☁️ Custom VMware ESXi ISO build scripts

Add latest versions of VMware Flings for network, nvme & usb nic drivers to ESXi ISO images.

For ESXi 8.x ISO: esxi8.ps1

• Builds ESXi 8 iso with VMWare Community NVME & USB NIC drivers + latest GhettoVCB backup.

For Esxi 7.x ISO: esxi7.ps1

• Builds ESXi 7 iso with VMWare Community NVME, NIC & USB NIC driver + latest GhettoVCB backup.

For ESXi 6.7 ISO (Zimaboard compatible): esxi6.7.ps1

• Builds ESXi 6.7 with VMware Community NVME & USB NIC drivers, Zimaboard Realtek 1GbE NIC driver + latest GhettoVCB backup.
• Zimaboard users:
  • Set full duplex on ESXi NIC & physical switch for better performance.
  • Zimaboard's optional RTL 8125 2.5GbE NIC driver for ESXi 6.7 can be found here
  • To manually install:esxcli software vib install -v net-r8125-9.011.00-10.vib
  • To manually remove: esxcli software vib remove -n net-r8125

🛠️ Prerequisites for building ESXi ISOs:

VMWare's PowerCLI requires Python. As some versions can break PowerCLI, stick to what works...

1. Install specifically Python 3.7.9 from here (Check "Add Python to PATH" a the start of the install and at the end select "Disable path length limit").

2. For ESXi 7.x or 8.x ISOs, Install latest VMware PowerCLI tool:

   Install-Module VMware.PowerCLI
   

   For ESXi 6.7 ISOs, you must offline install PowerCLI 13.1.0 download it here.

   # If PowerCLI later than 13.1.0 is already installed, remove this first
      (Get-Module VMware.PowerCLI -ListAvailable).RequiredModules | Uninstall-Module -Force
   # Extract the contents of the downloaded PowerCLI 13.1.0 zip directly into the path below (do not create another sub directory)
      %ProgramFiles%\WindowsPowerShell\Modules 
   # Unblock the new module files  
      Get-ChildItem -Path $env:PROGRAMFILES\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\ -Recurse | Unblock-File
   

3. Upgrade Python PIP via Command prompt:

   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\python.exe -m pip install --upgrade pip
   

4. Add extra Python dependencies via Command prompt:

   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\Scripts\pip3.7.exe install six psutil lxml pyopenssl
   

5. Set the python.exe path via PowerShell:

   Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -PythonPath C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\python.exe
   

6. Run the desired build script to start creating your custom ISO 🚀

• This repo is for creation of VMware test labs using affordable non HCL hardware. Not suitable for production use.
• After Broadcom's acquisition of VMWare in October 2023, the VMware Flings community download site has been taken offline and its future is uncertain. A copy of the entire flings.vmware.com site now can be found at https://archive.org/details/flings.vmware.com.
• The ESXi 6.7 script's additional Zimaboard RTL8168 NIC drivers were sourced from here. Optional RTL 8125 2.5GBe vibs for use with ESXi 6.7 were sourced from here.