Captures of a typical esxi 5.5 installation

Step 1. Download the iso image from vmware.com/downloads and burn it

Step 2. Power on the physical server and boot from the cd

Step 3. When faced with the Original Screen, select the first choice.

Step 4. Press enter to start the installation

Step 5. Accept the End User License Agreement.

Step 6. Select the disk to be used. This could be a sata disk, usb, etc.

Step 7. Select the keyboard layout.

Step 8: Add the password for the root user.

Step 9. Press F11 to confirm the installation.

Step 10. Allow the esxi to finish the install, then reboot and you are done. As you probably noticed, the installation never asked for a hostname or network related information. Once the esxi server boots up, press F2 to log into the DCUI (Direct Console User Interface) to make those changes.