Preparation | GeekFluent

Have you ever wanted to install ESXi on a host that doesn’t have a CD-ROM drive? Maybe you also don’t have a TFTP server, so installing over the network isn’t an option either. I came across this situation at a customer site recently.

It turns out the easiest solution in this situation is to convert a USB thumb drive into a bootable installation key. VMware’s online documentation describes how to do this. The thing is, the instructions I could find were for using a Linux system to create the key and my work-issued laptop runs Windows.

It turns out you can use your Windows system to create the installation media, and it’s pretty easy. This post will walk you through the process. Continue reading →

[Disclaimer: This is an unsolicited review for a product I purchased. I have received nothing for writing it. The manufacturer isn’t even aware that I’m writing it.]

I’m a firm believer in being prepared — so much so that I tend to carry a lot of stuff with me on a daily basis. Friends and co-workers often make fun of me for it, and particularly for the weight of the backpack that I bring to the office and to events. Of course, when I’m able to produce the item we need, they back off a little bit.

The point of having everything with you is to be able to find the exact thing you need as quickly as possible. In service of this, I’m always looking for new and better ways to organize the things I carry.

Continue reading →

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