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VMware

This article refers to Platform v3.4.0. The current Platform version is v3.4.0.

Overview​

This guide walks you through installing Barbara OS on a VMware virtual machine. Barbara OS for VMware ships as an OVA appliance: a single file that holds the virtual disk and the virtual machine definition, so the hypervisor creates a VM that is ready to boot.

The same OVA works with two kinds of VMware hypervisor:

The import creates the VM with EFI boot and Secure Boot disabled, an NVMe disk controller and a VMXNET3 network adapter, which is the hardware Barbara OS expects. You don't need to convert the disk or edit the VM hardware by hand.

Download the OS image​

Download the Barbara OS image for VMware from Barbara Panel. The download is a single .ova file. If you cannot see the image you need, ask the platform administrator for access.

Download a VMware OS image from Barbara Panel

Download a VMware OS image from Barbara Panel

Hardware requirements​

The OVA creates a VM with 2 vCPUs, 2 GB of RAM and a 16 GB disk. Adjust these values to your workload after the import, before the first power-on.

Minimum​

  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Disk: 16 GB
  • CPU: 2 vCPUs
  • Network: 1 × Ethernet interface
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Disk: 64 GB
  • CPU: 4 vCPUs
  • Network: 2 × Ethernet interfaces
Grow the disk before the first boot

Barbara OS creates its data partition on the first boot and gives it all the free space on the disk. To get a larger data partition, increase the size of Hard disk 1 in the VM settings before you power the VM on for the first time.

ESXi and vCenter​

Requirements​

  • ESXi 7.0 Update 2 or later, managed directly or through vCenter Server. The OVA uses virtual hardware version 19, which earlier hosts do not support.

Import the OVA​

From the ESXi Host Client

  1. Start the wizard. Open Virtual Machines, click Create / Register VM and choose Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file.
  2. Select the file. Enter a name for the VM and select the .ova you downloaded.
  3. Select the storage that holds the VM files.
  4. Map the network. Choose the port group the node reaches Barbara Panel through, and select Thin disk provisioning.
  5. Review and finish. The Host Client uploads the disk and creates the VM.

From the vSphere Client (vCenter)

  1. Start the wizard. Right-click the target data center, cluster or host and select Deploy OVF Template.
  2. Select the file. Choose Local file and select the .ova you downloaded.
  3. Complete the wizard. Enter a name and a folder, select the compute resource and the storage, and map the network to the port group the node reaches Barbara Panel through.

When the import finishes, adjust the CPU, memory and disk if you need more than the defaults, and continue with Start the virtual machine.

Workstation​

Requirements​

  • VMware Workstation 17 or later.

Import the OVA​

  1. Open the OVA. From the Workstation main menu, choose File → Open and select the .ova you downloaded.
  2. Name the VM. Enter a name and a folder for the VM files, and click Import.
  3. Adjust the hardware if you need more than the defaults. Open Edit virtual machine settings to change the memory, the processors or the size of the hard disk.

When the import finishes, continue with Start the virtual machine.

Start the virtual machine​

  1. Power on the VM. Watch the console; once Barbara OS finishes booting, it displays the Barbara ID and a QR code.
Barbara ID QR code on first boot

Barbara ID QR code on first boot

  1. Scan the QR or read the Barbara ID directly from the console.
Barbara ID page

Barbara ID page

  1. In Barbara Panel, open the Nodes List and click + Add Node to register the VM.
Add Node in Panel

Add Node in Panel

  1. Paste the Barbara ID, give the node a name, and complete the form. After the activation reboot and the disk encryption complete, the node appears as online.
VM online in Panel

VM online in Panel

Summary​

You have imported the Barbara OS appliance into ESXi, vCenter or Workstation and registered the resulting VM in Barbara Panel. Because the OVA carries the virtual machine definition, every node you deploy this way starts from the same hardware configuration. For the full activation walkthrough, see Add the node to Panel.