Installing ESXi: From Bare Metal to Running VMs

ESXi is a bare-metal hypervisor. It runs directly on server hardware without a host OS, giving you better performance than running VMs on top of Windows or Linux.

I use ESXi to consolidate workloads - multiple VMs on a single physical server, each with isolated resources.

What You Need

Server hardware (check VMware's HCL for compatibility)
ESXi ISO from VMware
USB drive for installation media
Monitor and keyboard for initial setup

Create Bootable Media

Download the ESXi ISO from VMware. Use Rufus (Windows) or dd (Linux/Mac) to create a bootable USB drive.

Install ESXi

Boot from the USB drive (F2/F12 for boot menu on most servers)
Select the installation disk
Set the root password
Wait for installation to complete
Remove the USB and reboot

Initial Configuration

After reboot, ESXi shows the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI). From here:

Configure networking:

Set a static IP address
Configure subnet mask and gateway
Set DNS servers

Write down the IP - you'll access the web interface there.

Access the Web Client

Open a browser and go to https://<your-esxi-ip>. Accept the certificate warning and log in as root.

From here you can:

Create datastores (where VMs live)
Configure networking
Deploy virtual machines
Upload ISOs for VM installation

Create Your First VM

Click "Create/Register VM"
Choose "Create a new virtual machine"
Set name, guest OS type
Select datastore
Configure CPU, RAM, disk
Attach an ISO for installation
Power on and install the guest OS

Patch Immediately

Apply VMware patches after installation. Security vulnerabilities in hypervisors are serious - they can expose all your VMs.

Key Takeaways

ESXi is bare-metal - no host OS overhead
Static IP configuration happens in the DCUI
Web client at https://<ip> handles VM management
Check hardware compatibility before buying
Patch immediately after installation
vCenter adds centralized management if you have multiple hosts