HOW TO: Create an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image (*.iso), and MD5 checksum signature, for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

In my previous 24 VMware Articles, most featured Intermediate VMware Topics. My next series of articles will concentrate on topics for the VMware Novice; this is the third article in this series.

If you would like to read the other articles in this series,  they are listed here for your convenience.

HOW TO: Install and Configure VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client

In this series of basic VMware articles for the Novice, I'll be showing you the basic VMware skills required to install, configure and deploy virtual machines using VMware's FREE VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi).

This article will show you how to create an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image (*.iso), and MD5 checksum signature, for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1).

What is an ISO? (Andy's Laymen Definition)
An ISO is an image or bit copy of a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, the ISO is a file, similar to a compressed archived file, this *.iso file contains the data from a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM. The ISO file is a virtual CD-ROM/DVD-ROM. Using an *.iso file has many advantages, some are listed below:-

1. Prerequisites

2. Install ISO Recorder

Download ISO Recorder from http://alexfeinman.co/isorecorder.htm We like to use ISO Recorder, because it is a small lightweight application, which integrates into the shell of your OS (operating system). e.g. you right click the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM reader and the option is there to create an ISO.

There are several versions of ISO Recorder to download, ensure you download the correct version for your OS, and the correct version for your processor, as there are 32-bit and 64-bit versions available.

After you have downloaded the correct version, Double-Click the installer program (*.msi) you have download, we will install the Windows 7 64 bit version, which has the filename ISORecorder31x64.msi
At the Welcome to the ISO Recorder Setup Wizard dialogue page, Click Next and continue
At the Select Installation Folder dialogue page select the defaults, and Click Next to continue.
Confirm installation at the Confirm Installation dialogue page, and Click Next to continue.
The installer will Complete the software installation, it only takes a few seconds to complete. Click Close to complete the installation.

3. Create an ISO image file

Select My Computer.
Insert an original operating system CD-ROM/DVD-ROM into your optical media device.  In this example, we are using an Ubuntu 12.10 DVD-ROM.
Right-Click the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, and select Create image from CD/DVD.
Select a filename and destination folder on your computers hard drive to store the ISO image file and Click Next to continue, this will create an ISO image file.
The data will be copied from the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, and the ISO image will be created. This can take several minutes to complete.
Select Finish to complete the operation. The ISO image file has been created.

4. Creating a MD5 checksum signature of the ISO image file

We will use the MD5 & SHA-1 Checksum Utility to create a MD5 checksum signature for our freshly created ISO image file. This is important, so we can compare these signatures, once we have completed the transfer to our VMware host servers, and confirm the ISO image file has not been corrupted in transfer.
Double-Click and start the MD5 & SHA-1 Checksum Utility application. Click browse and select your freshly created ISO image file.
Shortly after selecting the ISO file, the application will start calculating the MD5 and SHA-1 checksums for the file, this can take a few minutes depending upon the size of the ISO image file, which needs to be read.

The MD5 checksum for my Ubuntu 12.10 amd.iso is:-

MD5 Checksum: 7AD57CADAE955BD04019389D4B9C1DCB
SHA-1 Checksum: 8618058554FFD11E317356EC25885BCB8C1D0B36

Generated by MD5 & SHA-1 Checksum Utility @ http://raylin.wordpress.com/downloads/md5-sha-1-checksum-utility

Please note the MD5 checksum value for use with the  VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

Congratulations you have successfully created your first ISO (*.iso), and created a MD5 checksum signature for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1).

In my next Article in this series, we will show you HOW TO: Upload and Check the MD5 signature of an ISO CD/DVD image to a VMware datastore using the vSphere Client, for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)


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