Prepare Appliance Nodes on VMware

Deploy the appliance targets using the VMware OVA and per-node GuestInfo values supplied by Management. These steps begin at Download and boot the Talos artifact in Install the appliance. Use the vSphere/ESXi version agreed for your deployment. Management can use the ISO VM or Docker or Podman on your own host.

The public Talos download links include the boot images and checksums used by Management.

Before you begin

Use an account with permission to deploy OVF templates and change VM hardware and configuration parameters. Download the matching OVA and verify its checksum. Keep the Management handoff page open for the generated network configuration of each node.

Deploy each Target

  1. In the vSphere web interface, right-click the target inventory location and select Deploy OVF Template. Upload the downloaded OVA.

  2. Deploy it once for each planned node and map its network adapter to the shared node subnet. Do not power it on yet.

  3. Open Edit Settings > Virtual Hardware and set CPU and memory from Deployment requirements. Allocate at least 4 virtual CPUs and 16 GiB memory per node.

  4. Under VM Options > Boot Options, set Firmware to EFI before first power-on. Secure Boot may remain disabled.

  5. Add three new empty hard disks for OS, Database and Data. The recommended sizes are 135 GB, 200 GB and 500 GB. The disk supplied by the OVA is boot media and does not count as one of these three empty disks.

  6. Confirm that the first network adapter connects to the intended network and has Connect At Power On enabled.

Screenshot pending: VMware firmware and disks

Capture the imported target VM with EFI firmware and the three disk assignments. Use a second crop if required for readable labels.

Set the per-node Network Configuration

  1. Keep the VM powered off and open Edit Settings > VM Options > Advanced > Configuration Parameters > Edit Configuration.

  2. On the Management handoff page, find this node and expand Review network configuration. Compare its hostname, address, prefix, gateway, DNS and time servers with the deployment plan.

  3. Select Copy GuestInfo value for that node.

  4. Add these configuration parameter names and values:

    Name Value

    guestinfo.talos.config

    The complete copied value for this node.

    guestinfo.talos.config.encoding

    base64

  5. Save the configuration. Set the intended 135 GB OS disk first in the VM’s EFI boot order, ahead of the OVA’s supplied disk.

  6. Power on the VM and repeat for the other planned nodes.

The VMware boot artifact includes VMware Tools. Give each node its own generated GuestInfo value. Copying one node’s value to all VMs creates duplicate network identities.

Verify and Continue

Confirm that each target boots into maintenance mode with the expected address. Return to Management and select Start target discovery. Compare the observed machine identities and wait for each target to be accepted.

For a missing target, check the copied GuestInfo value, encoding, virtual network and connected adapter. For rejected boot mode or resources, correct EFI and hardware settings while the VM is powered off, then retry. Continue with Confirm targets and install.