white paper XD10004: How to Install VMware ESX Server 3.5 ... · MIKE LAVERICK Limited Edition [email protected] 1.0 Introduction In 2007, like others in the global VMware

MIKE LAVERICK Limited Edition

[email protected]

1.0 IntroductionIn 2007, like others in the global VMware community,

Xtravirt developed a common methodology to install

and run VMware ESX 3.x on VMware Workstation 6

together with a shared storage solution based upon

an iSCSI software target. We called it ‘VI3 in a box’.

This allowed users and professionals in the IT

community to create simple and cost effective VI3

infrastructures to test, learn about and demonstrate

these environments.

Upon the release of VMware ESX 3.5 we found that this

methodology did not continue to hold true. Although

still possible to install ESX 3.5, when attempting to start

a nested Virtual Machine on the ESX VM, the ESX VM

panics, and a stop message similar to the one below

generated by Workstation appears.

However, with the release of VMware Workstation 6.5,

Build 118166, a revised solution exists.

This white paper documents the process to install and

configure ‘VI3.5 in a box’.

www.xtravirt.com © 2009 | 1

Fig 1-1: Solution Overview

white paper

XD10004: How to Install VMware ESX Server 3.5 on VMware Workstation 6.5 as a VM‘VI in a Box’ - the portable virtual infrastructure

Title: How to Install VMware ESX Server 3.5 on VMware Workstation 6.5

as a VM

Author(s): Xtravirt (Paul Davey)

Target Audience: Technical - Novice

Current Revision: 1.12 (Feb 2009)

First Published: Sep 2008

Vendor(s): VMware

Product(s): ESX Server 3.5 U3 (tested), Workstation Build 118166 (tested)

UID: XD10004

Content Overview:

• Step by step install guide for VMware ESX Server 3.5 as a virtual machine

within VMware Workstation 6.5

• Why this is useful as a portable demo or training environment


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2.0 Pre-RequisitesThe following software is required:

• VMware Workstation 6.5 Build 118166

• ESX 3.5 Update 3

Note: earlier and later point revisions of both Workstation and ESX may

also work; this document covers Xtravirt field tested versions only.

We tested this installation on a Lenovo T60 laptop

computer with the following specification:

• Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz CPU

• 2GB Ram

• CPU virtualization extensions enabled in the BIOS

Note: the minimum CPU requirement is a multi-core processor with

either Intel-VT or AMD-V extensions.

Quote from jmattson (VMware): “Intel VT-x is supported on all VT-capable

EM64T processors (e.g. late model P4, recent Xeons, Core 2 or Core i7). In

particular, it is not supported on 32-bit Core processors.

AMD-V is supported on all AMD64 Family 10H or greater processors (e.g.

Phenom or Barcelona). It is not supported on Family 0FH processors.

To run ESX in a Workstation 6.5 VM, you need a supported VT-x or AMD-V

processor.”

The PC was running Windows XP Professional with SP3

installed to current Microsoft patch levels

3.0 Install VMware Workstation 6.5

Close all running applications. Double click the

installer program to launch setup. Each of the

following steps represents a screen in the installation

wizard.

1. Welcome. Click Next2. Setup Type. Select Typical. Click Next3. Destination Folder. Click Next4. Configure Shortcuts. Select shortcut preference.

Click Next5. Ready to Install the Program. Click Install6. VMware Workstation will now install

7. Installation Wizard Completed. Click Finish8. At the prompt click Yes to restart your computer

4.0 Create ESX 3.5 VM1. Start VMware Workstation. Start the New Virtual Machine wizard. Select the Custom radio button and

click Next

2. Choose the Virtual Machine Hardware Compatibility.

Ensure that Workstation 6.5 is selected in the

Hardware Compatibility field. Click Next

3. Guest Operating System Installation. Select ‘I will install the operating system later’ option. Click

Next

4. Select a Guest Operating System. Select Linux, then

in the Version field select Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 64-bit. Click Next

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5. Name the Virtual Machine. Enter a VM name and

specify a location to store VM files. Click Next

6. Processor Configuration. Select One. Click Next

7. Memory for the Virtual Machine. Select at least

1024MB. Click Next.

8. Network Type. For this example the Use bridged networking option was selected. Click Next

9. Select I/O Adapter Types. Select LSI Logic. Click

Next



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10. Select a Disk. Select Create a new virtual disk.

Click Next

11. Select a Disk Type. Select SCSI. Click Next

12. Specify Disk Capacity. 8GB was used in this

example. Select the Allocate all disk space now

checkbox and also select Store virtual disk as a single file

13. Specify Disk File. Rename the disk file if required.

Click Next

14. Ready to Create Virtual Machine. Deselect the

Power on this virtual machine after creation

checkbox. Click Customize Hardware

15. Hardware. Remove the following hardware:

Floppy, USB Controller and Sound.



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16. Hardware. Select Network. Tick Replicate physical network connection state

17. Hardware. Select Display. Deselect the

Accelerate 3D graphics checkbox.

18. Select Processors. In the Preferred Mode field

select the Intel-VTx or AMD-V option. Click OK

19. Click Finish

20. The virtual disk will be allocated. This step may

take some time.

21. Once complete, double-click the CD/DVD (IDE) option to open the customisation menu

22. CD/DVD. Select Use ISO image file. Browse to

the location of the ESX 3.5 Update 3 ISO previously

downloaded. Click OK



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23. A line needs to be added into the .vmx file for

this virtual machine. Navigate to the Windows folder

where the VM is stored. The location of the .vmx file is

shown in the Workstation GUI

24. Edit the .vmx file using Windows notepad. Add the

following line, monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = true to the file as shown. Save the file and close

Note: Alternatives to this .vmx file configuration can be found here:

http://sanbarrow.com/vmx/vmx-examples.html

5.0 Install VMware ESX 3.51. Within Workstation power on the VM.

The ESX boot loader screen will appear. Press the Enter

key to continue. The following is a default GUI install

of ESX; modify as required.

Each of the following steps represents a screen in the

installation wizard.

1. CD Media Test. Select Skip2. Welcome to the ESX Server 3.5 Installer. Click

Next3. Select Keyboard. Select your keyboard layout.

Click Next4. Mouse Configuration. Click Next5. Warning - Initialize Drive. Click Yes6. End User License Agreement. Select I accept the

terms of the license agreement. Click Next7. Partitioning Options. Accept defaults or modify

accordingly. Click Next8. Warning - remove partitions. Click Yes9. Partition Disks. Modify as required. For this

configuration we made the VMFS partition

smaller and ensured that the SWAP partition was

equal to the amount of configured memory in

the ESX VM. Click Next10. Advanced Options. Click Next11. Network Configuration. Configure networking as

required. Click Next12. Time Zone Selection. Configure time zone, UTC

offset and location. Click Next13. Account Configuration. Set root password. Click

Next14. About to Install. Click Next15. ESX Server will now install. Once complete

click Finish. ESX server will reboot and start to

load. The ESX iso can now be unmounted. Once

the splash screen appears it may take a few

minutes for ESX to complete loading. Check by

pressing ALT-F1 - if you see a login then ESX has

completed booting.



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16. Using your Internet browser (IE7 in this case),

navigate to the IP address of your ESX VM, eg:

http://192.168.15.49. If using DHCP, press ALT-F11

to show the assigned IP address.

17. Accept any website certificate warnings, eg:

Continue to this website

18. Click Download VMware Infrastructure Client

19. Follow the installation prompts to install the VI

Client. Once complete launch the VI Client.

20. Enter the ESX VM IP address, root username

and its password. Click Login. Click Ignore at

the Security Warning prompt and the client will

continue to load.

21. The VI client interface for the ESX Server VM will

be presented.

At this point you can continue to configure the ESX

server from the VI client. Optionally, create additional

ESX Server VM’s, create a VM to run VirtualCenter and

fully configure a ‘VI3.5 in a box’ infrastructure.

6.0 Create a Nested VMAs mentioned at the start of this paper, the primary

issue with ESX 3.5 until this release of Workstation

is that although ESX could be installed, any VM’s

deployed on the ESX VM would crash Workstation

when attempting to power on. This severely limited

the use of the solution as it could not be used to

demonstrate key functions such as VMotion, DRS and

HA.

To illustrate that this release has resolved this issue, the

next steps show the ability to create and power on

VM’s.

From the VI Client go File -> Virtual Appliance ->

Import. Select the Import from VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace and select a VM. Nostalgia

was selected as it is only a small 6MB VM. Follow the

import wizard and the VM will download and register

with the ESX VM. Power on the VM. The screenshot

below shows the VM having started up.

And lastly, a game in progress.



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This concludes the ‘VI3.5 in a box’ white paper based

upon ESX Server 3.5 Update 3 on VMware Workstation

6.5 (Build 118166).

The information in this document has been

developed by Xtravirt in conjunction with the VMware

community. This document is a culmination of

the combined effort. Xtravirt wish to acknowledge

and thank everyone in the community for their

contributions.

References1. Ulli Hankeln, http://sanbarrow.com/vmx/vmx-examples.html

Useful Links1. Xtravirt Document, http://knowledge.xtravirt.com/white-

papers/esx-3x.html “Guide to installing IET Virtual Shared

Storage”

2. esxpress Virtual SAN, PHD Software, http://engineering.xtravirt.

com/products/phd-technologies/xtravirt-virtual-san.html

3. VSA, LeftHand Networks, http://lefthandnetworks.com/

vsa_eval.aspx

Tags

VMware, ESX, Workstation, Intel VT, AMD-V, VI in a box, install, VM,

demo, training, ks.cfg, vmx, install


Documents

white paper XD10004: How to Install VMware ESX Server 3.5 ... · MIKE LAVERICK Limited Edition [email protected] 1.0 Introduction In 2007, like others in the global VMware