VMware ESXi Free is a great learning utility
ESXi from VMware
More companies are turning to server virtualization. If you are not already using virutalization technology in your I.T. environment, I am sure you will have to start soon. There are so many positive features to come from virtualization such as:
- Makes I.T. more eco-friendly: Running multiple servers on a single piece of hardware shrinks the needs for power and cooling.
- Puts a smile on your CFO’s face: Less hardware and power use makes your budget look pretty nice!
- Improves disaster recovery: Virtual servers do not need specific hardware to run, so a server can be back online much quicker than before. There are also tools out there (like VMotion) that allow you to move a virtual server to another physical server automagically in case of a disaster.
- Network Operation Centers get smaller: Real estate is precious. Gigantic server rooms of the past can now be a server room / offices / I.T. lounge (save room in the budget for a ping pong table!).
If you want to stay competitive in the I.T. market, you will have to learn about virtualization. Several software packages are available for free that allow you to begin your wonderous journey into the virtual realm. However, you want something that is going to give you the closest experience to an enterprise virtualization system. That’s where VMware’s ESXi package comes into play.
Software bundles like Microsoft Virtual PC and VMware’s Virtual Server are nice for you to get your feet wet lightly damp in the world of virtualization, but ESXi gives you a Bare Metal Hypervisor. A Bare Metal Hypervisor builds an environment ready for virtualized operating systems without the need for an operating system to be installed. You actually install VMware ESXi on the machine itself instead of installing it in Windows like you would with Microsoft Virtual PC. Bare Metal is the way to go in an enterprise environment. Just think, you would not want to rely on several virtual servers running inside Windows 2003, would you? If you had to restart the Windows 2003 server that the virtual servers are running on, everything would go offline! I don’t know about your environment, but I would be a very popular guy if I took down all the servers with a single server reboot (not popular in a good way, either).
I can tell you are all excited to learn about VMware ESXi, so let’s get started.
- First you will need a copy of the software. You can download it here: VMware ESXi
- After the software has been downloaded, you will need to burn it to a CD. You can find some free software to burn the image here.
- You also need to have a computer to run the software. This operation will format everything on the computer, so make sure it does not have anything you want to save on it.
- Insert the CD and set your BIOS to boot from your CD / DVD drive.
Loading the VMware ESXi from CD
- You will see the ESXi welcome screen. Just wait for the next screen to appear.
ESXi welcome screen
- Press Enter then F11 if you agree with the license.
Press Enter then F11 if you agree with the license
- Chose the partition to install ESXi on and continue
Select a partition to install ESXi to
- If you are ready to install, press F11
Confirm that you want to install
- Once the installation is complete, the screen will give you a URL and address for you to browse to (using another computer on your network).
Installation complete!
- You should probably press F2 at this point to customize your install. I would recommend setting a static IP address and also changing the default password.
Once you log into the URL from another computer on your network, you will be prompted to download and install the VMware Infrastructure Client utility. From this utility, you can manage your virtual machines.
The next article in this series will show you how to install and manage virtual machines with your new ESXi server.
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