VMware Setup Guide:

Installing a VIB driver

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Preparation
In order to install the VIB driver on your ESXi server you must have the following components:
1. ESXi Host Server
2. vSphere Client that supports the version of ESXi installed on the server
3. A .vib or .zip file containing your VIB driver (ensure that the driver supports the graphics card installed in your
system)
4. An SSH client such as Putty
(Putty can be downloaded here: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html)
Note: This guide assumes that an ESXi server is set up and that the user has full access to the server through vSphere
Client.
This guide was written for ESXi version 5.5 and vSphere Client 5.5 and may not be accurate for other versions of ESXi and
vSphere Client.
Preparing your server
Two features must be enabled on the ESXi server before the driver can be installed:
i)
SSH
ii)
ESXi Shell
Enabling SSH:
1. Open vSphere Client and login to your server using your servers IP and credentials. In your inventory on the left
column, select your server. Navigate to the Configuration tab and select Security Profile under the Software
column on the left.

2. Select Properties in the top right corner.

3. In the pop-up menu, find and select ESXi Shell and click the Options button as shown below.

4. Select Start and stop with host, press Start and hit OK. If the feature is already started and set to Start and stop
with host you may exit the menu without making any changes.

5. To enable the SSH feature, find SSH and select Options.

6. Select Start and stop with host and press Start and hit OK. If the feature is already started and set to Start and
stop with host you may exit the menu without making any changes.

7. ESXi Shell and SSH are now enabled. You are ready to proceed to the next section.
Uploading the VIB driver to the host server
Before installing the driver you must place the driver file in your servers file system. Follow the instructions below to
upload the file into your server.
1. Select your server in the inventory in the left-hand column in vSphere Client and navigate to the Summary tab.

2. Under Storage find the hard drive that your servers OS is currently installed. Right-click the storage device and
select Browse Datastore

3. In the pop-up menu you can choose to create a new folder by selecting Create a new folder.

4. Once you have chosen the desired folder for your VIB driver, press the upload button and select Upload a file.

5. Browse to your .vib or .zip file containing your VIB driver and upload it to your file system. You may want to
rename your file so that it is easy to remember and type. You will also want to note the location of your file,
including the datastore name and directory name(s).
Example: This vib file is located in datastore1/VIB/
Installing the VIB driver via SSH
1. Download and install Putty (download link can be found in the preparation section above).
2. Open putty by running Putty.exe and enter your servers IP address in the Host Name (or IP address) section.
Ensure that SSH is selected and hit Open.

3. A command line will appear prompting you for the servers login and password. Enter your credentials to login
to your server via SSH.

4. If you followed the steps in Upload the vib driver to the host server, the file you uploaded will be in
/vmfs/volumes/<datastore name>/<directories you made>/file.vib
If you uploaded a .vib file, install the VIB driver using the command below:
esxcli software vib install v filepath/file.vib
If your VIB driver is in .zip format, use d instead of v (this applies to all following command executions).
Example: esxcli software vib install d filepath/file.zip
If your server is not in maintenance mode, you will receive the error:
[Maintenancemode Error]
You can either put the server in maintenance mode through vSphere Client or add the optional parameter:
--maintenance-mode
Example: esxcli software vib install --maintenance-mode v filepath
You may receive the error indicating that the VIB bundle is not signed:
Could not find a trusted signer
Use the optional parameter below to remove the signature check:
--no-sig-check
Example: esxcli software vib install --no-sig-check v filepath
You can put both optional parameters within one command call.
Example of a complete command call including both optional parameters:
esxcli software vib install --maintenance-mode --no-sig-check v filepath

5. If the driver installed correctly, you should receive the following message:
Installation Result
Message: Operation finished successfully.
Reboot Required: false
VIBs Installed: <VIB NAME HERE>
VIBs Removed:
VIBs Skipped:

6. The VIB driver is now installed and vSGA features are enabled. Remember to ensure that the VIB driver
supports your graphics device!