You can follow the steps below to complete the VMware deployment and setup, but please [contact us](https://www.glasswall.com/support)  if you have any questions or require more support.


1. Login to your VMware ESXi console.


2. In the virtual machines page in ESXi select *Create / Register VM* to open the new virtual machine window.


3. Click **Select creation type**.


4. Select *Deploy a virtual machine from OVF or OVA file* and click **Next**.


![Step 1](/.attachments/Step_1.png) 


5. Click **Select OVF and VMDK files**.


- Enter a name for your Glasswall Halo VM
- Browse and select the Glasswall Halo v2 OVA provided by Glasswall. Enter an appropriate name for the virtual machine.


![Step 2](/.attachments/Step_2.png) 


6. Click **Select storage**.
- Select your storage type and datastore


![Step 3](/.attachments/Step_3.png) 


7. Click **Deployment options**.


- Select the appropriate settings for the *network mappings and disk provisioning*.
- Uncheck *Power on automatically*


![Step 4](/.attachments/Step_4.png) 


8. Click **Finish** and wait for the import to complete.


9. For the best support and feature functionality it is suggested that the image be upgraded to the host client OS compatibility.


- Select *Upgrade VM compatibility* under the **Actions** tab.
- Select the appropriate minimum level of compatibility from the drop-down (in our example it is ESXi 6.7/8.0).


**Note:** this process might negatively impact the performance of other client systems on the host, so it might be best to perform it in less critical Windows.


10. Please note the acknowledgement of potential performance impact and click **Yes**.


![Step 5](/.attachments/Step_5.png) 


#### Edit settings (virtual hardware)


11. Select **Edit settings** and from the *Virtual hardware* tab, modify:


* **VCPU** to (minimum) 16
* **Memory** to 32 GB RAM
* **Hard disk 1** to (minimum) 500 GB SSD/HD.


![Image.png](/.attachments/image-3PVMOKFG.png) 


#### Edit settings (VM options)


12A. From the *VM options* tab, select **General options** to open the menu and adjust the server settings as needed.


**Note:** with the upgrade completed you can now select the correct *guest operating system*.


* Select **Linux** as *Guest OS* and **Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (64-bit)** as the *Guest OS Version*.


12B. Click **Save**.


![Step 7](/.attachments/image_191.png)


## Launch machine


13. Verify that the **Compatibility**, **CPU and **Memory allocation** are all correct.
14. Power on and launch the virtual machine.
15. Login with your provided credentials.


## Password change


16. For security reasons, you must change the default password provided by Glasswall on your first login. After signing in with the shared credentials, set a new password for the virtual machine.


**Note:** your new password must be at least 15 characters long and include a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Repeating characters are not permitted.


## Network manager configuration


- For static IP: follow the <a href="/halo/network-manager-configuration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Network Manager configuration guide</a> to continue Halo setup. Return here when finished.
- For DHCP: ensure your DHCP server is operational.


## Initiate Glasswall Halo services


**Note:** if your network has a DHCP server, this step can be skipped as the RKE2 server will be started automatically by *cloud-init*.


1. Execute the following command to launch Glasswall Halo:


>```sh
>sudo bash start_halo.sh
>```


2. Once the script has completed, confirm all the Glasswall Halo services and pods are running using the following command:


>```sh
>kubectl get pods
>```


## Access Glasswall Halo


1. Depending on your network configuration and/or domain configuration, you can now access Halo through the domain name and/or IP address assigned to your virtual machine.


2. Run the following command to confirm network status:


>```
>sudo netstat -tlnp
>```


![Step 13](/.attachments/Step_13.png) 


![Step 14](/.attachments/Step_14.png) 


## Access Glasswall Swagger API endpoints


Navigate to the following URL to access the Glasswall Halo API endpoints:


https://[**your domain or ip**]/swagger/index.html


![Step 15](/.attachments/Step_15.png) 


**Note:** don't forget to enter your own domain or IP address into the URL.


## Validating deployment


You are able to validate the deployment by using our [API Health Check](/halo/glasswall-halo-health-checks) feature.