VM /ETC

Unlike it’s big brother VMware Workstation 7, nowhere is it published that ESX/ESXi 4 is a supported guest OS of VMware Player 3.0. In fact, ESX 4 is not even among the listed choices in the Version drop down box when building a new virtual machine (VM), nor is it mentioned in the VMware Player Release Notes or Getting Started Guide. I was surprised when I was able to perform an Easy Install of ESXi 4, and just like ESXi 4 VMs running on Workstation 7, VMware Player nested ESXi successfully hosted guests. Best of all, ESXi 4 in VMware Player 3.0 can be run without any additional manual (ESX in a box) configurations (just like VMware Workstation 7).

Interestingly enough, the full Console ESX 4 install DVD is not recognized by VMware Player 3.0 for an Easy Install. However, performing a full ESX 4 Easy Install is possible with a last minute switch of the install media. That is, first browse to the ESXi 4 .ISO, complete the new VM Easy Install wizard, but modify the hardware before booting and change to the ESX 4 DVD .ISO. Watch the video at the end of this post for a demonstration on getting full ESX4 to work.

The rest of this post highlights the important parts of the Easy Install of ESXi 4 on VMware Player 3.0 with screen shots. To get an idea of more of the Easy Install screens check out my post about installing Windows 7 as a VM in Workstation earlier this year.

ESX/ESXi 4 not listed as a supported version

If you choose to install the OS later you won’t find a pre existing option to build an ESX VM. In Workstation 7 ESX 4 is found under “Other” Guest operating systems, but it is missing as a selection in the free Player (shown in the next image).

Starting the ESXi 4 Easy Install

However, when you select the ESXi 4.0 .ISO image as the installer disk during the New Virtual Machine Wizard an Easy Install becomes possible. In the image below the mouse is pointing at the informational message “ESX Server 4.0 detected” that appeared after I browsed to the ESXi 4 ISO file.

As I previously mentioned, selecting the full ESX 4 DVD did not detect and therefore an Easy Install was not possible.

This almost feels as if Workstation 7 code was accidentally left in the new release of VMware Player. Remember when remote administration of ESXi 3.5 was accidentally left enabled? Otherwise, this is the first VMware “virtual Easter Egg” that I am aware of.

Getting back to using the ESXi 4 .ISO, clicking Next launched an Easy Install just like in Workstation 7. A few clicks later the settings summary screen showed that a template was in fact used, and my VM would be built with 2 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs, and an operating system of “ESX Server 4.0″. I want to point out that I was never prompted to confirm or select any of these settings other than the size of the hard disk. The hard disk was 40 GB by default and thin provisioned. The only time I deviated from the default options was to choose to split the .vmdk in 2GB files.

Clicking Finish started the new VM and launched the install with the usual Easy Install footer message and instructions. See the next screen shot:

After the installation finished I was able to install the vSphere Client on the hosting desktop and connect to my ESXi 4 VMware Player instance. Using the nested ESXi’s local VMFS I tested running 2 different VMs. I created a DSL (Damn Small Linux) VM which I then booted to the live CD. Later I downloaded the Nostalgia virtual appliance and ran it completely from the nested, local VMFS datastore.

UGHtv video – Full ESX 4 Easy Install work around

I recorded the workaround process for invoking the Easy Install with the ESXi ISO and then switching to the full ESX 4 DVD. I’ve also started a VIMEO channel called UGHtv! Look for more virtualization videos I create there as well as other’s videos that I’ll share from that channel.

UGHtv VMware Player Easter Egg? ESX 4 Easy Install from Rich Brambley on Vimeo.

VMware’s free Player 3.0 now can create new VMs, but unlike the licensed VMware Workstation 7, ESX/ESXi 4 is not listed as a supported guest operating system. However, this video demonstrates that if you select the ESXi 4 install ISO an Easy Install routine is started that pre-configures a nested ESX 4 VM capable of running it’s own guests.

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