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

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Provision All Hosts and Set Up Host Customizations
With the rule in place that provisions hosts using an image profile, and with the host profile created from
the reference host available, you can provision all target hosts. If any host profile items are set to prompt the
user for input, the host comes up in maintenance mode. You apply the host profile or check host compliance
to be prompted for the information. The system associates the host customization with the host.
Prerequisites
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Make sure your system meets the requirements in the preinstallation checklist. See “Proof of Concept
Preinstallation Checklist,” on page 212.
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Perform all preceding proof of concept setup tasks. See “Auto Deploy Proof of Concept Setup,” on
page 212 for the complete list.
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Open a console to each host you want to provision to monitor boot progress.
Procedure
1 Boot the remaining hosts.
Auto Deploy boots the hosts, applies the host profile, and adds the hosts to the vCenter Server
inventory. The hosts remain in maintenance mode because the host profile from the reference host is set
up to require user input for each host.
2 With a vSphere Web Client, connect to the vCenter Server system.
3 Click Home and select Host Profiles.
4 In the panel on the left, select the ESXiGold profile and add the newly booted hosts to that profile.
5 Apply the host profile to each of the hosts, provide the user input information, and reboot each host.
When the reboot progress completes, all hosts are running with the image you specify and use the
configuration in the reference host profile. The cluster shows that all hosts are fully compliant.
All hosts are now configured with the shared information through the reference host profile and with the
host-specific information through the host customization mechanism. The next time you boot the hosts, they
retrieve that information and boot completely.
What to do next
With your proof of concept implementation completed successfully, you can start planning your production
setup.
Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder CLI
The ESXi Image Builder CLI is a set of PowerCLI cmdlets that you can use to manage vSphere image
profiles and VIB packages, such as driver VIBs and update VIBs. You can also use Image Builder cmdlets to
export an image profile to an ISO or offline depot ZIP file that you can use to install ESXi with a customized
set of updates, patches, and drivers.
Chapter 7 Installing ESXi
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