VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Installation Instructions and Important Information Guide June 2020 Rev.
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................... 5 vSphere 7.0 architecture...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Overview of ESXi architecture............................................................................................................................................
Chapter 5: Licensing information....................................................................................................24 License evaluation............................................................................................................................................................... 24 vSphere licensing.................................................................................................................................................................
1 Introduction This document helps you to deploy VMware ESXi 7.0 on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, and provides specific information about recommended configurations, best practices, and additional resources. • • • • • • vSphere Essentials Plus vSphere Standard vSphere Enterprise (two and four CPU offerings only) vSphere Enterprise Plus (two and four CPU offerings only) VMware vCenter Server VMware vSAN NOTE: Before deploying the system, it is recommended that you see the VMware vSphere 7.
Virtual Machine datastore Stores VM configuration and virtual disk files. The VM storage can either be internal local storage to the ESXi or external storage. Multiple ESXi systems share VM storage. Advanced features such as HA and DRS require that the hard disk drive and configuration files are stored on the external shared storage. The following figure shows the different components of vSphere. Figure 1.
Figure 2. ESXi architecture Virtual SAN installation For more information about VMware documentation for VSAN installation, see the VMware Virtual SAN Production Information Guide at www.dell.com/virtualizationsolutions.
2 Installing vSphere 7.0 NOTE: If you have ordered VMware ESXi with the PowerEdge server, then the VMware ESXi is preinstalled on your system.
Downloading Dell EMC customized ESXi image from VMware site NOTE: Ensure that you clear the web browser cache before downloading the drivers and firmware. NOTE: To download the drivers and firmware, you must be the registered user in my.vmware.com. To download the ESXi image, do the following 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to my.vmware.com and log in with your account credentials. Select View & Download products > All Products and then click the View Download Components link of VMware vSphere.
Overview of Dell NUMA Fault Resilient Memory NUMA FRM is a new memory operating mode available on the BIOS settings of high-end yx3x Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with two or four processors. This mode establishes an area of memory that is fault-resilient on all processors, providing the same protection to the hypervisor against uncorrectable memory errors that would affect it, and maintaining NUMA memory functionality and performance.
Enabling Dell Fault Resilient Memory The following conditions must be fulfilled before you enable base FRM: • ESXi 7.0 must be deployed on one of the following PowerEdge servers: Table 1. PowerEdge servers yx4x PowerEdge Servers yx3x PowerEdge Servers R940xa R930 R940 R830 R840 R730xd R740xd R730 R740 R630 R640 M830 M640 M630 FC640 FC830 T640 FC630 MX740c T630 MX840c • • • The BIOS version on your system must be 1.0.4 or later for yx3x Dell EMC PowerEdge servers.
For more information and configurations about NVDIMM-N Persistent Memory, see the Dell EMC NVDIMM-N Persistent Memory User Guide at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals. Intel Data Center Persistent Memory Module Intel Data Center Persistent Memory Module (DCPMM) is a new paradigm in computing which provides ultra fast storage class memory technology. The DCPMM resides in a standard memory slot, placing data close to the processor.
For more information about the Quick Boot compatibility, see VMware KB article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/52477 and VMware vSphere 7.0 on Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Release Notes. For more information about Quick Boot, see www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/SLN320746. HTTP/HTTPS boot You can use vSphere 7.0 to deploy ESXi 7.0 through HTTP/HTTPS. This method is referred to as HTTP/HTTPS boot.
10. At the Boot Menu, use the up- and down-arrow keys to select the SD storage device, and then press Enter. The system boots and starts ESXi. 11. To enable recurring boot, see Configuring boot sequence to ESXi. 12. Set the correct licensing mode. For more information, see Licensing information. Installing ESXi on the hard drive To install ESXi on the hard drive, complete the following steps: 1. Turn on the system. 2. Insert the ESXi installer media that you created earlier into the optical drive.
Enabling or disabling flash storage device To install the ESXi on an internal flash storage device: 1. Turn on the system. 2. When the Dell EMC logo is displayed, press F2 immediately to open the System Setup page. NOTE: If you press a key on the keyboard for extended time, it may result in a keyboard failure. To avoid possible keyboard failure, press, and release F2 at even intervals until the System Setup page is displayed.
After you complete the system boot, the System BIOS configuration menu is displayed. 3. Select Hard-Disk Boot Sequence by using the up- and down-arrow keys, and then select the relevant boot device. 4. Press the hyphen key (-) to move up the relevant boot device in the order. CAUTION: It is recommended that you do not modify other settings unless you are familiar with the settings. Modifying settings could cause your system to fail to boot or function properly. 5.
Figure 3. ESXi Secure boot The BIOS of Dell EMC's yx3x PowerEdge servers is preconfigured with the VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) in the UEFI Secure boot authorized DB. Download the latest server BIOS from the Dell EMC support page before enabling UEFI Secure boot. NOTE: UEFI Secure boot is supported only on Dell EMC's yx3x PowerEdge servers or later. For more information about Secure boot, see the following pages: • • Secure Boot for ESXi 6.
NOTE: It is recommended that you regularly check for the latest patches and updates for ESXi. For certain hardware configurations, VMware may list certain patches or updates as required on its hardware compatibility list at Vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php. To check for and install the latest ESXi patch: 1. Go to the VMware Patch Downloads page. 2. Log in with your VMware credentials if prompted. Select Download Products option from the Quick Links pane to open All Downloads.
3 Deploying vSphere 7.0 Important information • • • Your Dell EMC customized VMware ESXi 7.0 A00 image must be installed as a new installation or deployment. Dell EMC recommends you to follow the VMware recommendations published in VMware Knowledge Base article 78487 and Dell Knowledge Base article SLN320957. After upgrading to 7.0.x, downgrading to 6.7.x or 6.5.x is not possible.
• • • • • • vSphere configuration using Dell EMC Fibre Channel SAN vSphere configuration using iSCSI SAN Booting ESXi Configuring the password Configuring Lockdown mode Managing management network services vSphere configuration using Dell EMC Fibre Channel SAN If you use Fibre Channel storage, you can connect a single Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA) to a Fibre Channel switch that provides paths to both the storage controllers on the Fibre Channel storage unit.
Figure 5. Configuring vSphere with iSCSI SAN Booting ESXi This section describes performing the basic setup of your system based on the following assumptions: • You have already connected a keyboard, monitor, and mouse. • You have connected the first onboard NIC to your management network. • The network infrastructure between the two systems is working correctly prior to working with your system and the VMware management software. To set up your system: 1. Turn on your system. 2.
The Authentication Required screen is displayed. 2. Select Configure Password and then press Enter. 3. Enter the old and new passwords. If the password is accepted, the main DCUI screen is displayed. The new password is now set. 4. Press Esc to log out. Configuring Lockdown mode Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is disabled.
4 Back up and restore configuration NOTE: It is recommended that you back up your VMware ESXi configuration after you complete the initial setup on a routine schedule that fits your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration captures the license code (host serial number). To back up or restore the configuration information, use the VMware vSphere CLI.
5 Licensing information This section discusses the different modes of obtaining vSphere license for your Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. NOTE: For more information about the different editions, see vmware.com. Topics: • • • • License evaluation vSphere licensing Administering license keys VMware product licensing License evaluation VMware enables a 60-day free evaluation period for all enterprise-level features of vSphere 7.0.
NOTE: If you receive a warning that you are disabling certain features by switching out of evaluation mode, click OK, and then click Yes. NOTE: Use all licensing information according to VMware’s End User Licensing Agreement.
6 Troubleshooting ESXi Topics: • • ESXi installation Frequently asked questions ESXi installation This section provides troubleshooting steps for common issues encountered during deployment of ESXi. ESXi does not boot or displays a no OS found message at start up Check the boot order. The correct storage device may no longer be selected as the first boot device. This can happen if the device has recently been removed due to failure.
Why are network adapters not detected during ESXi installation Cause: This issue occurs due to one of the following reasons: • • • • The ESXi image does not contain the latest version of network drivers, for Network Daughter Cards (NDCs) or network adapters used in Dell EMC servers. PowerEdge server does not have an NDC installed. The NDC installed on the PowerEdge server is faulty PowerEdge server has an NDC installed, but the NDC setting is disabled in the BIOS or UEFI. Resolution: 1.
5. If the Storage controller is set to RAID mode, ensure that the virtual disks are created with the hard drives associated with the controller. Figure 8. Target devices not displayed Why does ESXi display the number of processors incorrectly Cause: This issue occurs if the Snoop mode option is set to Cluster on Die in the BIOS Memory Settings screen of a dual processor system.
7 Getting help Topics: • • • • • • • Contacting Dell EMC Locating Service Tag of your system Related information for virtualization solutions Identifying the series of your Dell EMC PowerEdge servers Documentation resources Download drivers and firmware Documentation feedback Contacting Dell EMC Dell EMC provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country, region, and product, and some services may not be available in your area.
Table 2. Related information for virtualization solutions (continued) If you need information about See ESXi ISO image customization information VMware ESXi on Dell EMC PowerEdge Systems Image Customization Information at www.dell.com/ virtualizationsolutions UEFI Boot order management utility in VMware ESXi 7.0 www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/sln321019 Dell EMC Add-on for VMware vSphere 7.0 www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/sln320956 Dell EMC ESXi 7.0 Quick Boot compatibility guide www.dell.
Table 3. Virtualization videos for Dell EMC PowerEdge servers (continued) Video title Links Downloading Dell EMC customized ESXi image from VMware website www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnWyuyxuk5k Operating system Deployment (VMware ESXi)—Installing Using CD/DVD www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EbufUS86zA Enabling and Configuring Fault Resilient Memory on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers www.youtube.com/watch?v=retSh-XlsK0 OS Deployment (VMware ESXi)—Installing on BOSS S1 device www.youtube.
• 2 ̶ two socket server Table 4. PowerEdge servers naming convention and examples YX3X servers YX4X systems YX4XX systems YX5XX PowerEdge M630 PowerEdge M640 PowerEdge R6415 PowerEdge R6515 PowerEdge M830 PowerEdge R440 PowerEdge R7415 PowerEdge R7515 PowerEdge T130 PowerEdge R540 PowerEdge R7425 PowerEdge R6525 Documentation resources This section provides information about the documentation resources for your server. Table 5.
Table 5. Additional documentation resources for your server (continued) Task Document Location OpenManage Server Administrator User's Guide. For information about installing, using, and troubleshooting Dell EMC OpenManage Essentials, go to www.dell.com/ openmanagemanuals > OpenManage Essentials User’s Guide. www.dell.com/openmanagemanuals For information about installing and https://www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools using Dell SupportAssist, see the Dell EMC SupportAssist Enterprise User's Guide.
Download drivers and firmware It is recommended that you download and install the latest BIOS, drivers, and systems management firmware on your system. Ensure that you clear the web browser cache before downloading the drivers and firmware. 1. Go to www.dell.com/support/drivers. 2. In the Drivers & Downloads section, enter the Service Tag of your system in the Enter a Dell Service Tag, Dell EMC Product ID, or Model text box, and then click the right arrow button.
