I had a customer that had a requirement to backup the ESX Service Console settings and wanted to know the best files to backup. I suggested that it may be more prudent to create unattended installation media to make restores more seamless. This took a turn and I was asked to make a single CD that was capable of restoring any one of the 11 ESX hosts in the clusters. With a lot of reading and a lot of testing this was achieved and this document explains how I did it.
Most of the information came from a multitude of different blog posts and knowledge base articles, but the two main articles are referenced in the appendix, but they deserve special mention:
VMProfessional – Custom .iso with integrated kickstarts
Yellow Bricks – Scripted install
These sites are always fantastic, but they proved absolutely invaluable for me during this exercise, so thanks guys.
I hope that the document adds some value, but if you think that I have got anything wrong or can offer some enhancements please don’t hesitate to comment on the post and I will update the document.
Take a look at EDA, will make your life a lot easier when doing scripted installs:
http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2008/12/22/esx-deployment-appliance/
thanks for the links,
Duncan
Hi Duncan
You’re absolutely right EDA, does make deployment a doddle, but the request was more to give the ability for ‘anyone’ to stick a disc into the server and build it quickly. I pitched the PXE appliance method, but the CD was preferred in this instance.
Thanks for your great posts, they are invaluable!
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