Manage vApp Custom Properties for a Virtual Machine

You can define and manage custom properties that are stored in the OVF template when you export a virtual machine or vApp and are used by vCenter Server when you deploy the OVF template. OVF templates support static properties, which are often configured by the user, and dynamic properties, which are always set by the vCenter Server.

To customize your virtual machine or vApp with properties, perform the following steps.

1. Define the OVF properties, for example a DNS address or gateway, in the virtual machine or vApp.
2. If you plan to export the virtual machine or the vApp to an OVF template:
   1. Set up the OVF environment transport to carry the settings into the virtual machine. See Edit OVF Details for a Virtual Machine.
   2. Write some glue-code to access and apply the information to the virtual machine.

See the VMware vApp Developer blog topic Self-Configuration and the OVF Environment for a discussion, sample code, and a video.

Procedure

1. Navigate to a virtual machine from the vCenter Server inventory.
2. On the Configure tab, expand Settings and select vApp options.
3. You can manage custom properties from the Properties panel.

   Option	Description
   Add	To create a property, click Add.
   Edit	To edit an existing property, select the property and click Edit.
   Set Value	To set a new value to the existing property, select the property and click Set Value.
   Delete	To delete an existing property, select the property and click Delete.