Download the iso file from the Cisco Catalyst 8000V software installation image package and copy it onto the VM Datastore.

In the vSphere client, choose Create a New Virtual Machine.

From Configuration, choose the option to create a custom configuration, and click Next.

In the Name and Location field, specify the name for the VM and click Next.

In the Storage field, choose the datastore to use for the VM and click Next .

From the Virtual Machine Version drop-down field,choose Virtual Machine Version 15 or a higher version that is available and click Next.

In Guest Operating System area, choose Linux and the Other 3.x Linux (64-bit)options and click Next.

In the CPUs area, configure these settings and click Next:

1. Number of virtual sockets (virtual CPUs)

2. Number of cores per socket: The number of cores per socket should always be set to 1, regardless of the number of virtual sockets selected. For example, a Cisco Catalyst 8000V with a 4 vCPU configuration should be configured as 4 sockets and 1 core per socket.

In the Memory field, configure the supported memory size for your Cisco Catalyst 8000V release and click Next.

In the Network field, allocate at least three virtual network interface cards (vNICs).

1. Select the number of vNICs that you want to connect from the drop-down menu.

   Note

   The VMware ESXi interface allows you to create 4 vNICs during the initial VM setup. You can add more vNICs after creating the VM and booting Cisco Catalyst 8000V for the first time.

2. Add the vNICs.

   Select a different network for each vNIC.

   Select the adapter type from the drop-down menu. See the requirements sections in this guide for the supported adapter type in your release.

3. Select all the vNICs to connect at power-on and click Next. You can add vNICs into the VM using vSphere while the Cisco Catalyst 8000V is running. For more information about adding vNICS to an existing VM, see the vSphere documentation.

From the SCSI Controller drop-down field, choose VMware Paravirtual and click Next.

From the Select a Disk drop-down field, choose Create a New Virtual Disk .

In the Create a Disk area, configure these settings and click Next:

1. Capacity: Disk Size: The virtual hard disk size required in your release. See the requirements section in this chapter for the supported disk size.

2. Disk Provisioning: Select either Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed or Thick Provision Eager Zeroed.

   Note

   The Thin Provision option is not supported. Choosing Thick Provision Eager Zeroed takes longer to install, but it provides better performance.

3. Location: Store with the Virtual Machine

From the Advanced Options field, choose SCSI (0:0) for the virtual device node.

On the Ready to Complete window, click the Edit the Virtual Machine settings before completion.

Select the Continue checkbox.

In the Hardware tab, click New CD/DVD Drive.

1. Choose the Device Type that the VM will boot from:

   Choose the Datastore ISO file option to boot from the .iso file. Browse to the location of the .iso file on the datastore set in step 1.

2. In the Device Status field, select the Connect at Power On checkbox.

3. Select the Virtual Device Node CD/DVD drive on the host that the VM will boot from.

In the Resources tab, under CPU, set the Resource Allocation setting to Unlimited and click OK.

Click Finish.