When you customize a clone using Sysprep, you need to provide a customization specification.

You create customization specifications by using the Customization Specification wizard in vSphere. See the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration document for information on using the Customization Specification wizard.

It is recommended that you test a customization specification in vSphere before you use it to create a desktop pool.

Note the following requirements and limitations:
  • Windows is the only supported operating system for Instant Clone desktops with Sysprep customization.
  • Linux is not supported as the target guest operating system.
  • When you use a Sysprep customization specification to join a Windows desktop to a domain, you must use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Active Directory domain. You cannot use the NetBIOS name.
  • Using a custom Sysprep answer file is not supported.
  • On the Computer Name page of the wizard, the Use the virtual machine name option must be selected.
  • The Automatically logon as Administrator option is not supported. If you select this option during the customization process, the system ignores the setting.
  • Only single NIC configurations are supported.
  • Entering FQDN and AD domain credentials different from those configured for the pool is not supported. If you enter these values, the system ignores them and joins the domain configured for the pool.
  • If any explicit DNS server setup is required for the domain join, you must select Manually Select custom settings on the Network page and enter the settings.