Create ESXi Fling ISO's

Fling drivers are extra drivers that can be added to an ESXi image. We will create an ISO and highlight key steps to make this easier to repeat for different versions of ESXi.

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Two of the most common fling drivers are USB Network and Community network interface card (NIC) drivers. Some drivers can be installed after ESXi is installed others may be required during install like the NIC drivers. Fling drivers can be installed in the ISO regardless if they are needed during install.

This video covers creating an ISO including Fling drivers using the PowerShell command line.

My Notes – Parameterized steps for creating a fling ISO for ESXi
https://gist.github.com/gspivey/69b5c12962e00bf85c9cfdc954ad13f6

Blog Post referenced in the video
https://www.virten.net/2020/04/how-to-add-the-usb-nic-fling-to-esxi-7-0-base-image/
VMWare Powershell command Documentation
https://developer.vmware.com/docs/powercli/latest/vmware.imagebuilder/commands/get-esximageprofile/#Default
VMWare Fling Driver
https://flings.vmware.com/usb-network-native-driver-for-esxi#changelog
Another Great VMWare Blog
https://williamlam.com/category/esxi-2/page/4

00:00 Potential Issues
00:24 Introduction
01:41 Starting from Virten Blog
02:19 Use Rufus ISO creation tool
03:05 PowerShell Prerequisites
03:58 GetProfile PowerShell Docs
06:08 Create New Image Profile
08:00 Find Software Package Name
08:39 Create ISO and ZIP
09:54 Restricted PowerShell Execution Policy
10:16 Conclusion