Introduction

Are you looking to install ESXi on your VMware Workstation? ESXi, a hypervisor used in virtualization, allows you to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical server. This can be a great solution for testing and learning purposes, as well as for small-scale production environments. VMware ESXi is a Type 1 hypervisor that is known as bare-metal hypervisors. It is installed directly on the host’s physical hardware without loading the attack-prone underlying OS, so it cannot be installed under Windows. However, VMware provides a product VMware Workstation to run in Windows PC. That’s to say that it’s possible to install VMware ESXi on a desktop PC by embedding ESXi in VMware Workstation.

Installing ESXi in a virtual machine provides a way to try the product without dedicating hardware to it. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing ESXi on VMware Workstation. You will learn how to set up a virtual machine and configure ESXi to create your own virtualized environment. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced IT professional, this guide will provide you with the key steps to successfully install ESXi on VMware Workstation.

Requirements of ESXi installation on VMware Workstation

If your existing computer meets the minimum requirements:

• A computer must have a compatible x86–64 CPU.
• A CPU (central processor unit) with 4 cores or more that is compatible with ESXi 7.0.
• 32 GB of RAM. If you have a laptop with 16 GB of RAM, your VMware home lab will be too slow and it will be a challenge to run a nested VM on a virtual ESXi host (that is running as a VMware Workstation VM).
• 100 GB of free disk space. It is recommended that you use SSD. If you don’t have SSD, use high-performance hard disk drives (HDD) (for example, WD Gold, Black). Deploying ESXi VMs on different disk drives increases performance.

How to install ESXi on VMware Workstation

1. Download the ESXi 7.0 ISO image.

2. Open VMware Workstation, click File >> New Virtual Machine. Then select Custom (advanced) and the hardware compatibility.

3. Select Installer disk Image file (ISO) and click Browse to find the downloaded ESXi ISO file, click Next.

4. After creating the virtual machine for installing ESXi 7.0. Select Edit virtual machine settings.

5. In the Network Adapter, select Custom: Specific virtual network >> VMnet1 (Bridged) >> Next.

6. Power on the virtual machine, on the Welcome screen, press Enter to continue.

7. Press F11 to accept the EULA and continue.

8. Select the virtual disk where you want to install and a keyboard layout.

9. Enter a root password, then enter the password again to confirm. Press Enter to continue.

10. Confirm the installation of ESXi 7.0, then press F11 to start the installation.

11. When the installation is complete, press Enter to reboot.

12. Copy IP address and past in the browser. Log in VMware ESXi web client.

13. Navigate to Action >> Services >> Enable Secure Shell (SSH), and also Enable console shell. Then select Refresh.

You have installed ESXi on VMware Workstation successfully.

Summary

We have successfully installed ESXi on VMware Workstation and configured it to create your own virtualized environment. We have gone through the important steps, from downloading VMware Workstation and the ESXi ISO file to creating a virtual machine, configuring its settings, and installing ESXi. You have also learned how to access the ESXi management interface and start managing the ESXi host.