Vcap-Dca, Objective 9.1 - Commands And Steps

Front 1

Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script

Back 1

1. Download the ESXi ISO image.
2. Mount the ISO image.
3. Copy the contents of the CD-ROM to another folder.
4. Copy the kickstart file to /esxi_cdrom
5. Modify the boot.cfg file to specify the location of the installation or upgrade script using the kernelopt option.
6. Re-create the ISO image.

Front 2

Create Image Profiles

Back 2

Installation Guide, pages 131-139

1. Connect to the vCenter Server from PowerCLI with the connect-viserver command.

2. Run Add-ESXSoftwareDepot to import the base ESXi 5.0 image
(this can point to a zip file with the bits, or out to a URL, for example: Add-ESXSoftwareDepot -DepotURL https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PROUDCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

3. Repeat the Add-ESXSoftwareDepot command to add additional modules as necessary (for example, to add the EMC PowerPath software package to the depot, run Add-ESXSoftwareDepot -DepotURL "C:/Software/EMCPower.x.x.x.zip")

4. To verify that the software packages were successfully added to the depot, run Get-ESXSoftwarePackage to retrieve a list

5. Run Get-ESXImageProfile to retrieve a list of all profiles associated with available software depots.

6. Create a new profile using the New-ESXImageProfile command (for example: New-ESXImageProfile -CloneProfile "ESXi-5.0.0-20120302001-standard" -Name "AutoDeploy_Profile"

7. Run Get-ESXImageProfile again to ensure that the profile was created successfully. Note the Acceptance Level column. The Acceptance level will dictate what types of VIBs can be added to the image profile.

Front 3

Export Image Profiles

Back 3

To export an image profile:

In ZIP format:
Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "AutoDeploy_Profile" -ExportToBundle -FilePath "C:\Software\Exports\AutoDeploy_Profile.zip"

In ISO format:

Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "AutoDeploy_Profile" -ExportToISO -FilePath "C:\Software\Exports\AutoDeploy_Profile.ISO"

Front 4

Install/Uninstall Custom Drivers

Back 4

1. Connect to the vCenter Server from PowerCLI with the connect-viserver command.
2. Run Get-ESXSoftwarePackage to retrieve a list of software packages included in all associated software depots
3. Run the Add-ESXSoftwarePackage to add VIBs to the image profile
(example: Add-ESXSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "AutoDeploy_Profile" -SoftwarePackage powerpath.lib.esx)

4. Repeat as necessary to add additional software packages.
5. To verify that the software packages were added successfully, an administrator can use the Compare-ESXImageProfile cmdlet to compare the custom profile against the base ESXi image profile

6. An administrator may also remove a software package from an image profile by running the Remove-ESXSoftwarePackage command (for example, Remove-ESXSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "AutoDeploy_Profile" -SoftwarePackage powerpath.lib.esx

Front 5

Configure advanced bootloader options: ks

Back 5

ks=protocol://serverpath

Performs a scripted installation with a script located on the network at the given URL. Protocol can be http, https, ftp, or nfs.

Front 6

Configure advanced bootloader options: nameserver

Back 6

nameserver=ip address

Specifies a domain name server for the network interface to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media.

Front 7

Configure advanced bootloader options: ip

Back 7

ip=ip address

Sets up a static IP address for the network interface to be used for downloading the installation script and the installation media.

Front 8

Configure advanced bootloader options: netmask

Back 8

netmask=subnet mask

Specifies the subnet mask for the network interface that downloads the installation script and the installation media.

Front 9

Configure advanced bootloader options: gateway

Back 9

gateway=ip address

Set this network gateway as the default gateway for the network interface to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media.

Front 10

Configure kernel options

Back 10

The boot loader configuration file, boot.cfg , specifies the kernel, the kernel options, and the boot modules that the mboot.c32 boot loader uses in an ESXi installation. You can modify the kernelopt line of the boot.cfg file to specify the location of an installation script or to pass other boot options. Below are the available commands?:

Command: title=STRING
Description: Sets the bootloader title to STRING

Command: kernel=FILEPATH
Description: Sets the kernel path to FILEPATH

Command: kernelopt=STRING
Description: Appens STRING to the kernel boot options.

Command: modules=FILEPATH1---FILEPATH2
Description: Lists the modules to be loaded, separated by three hypens.