Clone a Deploy Rule

You can use a vSphere Auto Deploy rule as a template and modify only parts of the rule instead of creating a new one.

You can clone an existing vSphere Auto Deploy rule by using the Clone Deploy Rule wizard.

Prerequisites

• Prepare your system and install the Auto Deploy Server. For more information, see Prepare Your System for vSphere Auto Deploy.
• Create a vSphere Auto Deploy rule. See Create a Deploy Rule.
• If you want to include an image profile to the rule, verify that the software depot you need is added to the inventory. See Add a Software Depot or Import a Software Depot.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Auto Deploy.
   By default, only the administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere Auto Deploy service.
2. On the Deploy Rules tab, select a rule from the list.
3. Click Clone.
   The Clone Deploy Rule wizard appears.
4. On the Name and hosts page of the wizard, enter a name for the new rule.
5. Select to either apply the rule to all hosts in the inventory or only to hosts that match a specific pattern.
   You can select one or more patterns.
   For example, the rule can apply only to hosts in a vCenter Single Sign-On domain, with a specific host name, or that match a specific IPv4 range.
6. On the Configuration page of the wizard, you can optionally include items in the rule.
   Each enabled item adds a new page to the wizard.

   Option	Action
   Host Location	Add the hosts that match the criteria of the rule to a specific location.
   Image Profile	Assign an image profile to the hosts that match the rule criteria.
   Host Profile	Assign a host profile to the hosts that match the rule criteria.
   Script Bundle	Assign a script bundle to the host that match the rule criteria.

7. On the Select host location page of the wizard, select a location for the hosts that match the rule.

   Option	Action
   If you want to keep the host location used in the cloned rule	Select the Same Host location check box.
   If you want to select a new location for the selected hosts	Select the Browse for Host location check box. Select a data center, folder, or cluster as host location. Click Next.

8. On the Select image profile page of the wizard, select an image profile.

   Option	Action
   If you do not want to change the image profile	Select the Same image profile check box.
   If you want to assign a new image profile to the selected hosts	Select the Browse for Image Profile check box. Select a software depot from the drop-down menu. Select an image profile from the list. (Optional) If you want to bypass the acceptance level verification for the image profile, select the Skip image profile signature check check box.

9. On the Select host profile page of the wizard, select a host profile.

   Option	Action
   If you want to keep the host profile used in the cloned rule	Select the Same Host profile check box.
   If you want to assign a new host profile to the selected hosts	Select the Browse for Host Profile check box. Select a host profile from the list and click Next.

10. On the Select script bundle page of the wizard, select a script bundle from the list.
11. On the Ready to complete page, review the summary information for the new rule.

What to do next

• Activate a vSphere Auto Deploy rule. See Activate, Deactivate, and Reorder Deploy Rules.
• Edit a vSphere Auto Deploy rule. See Edit an Image Profile.