In this article I will show you how to install VMware vSphere 6.7. If you are looking for instructions about how to install vSphere 6.5, you can find them here.
To start, you need an installation iso for vSphere 6.7, which you can download from your My.VMware account. From here, I downloaded VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.7.0-8169922.x86_64.iso (vSphere 6.7 build 8169922). I will install vSphere into a virtual machine (beware, this is a configuration unsupported by VMware, but often seen in home labs), so I will just mount the iso file into the CD drive and power on the VM.
Install VMware vSphere 6.7
As soon as the VM boots, you will see a “Loading ESXi installer screen”:
We can see now the well-known yellow screen. Nothing to do, just wait:
Few moments later we need to confirm the operation. Press Enter to continue, or Cancel to abort:
Read and accept the End User License Agreement. Press F11 to accept EULA and continue the installation or Escape to abort it.
Next phase is a short one, vSphere is scanning our storage devices for few seconds to find available devices.
We now have to make our first decision: where do we install vSphere. In my case I have a single 40 GB disk so I will just press Enter to continue. You may have multiple devices listed here, make sure you plan where do you want to install vSphere and make the choice accordingly.
Next we have to select the desired keyboard layout. I will keep the default one (US Default). I will press Enter to continue.
We now need to enter the secret root password twice. Check this article for ESXi password requirements. Press Enter to continue.
We need now to confirm the installation. This is the last wizard step where you can cancel the installation. Press F11 to proceed.
Installation starts immediately:
Installation process is pretty quick. In few minutes you will see the “Installation Complete” message! As instructed on-screen, remove the installation kit you used to boot the server up, then press Enter to reboot.
vSphere starts the reboot process.
In few minutes, VMware vSphere 6.7 will be up and running! You can now use the IP address listed in on your screen to configure vSphere.
Open your favorite browser and go to the IP address listed in your vSphere. Ignore the certificate warning and login using root account and the password you created earlier during the installation. You will connect to the ESXi Client.
Enjoy your new vSphere 6.7 server, release build 8169922!
