How to build your awesome virtualization home lab with VMware vSphere 6.0 (ESXi & vCSA)

Author: Paul Braren
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Before commenting, please read the detailed article at: https://TinkerTry.com/installvsphere60 and before watching, PLEASE read this description here first. This video is geared toward experienced PC enthusiasts who may be new to VMware vSphere, and want to either create a new lab, or rebuild their existing VMware lab, re-importing existing VMs. If you have: * chosen PC hardware that’s compatible with ESXi 6.0, particularly the network adapter, avoiding the "No network adapters found“ message, see also https://TinkerTry.com/superguide-whiteboxes and note that Realtek NICs have been a problem for many, see https://TinkerTry.com/asmedia-realtek-on-esxi-6. * downloaded the 3 big files needed to get started, as explained at https://TinkerTry.com/downloadvsphere6. * handled licensing (60 day full trial, $200/yr. EVALExperience, etc.) * an understanding that VMware vSphere 6 was intended for the enterprise, and the local monitor isn’t useful once ESXi is installed (no access VMs such as Windows, that’s done on a remote management PC on the network), see https://TinkerTry.com/esxi-is-designed-to-be-headless. * an understanding that I cannot realistically provide technical support, especially for things I've haven't even tried or written about, see what I do have at https://TinkerTry.com/vzilla. * a way to play this video on a 1920x1080 HD monitor, ideally in full screen mode, for pixel-perfect clarity, making it a lot easier to follow along * a decent WiFi router (less than ~5 year old, and purchased for more than ~$100), side-stepping the vSphere requirement for a full-featured DNS server typically found in the enterprise then you’ll next see and hear EVERY step needed to create your amazing virtualization lab. I’m confident this video will be helpful for individuals wishing to get past some bumps in the, using a consumer WiFi router. It assumes a familiarity with creating DHCP reservations. The idea is to provide the MAC address of your new vCenter Server Appliance to your router, so it’ll then feed out a nice name like vcenter.lab.local (FQDN) and a fixed IP address. This makes vCSA, and you, happy. You can name your host (server) something like esxi.lab.local, but you’ll be to use the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client to log in using just the short names, like vcenter and esxi. If this all seems too complex, and you don’t mind showing seeing IPs instead of hostnames for your vSphere Web client, skip the router tweaks and go with static IPs, as demonstrated in short and simple video at https://TinkerTry.com/vsphere6preview. Producing this video took many hours of rehearsals followed by several hundred edits for brevity, but there’s no trickery here, or steps cut out. Based on my similar vSphere 5.5 video that had 200,000 views in 18 months, I can safely say that YouTube ads provide less than minimum wages for this niche, but high-value video. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into back when I started on YouTube, yet I still try to take on such long-form videos with every major VMware release, knowing it’s of high value to the community. I’ll try to keep this video free. A tip jar of sorts is available using the easy Support button seen next to this video on YouTube, or by visiting https://TinkerTry.com/donate. Please consider subscribing, sharing, and reading the main article that goes with this video at https://TinkerTry.com/installvsphere60 before leaving a comment. Enjoy your home virtualization lab! It’s an incredible way to get the most out of your hardware investment, and it's ultimately an investment in yourself.

Comments

  1. Thank's Paul.Super job )))
  2. I do not know what to say, it is my first contact with vSphere. This article was and is very helpful, and for me a great start in this virtualization world. Thank you.
  3. Fantastic video! Really hoping to see a video on Veeam Backup & Replication.
  4. Thanks Paul!......Making my first foray into VMware vSphere and I found your video very helpful particularly as to where I will encounter issues in and around setting up a home lab.
  5. Been running 5.5 for a long time. I think I tried to move to 6 but it didn't like my hardware, if I recall correction. Do you have ideas on affordable hardware that 6.x likes?

    Thanks!
  6. Hi Paul.

    Thanks for this awesome tuto.
     
    Once I can't find a way to install ESXi in dual boot with my OS and I can't insert a secondary HD on my notebook, do you think I'll have success installing ESXi on top of my notebook hardware?
    Then I can install my saved windows 10 in a ESXi VM.

    regards.

    CIRO
  7. hello sir?? good day.. which is much better?? Windows Server 2012 or VSphere?? what whould you suggest?? i want to build virtual concept for my internet cafe, cuz i believe it decreases the usage of electricity.. plssss reply sir.. I need your piece of advice.. THank you..
  8. Wow....I know This happened in 2015 and i have only just started looking at VM's and VSphere recently.
    Your video wich i thought was going to be boring ....was SOOOOO INTERESTING.

    I have leaned so much in this one sitting and feel i can go away and take on this challenge.

    Thank you for taking the time to make this tutorial...trust me it helps

    Great work and thank you once again :-)
  9. I would like to thank you Paul for such video tutorial! It's wery helpful to explain the Administrators how to make virtual environment and also to use in Production in small Companies. Thank's a lot
  10. I see that you choose to install the system on a USB. Is it possible to install ESXi on the same physical disk used to build the data storage? (ie: a 500 Gb SSD) Thank you.
  11. By using the KVM is the install headless?
  12. Hi, thanks for the video, i did all the step to set up Vcenter 6.5 but i got error: "Failed to run vdcpromo" toward the end of finishing. When i set it IP on DHCP this problem occur. when i assign IP everything is good but when log in to web, it open interface but i got dead wheel keep spinning. Help please !!
  13. THX!
  14. Great video Paul. Well paced and very clear.
    Would be good if your recording software could zoom in from time to time on things that are a bit trickier to see.
    Great stuff though.
    Thanks :)
  15. I keep getting an issue with not enough memory on host for selected profile ? i have 200gb hdd and 8gb of ram on both esxi and windows running vsphere
  16. Hi Paul,
    I have fixed my download error from earlier, I was being a tad dumb lol.
    I know you are extremely busy with your new role and your website etc, but I was wondering please if you could advise on an issue I have now?
    My ISP does not allow domain name configuration on it's routers, so I cant follow your guide to add lab.local inside. Does this mean I'll have to set up a DC with DNS etc in my virtual environment instead?
    Cheers,
    Simon
  17. Hey Paul,

    awesome video, it worked fine for me! :)

    But I've one problem: I'm not able to connect to my vCenter-Server by the vSphere-Client. It starts the auth and shows "internal error" after that... then the Client crashes.

    Do you know this kind of error?

    With regards,
    Tom.
  18. din't the description say, "no IP ugliness"????
  19. FYI, no need to "eject" USB flash drives in Windows, it automatically turns off write-caching for flash drives.
  20. Hi Paul!! I enjoyed this video as it has helped me to get my first home server environment up and running. I will most definitely be supporting you as we all should!! May I make one suggestion? In your videos whenever you create a text box with Noted information could you put that box in the middle of the screen as most times I would pause the video to read. The problem is that it is close to the text that shows up whenever the mouse is moved and it blocks the first 2 lines or so. This is will help us view the text whenever we pause the video or move the mouse. Thanks again and hope this helps the rest of us! Keep up the great work!!