The deployment package for VMware ESXi is an OVA archive, and it contains the VMX and VMDK files that are necessary to create the virtual appliance. The VMX file is the appliance specification file. The VMDK files represent the appliance’s management and data store virtual disks. The package contents require several gigabytes of disk space. Do not modify any of the files in the package.

The ESXi datastore, as distinct from the appliance’s data store, is part of the underlying virtual environment and provides the virtual storage where the appliance’s management and data store disks are to be located. Make sure that the datastore has enough capacity for the OVA package. You can install the smaller VMDK containing the management disk on an ESXi datastore backed by any type of storage media. We recommend that you put the larger VMDK containing the appliance’s data store on a datastore backed by the fastest available physical storage media. That datastore should have enough room to expand to the size required by the appliance model.

If you’re using Riverbed network interface cards (NICs) on the physical ESXi host, you must map the appliance’s LAN interface to the virtual machine’s pg-vmnic2 port label and the appliance’s WAN interface to the virtual machine’s pg-vmnic3 port label.

The deployment package contains predefined configuration for the default model appliance, which is model VCX30. You’ll need to first install the default model, and then upgrade to your desired VCX model.

The following table shows supported SteelHead-v versions for each listed ESXi version.

Some models only support a two-port 10-GbE multimode fiber NIC using direct I/O. You can configure bypass support using the VMware Direct Path feature. This feature allows the appliance to directly control the physical bypass card. You must use a Riverbed NIC. If you currently use a Riverbed NIC with ESXi, you can use the same card if you want to upgrade the ESXi version.