Build a vCenter 7.0

I think it is getting harder to understand what the difference is between ESXi, vCenter and vSphere.
vSphere is the name of the virtualization platform, ESXi is the hypervisor, and vCenter is the management server.
In summary, ESXi (free) and vCenter (paid) are the main ones.
Although it is possible to verify the server using a browser with ESXi alone, VMware components such as NSX-T and some applications require the vCenter environment.
Therefore, we will build vCenter in the ESXi environment.
Please note that vCenter requires 12GB memory and 600GB storage.

The work environment is shown below.

Select “Get vCenter Server” from the ESXi screen.
To build ESXi, please click here.

You will be redirected to the product download page, select “Download Evaluation Version” of VMware vCenter. The trial version is valid for 60 days.

Log in to VMware Customer Connect.

Select “Licenses and Downloads”.

Select “Manual Download” under “VMware vCenter Server Appliance”.

The ISO file will be downloaded and mounted on a Windows machine that has a network connection to ESXi. Double-click the ISO file to open it in Explorer even if it is not mounted.

Launch Installer.exe in the ISO file.

Select “Install” when the installer starts.

Select [NEXT].

Accept the license and select [NEXT].

Enter ESXi information and select [NEXT].

The following screen will appear when communication with ESXi is possible, and you are operating with a self-certificate.
Select [YES].

Enter the ESXi password to install vCenter Server.

Determine the size of the vCenter Server. Since this is a test, we choose Tiny. Even Tiny requires 579GB of empty storage, so be rather careful.

Select the storage where you want to install vCenter Server and select [NEXT].

Enter the vCenter Server network settings and select [NEXT].
We have registered vc.company.localdomain on the DNS server for verification, so we have used FQDN, but you can also use an IP address.

Select “FINISH” on the confirmation screen.

Deployment of vCenter Server begins.

Stage1が完了したら、[CONTINUE]を選択します。

Select [NEXT] when Stage 2 starts.

Determine the mode of synchronization with ESXi and whether SSH access is allowed or not, then select [NEXT].

Create the login information for the vSphere Client and select [NEXT]. This information will be used to login to the vSphere Client.

You will be asked to agree to the CEIP. Agree and select [NEXT].

When prompted for confirmation, select [FINSH].

You will be told to be careful because you cannot stop it once it starts. Select “OK” and the Stage2 installation will begin and complete, then select “OK”.

You can confirm that vCenter Server has been deployed in the ESXi

You will get a warning if you access http://<vCenter Server’s IP address>, select “Advanced Settings”->”Access Center Server’s IP address (not secure)”.

Select [Launch VSPHERE CLIENT (HTML5)].

Enter your ID and password to [login].

If you can see the vShere Crient screen above after logging in, the vSeter Server installation is complete.

Since nothing can be done at this point, register the existing ESXi.

Right click and select [New Data Center].

Enter the ESXi IP address or hostname (if DNS is available) and select [Next].

Enter the ESXi root user and password and select [Next].

A security alert will appear, select [Yes].

Confirm the host summary and select [Next].

Assign the license and select [Next].

Select Lockdown mode and choose [Next]. Since this is an evaluation version, leave it disabled.

 select [Next].

Confirm settings and select [Next].

ESXi has been registered.

For your reference.