VMware

Windows Server 2016 documentation covers information on how to install the operating system in a virtual machine. For additional information about the operating system, refer to the instructions included in the installation media.

Windows Server 2016 documentation includes the following topics:

Installation Instructions

You can install Windows Server 2016 in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows Server 2016 distribution CD.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following tasks are complete:
  • Read General Installation Instructions for All VMware Products.
  • Read the Microsoft System Requirements for the recommended storage and memory values.
  • Create and configure a new virtual machine with the appropriate virtual storage and virtual memory to support the intended workload. During the guest OS configuration process, select Windows Server 2016 Threshold for VMware vSphere 6.0, VMware Workstation 11, VMware Fusion 7 and later releases. For VMware vSphere 5.5, if the Windows Server 2016 Threshold (64-bit) option is not available, select Windows Server 2012 (64-bit).

Installation Steps

  1. Insert the Windows Server 2016 CD/DVD into the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive.
  2. Start the virtual machine. This begins the Windows installation.
  3. (Optional) If you are using VMware Paravirtual as the default SCSI controller, refer KB 84200 to add pvscsi driver to the Windows installation ISO image, or install the pvscsi driver following below steps:
    1. When Windows installer displays the screen, Where do you want to install Windows, switch the current virtual machine's CD drive to point to the VMware Tools .iso image.
      For example, in the vSphere client:
      Right click the virtual machine and select Guest OS > Install VMware Tools.
    2. From the installer screen, Where do you want to install Windows, click Load driver.
    3. From the installer screen, Select the driver to install, click Browse and browse to the CD Driver/Program Files/VMware/VMware Tools/Drivers/pvscsi/amd64 driver directory in the VMware Tools .iso image.
    4. Click OK, wait until the pvscsi driver is recognized successfully, then click Next.
    5. When the installer displays the Where do you want to install Windows screen, switch the virtual machine's CD drive to the Windows installation disk and continue the Windows installation.
      For example, in the vSphere client:
      1. Right click the virtual machine and select Guest OS > Unmount VMware Tools Installer to disconnect the CD/DVD drive from vSphere client.
      2. Click the CD icon again and select the Windows .iso image.
    6. Click Next to continue the Windows installation.
      If the Next button is gray and cannot be clicked, click Refresh, then re-click Next.
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
  5. Install VMware Tools.
  6. (Optional) On VMware Fusion, install Boot Camp drivers so that the guest operating system can access hardware devices on the physical machine.
    Boot Camp 5.1 supports 64-bit Windows. For more information, refer to http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204048.

VMware Tools in a Windows Server 2016 Guest

For information on VMware Tools, see Knowledge base article 1014294, General VMware Tools installation instructions, at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014294.

Knowledge Base Articles for Windows Server 2016 Guest

The following links refer to knowledge base articles on operating system specific issues.

VMware Compatibility Guide

The VMware Compatibility Guide Web site lists supported guest and host operating systems and provides related support information.


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