Use the Guest Customization wizard to save guest operating system settings in a specification that can be applied when cloning virtual machines or deploying from templates.
Procedure
Log in to the VMware vSphere Web Client(VWC) as someone with administrative privileges.
Select Policies and Profiles from the Menu.
Figure 1. Policies and Profiles
Click on VM Customization Specifications.
The browser displays a page, similar to the following:
Figure 2. VM Customization Specification
Click the plus icon (highlighted in the preceding figure for emphasis).
The browser displays the
New VM Guest Customization Spec wizard similar to the following:
Figure 3. New VM Guest Customization Spec
Select Linux as the Target guest OS.
Enter a name for the customization specification in the Name field. VMware suggests choosing a name that makes it easy for the LaMa Administrator to identify the contents of the customization specification. The Description field should contain a brief description of the customization specification.
Click Next.
The browser displays the
Computer name dialog of the wizard similar to the following:
Figure 4. New VM Guest Customization Spec-Computer Name
Select Use the virtual machine name radio button and enter the DNS domain to which the virtual machine belongs to in the Domain name field. Click Next.
The browser displays the
Time zone dialog of the wizard.
Figure 5. New VM Guest Customization Spec-Time zone
In the Time zone dialog select the Area and Location of the virtual machine so that it has the proper time zone. In the Hardware clock set to field specify the time zone to which the hardware clock should be set and click Next.
The browser now displays the
Network dialog of the wizard.
Figure 6. New VM Guest Customization Spec-Network
It allows to configure every network interface of the customization specification. By default, wizard defines one network interface, called
NIC1, that use DHCP to get IP parameters.
(Optional) Edit an existing network interface, including IP parameters:
Select Manually select custom settings radio button.
Select the network interface to edit.
Click the three dots icon (highlighted in the preceding figure for emphasis) and select Edit. The Wizard browser displays the Edit Network page, similar to the following:
Figure 7. New VM Guest Customization Spec-Network-Edit Network
Choose IPv4 (if not already selected).
Choose the method vCenter Server uses to assign the IP address to this network interface (one of the following):
Use DHCP to obtain an IPv4 address automatically
Prompt the user for an IPv4 address when the specification is used
Use custom settings - Static IP settings. Enter appropriate values.
Click OK.
(Optional) Add a network interface by clicking the ADD icon. VMware recommends creating a Guest Customization Spec per each permutation of number of NICs and the IP configuration (DHCP, Static IP, and Prompt for IP) that may be needed for your environment. Edit new network interface using the previous step.
Note: Currently LaMa has a limitation that the customization specification used for SAP system cloning operation should have not more than two network interfaces. Not following this limitation results in a LaMa execution error.
(Optional) Delete network interface:
Select Manually select custom settings radio button.
Select the interface to delete
Click the three dots icon (highlighted in the preceding figure for emphasis) and select Delete
Click Next.
The browser now displays the
DNS settings dialog of the wizard, similar to the following:
Figure 8. New VM Guest Customization Spec-DNS settings
Enter the DNS servers that the virtual machine should use in the DNS settings section of the wizard. You can also manage the DNS search path. To add a domain, type the domain name in the field under DNS Search Paths and click Add. Then click Next.
The browser displays the
Ready to complete dialog of the wizard, similar to the following:
Figure 9. New VM Guest Customization Spec-Ready to complete
Click Finish to create the customization specification.
The new customization specification is now listed in the
VM Customization Specifications list.
Results
This customization specification can now be used to perform a virtual machine clone or copy operations.
