Enabling iSCSI boot in UEFI boot mode for ESXi

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

ESXi 6.5 and later versions support iSCSI boot under UEFI boot mode on Dell 13th generation of PowerEdge servers.

iSCSI/UEFI boot has been tested using IPv4.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5

Resolution

Follow these steps to configure iSCSI boot under UEFI boot mode for your ESXi host.

1. Configure the Dell system for the UEFI boot mode using the System BIOS page user interface. For more details, refer to documentation on the Dell Web site.
   1. On the Boot Settings page, select UEFI as the boot option.
   2. On the Network Settings page, enter the initiator name in the iSCSI Initiator Name field.
   3. Select Enabled from the iSCSI Device1 options.
   4. Click the iSCSI Device1 Settings link.
   5. Depending on your requirements, enable Connection 1 Settings or Connection 2 Settings, or both.
   6. For this example, click the Connection 1 Settings link.
   7. From the Interface drop-down menu, select the network interface to be configured to perform iSCSI boot.
   8. Enable and enter the right VLAN ID if your host is connected to particular VLAN. Otherwise keep it disabled.
   9. Enter iSCSI initiator details, and then enter appropriate iSCSI UEFI target details.
      Note: Make sure to enter Target Boot LUN value in hexadecimal format.
      After you configure the initiator, its information appears under the iSCSI Device 1 field on the Booot Settings > UEFI Boot Settings page.
   10. On the NIC Configuration page, select iSCSI Primary from the Legacy Boot Protocol drop-down menu.
   11. On the iSCSI Configuration page, update the iSCSI initiator and iSCSI target parameters.
2. Install the ESXi image to the target LUN.
   1. Map the ESXi .iso image to the virtual media.
   2. Configure Next Boot to boot from Virtual CD and reboot the system.
   3. Follow the typical installation procedure.
   4. When prompted, select the iSCSI LUN configured in Step 1.9 as the installation target.
      The installer copies the ESXi boot image to the iSCSI LUN.
   5. Disconnect the virtual CD attached and reboot the host.