Creating an ESXi Installer ISO using vSphere Lifecycle Manager

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Some ESXi versions are only released as patch ZIPs, not as installer ISOs.
This article demonstrates how to create an installer ISO usable for interactive installations or updates using vSphere Lifecycle Manager.

Environment

• VMware vSphere 7.0.x
• VMware vSphere 8.0.x

Cause

Certain ESXi versions are not distributed as standalone installer ISOs. To verify ISO availability for a specific version, consult the Available as column in KB article Build numbers and versions of VMware ESXi/ESX or review the corresponding release notes.

Resolution

To create an ESXi installer ISO using vSphere Lifecycle Manager, follow the steps below. The provided example uses ESXi 8.0 Update 2c, a release for which no ISO was published.

Note: This process requires the vCenter Server version to be compatible with the target ESXi version and requires the ESXi version to support cluster images.
For example, vSphere Lifecycle Manager in vCenter 8.0 can generate installer images for ESXi 8.0 and 7.0, but not for ESXi 6.7 due to a lack of cluster image support. Conversely, vCenter 7.0 can only generate ESXi 7.0 installer images, as vCenter Server 7.0 is incompatible with ESXi 8.0.

1. In vSphere Client, go in Lifecycle Manager → Image Depot and verify that the version needed to create the image is listed in the list of available ESXi versions:
   
2. If the list does not included the desired version, download the depot.zip for this version from the download portal (see Download latest ISOs and patches for vSphere ESXi, and use Actions → Import Updates to import it in the Lifecycle Manager:
   
3. To proceed, navigate to the Hosts and Clusters view in the vSphere Client and create a new empty cluster. The cluster name does not affect the process.
4. In the cluster creation wizard, on page 1 ensure that both options "Manage all hosts in the cluster with a single image" and "Compose a new image" are selected:
   
5. On page 2 of the wizard, under ESXi version, select the specific version required for the image (a vendor add-on may optionally be selected to create a vendor-specific custom image), then complete the cluster creation wizard.
   
6. Now select the cluster and go in the "Updates" tab
7. In the upper hand right corner there should be 2 buttons, [EDIT] and [ ... ].
   
8. To customize the image further, for example to add specific drivers or other additional components, select Edit and apply the required changes.
9. After finalizing the image configuration, click the [ ... ] menu button and select Export.
   
10. Follow the wizard to export the image as an ESXi installer ISO or an offline bundle, depending on operational requirements.
11. Upon completion, delete the temporary cluster.