Reinstall ESXi on ucs-c220 m4

[harresh123]

Hi,

I need to reset the VMware root account password for the ESXi that came pre-installed on UCS C220 M4. Obviously I need this to configure the vmware network management and get through hypervisor's initial configuration. I have CIMC access. Is the ESXi re-install the only way? If so can i re-install ESXi using CIMC? Can somebody point me to a link or steps involved?

[Kirk J]

You can use the vKVM in the CIMC to mount an ISO and re-install ESXi.  ESXi does give you the option to reinstall and retain the datastores, meaning you don't loose the guestVMs that were previously running on it.

ESXi is normally only preloaded on specific appliance type devices (i.e. Hyperflex, some UC call manager servers).

Also any installed VMware licenses will be cleared out during the ESXi reinstall.

Some general instructions for doing the ISO mount can be seen at: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/c/sw/gui/config/guide/3_1/b_Cisco_UCS_C-series_GUI_Configuration_Guide_31/b_Cisco_UCS_C-series_GUI_Configuration_Guide_31_chapter_010.html

Kirk...