VMware ESXi is a free bare-metal hypervisor that can be used to virtualize laptops. It has low resource usage which allows laptops to run virtual machines all day without overheating. The document provides instructions for installing ESXi on laptops and ensuring the network drivers are correctly configured by replacing the OEM file. Examples are given of running ESXi on different laptops and using it to virtualize an OpenSolaris environment.

1. Linux on VMWare ESXi
Masafumi Ohta
Japan OpenSolaris User Group/OpenNSUG User Group
© 2009 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

2. What is VMware?
 Vmware is major application in Virtualization Solution.
 Many Applications are officially supported running on VMware.
 Vmware is now releasing ‘free’ Applications – ‘VMWare
Servers’,’VMWare Player’,’VMWare ESXi’.You might use such
applications for evaluations.
2

3. Why ESXi on laptops
 ESXi is bare-metal systems – being closer to physical systems
than OS virtualization like Vmware or VMware Server or
Virtualbox.And it is ‘Free’.
 Low consumption watts laptops have save the costs and running
all the day without cooling conditions.
 There were many laptops I didn’t use some of them would work
ESXi so I would re-use them.
3

4. The point of using ESXi on laptop
 Does the laptop have Gigabit adapters?Gigabit is needed for
network traffics.
 Does the laptop have NIC for ESXi?Check carefully there are a bit
adapters VMware has certificated except Intel’s NIC.
• Check the link:http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/customize_oem_tgz.php
 I strongly recommend CPU supports Intel VT or AMD-V so that
Virtual Machines on ESXi would work fine.
 I strongly recommend not to use Intel Atom.it Works Veeeery
Slowly we cant impatient!
4

5. Installation of VMware ESXi
 Installing ESXi image to USB
• I tried to use ‘unetbootin’ to make it.
• Change customized ‘oem.tgz’ with ‘oem.tgz’ in USB image.
• DO NOT forget renaming the name for changing oem.gz
 Installing ESXi on your laptop.
• Following the menu,you can make it.but if you fail to change ‘oem.tgz’ installer
stops.
 Making Linux LiveUSB image for mounting ESXi on your laptops
• Just after the installation,we miss customized ‘oem.tgz’ so we should reinstall
customized ‘oem.gz’ on your laptops.
• DO NOT forget including ‘customized’ oem.tgz to the LIveUSB.
• LiveUSB running you should check with ‘mount’ command to find ESXi on your laptop.
• Finding the mountpoint for ESXi,you should copy oem.tgz for it.
 Then you can use ESXi :)
5

6. Installation of VMware ESXi (Checking image with LiveUSB)
Check the ESXi image in the disk with LiveUSB using 'mount -l' command.
# mount –l
...(snif)...
/dev/sda4 on /mnt/disc/sda4 type vfat (ro,uid=500)
[Hypervisor0]/dev/sda5 on /mnt/disc/sda5 type vfat (ro,uid=500)
[Hypervisor1]/dev/sda6 on /mnt/disc/sda6 type vfat (ro,uid=500)
[Hypervisor2]/dev/sda8 on /mnt/disc/sda8 type vfat (ro,uid=500)
[Hypervisor3]
...(snif)…
*/dev/sda5 is used for ESXi
# ls /mnt/disc/sda5
boot.cfg cim.vgz mod.tgz pkgdb.tgz vmkboot.gzcimstg.tgz license.tgz oem.tgz
sys.vgz vmk.gz
Checking the oem.tgz it is empty file and /dev/sda5 is prohibited writing so you should
remount /dev/sda5 to overwrite customized oem.tgz
# umount /mnt/disc/sda5
# mount /dev/sda5 /mnt/disc/sda5
# cp -p /mnt/disc/sdb1/RTL8111_8168_P55_integr_SATA_Ctrl.(AHCI).oem.tgz
/mnt/disc/sda5/oem.tgz
6

7. Short demonstrations(connecting my home through pptp)
PPTP-VPN
Network
Atom based Netbook
My Laptops bringing here
Core2 Duo
my home
based Laptop
7

8. ESXi 3 running on ASUS N10Jb (Atom-based Netbook)
8

9. ESXi 4 running on KOUZIRO Laptop(Core2-based Laptop)
9

10. OpenSolaris Running on ESXi -using it on my ALIEN:))
10

11. Wrap up
 ESXi is useful bare-metal virtualization tool.and Free.
 Many of software vendor now have certificated their softwares on
VMware.
 ESXi works good on some Laptop,that has,you know,ultra low
consumption watts can work on all the day.
 Before you try it,you should consider network equitments built on
your Laptops(how it can work and it has a gigabit Ethernet)
 When you installing it,you should take care of changing 'oem.tgz'
for network driver for ESXi.(follow the instruction in this preso)
 I hope Client software (Vsphere Client) running on Linux or Some
OSS-based OS.
 Give a try,have a fun :)
11

12. Thanks! Have a Question?
Masafumi Ohta
Japan OpenSolaris User Group/OpenNSUG User Group
mailto:masafumi.ohta@gmail.com
© 2009 VMware Inc. All rights reserved