Owner`s manual

Contents
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings...................................................................................................2
1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................5
vSphere 5 Architecture Overview............................................................................................................................5
ESXi Architecture Overview.....................................................................................................................................6
2 Getting Started With vSphere 5................................................................................................7
Related Information..................................................................................................................................................7
Technical Support Resources............................................................................................................................7
Discussion Forums.............................................................................................................................................7
Knowledge Base................................................................................................................................................8
Dell Wiki.............................................................................................................................................................8
Contacting Dell.........................................................................................................................................................8
3 Installing vSphere 5....................................................................................................................9
Creating The ESXi Installer Media............................................................................................................................9
Important Information For The Dell-Customized ESXi Image.............................................................................9
Installing, Enabling, and Disabling ESXi.................................................................................................................10
USB Key or SD Memory Card Memory Installation.........................................................................................10
Installing ESXi On Flash Media........................................................................................................................10
Installing ESXi On The Hard Drive....................................................................................................................11
Enabling Or Disabling Flash Storage Device....................................................................................................11
Configuring One-Time Boot To ESXi.................................................................................................................12
Configuring Recurring Boot To ESXi................................................................................................................12
Downloading The Patches And Updates For ESXi.................................................................................................13
Creating The vCenter Server Installation Media....................................................................................................13
Installing vCenter Server........................................................................................................................................13
Installing vSphere Client.........................................................................................................................................14
Troubleshooting ESXi Installation...........................................................................................................................14
ESXi Not Booting or Displays a “No OS found” Message at Start Up ............................................................14
Purple or Pink Screen While Booting or Running Your ESXi...........................................................................14
4 Deploying vSphere 5 — Important Information...................................................................15
Best Practices Checklist for Deploying ESXi..........................................................................................................15
vSphere Configuration Using Dell Fibre Channel SAN...........................................................................................16
vSphere Configuration Using iSCSI SAN................................................................................................................17
Booting ESXi...........................................................................................................................................................18