Learn how to create a host profile, attach or detach hosts and clusters to a host profile, import or export a host profile, duplicate a host profile, and copy settings from a reference host to a host profile or from one host profile to another.

Note: When vSphere Configuration Profiles is enabled on a cluster, you cannot attach or edit host profiles in the cluster or in the hosts in that cluster. For more information on vSphere Configuration Profiles, see the Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle guide.

How Do You Create a vSphere Host Profile?

You create a host profile by extracting the configuration from a designated reference host.

Host profiles do not capture offline or non-present devices. Any changes made to offline devices after extracting a host profile do not make a difference to the compliance check results.
Note: When vSphere Configuration Profiles is enabled on a cluster, you cannot attach or edit host profiles in the cluster or in the hosts in that cluster. For more information on vSphere Configuration Profiles, see the Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle guide.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have a working vSphere installation and at least one completely and properly configured host.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. Click Extract Host Profile.
  4. On the Select host page, select the vCenter Server instance where to create the host profile.
  5. Select the host that acts as the reference host and click Next.
    The selected host must be a valid host.
  6. Enter a name and, optionally, a description for the new profile, and click Finish.

Results

The new profile appears in the Host Profiles pane.

How Do You Attach or Detach Hosts and Clusters to a vSphere Host Profile?

After you create a host profile from a reference host, you must attach a host or a cluster to the host profile to associate that host profile with the selected host or cluster. To disassociate a configuration from an ESXi host or an entire cluster, detach the host or cluster from the host profile.

When a host profile is attached to a cluster, the host or hosts within that cluster are also attached to the host profile. However, when the host profile is detached from the entire cluster, there is no association between the host or hosts within the cluster and that host profile. Detaching a host profile from an ESXi host or a cluster does not delete that host profile. You can delete the host profile after detaching it from all the entities it is associated with.

Note: When vSphere Configuration Profiles is enabled on a cluster, you cannot attach or edit host profiles in the cluster or in the hosts in that cluster. For more information on vSphere Configuration Profiles, see the Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle guide.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. Right-click the host profile and select Attach/Detach Hosts and Clusters .
    The Host Profiles page with the Attach/Detach Hosts and Clusters option highlighted.
  4. Select or deselect the hosts or clusters from the list, and click Save.
    You can use the Filter text box to search the hosts and clusters list.

Results

The hosts or clusters are added or removed from the selected host profile.

How Do You Duplicate a vSphere Host Profile?

A host profile duplicate is a copy of an existing host profile. When you create the duplicate, you enter a new name and description for it and the duplicate appears in the list of host profiles.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. Right-click the host profile you want to duplicate and select Duplicate Host Profile.
  4. Enter a different name and description for the duplicate host profile, and click OK.

Results

A clone of the host profile appears in the Host Profiles list.

How Do You Copy Settings from a Reference Host to a vSphere Host Profile?

If the configuration of the reference host changes, you can update the host profile so that it matches the reference host's new configuration. You can make changes to the reference host and then copy the changes to the host profile. Alternatively, you can edit the host profile to match the new reference host configuration.

After you create a host profile, you can make incremental updates to the profile. When making changes to a host profile, consider the benefits and limitations of the two methods:

  • Make the configuration changes to a host and copy that host's settings to the profile. The settings within the existing profile are updated to match those of the host. This method allows you to validate the configuration on a single host before rolling it to the other hosts that are attached to the profile.
  • Update the profile directly by editing the host profile. This provides the ability to do more comprehensive and immediate remediation of those changes.
Note: Fixed user password, system image cache and some of the host customized settings are not present in the newly updated host profile. Edit the host profile to update these settings.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. Right-click the host profile and click Copy Settings from Host.
  4. Select the host from which you want to copy the configuration settings and click OK.

How Do You Import or Export a vSphere Host Profile?

You can import a host profile from a file that is in the VMware profile format (.vpf). You can also export a host profile to a file that is in the VMware profile format (.vpf).

When you export a host profile, administrator and user profile passwords are not exported. This is a security measure and stops passwords from being exported in plain text when the profile is exported. You are prompted to re-enter the values for the password after the profile is imported and the password is applied to a host.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. If you want to import a host profile, click Import Host Profile.
    1. To locate the VMware Profile Format file (.vpf) that you want to import, click Browse.
    2. Enter the Name and Description for the imported Host Profile, and click OK.
      The imported host profile appears in the Host Profiles list.
  4. If you want to export a host profile, right-click the profile, select Export Host Profile, and click Save.

How Do You Copy Settings from a vSphere Host Profile?

After you make changes to a host profile, you can propagate those changes to other host profiles in the inventory.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Policies and Profiles.
  2. Under Policies and Profiles, click Host Profiles.
  3. Right-click the host profile from which you want to copy settings and select Copy Settings to Host Profiles.
  4. Select the settings you want to copy to other host profiles, and click Next.
  5. Select the target host profile that will be overwritten with the selected settings, and click Next.
    The differences between the host profile settings are displayed on the Ready to complete page.
  6. Click Finish.