VMware VS4-ENT-PL-A - vSphere Enterprise Plus, Setup Manual

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What to do next
Create the host profile from the reference host for use with all other target hosts. See the Host Profiles
documentation.
Create and Apply a Host Profile with the vSphere Web Client
Configuration that is shared by a group of hosts is stored in a host profile. You can create the host profile
from your reference host. Configuration that differs for different hosts, such as a static IP address, can be
managed through the ahost customization mechanism.
Auto Deploy can provision each host with the same host profile. In certain cases, Auto Deploy also uses host
customizations that allow you to specify information that differs for different hosts. For example, if you set
up a VMkernel port for vMotion or for storage, you can specify a static IP address for the port by using the
host customization mechanism.
In this example, you extract a host profile from a reference host, attach the host profile to one other host, and
check host profile compliance. In most cases, you do not perform these tasks manually but you write an
Auto Deploy rule that applies a host profile to hosts that are provisioned with Auto Deploy. See “Assign a
Host Profile to Hosts,” on page 174.
Prerequisites
n
Make sure your system meets the requirements in the preinstallation checklist. See “Proof of Concept
Preinstallation Checklist,” on page 212.
n
Perform all preceding proof of concept setup tasks. See “Auto Deploy Proof of Concept Setup,” on
page 212 for the complete list.
Procedure
1 Log in to a vSphere Web Client that is connected to the vCenter Server system with administrator
privileges.
2 Click Rules and Profiles and select Host Profiles.
3 Click the Extract profile from host icon and respond to the wizard prompts.
Option Description
Select Host
Select the reference host you configured earlier.
Name and Description
Name the profile ESXiGold and add a description.
Ready to Complete
Review the information and click Finish.
4 Right-click the ESXiGold host profile, select Attach/Detach Hosts and Clusters.
5 Select the ESXi host to which you want to attach the profile, click Attach, and click Next.
The wizard loads the host customization.
6 Provide any customization information and click Finish.
What to do next
Create a rule that assigns the image profile and the newly-created host profile to all hosts you want to
provision with Auto Deploy. See “Create a Rule for Other Target Hosts,” on page 223.
Create a Rule for Other Target Hosts
You can create a rule that applies the previously verified image profile and the host profile that you just
created to all target hosts.
This task assumes you have a basic knowledge of Microsoft PowerShell and vSphere PowerCLI.
Chapter 7 Installing ESXi
VMware, Inc. 223