Bootstrap the VM-Series Firewall on ESXi

Table of Contents

Learn how to bootstrap the VM-Series firewall on ESXi.

Where Can I Use This?	What Do I Need?
VM-Series deployment	VM-Series 10.x or above

You can bootstrap the VM-Series firewall using an ISO image or a virtual hard disk.

Bootstrap the VM-Series Firewall on ESXi with an ISO

Use these instructions to bootstrap the VM-Series firewall on an ESXi server using an ISO.

Create an ISO image and upload it to a Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastore or to a Network File System (NFS) volume.
1. Prepare the Bootstrap Package.
2. Create an ISO image. The tool you use to create the image varies based on your client operating system.
3. Upload the ISO image to a VMFS datastore or to an NFS volume that is accessible to the ESX/ESXI host.
Deploy the firewall.
1. Provision the VM-Series Firewall on an ESXi Server.
  
  By default, the firewall is deployed with two network interfaces— one for management traffic and one data traffic. Make sure that the first ethernet interface on the firewall, which is its management interface, is connected to the virtual switch port-group assigned for device management.
2. Do not power on the firewall.
Attach the bootstrap image to the firewall.
1. Select the VM-Series firewall from the Inventory list.
2. Click Edit Settings and select Virtual Hardware.
3. Select Datastore iso file in the CD DVD drive drop-down, and browse for the ISO image.
4. Power on the firewall. The firewall will begin with the bootstrapping process, which will take several minutes. The status messages on the success or failure of the process will display on the console.
5. Verify Bootstrap Completion.

Use these instructions to bootstrap the VM-Series firewall on an ESXi server using a block storage device.

Create the bootstrap package and the virtual hard disk.
1. Create the bootstrap package.
2. Deploy a Linux virtual machine.
3. On the Linux machine, Prepare the Bootstrap Package. You can leave the folder empty, but you must have all four folders.
4. Attach a new data disk less than 39 GB to the Linux virtual machine.
5. Partition the disk and format the file system as ext3.
6. Make a directory for the new file system and mount the disk to the Linux virtual machine.
7. Copy the contents of your bootstrap package to the disk.
8. Unmount the disk.
9. Detach the disk from the Linux virtual machine. Take note of the Disk File describing the bootstrap disk you created; it shows the datastore name and path to the disk. Additionally, do not check the Delete Files From Datastore check box; doing so deletes the disk.
Deploy the firewall.
1. Provision the VM-Series Firewall on an ESXi Server.
2. Do not power on the firewall.
Attach the bootstrap package to the firewall.
1. Select the VM-Series firewall from the Inventory list.
2. Click Edit Settings and select Virtual Hardware.
3. From the New Device drop-down, select Existing Hard Disk. Select the bootstrap disk according to the datastore and path noted previously.
4. Power on the firewall. The firewall will begin with the bootstrapping process, which will take several minutes. The status messages on the success or failure of the process will display on the console.
5. Verify Bootstrap Completion.