Installing VCSA

Now that we have an ESXi host, we can then deploy VCSA as a virtual machine.

VCSA stands for “VMware vCenter Server Appliance”. This is a virtual machine that is pre-configured and optimized for running the VMware vCenter Server and its services.

I have downloaded the VCSA installer ISO file from the Broadcom download portal. The version I chose is 8.0.3. The file name was:

VMware-VCSA-all-8.0.3-24022515.iso

Similar to the ESXi installation, this one is also simple and straightforward.

The following is the series of steps and the screens that I captured as the installation progressed to completion. I used a Windows machine to mount the ISO file as a CD/DVD drive.

Using the File Explorer, find the ISO file and then right-click on it and click “Mount”: Mount the ISO file

Click the DVD drive to view its contents. Double-click the vcsa-ui-installer folder to open it and view its contents. DVD contents

Open the win32 folder, and then find the installer file and double-click it to launch it. Installer file

Welcome to the vCenter Server 8.0 Installer! Click “Install” to continue. Welcome to the Installer

See the Introduction and click “Next” to continue. Installer Intro

Accept the EULA and click “Next”. Accept EULA

Enter the target ESXi host. Enter Target ESXi

Accept the certificate warning. Accept cert thumbprint

Name the vCenter VM, and set the root password. vCenter Name

Pick a “T-shirt size”. Tiny works for me as I foresee that I won’t be deploying more than 100 VM’s. VM size selection

Select the datastore to install vCenter. Click “Enable Thin Disk Mode” for some efficiency on storage. Datastore selection

Configure the Network Settings. Configure the usual settings here. Network configuration

Review your settings, and then click “Finish” to continue. Review settings

Watch paint dry. Installation started

Just be patient. Installation progress

You have successfully deployed the vCenter Server! Deployment successful

Continue to set up the vCenter Server. Stage 2 Intro

Set up NTP and enable ssh access. NTP and SSH

Set the credentials for the administrator account. Administrator credentials

Configure CEIP. CEIP

Review your settings. Click Finish to continue. Review Stage 2 settings

Setup in progress.

Stage 2 Set Up completed. Stage 2 complete

Using your browser, go to your vCenter URL and log in with the administrator account. New vCenter

Create a New Datacenter, by right-clicking on the vCenter object and selecting “New Datacenter”. I named it “Datacenter”.

Create a Cluster. Right-click on the “Datacenter” object and select “New Cluster”.

Name your Cluster. Enable DRS because it will be required for the TKGI foundation. Don’t enable HA because I only have 1 host. Configure cluster

Set the image to be used for the cluster. This image should correspond with the ESXi version installed in the host. Set image

Review and continue. Review cluster

In the Cluster Quickstart page, the “Cluster basics” should now be completed and marked with a green checkmark. Click “Add hosts”.

Add the host to the cluster. Add host

Review the security alert on the host certificate, and continue accordingly. SSL alert

Review Host Summary and click “Next”.

Select the host to import the image from. Import Image

Review and click “Finish” to continue. Review Add hosts

In the Quickstart page, the “Add hosts” step should now be complete and marked with a green checkmark. Also, the host should now appear under the cluster in the left pane. Host added

In the Updates tab of the Cluster, click “Hosts->Image”. Click the “CHECK COMPLIANCE” button, and wait for the check to complete. It should show that all the hosts in the cluster are compliant. Cluster Image compliance

Assign a valid license for vCenter product. Right-click on the vCenter object and click “Assign License”.

Go to “New License” and add the License key. Add License

Go to “Existing Licenses” and view the Licenses added in this vCenter instance. View Licenses

Congratulations! Your vCenter is now up and running!