The guest customization engine needs to be installed in a virtual machine before using the VirtualMachineGuestCustomizationManager.CustomizeGuest_Task
method.You can download the installer from the VMware Customer Connect web site.
The guest customization engine is available for most popular Linux distributions, using either an RPM package or a DEB package. To download and install it within the guest operating system, use the following steps.
Prerequisites
Start a web browser in a running virtual machine. For instant clone operations, prepare the source virtual machine by installing the customization engine before creating clones.
Procedure
- Login to Broadcom support site and find VMware.
- Navigate to the Download VMware vSphere page.
- Click the Drivers & Tools tab.
- Find the entry for the instant clone customization engine.
- Download the installation package appropriate for your Linux distribution:
- The
.rpm
file for RHEL or SLES - The
.deb
file for Ubuntu
- The
- Run the command to install the package in the guest:
- For the
.rpm
package, use this command:sudo /bin/rpm -i --force yourdpkgFilePath >> ./rpm.log 2>&1
- For the
.deb
package, use this command:sudo /usr/bin/dpkg -i --force-all yourdpkgFilePath >> ./dpkg.log 2>&1
- For the
What to do next
After the guest customization engine is installed, the guest is prepared to invoke VirtualMachine.InstantClone_Task
or VirtualMachineGuestCustomizationManager.CustomizeGuest_Task
. You can delete the installation package to save virtual disk space.