Building an ESXi Data Center: Step-by-Step Guide This document outlines the steps I performed to build a basic ESXi data center, including installation and configuration of the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA).
Seat tight and enjoy thourgh my history :D
- Preparing the ESXi Host Ensure that the ESXi host is already installed.
Confirm that you can access the ESXi host through the vSphere Web Client by navigating to the host's IP address in your web browser.
- Checking Available Resources RAM: Reserve at least 2 GB for the ESXi system itself; allocate the remaining RAM for the VCSA.
Disk: Ensure at least 50 GB of free disk space is available to start with.
- Downloading the VCSA OVF Template Download the vCenter Server Appliance ISO from the official VMware website.
Mount the ISO image on your local machine.
Locate the OVF template file inside the mounted ISO for deployment.
- Deploying the VCSA Open the ESXi web interface.
Click on Create/Register VM.
Choose Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file.
Upload the downloaded OVF file.
- Configuring Resources for the VCSA CPU: Assign 2 virtual CPUs.
RAM: Assign 6 GB of RAM (keeping 2 GB reserved for the ESXi host).
Disk: Select Thin Provisioning to optimize physical disk usage.
- Entering Network Parameters For Static IP Configuration IP Address Family: IPv4
Network Mode: STATIC
IP Address: Example - 192.168.0.50 (within ESXi host’s subnet)
Prefix: 24 (subnet mask 255.255.255.0)
Default Gateway: Example - 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 (Google DNS)
Host Identity: e.g., vcenter.local
For DHCP Network Configuration IP Address Family: IPv4
Network Mode: DHCP (instead of STATIC)
IP Address, Prefix, Default Gateway, DNS Servers: Leave blank or remove, as these will be automatically assigned by DHCP.
Host Identity: Can remain as vcenter.local (hostname, not a network parameter).
- Starting the VCSA After completing the deployment, the vCenter Server Appliance will start automatically.
Access the vCenter interface through your browser using the configured static IP address.
- Additional Tips for Performance Optimization Reduce the number of active virtual machines running on the ESXi host if performance is suboptimal.
Regularly monitor disk and RAM usage to prevent resource bottlenecks.