Part two of this 5-part guide walks you through the steps to download the ISO files – ESXi, Windows Server 2022, vCenter Server Appliance 8 – required for the lab.
Part 2 Overview
Downloading ESXi installation ISO requires the VMWare PowerCLI PowerShell module. Meanwhile, using the commands in the PowerCLI to download ESXi ISO image has some prerequisites.
We would start this guide by installing the PowerCLI PowerShell module, and then, the prerequisites before downloading the ISO.
Part two concludes with a quick step to download the Windows Server 2022 ISO image.
Step 1: Install VMWare PowerCLI Module PowerShell Module
Sign in to the PC running VMWare workstation and run PowerShell as Administrator. Then, to install PowerCLI, run the commands below:
#install the NuGet package provider: allows installation of modules from PSGallery
Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -MinimumVersion 2.8.5.201 -Force
#sets PSGallery as a trusted repo to avoid warnings and confirmation
Set-PSRepository -Name PSGallery -InstallationPolicy Trusted
#install VMware PowerCLI module (takes a while)
Install-Module VMware.PowerCLI -Confirm:$false -AllowClobber -SkipPublisherCheck
#Set Execution Policy to allow importing of downloaded modules
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Force
#Import the PowerCLI module
Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI -Verbose | Out-Null
#stops the display to join VMWare's Customer Experience Improvement Program ("CEIP")
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope User -ParticipateInCEIP $false -Confirm:$false | Out-Null
#set vCenter connection invalid certificate action
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false | Out-Null
Step 2: Install Python, PIP, and PowerCLI PIP Modules
As I mentioned in the overview section earlier, PowerCLI has some prerequisites. The main ones are Python and PIP, but you also require some PIP modules for PowerCLI.
Follow these steps to install Python, PIP, and the required PowerCLI PIP modules.
- Download Python 3.7.9 to the VMWare folder. Then, run the executable to install it.
On the first page of the installer, check the two checkboxes shown in the screenshot below. Then, select the Customize installation option and note the path Python is installing.
#Default python installation path is:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37
- Upgrade PIP
#Upgrade the PIP version installed with Python
# first, cd to the Python directory - remember to change the "<userName>" placeholder to your Windows user name.
cd "C:\Users\<userName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37"
# upgrade PIP
.\python.exe -m pip install --upgrade pip
- After that, install the PIP modules six, psutil, lxml, and pyopenssl, – these PIP modules are required by PowerCLI.
#cd to C:\Users\<userName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\Scripts
cd "C:\Users\<userName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\Scripts"
#then install the modules
.\pip3.7.exe install six psutil lxml pyopenssl
- Finally, configure PythonPath for PowerCLI.
#cd to the VMWare directory
cd D:\VMWare\
#Then, set PowerCLI Python path - remember to change <userName> to your username
#When you run the command, type y and press enter to confirm
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -PythonPath C:\Users\<userName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\python.exe -Scope User
Step 4: Download VMWare ESXi 7 ISO Image
Close PowerShell and re-open a new session before proceeding with these steps.
- From PowerShell, cd to the VMWare folder.
#change the folder path, D:\VMWare to the VMWAre folder path
cd "D:\VMWare Workstation"
- Download the VMWare ESXi ISO image
#add the VMWare base image depot to the PowerShell session
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml
#List all available image profiles on the above software depot
#as of July 2024, there was no image profile for ESXi 6.5. The oldest was 6.7
Get-EsxImageProfile
#download the VMWare ESXi 7 base image
Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard" -ExportToIso -filepath ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard.iso
#remove the VMWare base image depot
Remove-EsxSoftwareDepot https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml
Step 5: Download a Windows Server 2022 ISO
Download the Windows Server 2022 ISO image with this link.
Step 6: Download vCenter 8 Appliance ISO
When I wrote this guide in July 2024 I could not download the vCenter Server Appliance 8 ISO from Broadcom (support.Broadcom.com). Ideally, you should be able to use this download link (requires signing in to a Broadcom support account.
I had to resort to downloading the ISO image from this site – downloads.nfina.com.
Read part 3: Create Lab VMs (link opens in a new browser tab).