a scratch partition on these
devices. When installing or upgrading on USB or SD devices, the installer attempts to allocate a scratch
region on an available local disk or datastore. If no local disk or datastore is found, /scratch is placed on the
ramdisk. After the installation or upgrade, you should reconfigure /scratch to use a persistent datastore.
Although a 1GB USB or SD device suffices for a minimal installation, you should use a 4GB or larger device.
The extra space will be used for an expanded coredump partition on the USB/SD device. Use a high quality
USB flash drive of 16GB or larger so that the extra flash cells can prolong the life of the boot media, but high
quality drives of 4GB or larger are sufficient to hold the extended coredump partition. See Knowledge Base

article />In Auto Deploy installations, the installer attempts to allocate a scratch region on an available local disk or
datastore. If no local disk or datastore is found, /scratch is placed on ramdisk. You should
reconfigure /scratch to use a persistent datastore following the installation.
For environments that boot from a SAN or use Auto Deploy, you need not allocate a separate LUN for each
ESXi host. You can co-locate the scratch regions for many ESXi hosts onto a single LUN. The number of
hosts assigned to any single LUN should be weighed against the LUN size and the I/O behavior of the
virtual machines.

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Chapter 2 Installing and Setting Up ESXi

Supported Remote Management Server Models and Firmware Versions
You can use remote management applications to install or upgrade ESXi, or to manage hosts remotely.
Table 2‑1. Supported Remote Management Server Models and Minimum Firmware Versions
Remote Management Server
Model

Firmware Version

Java

Dell DRAC 7

1.30.30 (Build 43)

1.7.0_60-b19

Dell DRAC 6

1.54 (Build 15), 1.70 (Build 21)

1.6.0_24

Dell DRAC 5

1.0, 1.45, 1.51

1.6.0_20,1.6.0_203

Dell DRAC 4

1.75

1.6.0_23

HP ILO

1.81, 1.92

1.6.0_22, 1.6.0_23

HP ILO 2

1.8, 1.81

1.6.0_20, 1.6.0_23

HP ILO 3

1.28

1.7.0_60-b19

HP ILO 4

1.13

1.7.0_60-b19

IBM RSA 2

1.03, 1.2

1.6.0_22

Recommendations for Enhanced ESXi Performance
To enhance performance, install or upgrade ESXi on a robust system with more RAM than the minimum
required and with multiple physical disks.
For ESXi system requirements, see “ESXi Hardware Requirements,” on page 23.
Table 2‑2. Recommendations for Enhanced Performance
System Element

Recommendation

RAM

ESXi hosts require more RAM than typical servers. Provide
at least 8GB of RAM to take full advantage of ESXi features
and run virtual machines in typical production
environments. An ESXi host must have sufficient RAM to
run concurrent virtual machines. The following examples
are provided to help you calculate the RAM required by
the virtual machines running on the ESXi host.
Operating four virtual machines with
Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows XP requires at least
3GB of RAM for baseline performance. This figure includes
approximately 1024MB for the virtual machines, 256MB
minimum for each operating system as recommended by
vendors.
Running these four virtual machines with 512MB RAM
requires that the ESXi host have approximately 4GB RAM,
which includes 2048MB for the virtual machines.
These calculations do not take into account possible
memory savings from using variable overhead memory for
each virtual machine. See vSphere Resource Management.

Dedicated Fast Ethernet adapters for virtual machines

Place the management network and virtual machine
networks on different physical network cards. Dedicated
Gigabit Ethernet cards for virtual machines, such as Intel
PRO 1000 adapters, improve throughput to virtual
machines with high network traffic.

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