HOW TO: Upload an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to a VMware datastore for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client, and checking its MD5 checksum signature is correct.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)VMware and Virtualization Consultant
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EE Fellow, MVE, Expert of the Year 2021,2017-11, Scribe 2016-2012, Author of the Year 2018-6,2013-2012 VMware vExpert Pro, vExpert 2022-2011
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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 fourth 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

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 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).

In this article we will show you HOW TO: Upload an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to a VMware datastore for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client, and checking its MD5 checksum signature is correct. There are other third party tools, that can be used to upload ISO image files, these include:-
The above applications, require additional installation and configuration, in this article we will use the VMware vSphere Client.

1. Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) or vSphere vCenter Server using the vSphere Client

Please refer to my EE article on HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client
 vSphere Client Connected to ESXi 5.1 ServerOnce connected to the "default hypervisor home page", click the Inventory icon, to see the server's Inventory.
 InventoryRight Click on the datastore. In this example the datastore name is datastore1. This is the default name given to the datastore on installation, it can be changed. Please refer to Step 4 Conducting a simple task using the VMware vSphere Client in my EE article  HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client
Right Click and select Browse DatastoreRight Click the datastore name 'datastore1' and select Browse Datastore.
Datastore Browser windowThe Datastore Browser window will be opened, and you can browse the files and folders, that are located on the datastore. If no virtual machines or files are present, this will be empty. To organise your ISO image files, we would recommend you create a folder called isos. Either select the 'Create A New Folder' icon, on the ribbon bar, or right-click in the right-hand empty panel, and select New Folder.
Create Folder in datastoreEnter folder name - isos, and Click OK
Enter Foldername - isosThe isos folder will be shown in the datastore
datastore1 with isos folderSelect and Double-Click the isos folder to change folders.
isos folder

2. Uploading the ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to the datastore 'datastore1'

Please refer to my EE Article 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)
Upload files to this datastoreSelect the 'Upload files to this datastore' icon on the ribbon bar.
Select Upload FilesSelect Upload File...
Browse to location of the stored iso image file on your computers hard diskBrowse to location of the stored iso image file on your computers hard disk, in my example, we have stored the iso image file, in c:\isos, from our previous EE Article, the filename is Ubuntu 12.10 amd.iso. Click OK to continue and upload the file.
Select Yes to the Upload/Downloading Operation WarningSelect Yes to the Upload/Downloading Operation Warning.
Uploading...The ISO image file, e.g. Ubuntu 12.10 amd.iso will be upload to datastore1 in the folder isos. This can take several minutes depending upon size and speed of connection to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) host server.
datastore1 with iso imagedatastore1 with the ISO image uploaded and stored in the folder isos. Click the X in the top right hand corner to Close the Datastore Browser.

3. Confirming the upload of the ISO image file has been transferred successfully using the MD5 checksum signature

To complete the following step SSH must be enabled and running on your VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) host server, if SSH is not running you will receive a connection refused message.

To Enable SSH on your VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) host server, please see my EE Article HOW TO: Enable SSH Remote Access to a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

Connect to the VMware Hypervisor ESXi server via SSH. Using PuTTY a free telnet and SSH client or another SSH client Login and Connect to the VMware Hypervisor ESXi server, using IP address or hostname of the VMware Hypervisor ESXi server, using root username and password credentials. This can also be performed if you have access to the console.
PuTTY SSH terminal session    logged in as root to ssh terminal sessionYou will need to change folder or directories to the location of the iso image file. The VMware VMFS datastores are mapped here /vmfs/volumes. Use the following command to change to the datastore1 datastore and isos folder.
cd /vmfs/volume/<datastore name>/<folder name>
change foldersexample :- cd /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/isos
type cd /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/isos in the SSH session window.
md5sumWhen you have successfully changed folders to the location of the isos image file which has been uploaded, use the following command to check the MD5 checksum signature.
md5sum <filename>
example md5sum Ubuntu 12.10 amd.iso
MD5 Checksum Signaturetype md5sum Ubuntu 12.10 amd.iso in the SSH session window. After several minutes, and the time taken, depends on the size of the ISO image file, and speed of host processor and storage, a MD5 checksum signature will be displayed. The number displayed next to the filename - 7ad57cadae955bd04019389d4b9c1dcb - is the MD5 checksum signature. Compare this number with the original number computed before the ISO image file was uploaded, if they match, the transfer was successful. If they do not match, repeat Step 2 above.

Congratulations, you have successfully uploaded an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to a VMware datastore for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client, and checked its MD5 checksum signature is correct.

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Thank you for reading my article, please leave valuable feedback. If you liked my VMware article and would like to see more Articles from me, please click the Yes button near the: Was this article helpful? at the bottom of this article just below and to the right of this information. Thank You. Do not forget if you have a question about this article or another VMware, Virtualisation, Windows Server 2012 question, why not post a Question for me and the other Experts Exchange Experts in the VMware, Virtualisation, Windows 2008, Windows 2012 Zones. I look forward to hearing from you. - Andy :- twitter @einsteinagogo
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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)VMware and Virtualization Consultant
CERTIFIED EXPERT
EE Fellow, MVE, Expert of the Year 2021,2017-11, Scribe 2016-2012, Author of the Year 2018-6,2013-2012 VMware vExpert Pro, vExpert 2022-2011

Comments (5)

Commented:
Good job. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Best regards.
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Commented:
No problems, I'll keep writing, if you keep reading!
This is so awesome for beginners!!!
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Commented:
@Mary Thanks you very much, I'm glad you like it!

Andy
Good work my problem is solve.

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