Vmware Vsphere Talos install with iso manually

[suse-coder]

Due to permission reason I cannot use the ova image for vmware vsphere creation, so I use existing vms. In the documentation this case is not described. Do I just need the iso image to mount or also need to add the installer to the machine configuration (how in a offline environment would I load it if needed)?

ISO
https://factory.talos.dev/image/376567988ad370138ad8b2698212367b8edcb69b5fd68c80be1f2ec7d603b4ba/v1.9.4/vmware-amd64.iso
Initial Installation
For the initial installation of Talos Linux (not applicable for disk image boot), add the following installer image to the machine configuration:
factory.talos.dev/installer/376567988ad370138ad8b2698212367b8edcb69b5fd68c80be1f2ec7d603b4ba:v1.9.4

[smira]

If you have existing Talos VM, you can upgrade it to the version you need using the installer image.

If your VM is not running Talos, there's a take over method & kexec, but this is not documented officially.

Answer to the question of making a container image available in the restricted environment is same for the Talos installer image or e.g. Kubernetes kube-apiserver image - the approach would be exactly same, as they are both container images.

[suse-coder]

So basically, when not Talos is installed yet:

1. iso image mount into vm
2. apply config with added initial installation (if i would have internet or is the installer nor so important)?

[smira]

If you boot a VM with a Talos ISO, and the VM is "empty", you need both ISO and installer image available to install Talos to disk.