Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment

In the process of deploying a new virtual machine from a template or cloning an existing virtual machine, you can customize Linux guest operating systems for the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

• Verify that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements.
• Verify that there are customization specifications available to use. For more information about creating a guest customization specifications, see Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment.

Procedure

1. Start the Clone Existing Virtual Machine or Deploy From Template wizard.
2. Follow the prompts until you reach the Select clone options page.
3. On the Select clone options page, select the Customize the operating system check box and click Next.
4. On the Customize guest OS page, select an existing guest customization specification from the list and click Next.
   In the vSphere Web Client, you can also choose to create a new customization specification.
5. On the User settings page, specify the required settings for the virtual machine.
   This page of the wizard appears only if the selected specification requires additional customization.
6. On the Ready to complete page, review the details and click Finish.

Results

When the new virtual machine starts for the first time, the guest operating system runs finalization scripts to complete the customization process. The virtual machine might restart several times during this process.

If the guest operating system pauses when the new virtual machine starts, it might be waiting for you to correct errors, such as an incorrect product key or an invalid user name. Open the virtual machine’s console to determine whether the system is waiting for information.

What to do next

If the new virtual machine encounters customization errors while it is starting, the errors are reported using the guest’s system logging mechanism. View the errors by opening /var/log/vmware-imc/toolsDeployPkg.log.