Here is my lab setup in preparation for the CCIE R&S lab. It is running on a HP Proliant DL380 G6 server running ESXi 5.5. I know its old school but it works!
Before you deploy your first Cisco CSRv, make sure you already have secured an OVF copy of the CSRv either via the cisco website or other sources.
File > Deploy OVF Template…
Browse to the file where the OVF is located, then click Next
I leave everything as default and just click on Next
Change the name to your liking and click Next
I leave Disk Format to Thick Provisioning Lazy Zeroed, click Next
Click Next until you reach the Ready to Complete page then click Finish
This will start provisioning your CSRv server, once done, don’t power it up yet. Instead, right mouse click on the server then choose Edit Settings…
Click the Add button, choose Serial Port in the list then click Next
Choose Connect via Network, click Next
Choose the Server radio button, in the Port URI: enter the IP of your server and the port using the following format: x.x.x.x:### , click Next
Click Finish button once you reach the Ready to Complete page.
Click the server on the left pane, click the Configuration tab. Go to Software section, click Security. Under the Firewall section, click Properties
Make sure you tick the VM serial port connected over network label, click Ok
Start the CSRv VM, right mouse click, Power > Power On
Go to the console tab to access the virtual router. At this stage would won’t be able to console into the device using your terminal app because by default it doesn’t allow you to do this. To activate this feature you would need to configure the router by typing:
configure terminal
platform console serial
Save the config, then reload the CSRv.
Once reloaded you can now access your CSRv using your terminal app of choice
I hope this helps you guys. Happy labbing.
Running-Config 