In this video, we will show how to enable UEFI Secure Boot on VMware ESXi 6.5.x, for Dell 13th generation PowerEdge servers.
Before you begin, ensure that you have downloaded the latest BIOS available at Dell.com/support.
UEFI Secure Boot is a technology where the system firmware checks that the system boot loader is signed with a cryptographic key, authorized by a database contained in the system firmware.
This feature ensures that proper Signature verification happens in the next stage, which includes Boot loader, Kernel and user space and prevents any execution of unsigned code.
To begin the process, turn on the system.
Press F2 to go to the System Setup page.
Click System BIOS, Boot Settings, and then select UEFI as the Boot Mode.
Click Back, click Finish, and then click Yes in the Saving Changes dialog box.
Then, click OK on the success message.
To exit from System Setup, click Finish, and then click Yes on the confirm exit message.
The system restarts automatically.
Now, press F2 go to the System Setup page.
Click System BIOS, Boot Settings, UEFI Boot Settings, and then click UEFI Boot Sequence.
You must ensure that Internal SD EFI Fixed Disk Boot Device 1 appears first in the list.
Then, click OK.
Click Back until you can view the System BIOS Settings page.
Click System Security.
The Secure Boot Policy option is set as Standard by default.
Enable the Secure Boot option.
In the Saving Changes dialog box, click OK to set the password for System Password and Setup Password respectively.
Click Back.
Click Back again, click Finish, and then click Yes in the Saving Changes dialog box.
Then, click OK on the success message.
To exit from System Setup, click Finish, and then click Yes on the confirm exit message.
The system restarts automatically.
Enter the system password.
The system displays the Loading with ESXi installer screen.
The system loads the VMware Hypervisor and displays the UEFI Secure Boot in progress message.
Note that this operation might take a while.
After successfully booting in to ESXi, you can view the VMware ESXi version and Dell PowerEdge model number on the Direct Console User Interface screen.
You can now log in to ESXi.
Press F2 to view the Authentication Required window.
Type the login and password details and pess Enter to continue.
Then, press F2 to view the System Customization window.
To view the various troubleshooting modes, select Troubleshooting Options.
By default, the ESXi shell option is disabled, press Enter to enable this option.
Press Alt F1 to go to the ESXi command line shell.
Enter the login and password details, and press Enter.
Enter /usr/lib/vmware/secureboot/bin/secureBoot.py –h and then press Enter to view the help message.
Using the same command but this time -c and then press Enter to check if the host is ready to enable secure boot.
Again with the same command but this time -s and press enter to check if UEFI secure boot is enabled.
After these commands are executed, if the output displays that Secure Boot is enabled then your system is protected with UEFI Secure Boot.
For more information, go to delltechcenter.com
