Install Alpine on VMware ESXi

2022-02-03T15:45:40Z

Pernat1y:

{{TOC right}}

= Preparation =

This Guide assumes you are using the latest (as of this writing, ESXi 6.7) host client on a free install of ESXi, not the VSphere client. Options may be slightly different for that client.

== Download Alpine and upload to a reachable Datastore ==
For this guide, I used the latest Virtual Images, which at the time was, 3.10.2

== Create VM Options ==
# Name: Choose any name you like
# Compatibility: Linux
# Guest OS Version: Select ''Other 5.x or later Linux (64-bit)'' if you downloaded the x86_64 Alpine-ISO, or ''Other 5.x or later Linux (32-bit)'' if you downloaded the x86 Alpine-ISO.

== Edit VM Settings once Created ==
The default alpine linux iso images only boot from bios, not the ESXi default of UEFI for Linux 4.0+ hosts. To get around this limitation, you have three options:
# Change the VM to use Bios Boot
## Make sure the VM is powered off. (If it is on, you will not be able to change boot options, and your save will fail.)
## Right click on the VM, and select Edit Settings
## Select VM Options
## Under Boot Options > Firmware, select bios
## Click save.
# You could create a new ISO image following the [[Create_UEFI_seureboot_USB]] guide (outside the scope of this guide)
# You can change the VM Compatability options to ''Other Linux (64-bit)'' but you loose the VMXNET and SR-IOV Passthrough NIC options (helpful for a virtualized firewall) and are limited to the E1000 NIC driver which has been known to drop network connectivity.

= Installation =
Install Alpine Linux. I used the default setup-alpine script

= Post-Install =
== Install and enable Open-VM-Tools ==

# Enable the Community repo
using root/sudo/wheel privileges, edit /etc/apk/repos and un-comment the community repo
# Install {{Pkg|open-vm-tools}}
{{Cmd | apk add --update open-vm-tools }}
# Start and enable at boot. As of this writing the open-rc scripts are included in the base open-vm-tools package instead of a separate -openrc package.
{{Cmd | /etc/init.d/open-vm-tools start
rc-update add open-vm-tools}}

[[category:Virtualization]]

Install Alpine on VMware Workstation

2021-06-20T10:15:27Z

Pernat1y: It is required to disable UEFI secure boot, otherwise VM will not boot from ISO

There's at least 2 ways you can setup Alpine on a VMware box.

== Option 1: sys mode, traditional hard-disk install (preferable for a dev box) ==

# Create a virtual machine (linux, other 3.x kernel 64 bit)
## add a hard drive, with the size depending on your work
## add a cdrom to the vm that points to the alpine iso you downloaded (alpine-virt x86_64)
## disable `UEFI secure boot` in VM options
# boot into the vm (username: root)
## run `alpine-install`
## choose `sys` when asked about the disk mode (this will permanently install Alpine on the disk)
## choose the default disk mounted by VMware
## reboot after the installation is complete

== Option 2: USB mode, no data preserved between reboots ==

# Create a virtual machine (linux, other 3.x kernel 64 bit)
## add a minimal hard drive, 100MB for saving configs, (like an usb stick)
## add a cdrom to the vm that points to the alpine iso you downloaded (alpine-virt x86_64)
# boot into the vm
# press f2 on boot to enter the BIOS
## change the boot order so that it boots from cd, then hd, then floppy (or whatever - as long as cd is first)
# boot the machine
# now run the following commands:
## mkfs.vfat /dev/sda
## mount /dev/sda /media/usb (Or try: mount -t vfat /dev/sda /media/usb)
## grep /dev/sda /proc/mounts >> /etc/fstab
## setup-alpine (select no disk, save configs to 'usb')
## lbu ci usb

If the VM hangs at the boot prompt, reboot the VM, and when the boot prompt appears again, type <tt>pax_nouderef</tt> (i.e. append it to the kernel options) and press Enter. This should allow normal boot-up. <br />

Now you should be able to reboot and it should retain your settings because they were saved to your "usb"-disk.

== VMware Tools ==

More info on this page: [[Open-vm-tools]]

For VMware Tools support you need to install the package [https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/package/edge/main/x86_64/open-vm-tools open-vm-tools].

[[Category:Virtualization]]

Alpine Linux - User contributions [en]

Install Alpine on VMware ESXi

Install Alpine on VMware Workstation