The following instructions describe the steps for deploying QoreStor on VMware ESXi using the vSphere web client.

1. Acquire the QoreStor installation package and store it on your system or a network location. This package is in VMware ESXi ova format.
2. Launch and log on to the vSphere Web Client.
3. Right-click the ESXi host that will host the QoreStor VM, and select Deploy OVF Template.
4. In the Deploy OVF Template window, select Local file and click Browse to locate the QoreStor OVA template on your system. Click Open.
5. Click Next to proceed.
6. On the Select Name and location page, enter a Name for the virtual machine and select the folder that hosts it, and then click Next to proceed.
7. On the Select a resource page, select a host, cluster, resource pool, or vApp to run the virtual machine. Click Next to proceed.
8. On the Review details page, review the template details. Click Next to proceed.
9. On the Accept license agreements page, review the license agreements and click Accept. Click Next to proceed.
10. On the Select Storage page, select the virtual disk format and the destination datastore, and then click Next to proceed. You must choose a data store that meets the storage space requirement (with minimum free space of at least the size the of the QoreStor system).

    NOTE: Quest recommends that you select on of the the virtual disk formats below: Thick provision lazy zeroed - - Allocates all space required for the disk at the time of creation. Residual data on the physical disk space used for the virtual disk is not erased, and must be zeroed out during first write. This is faster to create than an eager zeroed disk, and while there is a slight performance impact during first write operations, that impact does not occur during subsequent writes. Thick provision eager zeroed - Allocates all space required for the disk at the time of creation. Residual data on the physical disk space used for the virtual disk is erased at the time the disk is created. This takes longer to create than a lazy -zeroed disk, but does support clustering features that a lazy-zeroed disk does not. Selecting a Thin provisioned disk will result in disk fragmentation and possible storage over-subscription. For those reasons, thin provisioning is not recommended.

11. On the Select Networks page, configure the networks that the deployed template should use. Click Next to proceed.
12. On the Ready to Complete page, review the configured settings. Click Finish.
13. In the Deployment Completed Successfully dialog box, click Close.

    The QoreStor VM will boot up. (It takes approximately 3-5 minutes to self-extract the installation package and install all of the components.)

14. When deployed on vSphere 6.5 or later, you must upgrade the VM compatibility using the procedure below:
    • in vSphere, right-click on the deployed QoreStor VM and click Compatibility > Upgrade Compatibility.
    • At the Confirm VM Compatibility Upgrade prompt, click Yes.
    • In the Compatible With drop-down menu, select ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later.
    • Click OK.
15. Ensure that the Guest OS for the QoreStor VM is correctly configured.
    • in vSphere, right-click on the deployed QoreStor VM and click Edit Settings.
    • Click the VM Options tab.
    • In the Guest OS Version drop-dowm menu, select Oracle Linux 7 (64-bit).
16. Proceed with the initial setup and configuration of QoreStor. Refer to the topic, “Configuring the QoreStor virtual machine,” for instructions.

NOTE: If you have deployed QoreStor in an Object Direct configuration, QoreStor will start in Manual Intervention mode. This is expected behavior. Refer to Additional Configuration for Object Direct installations for the steps required to return QoreStor to normal operation.