# Install VMware ESXi 6.5 on Intel NUC (Part 1/2)

With VMware vSphere 6.5 released recently, I decided to rebuild my [Intel NUC based homelab](https://teebeedee.org/2016/11/anatomy-home-lab/). My preferred method is to create a bootable USB drive with the ESXi install media on it. Then install from the ESXi USB to the dedicated NUC's boot USB. This method avoids non-unique ESXi installs, which is a common issue with the VMware Workstation pre-install method.

## Prerequisites

In order to create our Intel NUC specific ESXi install media, we need to gather the necessary files. Make sure to grab the newest versions of the following:

* [vSphere ESXi 6.5 Offline Bundle](https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/details?downloadGroup=ESXI650&productId=614&rPId=13348&src=vmw_so_vex_dabso_1091)
    
    * This is a collection of all the components and packages that make up ESXi. You need the Offline Bundle, *not* the ISO, for this exercise.
        
* [SATA AHCI driver](https://vibsdepot.v-front.de/wiki/index.php/Sata-xahci)
    
    * This driver is for the Intel NUC SATA controller. Even if your NUC doesn't have a SATA disk or even the controller, it doesn't hurt to add this driver.
        
* [USB 3.0 Ethernet driver](http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2016/11/usb-3-0-ethernet-adapter-nic-driver-for-esxi-6-5.html) from [William Lam](http://twitter.com/lamw)
    
    * Add more NICs to your NUC via USB 3.0. Like the storage driver, if you don't have a USB 3 ethernet adapter, it doesn't hurt to add this driver.
        
* [ESXi-Customizer-PS](http://www.v-front.de/p/esxi-customizer-ps.html) PowerShell script from [Andreas Peets](https://www.twitter.com/VFrontDe)
    
    * This script will do all the heavy lifting, combining the offline bundle and driver VIBs into an ISO for us.
        

## Create ISO

First, let's create a project directory for our files. Let's call it `C:\esxi-nuc`.

Copy the ESXi 6.5 offline bundle ZIP file (ex. `VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-4564106-depot.zip`) and the ESXi-Customizer-PS script (ex. `ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.4.ps1`) to this directory.

Create a sub-directory under our project directory to hold our VIBs. Let's get creative and call it `C:\esxi-nuc\vibs`.

Copy the SATA AHCI driver VIB (ex. `sata-xahci-1.38-1.x86_64.vib`) and the USB 3.0 Ethernet driver VIB (ex. `vghetto-ax88179-esxi65.vib`) to this sub-directory.

If you've copied all the files to their respective folders properly, it should look something like this:

```plaintext
C:\esxi-nuc
C:\esxi-nuc\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.4.ps1
C:\esxi-nuc\VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-456106-depot.zip
C:\esxi-nuc\vibs
C:\esxi-nuc\vibs\sata-xahci-1.38-1.x86_64.vib
C:\esxi-nuc\vibs\vghetto-ax88179-esxi65.vib
```

Now we have to run the ESXi-Customizer-PS script to pull everything together and generate an ISO file. So fire up PowerShell, navigate to our project directory which is "`C:\esxi-nuc`" in our example, and run the following command:

```powershell
.\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.4.ps1 -izip VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-4564106-depot.zip -pkgDir vibs -nsc
```

Make sure to use the version numbers that match your downloaded files. Also, don't forget the "-nsc" flag, as that will let us ignore the unsigned driver VIBs and continue.

If everything went as planned, you should now have a new ISO file in the project directory that is an ESXi 6.5 and VIBs combination.

## Next Steps

Now that we have our customized ISO, we need to turn it into a bootable USB and then install it on our NUCs. We'll do just that in [part two](https://teebeedee.org/2016/11/install-vmware-esxi-6-5-intel-nuc-part-2/).

*Featured image photo by* [*JeepersMedia*](http://www.flickr.com/photos/39160147@N03/15905877477)