Log in to your vSphere Client before starting this Lab. Information about log in interface can be reviewed here.
Create a Virtual Machine
Access the VMs and Templates tab from the navigation pane. Expand the folders and find your own folder to put in the virtual machine in. In my case I will use the “Kilo-N7VTfldr” folder to put my VMs in. As the Lab stated, there should be a Create/Register VM option available on the right pane but for me it does not seem to be available. You could right click the folder or expand the Actions menu and find the New Virtual menu option available.
A new virtual machine creation wizard should appear after. The steps here might be a bit different than what the Labs provide, but for now we would just follow the instructions available in our current wizard. The first customization is the creation type. As we are creating a new one, we should choose the Create a new virtual machine option and continue to the next step.
We are going to specify where to locate the newly created virtual machine and give it a name. I am planning to create a Windows 7 machine as a client so I am going to name it “Kilo-W7” and put it in the “Kilo-N7VTfldr” folder. Click Next if you are finished.
Next, we will need to specify the resource pool for the new virtual machine. There is a list available on the right pane and I will choose my resource pool which is “Kilo-N7RP”. Click Next after you have chosen your resource pool.
We also have to choose the storage for the virtual machine to be stored in. I will choose my “KiloN7-DS” datastore for this virtual machine. Click Next if you are finished.
Next on the Select compatibility page, we should choose the virtual machine’s compatibility with the host. In this case, we will choose “ESXi 6.5 and later”. Click Next after you have chosen the compatibility.
We are going to specify the guest OS of the virtual machine. As I am going to install a Windows 7 machine, i will choose Windows in the guest OS Family option and specify the Guest OS version as Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit). If you have specified all options, clik Next to continue to the next step.
Next part is to customize the hardware specification. We will use 1 CPU so we will leave it as it be. Change the memory to 1024 MB and Hard Disk capacity to 12 GB. Specify the Network you are going to be in, I will choose my own network in a previously set switch which is the “3128Kilo-N7”.
For the installation ISO, we could mount it immediately on this creation wizard or later when the virtual machine has been built. For now, we will mount the ISO from this setting by choosing it from the New CD/DVD Drive menu and choose Datastore ISO File. For me, I already have a Windows 7 ISO in one of the library. Select the ISO and check the Connect checkbox next to it. At this point everything is set and the virtual machine is ready to be deployed. Click Next and there will be a summary page to recheck everything is correct and if you are finished, you can click Finish button and the virtual machine is created almost immediately.
If you check the folder where you installed the virtual machine on, the virtual machine we just built should be available. Click on the virtual machine and all the information will be displayed on the right pane. You can expand the VM Hardware menu and open the Hard disk 1 to view more specific information about the hardwares.
Install Guest OS and Disable Windows Update
Up besides the virtual machine’s name, there is a play icon which can be used to power on this virtual machine. After you powered on the virtual machine, you can display it by clicking on the launch console button, the third button from the left. You will be prompt to choose which console you will be using. For now, we will use the Web Console and click Launch. You could always see all of the available actions in the Action menu beside the icons.
Because the VMWare Tools has not been installed yet, we could only use keyboard to do the installation steps. After the installation we would get through the VMWare Tools Installation so that all the drivers will function correctly. Use tab and space to navigate the selections. For now just leave all of the options as it be then press Next. After that, press Install Now to start the installation process.
After antoher window appears, check I accept the license terms box and press Next.
On the next window, we will choose Custom (advanced) option as we are going to make a fresh install of this OS. Afterwards, we will choose the partition which we want to install the OS on. As you can see it shows the 12 GB space that we have set earlier. Press Next and the installation process should start.
When the installation is done, we will be directed to a Windows 7 account set up. Type in your user name in the designated box. Press next after you have filled those informations.
Next, we will have to fill in the password for this system. Make sure it is a safe password and you can memorize it well. Fill in the passwords in the designated box and there is also a password hint text box. You can press Next after you have finished.
The next page is the input for product key. We will skip that step and in the Help protect your computer page, choose Ask me later. Afterwards, we can set the time for the system. Click Next if you have finished. The last part is to specify the network specification. Choose Work Network for this virtual machine. After that, your Windows system should be finalizing your settings and restart.
Before we get into the Windows Update, we should disconnect the CD/DVD Drive that is previously connected to the installation ISO. Go back to the virtual machine client in the vSphere Client. On the Actions menu, choose Edit Settings. Change the CD/DVD Drive option to Client Device and the Connected checkbox should be disabled.
Now we go back to the virtual machine console, the Windows 7 should be up by now. By using the keyboard, try to access Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Updates. Check whether the Windows update is enabled or not.
If it is enabled, go to Change Settings and choose the Never check for updates (not recommended) option under the Important Updates section. Press OK if you are done.
Installing VMWare Tools
This is the tricky part of the installation process. We are going to install this VMWare Tools with keyboard keys only. First we will mount the VMWare Tools first. In the vSphere Client, find your virtual machine and right-click on it to reveal a drop down menu. Go to Guest OS > Install VMWare Tools to mount the VMWare Tools installer. Choose Mount if a window appears.
Go back to your Windows 7 machine and an auto play window will appear. Choose Run setup64.exe to start the installation wizard. Choose yes if a dialog box is prompted and wait until the installation wizard window appears.
Press Next on the first page and choose the Typical installation on the next page. Press Next if you are done and continue by pressing Install.
The installation should start and after it is done press Finish. The system will ask you to do a restart and choose Yes so that the VMWare Tools will take effect.
Install Files
We will try to cover an application installation by mounting it in the virtual machine CD/DVD Drive. I will cover the installation of a class files ISO has been provided before. The steps to install other images would be the same and we will take this section as a base example on how to mount the ISO until its installation.
First choose your virtual machine and right-click to search for Edit Settings. Click it and the virtual machine configuration will appear. Expand the CD/DVD Drive menu and find CD/DVD Media. This is where you can select your mounted ISO. Make sure the CD/DVD Drive option is selected to Datastore ISO File.
Click on Browse and a new window will appear to search for an ISO in your storage. I will search for a PuTTY ISO file which is available in my datastore library. If you have chosen your file, click OK. After that check the Connected checkbox besides the CD/DVD Drive option then click OK to close the configuration window.
Go back to your virtual machine and window will appear to directly open the mounted folder. If it doesn’t, go to Windows Explorer and check it under the Computer. The installer should be mounted in the DVD Drive.
Now, I will copy the CPUBUSY VBScript file and IOMETER application to the desktop for future uses in other labs. After that you are good to go with the mounting process and installing files to a virtual machine.
After you finish copying the files, go back to the virtual machine configuration as shown in Figure 24. Change the CD/DVD Drive from Datastore ISO File to Client Device to unmount anything connected to the virtual machine.
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