Add VIBs to an Image Profile with PowerCLI Cmdlets

You can add one or more VIBs to an image profile if that image profile is not set to read only. If the new VIB depends on other VIBs or conflicts with other VIBs in the profile, a message is displayed at the PowerShell prompt and the VIB is not added.

You can add VIBs from VMware or from VMware partners to an image profile. If you add VMware VIBs, vSphere ESXi Image Builder performs validation. If you add VIBs from two or more OEM partners simultaneously, no errors are reported but the resulting image profile might not work. Install VIBs from only one OEM vendor at a time.

If an error about acceptance level problems appears, change the acceptance level of the image profile and the acceptance level of the host. Consider carefully whether changing the host acceptance level is appropriate. VIB acceptance levels are set during VIB creation and cannot be changed.

You can add VIBs even if the resulting image profile is invalid.

Note: VMware can support only environments and configurations that are proven to be stable and fully functional through rigorous and extensive testing. Use only those supported configurations. You can use custom VIBs if you lower your host acceptance level, and as a result, supportability. In that case, track the changes you made, so you can revert them if you want to remove custom VIBs and restore the host acceptance level to the default (Partner Supporter) later. See Working with Acceptance Levels.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite Software

Procedure

1. In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work with.

   Option	Action
   Remote depot	Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl <depot_url>.
   ZIP file	Download the ZIP file to a local file system. Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\<file_path>\<offline-bundle>.zip

   The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.
2. Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to list all image profiles in all currently visible depots.
   The cmdlet returns all available profiles. You can narrow your search by using the optional arguments to filter the output.
3. Clone the profile.

   New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile My_Profile -Name "Test Profile 42" -Vendor "My Vendor"

   Image profiles published by VMware and its partners are read only. To make changes, you must clone the image profile. The vendor parameter is required.
4. Run the Add-EsxSoftwarePackage cmdlet to add a new package to one of the image profiles.

   Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile My_Profile -SoftwarePackage partner-package

   The cmdlet runs the standard validation tests on the image profile. If validation succeeds, the cmdlet returns a modified, validated image profile. If the VIB that you want to add depends on a different VIB, the cmdlet displays that information and includes the VIB that can resolve the dependency. If the acceptance level of the VIB that you want to add is lower than the image profile acceptance level, an error occurs.