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Blog Task 3

Feb 10th, 2015

VMware Customization Profile

1. WHAT:

What is VMware Customization Profile?

Customization Profiles are XML files that contain guest operating system

settings for virtual machines. You create customization specifications with the

Guest Customization wizard, and manage specifications using the Customization

Specification Manager.

VCenter Server saves the customized configuration parameters in the vCenter

Server database. If the customization settings are saved, the administrator, and

domain administrator, passwords are stored in encrypted format in the database.

Because the certificate used to encrypt the passwords is unique to each vCenter

Server system, reinstalling vCenter Server, or attaching a new instance of the

server the database, invalidates the encrypted passwords. The passwords must be

re-entered before they can be used.

Here is the main the picture for VMware Customization Profile on the main page:

2. WHY:

Why is Customization Profiles important?

Because you can have different group polices to different users for and

the purpose of doing such a thing is that to have strong security policies.

Also one great thing in the automation of VM deployments is the use of

customization profiles. These profiles are stored inside the vCenter

Server database. However, when you loose the database, you also loose

your customization profiles. Having customization profiles exported as

xml files is always useful as a backup and luckily you can export and

import these profiles from within your VI client. Unfortunately this can

only be done one at a time.

3. HOW:

How to create a VMware Customization Profile?

I have create VMware customization Profile by using vSphere application it

was not that easy task however, I have overcome some the challenge, the

challenges were that I had to go on each step and figured out what’s meant to

be and how to configure it. The steps that were talking to create VMware

customization Profile as follow:

o From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager.

o Then, In the Guest Customization wizard, select Windows from the Target Virtual Machine OS menu.

o After that, (Optional) Select Use Custom Sysprep Answer File.

o Then after that, Under Customization Specification Information, enter a name for the specification and an optional description and click next.

o Then, step up the name of virtual machine.

o Then enter Windows product key.

o After that step up a password.

o Then, step up the time zone.

o And then on the run once click next.

o Then, on configure network, click on the standard network settings.

o Then on the workgroup or Domain leave, click on the workgroup.

o Then on the operation system, make sure to generate new security ID

(SID).

o Lastly, last page is overview of the setting that been made.

o This page is showing that the creation has been made and is done.

4. CONCLUSION:

This task wan not that easy to do, however, it was enjoyable thing to do

customization profile is very important to make because by have the customization

profile step up, you can have multiple rules for every department, employees, or even

companies. This means you will have a very strong security because the separation of

objects is very important and by all you will have as many polices, as you would like.

I hope that this task is very helpful for everyone.

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