There could be an occasion where you no longer have network connectivity to an ESXi host due to a broken device driver so this process will explain the process to get the host up and running quickly by mounting the ESXi Host CD-ROM to the ESXi shell.

The writeup below is to cover mounting the ISO image via (iDRAC, ILO, IMM or CIMC) and mounting the ISO.

These are the steps for DELL iDRAC and the steps of Mounting the ISO can be different in the other vendors.

Activate the Virtual Media in the iDRAC , Go to “Virtual Media -> Connect Virtual Media”

Map the CD/DVD media

Browse the ISO and Map the Device

Now login to the ESXi host using the SSH console and check the “ls /vmfs/volumes” to see the CD-ROM, No CD-ROM listed in the Volumes

Load the iso9660 module using “vmkload_mod iso9660”

Find the Path to the CD-ROM using the “esxcfg-mpath -l | grep -i cd-rom” you can find the path as below

Set the loaded module to the CD-ROM to access via the shell, use “vsish -e set /vmkModules/iso9660/mount <devicename>”

Now you can see the CD-ROM in the “ls /vmfs/volumes/”

You will be able to access the CD-ROM as a normal volume from the ESXi Shell

You can unmount the CD-ROM from this command “vsish -e set /vmkModules/iso9660/umount <devicename>”

Unload the module from ” vmkload_mod -u iso9660 ”