To describe the components of a desired state for a cluster or a standalone host, create a draft software specification and save the desired state when ready.

To edit an existing desired state or to create an empty draft software specification:
  • For a cluster, use the POST https://<vcenter_ip_address_or_fqdn>/api/esx/settings/clusters/<cluster_id>/software/drafts request.
  • For a standalone host, use the POST https://<vcenter_ip_address_or_fqdn>/api/esx/settings/hosts/<host_id>/software/drafts request.
Submit the cluster ID or the host ID as path parameters to the respective request. As a result, you receive a draft ID which you can use to add a base image, an add-on, or some components to the draft.