Save Linux guest operating system settings in a customization specification, which you can apply when cloning virtual machines or deploying virtual machines from templates.

Prerequisites

Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements.

Procedure

  1. Select Menu > Policies and Profiles, and under Policies and Profiles, click VM Customization Specifications.
  2. Click the Create a new specification icon.
    The New VM Guest Customization Specification wizard opens.
  3. On the Name and target OS page, enter a name and description for the customization specification and select Linux as a target guest OS. Click Next.
  4. On the Computer name page, enter a computer name for the guest operating system.
    The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the host name.
    Option Action
    Enter a name
    1. Enter a name.

      The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the hyphen (-) character. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot be made up of digits only. Names are not case-sensitive.

    2. (Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select the Append a numeric value check box. This action appends a hyphen followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is truncated if it exceeds 63 characters when combined with the numeric value.
    Use the virtual machine name The computer name that vCenter Server creates is identical to the name of the virtual machine on which the guest operating system is running. If the name exceeds 63 characters, it is truncated.
    Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy wizard You are prompted to enter a name during cloning or deployment.
    Generate a name using the custom application configured with vCenter Server Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.
  5. Enter the Domain Name for the computer and click Next.
  6. On the Time zone page, select the time zone for the virtual machine and click Next.
  7. On the Network page, select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system and click Next.
    • Select Use standard network settings so that vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server by using the default settings.
    • Select Manually select custom settings and configure each network interface yourself.
      1. Select a network adapter from the list or add a new one.
      2. For the selected NIC, click the vertical ellipsis icon and select Edit.

        The Edit Network dialog box opens.

      3. Click the IPv4 tab to configure the virtual machine to use IPv4 network.

        You can configure all the settings at that stage or you can select the Prompt the user for an IPv4 address when the specification is used option. In that case, vCenter Server prompts for an IP address when you select to apply that customization specification during cloning or deployment. With that option, you can also configure the gateways during cloning or deployment.

      4. Click the IPv6 tab to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.

        You can configure all the settings at that stage or you can select the Prompt the user for an address when the specification is used option. In that case, vCenter Server prompts for an IP address when you select to apply that customization specification during cloning or deployment. With that option, you can also configure the gateways during cloning or deployment.

      5. Click OK to close the dialog box.
  8. On the DNS settings page, enter DNS and domain settings information. The Primary DNS, Secondary DNS, and Tertiary DNS fields accept both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
  9. On the Ready to complete page, review the details and click Finish to save your changes.

Results

The customization specification that you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager. You can use the specification to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.