My Own ESXi Server Part 5 Installing vSphere Client on Windows

In my previous post My Own ESXi Server Part 4 Installing ESXi on a USB Stick, I covered how to install the to get ESXi Server installed.  So, now you are ready to access this server from a client computer.  To do so, you will need to install vSphere Client.  The vSphere Client can be installed on Windows, Linux or Mac OS.  This post will cover how to install vSphere Client on Windows XP.

How To Install vSphere Client on Windows XP

1)  You can get the vSphere Client in a couple of ways.  When you download the ESXi Server, you may have chosen to down the vSphere Client at the same time.  If not, you can also download it directly from your ESXi Server.  In my example, the address of my ESXi Server is 192.168.1.10.  Using a browser, go to http://192.168.1.10.

2)  You will see a certificate error message.  Click Continue to this website (not recommended).

3)  You will now be at the VMware ESXi 4 Welcome Screen.  Click Download vSphere Client.

4)  Once your vSphere Client executable is downloaded, you can double-click to start the install.

5)  Click OK for English.

6)  Click Next.

7)  Click Next to agree to User License Agreement.

8)  Enter User Name and Organization and click Next.

9)  Check Install vSphere Host Update Utility 4.0.  We will need this later on.  Click Next.

10)  Click Next to confirm Destination Folder.

11)  Click Install.

12)  With the Installation Completed, click Finish.

Connecting to ESXi Server with the vSphere Client

1)  Start the vSphere Client shortcut on your desktop.

2)  Enter the ip address of your server, with the user name of root and the password you customized on your ESXi Server.  Click Login.

3)  Check Install this certificate and do not display any security warnings at the bottom of the window. Click Ignore.

4)  You will now see the vSphere Client Main Window.  Congrats!

Related Posts:
Part 1  The Time Has Come
Part 2  Running ESXi on VMware Fusion
Part 3  Building My ESXi Server
Part 4  Installing ESXi 4 on a USB Stick
Part 5  Installing vSphere Client on Windows
Part 6  Updating ESXi using vSphere Host Update Utility
Part 7  Browsing the VMware ESXi Datastore
Part 8  WinSCP to the Rescue
Part 9  Creating a VM
Part 10  Downloading a Virtual Machine

***Updated March 26th 2010
I have decided to continue the series with at least the following:

Part 11  Running vSphere Client from Ubuntu
Part 12  Running vSphere Client from Mac OS
Part 13  Adding/Removing a VM to ESXi
Part 14  Export in ESXi
Part 15  Deploying OVF Templates
Part 16  Adding a License Key