Autodeploy of ESXI PDF

VMware Auto Deploy Administrators
Guide
VMware Auto Deploy Administrators Guide
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2 VMware, Inc.
Contents
AboutThisBook 5
1 IntroductiontoVMwareAutoDeploy 7
AutoDeployComponents 7
AutoDeployArchitecture 8
ProcessOverview 8
AutoDeployPrerequisitesChecklist 10
DiagnosticPartitionsforESXiHosts 11
2 UsingVMwareAutoDeployforESXiDeployment 13
SettingUpthevCenterServerSystem 13
DeployingandConfiguringtheAppliance 13
SettingUptheDHCPServer 15
AutoDeployDHCPServer 15
PreparingtheDHCPServer 15
ResolvingIPAddressIssues 15
ThirdPartyDHCPServer 16
MakingthevCenterServerSystemaTargetServer 16
DeployingtheFirstHostwiththeDefaultBootProfile 17
CustomizingtheFirstHostandCreatingaHostProfile 17
CustomizingHostsUsingPluginsandBootOptions 17
UsingPlugins 18
UsingBootOptions 19
DeployingAdditionalHosts 19
UpdatingtheDefaultBootProfile 19
AddingaNewImagetotheAutoDeployImageRepository 20
CreatingaCustomBootProfile 20
AddingaHosttotheDatabase 21
3 VMwareAutoDeployInterfaces 23
deploycmdCommandReturnValues 23
deploycmdaddhost 23
deploycmdcreateprofile 24
deploycmddeletehost 26
deploycmddeleteprofile 26
deploycmddhcpconfig 26
deploycmdlisthosts 27
deploycmdlistprofiles 27
deploycmdupdatehost 28
deploycmdupdateprofile 28
4 FrequentlyAskedQuestionsandTroubleshooting 31
UsingLogstoResolveProblems 31
FrequentlyAskedQuestions 31
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About This Book
TheVMwareAutoDeployAdministratorsGuideexplainshowtoprepareyourenvironmentfor
VMware Auto Deploy,andhowtouseVMwareAutoDeployforESXideployment.TheVMwareAutoDeploy
AdministratorsGuidealsoincludesareferencetodeploy-cmdmanagementcommandsandtroubleshooting
information.
Intended Audience
ThisbookisforexperiencedsystemadministratorswhoarefamiliarwithvSphereadministrationtasksand
datacenteroperationsandknowhowtousecommandsinscripts.AsolidunderstandingofDHCPisessential.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour
feedbacktodocfeedback@vmware.com.
Related Documentation
ThevSpheredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVMwarevCenterServerandESX/ESXidocumentation
set.ThedocumentationsetcontainsbackgroundinformationaboutvSphere.
AutoDeployisbuiltontopofthevSphereManagementAssistant(vMA).SeethevSphereManagement
AssistantGuideforadditionalinformationaboutvMAmanagement.Toaccesstheguide,goto
http://www.vmware.com,clickCommunities,andclickDeveloperontheright.ThenchoosevSphere
ManagementAssistantunderAutomationTools.
Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.Toaccessthecurrentversion
ofthisbookandotherbooks,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone Support

Touseonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductandcontractinformation,and
registeryourproducts,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support.
Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseon
priority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.
Support Offerings
TofindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds,goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
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VMware Professional Services

VMwareEducationServicescoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcoursematerials
designedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Coursesareavailableonsite,intheclassroom,andlive
online.Foronsitepilotprograms andimplementationbestpractices,VMwareConsultingServicesprovides
offeringsto helpyouassess,plan,build,andmanageyourvirtualenvironment.Toaccessinformationabout
educationclasses,certificationprograms,andconsultingservices,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/services.
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1
Introduction to VMware Auto Deploy 1

VMwareAutoDeploysupportsautomaticPXEboot(networkbootusingPXE)andcustomizationoflarge
numbersofESXisystems.ThischapterintroducesAutoDeploy,discussesbenefitsandlimitations,andgives
anoverviewoftheAutoDeployarchitectureandthedeploymentprocess.
Thechapterincludesthesetopics:
AutoDeployComponentsonpage 7
AutoDeployArchitectureonpage 8
ProcessOverviewonpage 8
AutoDeployPrerequisitesChecklistonpage 10
DiagnosticPartitionsforESXiHostsonpage 11
Auto Deploy Components

AutoDeployallowsrapiddeploymentandconfigurationofalargenumberofESXihosts.AfteraDHCP
serverhasbeensetup,AutoDeployPXEbootsmachinesthatareturnedonwithanESXiimage.AutoDeploy
thencustomizestheESXisystemsusinghostprofilesandotherinformationstoredonthemanagingvCenter
Serversystem.Youcansetuptheenvironmenttousedifferentimagesanddifferenthostprofilesfordifferent
hosts.
ESXisystemsbootedthroughAutoDeployhavethesamecapabilitiesasotherESXisystems.However,
becausethesesystemsdependontheAutoDeployapplianceandthevCenterServersystem,somevSphere
featuresmightworkdifferentlythantheyworkwithstatefulESXisystems.SeetheVMwareAutoDeployRelease
Notes.
TheAutoDeployvirtualapplianceisbasedonthevSphereManagementAssistant(vMA).vMAincludes
prepackagedsoftwaresuchasaLinuxdistribution,thevSpherecommandlineinterface(vCLI),andthe
vSphereSDKforPerl.AdministratorscanusethesoftwaretorunscriptsandagentstomanageESX/ESXiand
vCenterServersystems.SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuide.
Inaddition,AutoDeployincludesthesecomponents:
TheservicesrequiredforperformingthePXEbootandtheautoconfigurationoftheESXisystems(DHCP,
TFTP,NFS,HTTP,andsoon).
Thedeploycmdcommandlineinterfaceforconfigurationandcontrol(seeVMwareAutoDeploy
Interfacesonpage 23).
Thedeploycmddatabase.
Theimagerepository.
AfteranESXisystemhasbooted,thesystemcontactsAutoDeploy.AutoDeploymanagesconfigurationofthe
systembyaddingittothevCenterServerspecifiedinthebootprofileandapplyingthespecifiedhostprofile.
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Auto Deploy Architecture

Figure 11isastaticillustrationofthecomponentsoftheAutoDeployvirtualapplianceandthevSphere
componentsAutoDeployinteractswith.
Figure 1-1. Auto Deploy Architecture
vCenter Server VMware Auto Deploy Virtual Appliance
Host
profiles DHCP TFTP deploy-cmd database
gPXE.conf local.tgz
deploy-cmd Image Repository
Apache
ESXi
ESX/ESXi system
physical servers
TheAutoDeployvirtualappliancerunsonaphysicalserver(ESX/ESXisystem)andincludescomponentsthat
supportAutoDeploy.Thephysicalserversarebootedoverthenetwork.AutoDeployfirstapplies
configurationstoredonAutoDeploythroughabootprofileandthenappliesconfigurationstoredonthe
vCenterServersystem.
TheAutoDeployvirtualapplianceisavSphereManagementAssistant(vMA)virtualmachinewiththe
preinstalledcomponentslistedhere.vMAitselfcomesprepackagedwiththevifpCLIforsettingup
targetservers,thevSphereCommandLineInterface(vSphereCLI)andotherinterfacesandlibrary.See
thevSphereManagementAssistantGuide.
AutoDeployincludesthefollowingserversforcommunicationduringthePXEbootprocess.
DHCPServerAssignsIPaddressestotheESXihoststhePXEbootprocesscreates.Alsoassignsa
TFTPServertoabootinghost.
TFTPServerFirstlevelbootimagethatisdownloadedfromtheTFTPServer.
HTTPServerStandardWebServer,usedtodownloadthefilesthatmakeupESXi(b.z,k.z,andso
on).
Aspartofthebootprocess,AutoDeploydownloadsthefilesthatmakeupESXi(b.z,k.z,andsoon).The
defaultbootprofileincludedinAutoDeployliststhosefiles.
TheAutoDeployimagerepositorycomesprepackagedwithanESXiimage.Youcanaddotherimagesto
therepositoryusingthedeploy-cmdCLI.SeeAddingaNewImagetotheAutoDeployImage
Repositoryonpage 20.
ThedeploycmddatabasestorestheinformationaboutthehoststoPXEbootandaboutavailableboot
profiles.Usethedeploy-cmdCLItoviewormanipulatedatabasecontent.
deploy-cmdscriptsareCGIandCLIscriptsavailableonAutoDeploy.Administratorsusethescriptsto
specifytheESXibootandconfigurationprocess.deploy-cmdscriptsconnecttoboththevCenterServer
system(hostprofiles)andthedeploy-cmddatabase.
Process Overview
Figure 12illustratestheinteractionbetweenAutoDeployandthephysicalhostonwhichyouPXEbootESXi
systems.
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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware Auto Deploy
Figure 1-2. Overview of PXE Boot Process
physical host
Give me an IP
VMware
Auto Deploy
DHCP server
IP and TFTP
Give me a boot loader

VMware
Auto Deploy
TFTP server
gPXE file and pointer to gPXE.conf
Give me configuration info

VMware
Auto Deploy
HTTP server
For your MAC address or Asset Tag, the
database tells me to construct this ESXi boots using
gpxe.conf file. Here it is. specified boot profile
Boot complete. Whats next?
VMware
Auto Deploy
Your profile says you belong to this vCenter
ESXi assigned
to vCenter
Host profile
applied
AutoDeploysupportsautomaticPXEbootandcustomizationoflargenumbersofESXisystemsonthe
physicalhostsyoudesignate.BeforeyoucanuseAutoDeploy,youmustperformsomesetup,discussedin
UsingVMwareAutoDeployforESXiDeploymentonpage 13.
WhenyouarereadytoPXEbootthephysicalservers,AutoDeployinteractswiththeserversasfollows:
1 Theadministratorturnsonthephysicalserver.
2 WhathappensnextdependsonwhetheryouareusingtheAutoDeployDHCPserveroryourownDHCP
server.
IfyouareusingtheAutoDeployDHCPserver,AutoDeploydirectsthephysicalservertothe
locationfromwhichtodownloadthegPXEfileandthegPXE.confscript.
IfyouareusingadifferentDHCPserver,youmustsetitupsophysicalseversyouwanttobootusing
AutoDeploycontactthevirtualappliancesTFTPserver.AutoDeploysuppliesthedownload
locationsforthegPXEfileandthegPXE.confscript.
SeeSettingUptheDHCPServeronpage 15.
3 ThegPXE.confscriptlooksuptheMACaddressorassettagforeachhostinthedeploycmddatabase.
Thedatabasehasinformationaboutthebootprofileforeachhost.Youcanaddtheinformationtothe
databasebyusingthedeploy-cmdCLI.
4 gPXEusestheinformationinthedatabasetodownloadthefileslistedfromtheimagerepository.
5 ThelastiteminthegPXE.conffileisaURLthatpointstothelocal.tgzscriptlocatedonAutoDeploy.
Thelocal.tgzscriptgeneratesalocal.tgzfilebasedonthehostprofileandthebootprofile.
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6 TheESXihostnowbootsnormallyusingthefilesdownloadedfromtheimagerepositoryandthe
local.tgzfile.
7 Whenthehosthasfinishedbooting,itcontactsAutoDeploy.AutoDeployperformsthefollowingactions
tocompleteconfiguration:
a AddsthehosttothevCenterServersystemspecifiedinthebootprofile.
b Instructsthehosttoentermaintenancemode.
c Appliesthehostprofilespecifiedinthebootprofile.
d PerformsanyadditionalconfigurationbasedoninformationinthedatabaseandonthevCenter
Serversystem.Aspartoftheconfiguration,AutoDeployregistersvirtualmachinesthatwereonthe
host.Youcanperformadditionalconfigurationusingaplugin.Ifyoucreateaplugin,makesurethe
namestartswithanunderbar(_)character.
e Instructsthehosttoexitmaintenancemode.
8 Attheendoftheprocess,lockdownmode,TSM,andssharedisabledonthefreshlyconfiguredESXihost.
Afterinstallationiscomplete,VMwareToolsisautomaticallyavailableforimagesthatareontheAutoDeploy
applianceandreferencedbyarelativepath.
IfyoucreateabootprofilethatusesaURLtopointtotherepository,youcannotaccessVMwareToolsdirectly.
Forexample,ofthebootprofilewascreatedbyrunningdeploy-cmd createprofile -n test -r
http://localhost/vmw/vSphere/test,youcannotaccessVMwareToolsdirectly,butmustinstallthem
explicitlyfromvmware.com.
Auto Deploy Prerequisites Checklist

BeforeyoustartperformingthePXEbootprocessonyoursystem,makesureyoursystemmeetsthefollowing
requirements.
ESX/ESXiversion4.1systemtoinstallAutoDeployon.ThesystemmustbeabletoconnecttothevCenter
Serversystemonwhichyouwanttocreateandstorethehostprofiles.
10GBfreespaceand512MBofmemoryarerequiredfortheappliance.
Becausetheappliancerunsa64bitoperatingsystem,theESX/ESXihostonwhichitrunsmustsupport
64bitvirtualmachines.ThehostmusthaveoneofthefollowingCPUs:
ForAMDOpteronCPUs,theprocessormustbeRevEorlater.AMDVhardwarevirtualizationisnot
required.
IntelprocessorswithEM64TsupportwithVTenabled.
Opteron64bitprocessorsearlierthanrevEandIntelprocessorsthathaveEM64TsupportbutnotVT
supportenabled,donotsupporta64bitguestoperatingsystem.
vCenterServersystemversion4.1.
YoucanuseastandalonesystemorasystemmanagedbyavCenterServersystem.
YouneedavCenterServersystemtostorehostprofiles,addESXisystems,andapplythehostprofiles
tothoseESXisystems.ThiscanbeadifferentvCenterServersystemthantheonethatmanagesthe
ESX/ESXihostonwhichAutoDeployruns.
DHCPserversetup.IfnoDHCPserverisrunninginyourenvironment,usethebuiltinDHCPserver.See
AutoDeployDHCPServeronpage 15.IfaDHCPserverisrunninginyourenvironment,see
ThirdPartyDHCPServeronpage 16.
PhysicalmachinesforPXEbooting.
YoumustmakesurethatmachinesmeettheESXihardwarerequirements,specifiedinGettingStarted
withESXi,availableonwww.vmware.cominSupport&Downloads>Resources>Documentation.
YouneedaMACaddressorassettagofeachmachine.
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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware Auto Deploy
VMwarerecommendsthatyouformataVMFSpartitiononalocaldiskforstoringlogsandscratch
spaceforeachmachine.
YoualsoneedthefollowinginformationtobeabletorespondtopromptsduringAutoDeployappliancesetup
HostnameforAutoDeploy.
Networkconfigurationinformation:StaticIPaddress,subnetmask,DNSServer,andgateway.
IMPORTANTVMwarerecommendssettingupAutoDeploywithastaticIPaddress.
Passwordfortheviadminuser.NorootuserisdefinedonAutoDeploy.Theviadminuserhasrootuser
privileges.
Diagnostic Partitions for ESXi Hosts

Bydefault,ESXisystemsbootedbyAutoDeploydonotincludeadiagnosticpartition(VMKcorepartition)for
storingdiagnosticinformationsuchascoredumps.IfyouneedaccesstothecoredumpfilesontheESXihost,
createadiagnosticpartitiononeachhost.
Youcancreateadiagnosticpartitionbyremovingtheno-auto-partitionlinefromthebootprofilethathost
uses.EachESXihostcreatedwiththatbootprofilehasadiagnosticpartitionandaVMFSpartition.
YoucanalsocreateadiagnosticpartitionusingthevSphereClient.
To create a diagnostic partition on your host
1 LogintothevSphereClientandselectthehostfromtheInventorypanel.
2 ClicktheConfigurationtabandclickStorageintheHardwarepanel.
3 ClickDatastoresandclickAddStorage.
4 SelectDiagnosticandclickNext.
IfyoudonotseeDiagnosticasanoption,thehostalreadyhasadiagnosticpartition.
Youcanqueryandscanthehostsdiagnosticpartitionbyrunningthevicfg-dumppart -lvCLI
command.
5 Specifythetypeofdiagnosticpartition.
Option Description
PrivateLocal Createsadiagnosticpartitiononalocaldisk.Thepartitionstoresfaultinformationonlyforyour
host.
PrivateSANStorage CreatesthediagnosticpartitiononanonsharedSANLUN.Thispartitionstoresfault
informationonlyforyourhost.
SharedSANStorage CreatesthediagnosticpartitiononasharedSANLUN.Thispartitionisaccessedbymultiple
hostsandcanstorefaultinformationformorethanonehost.
6 ClickNext.
7 SelectthedevicetouseforthediagnosticpartitionandclickNext.
8 ReviewthepartitionconfigurationinformationandclickFinish.
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2
Using VMware Auto Deploy for ESXi

Deployment 2
SeveraltasksarerequiredfordeployingandcustomizingESXisystems.Inmostcases,youshouldperformthe
tasksintheordertheyarepresented.
IMPORTANTUsetheAutoDeployPrerequisitesChecklistonpage 10todeterminewhetheryoursystem
setupsupportsAutoDeploy.
Thechapterincludesthefollowingtopics:
SettingUpthevCenterServerSystemonpage 13
DeployingandConfiguringtheApplianceonpage 13
SettingUptheDHCPServeronpage 15
MakingthevCenterServerSystemaTargetServeronpage 16
DeployingtheFirstHostwiththeDefaultBootProfileonpage 17
CustomizingtheFirstHostandCreatingaHostProfileonpage 17
CustomizingHostsUsingPluginsandBootOptionsonpage 17
DeployingAdditionalHostsonpage 19
Setting Up the vCenter Server System

HostprofilesforcustomizingthefreshlybootedESXisystemsarestoredonthevCenterServersystem.You
mustthereforesetupavCenterServertocollaboratewithAutoDeploy.
YoumustsetupthevCenterServersystemtohaveatleastonedatacenter.Ifyoudonotcreateadatacenter,
AutoDeploycreatesoneandnamesitUntitled.
Deploying and Configuring the Appliance

YoucandeploytheAutoDeployapplianceonanESX/ESXisystemofyourchoice.Thesystemcanbemanaged
byadifferentvCenterServersystemthantheoneyouwanttoaddhoststo.Thesystemmustbeabletoconnect
tovCenterServersystemyouwanttoaddhoststo.
To deploy Auto Deploy
1 LogintoavSphereClientconnectedtovCenterServer4.1system.
2 Intheinventorypane,selecttheESX/ESXihosttowhichyouwanttodeployAutoDeploy.
3 SelectFile>DeployOVFTemplate.
TheDeployOVFTemplatewizardappears.
4 ClickBrowseandselectthelocationoftheOVAfile.
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5 ClickNextwhenthedownloaddetailsaredisplayed,andacceptthelicenseagreement.
6 Whenprompted,specifyanameandselectalocationandafolder(optional)forthevirtualappliance.
7 Selecttheresourcepoolforthevirtualappliance.
Youcanleavethedefault,whichisthetoplevelrootresourcepool.
8 Ifprompted,selectthedatastoretostorethevirtualapplianceonandclickNext.
9 SelectthenetworkmappingandclickNext.
IMPORTANTMakesureAutoDeployisconnectedtothemanagementnetworkonwhichthevCenter
ServerandESXisystemsthatAutoDeploywillinteractwitharelocated.
10 ReviewtheinformationandclickFinish.
ThewizarddeploystheAutoDeployappliancetothehostthatyouselected.The deployprocesscantake
severalminutes.
NextyouconfigureyourAutoDeployappliance.WhenyoustartAutoDeploythefirsttime,itpromptsyou
forthefollowingconfigurationinformation:
Hostnamefortheappliance.
Networkconfigurationforthevirtualappliance:IPaddress,subnetmask,DNSServer,andgateway.
IMPORTANTVMwarerecommendssettingupAutoDeploywithastaticIPaddress.
Passwordfortheviadminuser.NorootuserexistsonAutoDeploy,buttheviadminuserhasrootuser
privileges.
To configure Auto Deploy
1 InthevSphereClient,rightclickthevirtualappliance,andclickPowerOn.
2 SelecttheConsoletab.
3 Answerthenetworkconfigurationprompts.
Ifmultiplenetworkadaptersareonthehost,youcanlaterusethevSphereClienttoaddasecondnetwork
adaptertoAutoDeploy.
4 Whenprompted,specifyahostnameforAutoDeploy.
Thenamecanincludealphanumericcharactersandcannotbelongerthan80characters.
YoucanlaterchangetheAutoDeployhostnamebymodifyingthe/etc/sysconfig/networkfile,asyou
wouldforanyLinuxsystem.
5 Whenprompted,specifyapasswordfortheviadminuseronthissystem.Thisuserhasrootprivileges;
norootuserisdefined.
ThepromptusestheLinuxpasswdutility.
Ifyouspecifyapasswordconsideredinsecure,forexample,adictionarywordorawordwithless
thansixcharacters,aBad Passwordmessageisdisplayed.Chooseadifferentpassword.For
informationaboutrequirementsforsecurepasswords,searchtheInternetforLinuxsecure
password.
Youcanusespecialcharactersdirectlyattheprompt.Youdonotneedtoprecedespecialcharacters
withescapecharactersorsurroundwordsthatcontainspecialcharactersinquotes.
YoucanlaterchangethepasswordfortheviadminuserusingtheLinuxpasswdcommand.
AutoDeployisnowconfiguredandpromptsyoutologinasviadmin.Asviadmin,youcanaddserversto
AutoDeployandruncommandsfromtheAutoDeployconsole.
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Chapter 2 Using VMware Auto Deploy for ESXi Deployment
VMwareToolsisautomaticallyavailableforimagesthatareontheAutoDeployapplianceandreferencedby
arelativepath.
IfyoucreateabootprofilethatusesaURLtopointtotherepository,youcannotaccessVMwareToolsdirectly.
Forexample,ofthebootprofilewascreatedbyrunningdeploy-cmd createprofile -n test -r
http://localhost/vmw/vSphere/test,youcannotaccessVMwareToolsdirectly,butmustinstallthem
explicitlyfromvmware.com.
Setting Up the DHCP Server

YoumustcustomizetheDHCPserverconfigurationsohostsyouwanttoPXEbootaredirectedtoAuto
Deploy.
AutoDeployDHCPServerIfyoudonothaveaDHCPserverinyourenvironment,hostscontactthe
AutoDeployDHCPserverandareautomaticallyaddedtothedeploycmddatabase.SeeAutoDeploy
DHCPServeronpage 15.
ThirdpartyDHCPServerIfaDHCPserverisalreadyrunninginyourenvironment,youmust
configurethatserversoitpointstoAutoDeployforallphysicalhostsyouwanttoPXEboot.What
preciselyyoudodependsontheDHCPserveryouareusing.
Auto Deploy DHCP Server

IfyouintendtousetheDHCPserverinsideAutoDeploy,youmustpreparetheDHCPserverandmighthave
toresolveIPaddressissues.
Preparing the DHCP Server

YoumustturnonthebuiltinDHCPserverandcanlistexistinghostsandprofilesbeforeyoustartturningon
thehosts.
To turn on DHCP and check Auto Deploy setup
1 Rundeploy-cmd dhcpconfigtoturnontheAutoDeploybuiltinDHCPserver.
sudo deploy-cmd dhcpconfig
TheDHCPconfigurationisderivedfromtheappliancesstaticIPaddress.SeeResolvingIPAddress
Issuesonpage 15.
2 Specifytheviadminuserpasswordwhenprompted.NorootuserexistsonAutoDeploy.
3 GetalistofhostscurrentlymanagedbyAutoDeployandinthedeploy-cmddatabase.
deploy-cmd listhosts
Thelistisinitiallyempty.Youcanexplicitlyaddnewhostswiththedeploy-cmd addhostcommandif
youknowthebootNICMACaddress.Otherwise,hostsareaddedautomaticallywhentheycontactthe
DHCPserver.
4 GetalistofbootprofilesmanagedbyAutoDeploy.
deploy-cmd listprofiles
Adefaultprofile,whichbootstheversionofESXiintheappliance,isincluded.Newlydiscoveredhosts
thatwerenotpreviouslyaddedusingdeploy-cmd addhostsareautomaticallyassignedtothedefault
profile.
Resolving IP Address Issues

IfyoualreadyknowtheIPaddressesyouwanttouseforyourhosts,youmighthavetopreconfigurethemto
avoidusingaddresseschosenbytheDHCPserver.
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ThedhcpdconfigurationofthehostsisbasedontheappliancesstaticIPaddress.ThebuiltinDHCPserver
handsoutaddressesthatareonthesamenetworksegmentastheappliance.Theserverdividesthenetwork
segmentintofifthsandusesthethirdandfourthsubsegmentsfordynamicaddresses.Forexample,ifthe
appliancesIPaddressis192.168.2.2anditsnetmaskis255.255.255.0,theDHCPrangeis
192.168.2.100192.168.2.200.Thebottomandtoppartsoftherangeareavailableforyouruse.
Ifthisconfigurationcausesproblems,forexample,becauseyouknowtheIPaddressesyouwanttoassignto
thePXEbootedhosts,openthedhcpd.conf.templatefileandchangeit.
Forexample,tobindahostsEthernetMACaddresstoanIPaddress,followthesesteps:
1 Modifythefile/etc/dhcpd.conf.template andaddthebinding,asinthefollowingexample:
host esx1 {
hardware ethernet 00:e0:63:81:f7:d3;
fixed-address 192.168.46.66;
}
2 Runthefollowingcommandtoregeneratetheetc/dhcpd.conffile.
3 Restarttheserver.
Third-Party DHCP Server

IfyouhaveaDHCPserverinyourenvironment,youmustconfigurethatserversohostsyouwanttoPXEboot
interactwithAutoDeploy.
To configure DHCP servers to PXE boot through Auto Deploy
1 SpecifytheAutoDeployapplianceIPasthenext-serverorBoot Server Host NameintheDHCP

serversPXEconfiguration.
2 Specifyundionly.kpxe.vmw-hardwiredastheBoot filenameintheDHCPserversPXE
configuration.
HowyoumakethosechangesdependsontheDHCPserverthatyouareusing.Forexample,ifyouareusing
anISCDHCPserver,youchangethe/etc/dhcpd.conffile.IfyouareusingaMicrosoftDHCPserver,you
makethechangesusingtheGUI.
Making the vCenter Server System a Target Server

YouuseavCenterServersystemtoconfiguretheESXisystemsthatarebootedbyAutoDeploy.Toallowthe
AutoDeployappliancetologintothevCenterServerwithoutauthentication,makethevCenterServersystem
atargetserver.
1 IntheAutoDeployconsole,type:
sudo vifp addserver <vc_name_or_IP>
<vc_name_or_IP>isthevCenterServernameorIPaddress.
2 SpecifythenameandpasswordofauserwithadministratorprivilegesonthevCenterServersystem
whenprompted.
3 (Optional)TosupportexecutionofvSphereCLIcommands,initializethetargetserver.
vifptarget
AfterthevCenterServerisatargetserver,anycommandsyourunagainstthatserverfromAutoDeploy
nolongerrequireauthentication.
YoucanaddmorethanonetargetservertoAutoDeployusingvifp addserver.ToaddESXihoststhatare
managedbydifferentvCenterServersystems,addallvCenterServersystemsastargetservers.SeethevSphere
ManagementAssistantGuide.
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Deploying the First Host with the Default Boot Profile

AfteryouhavedeployedtheAutoDeployvirtualappliance,youcanPXEbootthefirstESXisystem.
ThefirstPXEbootusesthedefaultprofileandrequiresonlythatyouturnonthephysicalmachineyouwant
toPXEboot.
Theprocessisautomaticandincludesthesesteps:
1 Theadministratorturnsonthesystem.
2 WhenthesystemlooksforanIPaddress,itfindsorisdirectedtotheDHCPserverthatissetuptohandle
deployment.TheDHCPserverperformsthesetasks:
a AssignsanIPaddresstothesystem.
b PointsthemachinetotheTFTPservertodownloadgPXE.TheversionofgPXEstoredonAuto
DeployiscustomizedtoworkintheAutoDeployenvironment.
c PointsthemachinetotheHTTPServertodownloadthegpxe.conffile.Forthefirstmachine,the
DHCPserverpointstoagpxe.conffilethatusesthedefaultbootprofile.
3 Thedefaultgpxe.conffileinstructsthehosttodownloadESXisoftware,whichisstoredintheimage
repositoryontheappliance.
4 TheESXisystembootsnormallyandcontactsAutoDeploy.
5 AutoDeployperformsthefollowingactionstocompleteconfiguration:
a AddsthehosttothevCenterServersystemspecifiedinthebootprofile.
b Instructsthehosttoentermaintenancemode.
c Appliesthehostprofilespecifiedinthebootprofile.
d Instructsthehosttoexitmaintenancemode.
Customizing the First Host and Creating a Host Profile

Thefirsthostyoudeployisyourreferencehost.Youcancustomizethishostandcreateahostprofileforit.If
youupdatethedefaultbootprofiletousethehostprofileofthereferencehost,AutoDeployappliesthehost
profiletothePXEboothosts.
To generate the host profile
1 OpenavSphereClientandconnecttothevCenterServeryouwanttouseastheprofilehost.
2 SelectHostProfiles.
3 ClickCreateProfileandfollowthewizardsteps(wizardhelpisavailable).
4 SetuparootpasswordfortheESXisystems:
a SelectthehostprofileandchooseEditProfile.
b IntheSecurityconfigurationsection,chooseAdministratorpassword.
c ChooseConfigureafixedadministratorpasswordfromthepulldownmenuandspecifytheroot
passwordfortheESXisystemstobecreatedbyAutoDeploy.
IMPORTANTHostprofilesmustbefullyspecified;theycannotincludesettingsthatprompttheuserfor
information.
Customizing Hosts Using Plugins and Boot Options

Youcancustomizesomeaspectsofahostsbehaviorusingpluginsandbootoptions.
VMware, Inc. 17
Using Plugins
ApluginisaPythonmoduleplacedinthefollowingdirectory:
/var/lib/spindoctor/.plugins/deployplugins
Thepluginmodulemustcontainthepluginversionvariable,PLUGIN_VERSION,settotheminimumplugin
interfacethepluginrequires.Thecurrentversionis(1, 0),resultinginthefollowingPythoncode:
PLUGIN_VERSION = (1, 0)
EachplugindefinesavmwHostUpfunctionthatAutoDeploycallsrightafterthehosthascompletedbooting,
butbeforethehostisaddedtothevCenterServersystem.Anyfunctionsyoudefineinsidethatfunctionare
calledaswell.Thefunctionsmuststartwithanunderbar(_)character.
vmwHostUp(pm, si, hostDesc, bootProfile)
Option Description
pm Internaluseonly.
si HostServiceInstanceobject.
hostDesc Hostdescriptionasreturnedbythedatabase.Itcanbetreatedasadictionarywithitems
relevanttohehost.Thecontentsofthedatabasesmatchestheoptionsyoucalladdhostand
updatehostwith.Thefollowinghostdescriptionelementsmightbeuseful.
host IDThenumberthatdeploy-cmdusestouniquelyidentifyahostinitsdatabase.
Youcanusethatnumberwithotherhostrelateddeploy-cmdcommands.
boot macBootMACaddresssetforthishost.
asset tagAssettagsetforthishost.
profile nameBootprofilethehostisusingasspecifiedinacalltodeploy-cmd addhost
anddeploy-cmd updatehost.
bootProfile Bootprofileasreturnedbythedatabase.Containstheinformationyouusedwhencreatingthe
bootprofile,forexample:
nameNameoftheprofile.
vcentervCenterServeraddress.
repoRepositoryaddress.
bootimagesListofbootimages.
hostprofileNameofthehostprofile.
hostfolderNameofthefolderorclustertobethehostslocation.
pluginsListofplugins.
Example 21isaPythoncodefragmentthatillustratesasimpleplugin.
Example 2-1. Sample Plugin Code Fragment

import syslog
from pyVim import host
PLUGIN_VERSION = (1, 0)
def vmwHostUp(_pm, si, hostDesc, bootProfile):

syslog.syslog('Hello host #%s running profile %s' %
(hostDesc['id'], bootProfile['name']))
hostSystem = host.GetHostSystem(si)
aboutInfo = hostSystem.config.product
syslog.syslog(' %s %s %s' % (
aboutInfo.vendor,
aboutInfo.name,
aboutInfo.version))
Youcanaddpluginstobootprofilesusingthe--pluginoptiontodeploy-cmd createprofileand
deploy-cmd updateprofile.WhenAutoDeployprocesseshoststhatusethatbootprofile,itcallstheplugin.
18 VMware, Inc.
Using Boot Options

The--bootoptionsoptiontodeploy-cmd createprofileanddeploy-cmd updateprofileallowsyou
tospecifybootoptionsforthehoststhatAutoDeployprocesses.Thisoptionallowsyoutospecifycommands
youwouldotherwiseenteratthebootloaderpromptafterusingShifto.
AutoDeployalsosupportstheno-auto-partitionoption.Bydefaulttheoptionison.Youcanturnthe
optionoffbysettingtheoptiontotheemptystring,asfollows:
deploy-cmd --bootoptions=
Whenno-auto-partitionissettooff,thebootprocessautomaticallyformatsanylocallyattachedandblank
disks.Ifnodiagnosticpartitionexistsonthehost,thebootprocessformatsoneandformatstheremainingpart
ofthediskasaVMFSpartition.
IMPORTANTSASdisksarealwaysconsideredremote,sothebootprocessdoesnotperformautopartitioning
onaSASdisk.
Deploying Additional Hosts

Inmostcases,youuseAutoDeployasfollows:
1 Bootthefirsthost,makechanges,andcreateahostprofilethatusesthefirsthostisthereferencehost.
2 Updatethedefaultbootprofileusingdeploy-cmd updateprofile.
WhenAutoDeploybootsotherhosts,theyusetheupdatedprofile,andthereferencehostshostprofileis
appliedtothem.
Forthiscase,youneedonlytoturnonthesystemsyouwanttobootandtheyareconfiguredautomatically.
SeeUpdatingtheDefaultBootProfileonpage 19.
YoucanfurthercustomizethePXEboothoststousedifferentimages,beassignedtodifferentvCenterServer
systems,orincludeothercustominformationbycreatingadditionalbootprofiles.Forthiscase,youproceed
asfollows:
1 Addeachsystemtothedeploycmddatabasebyrunningdeploy-cmd addhost.
2 Specifythebootprofiletousebyusingthe--profileoptiontodeploy-cmd addhost.
Whenyouturnonasystem,itcontactsAutoDeployandisbootedwiththebootprofilethatmatchesits
MACaddressorassettag.
Youcancustomizethehostsasfollows:
Addanondefaultimagetotheimagerepository.SeeAddingaNewImagetotheAutoDeployImage
Repositoryonpage 20.
MakesurethehostprofileyouwanttoapplyisavailableonthevCenterServersystemyouwanttodeploy
to.
Createacustombootprofile.SeeCreatingaCustomBootProfileonpage 20.
Addahosttothedeploycmddatabase.Whenyouaddthehost,youcanspecifyacustomprofile.When
thehostlaterboots,AutoDeploychecksthedeploycmddatabaseandconfiguresthehostbasedonthe
customprofile.
Updating the Default Boot Profile

Ifyouexpecttouseonlyonebootprofileinyourenvironment,updatingthedefaultprofileisthebestsolution.
Afteryouhaveupdatedthedefaultprofile,anyhostsyouturnonbootsusingtheupdatedprofile.
TospecifythevCenterServersystemtoaddhoststo,runthiscommand:
deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=default --vcenter=<vcenter_name>
Tospecifythehostprofilethedefaultbootprofileshouldapplytoeachhost,runthiscommand:
VMware, Inc. 19
deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=default --hostprofile=<profile_name>
Adding a New Image to the Auto Deploy Image Repository

Bydefault,theAutoDeployimagerepositoryincludesanESXi4.1image.TouseotherversionsofESXi,you
canaddanewimagetoAutoDeploy.
Toaddanewimage,youstartwiththeESXiinstallerISOfile.TheISOcontainstheDDimagethatisnormally
writtentodiskbydefault.Youinsteadusevibdditoextractthenecessaryfilesfromtheimageandplacethem
inthe/var/lib/deploy/imagesdirectory.
YoucanusethevibddiCLItomanageavSphereInstallationBundle(VIB).Mostvibddicommandsarefor
internaluseonly.UsersofAutoDeploycanusevibdditoquerywhatisinstalledandtoaddanewimageto
AutoDeploy.
To check which VIBs are currently installed
Runvibddiwiththe-qoption.
sudo vibddi -i <VMware-VMvisor-dd> -q
Forexample:
# sudo vibddi -i VMware-VMvisor-big-26drivers-4.X.X-14XX15.x86_64.dd -q
< vmware-esx-tools-light (4.X.X-0.3.14XX15) >
< ESXi Firmware (4.X.X-14XX15) >
To add a new image to Auto Deploy
1 MounttheISOfilefromwhichyouwanttoextracttheDDimage.
sudo mount -o loop /opt/vmware/share/iso/VMware-VMvisor-Installer*.iso /mnt/iso
2 CreateadirectorytostoretheDDimagein.
$ mkdir /var/lib/deploy/images/my-image
$ cd /var/lib/deploy/images/my-image
3 Unziptheimageandwriteittothenewdirectory.
bunzip2 -c /mnt/iso/imagedd.bz2 > imagedd
4 ExtracttheESXisystemfilesandlockerfile.
sudo vibddi -i imagedd -e .
sudo vibddi -i imagedd -e . -a /opt/vmware/vibddi/conf/locker_export.cfg
5 Updatetheprofiletopointtothenewimage.
deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=default --repo=my-image
Creating a Custom Boot Profile

AutoDeployallowsyoutoboothostswiththedefaultprofileortocreateprofilesandaddthemtotheAuto
Deploydatabase.
Multiplenamedbootprofilesallowyoutospecifydifferentconfigurationoptionsfordifferentsystemsthat
youboot.YoucanspecifytheESXiimagetouse,thevCenterServersystemtoassignthehostto,andthehost
profiletoapply.
To create a boot profile
1 MakesuretheESXiimageyouneedisintheimagerepository,andthehostprofileyouneedisavailable
onthevCenterServersystem.
2 Runthedeploy-cmd createprofilecommand,whichhasthefollowingoptions:
nameNameoftheprofile.
vcenterNameorIPaddressofavCenterServersystemtoaddthehostto.
20 VMware, Inc.
repoImagerepository.DefaultstotherepositoryontheAutoDeployappliance.
bootimagesBootimagetouse.
bootoptionsKernelcommandlineoptions.
hostprofileNameofahostprofiletouse.ThehostprofilemustbeavailableonthespecifiedvCenter
Server.
pluginspluginmodulenames.
hostfoldervCenterServerfoldertoaddthismachineto.
Seedeploycmdcreateprofileonpage 24.
Adding a Host to the Database

WhenyouaddanESXihosttothedeploycmddatabase,youspecifywhichbootprofileituses.Theboot
profiledeterminestheimage,vCenterServer,hostprofile,andothercharacteristicsforthehost.
To add a host to the database
Rundeploy-cmd addhost <host>

ThecommandallowsyoutospecifyabootprofileandeithertheMACaddressortheassettagforthehost.
Whenyoulaterturnonthehost,AutoDeploychecksthedatabaseandfindsthatthehostisassignedtoaboot
profile.Thehostisbootedandusestheassignedoptions.
VMware, Inc. 21
22 VMware, Inc.
3
VMware Auto Deploy Interfaces 3

ThischapterisareferencetothecommandsthataresupportedbyAutoDeploy.Thechapterpresents
commandsinalphabeticalorder.
deploycmdaddhostonpage 23
deploycmdcreateprofileonpage 24
deploycmddeletehostonpage 26
deploycmddeleteprofileonpage 26
deploycmddhcpconfigonpage 26
deploycmdlisthostsonpage 27
deploycmdlistprofilesonpage 27
deploycmdupdatehostonpage 28
deploycmdupdateprofileonpage 28
IMPORTANTYouneedrootuserprivilegestorundeploy-cmd dhcpconfig.Youcanloginasviadminto
runanyoftheothercommands.
deploy-cmd Command Return Values

Commandsmightreturnerrors,butdonotgenerateanyconsoleoutputonsuccess.Commandsdoreturn
UNIXexitcodestoindicatesuccessorerror.
deploy-cmd addhost
Addsahosttothedeploycmddatabaseandallowsyoutospecifyacustombootprofile.
WhenyouturnonasystemthatissetuptocontactAutoDeploy,AutoDeploybootsthesystemwiththe
defaultprofilebydefault.Youspecifyacustombootprofileandothercustominformationinthedeploy-cmd
addhostcall.Theinformationisstoredinthedatabase.
Thebootprofileinformationinthedatabaseisusedduringthebootprocess.Thebootprofilecanspecify,for
example,theimageshouldrunonthehost,thehostprofiletoapply,andthefolderorclusteronthevCenter
Serversystemtoaddthehostto.
VMware, Inc. 23
Options
Option Description
--profile Setsthebootprofiletobindthehostto.Specifyanexistingbootprofilename.
<profile_name> Ifyoudonotspecifyaprofile,thecommandappliestothedefaultprofile.
Seedeploycmdlistprofilesonpage 27,deploycmdupdatehostonpage 28and
deploycmdupdateprofileonpage 28.
--bootmac <mac> MACaddressinhexadecimalform,forexample:

00:50:56:c0:00:01
MachinesareidentifiedbytheirethernetNICMACaddressesorbytheassettagsetin
themachinesBIOS.
Youmustspecifyeitherbootmacorassettagandcanspecifyboth.
--assettag <asset_tag> Stringrepresentingtheassettag.

ManymachinesletuserssettheassettagintheBIOSforinventorytracking.AutoDeploy
canusetheassettagforidentification.
Youmustspecifyeitherbootmacorassettagandcanspecifyboth.
Output
Ifthecommandissuccessful,itprintsthefollowingvalues.
host IDThenumberthatdeploy-cmdusestouniquelyidentifyahostinitsdatabase.Youcanusethat
numberwithotherhostrelateddeploy-cmdcommands.
boot macBootMACaddresssetforthishost.
asset tagAssettagsetforthishost.
profile nameBootprofilethehostisusing.
Error Conditions
boot mac or asset tag already presentIftheMACaddressorassettagisalreadypresentinthe
deploy-cmddatabase,youcaneitherusethedeploy-cmd deletehostcommandtoremovethehostfrom
thedatabase,orthedeploy-cmd updatehostcommandtochangesettings.
profile not foundIfyougetthismessage,thesystemwasunabletofindthebootprofileyouspecified.

Rundeploy-cmd listprofilestoverifythespelling,orrundeploy-cmd createprofiletocreatea
profile.
Example
$ deploy-cmd addhost --bootmac=00:50:56:c0:00:08 --profile=profile42
AddsahostwiththeMACaddress00:50:56:c0:00:08andbindsittotheprofile42.
deploy-cmd createprofile
Createsanewbootprofile.
ThiscommandverifiesthatcredentialsforthespecifiedvCenterServersystemareavailable,andthatthe
specifiedhostprofileexistsonthevCenterServersystem.
Options
The--nameoptionisrequired.Allotheroptionsareoptional.Ifanoptionvalueistheemptystring,the
commandpullsdefaultvaluesforanoptionfromabootprofilenameddefault.Theexceptionistheplugins
option,whichisalwayssettotheemptystringifnovalueisset.
24 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 VMware Auto Deploy Interfaces
Option Description
--name <profile name> Nameofthebootprofiletocreate.

deploy-cmdusesthenametoidentifytheprofilewhenyoucallothercommands,for
example,deploy-cmd updatehost.
--vcenter NameorIPaddressofavCenterServertoaddthehostto.
<vcenter_server_name> Ifthisoptionisanemptystring,thecommandusesadefaultvaluefromthebootprofile
nameddefault.IfdefaultdoesnotpointtoavCenterServer,thehostisnotaddedto
avCenterServersystemandnohostprofileisapplied.
--repo <repo_url> ThelocationoftheESXisoftwarethatthehostsboundtothisprotocolshouldboot.You

canspecifyafilepathrelativeto /var/lib/deploy/imagesontheappliance,oraURL.
Forexample,avalueof 4.1.0-123456indicatesthatthefilesarein
/var/lib/deploy/images/4.1.0-123456.
IfyoucreateabootprofilethatusesaURLtopointtotherepository,youcannotaccess
VMwareToolsdirectly.DownloadVMwareToolsfromvmware.comexplicitly.
--bootimages Acommaseparatedandorderedlistoffilesthatthemachinesshouldboot.Thedefault
<image_list> isb.z,k.z,s.z,c.z,oem.tgz,m.z.ThePXEbootloaderdownloadsthosefiles
separatelyfromtheimagerepositoryonthehost.
Ifnotspecified,defaultstothelistofESXiversion4.1imagefilesb.z,k.zandsoon.
--bootoptions Kernelcommandlineoptions.
<options> AutoDeploysupportstheno-auto-partitionoption,whichisturnedonbydefault.
SeeUsingBootOptionsonpage 19.
Tosetmultiplebootoptions,separatethembyspaces.
--hostprofile NameofahostprofileinthespecifiedvCenterServersystem.AutoDeployappliesthat
<profile_name> hostprofiletothehostthatusesthisbootprofile.Defaultisnohostprofile.
Ifyouaddahosttoacluster,AutoDeployignoresthisoptionandappliestheclusters
hostprofile.
Hostprofilesmustbefullyspecified,theycannotincludesettingsthatprompttheuser
forinformation.
--plugins <names> Pluginmodulenames.Namesofthepythonmodulesstoredin

/var/lib/deploy/.plugins/deployplugins/...
Youcanaddmodulestothedirectoryandspecifythemasoptionto--plugins.For
example,ifaPythonmoduleisnamedmy_module.py,use--plugins my_module.
Anyfunctionsinsidethemodulesyouaddmuststartwithanunderbar(_)character.
Ifyouspecifymorethanonemodule,theyareexecutedintheordertheyarespecified.
SeeUsingPluginsonpage 18
--hostfolder <folder> PathtothefolderorclusterinthevCenterServersystemtoaddthehostto,forexample

/MyDataCenter/MyFolder.
Ifyoudonotspecifythisoption,andifthehostisaddedtoavCenterServersystem,the
hostisaddedtothefirstdatacenteronthatvCenterServer.Youcanlatermovethehost
toadifferentdatacenter.
Ifyouspecifyapath,thehostisaddedtothespecifiedfolderorcluster.Ifthehostwas
addedtothevCenterServersystemduringadifferentbootprocess,thehostismovedto
thespecifiedfolder.
Ifthefolderorclusterdoesnotexist,amessageisloggedin/var/log/deploy.
Warnings
ThiscommandprintsawarningifnohostprofileornovCenterServersystemisspecified.
IfnovCenterServersystemisspecified,theESXisystemisnotaddedtoavCenterServersystemandno
hostprofilecanbeapplied.
Ifnohostprofileisspecified,andifthehostisattachedtoaclusterwithahostprofile,theclusterhost
profileisapplied.
Examples
deploy-cmd createprofile --name=Test1
CreatesaprofilenamedTest1.Youcancustomizetheprofilewithdeploy-cmd updateprofile.
VMware, Inc. 25
deploy-cmd deletehost
Removesthehostfromthedeploycmddatabase.
IftheDHCPserverissetupsothehostbootsusingAutoDeploy,thehostisautomaticallyaddedtothe
databasewhenitboots.
Options
Option Description
--hostid <host_id> HostIDassignedtothehostbyAutoDeploy.Usethedeploy-cmd listhostscommand

tolistallhostsandtheirdeploy-cmdIDnumbers.
WhenAutoDeployaddsahosttothedatabase,itassignsanIDtothehost.
Error Conditions
host id not foundIfthehostIDisnotfound,checkthespelling.Usethedeploy-cmd listhosts
commandtolistallhostsandtheirdeploy-cmdIDnumbers.
deploy-cmd deleteprofile
Removesabootprofilefromthedeploycmddatabase.Allhostsmustbedissociatedfromtheprofilebefore
youcandeleteit.
Options
Option Description
--name <profile_name> Nameofthebootprofiletodelete
Error Conditions
Profile doesn't existIftheprofiledoesnotexist,checkthespelling.
Profile is in use by hosts (that is, in the hostid to boot profile table)Dissociatehosts
thatareusingtheprofileusingdeploy-cmd updatehost.
Cannot delete the default profileIfyoutrytodeletethedefaultprofile,thismessagedisplays.You

cannotdeletethedefaultprofile.
Examples
deploy-cmd deleteprofile --name Test1
deploy-cmd dhcpconfig
ConfiguresDHCPontheAutoDeployvirtualappliance.TheDHCPconfigurationisbasedontheappliances
staticIPaddress.AnyaddressestheDHCPserverontheapplianceassignstohostsareonthesamenetwork
segmentastheapplianceitself.
Thenetworksegmentisdividedintofivesubsegments,andthethirdandfourthsubsegmentareusedfor
dynamicaddresses.IftheappliancesIPis192.168.2.2andnetmaskis255.255.255.0,theDHCPrangeis
192.168.2.100192.168.2.200.
Ontheappliance,thedhcpd.conffileisgeneratedfromatemplatefile,/etc/dhcpd.conf.template.To
updateDHCPsettings,updatethetemplatefileandregeneratetheconfigurationfile,asfollows:
1 Changethetemplate/etc/dhcpd.conf.templatefile(nottheconfigurationfile).
2 Rundeploy-cmd dhcpconfigagaintoregeneratethe/etc/dhcpd.conffile.
Options
Thiscommandsupportsnooptions.
26 VMware, Inc.
Error Conditions
Anerrorresultsifanonrootuserattemptstorunthecommand.
TopreventyoufromaccidentallystartingtwoDHCPserversonthesamenetwork,thiscommandfailsifthe
applianceisconfiguredtogetitsnetworkconfigurationfromDHCP.UseastaticIPaddresstoavoidthis
problem.
Example
Createsthe/etc/dhcpd.confconfigurationfile,setsupthesystemtostarttheDHCPservereachtimeAuto
Deploystarts,andstartstheDHCPserver.
Displaysthefollowinginformationabouteachhostatthecommandprompt:
HostID
BootMACaddress
Assettag
Bootprofile
Lastbootdate
Lastbootstatus
Options
Thiscommandsupportsnooptions.
Example
Host ID: 1
Boot MAC : (none)
IP Address : (none)
Asset Tag : VERIDIAN01
Boot Profile: default
Status : NEW
Displaysthefollowinginformationforeachbootprofileorforaspecifiedbootprofileatthecommandprompt.
Bootprofilename
vCenterServersystem
Bootrepository
Bootimages
Hostprofile
vCenterServerfolderordatacenter
Plugins
Seedeploycmdupdatehostonpage 28foradiscussionoftheitemsintheprofile.
Example
Name: default
Repository : (default)
vCenter : (none)
Boot Images : b.z,k.z,s.z,c.z,oem.tgz,m.z
Boot Options: no-auto-partition
Plugins : (none)
VMware, Inc. 27
deploy-cmd listprofiles profile1 profile2
Listsprofileinformationforthetwospecifiedprofiles.
deploy-cmd updatehost
Assignsanewbootprofiletoahost.Anewbootprofileisoftennotneeded.Instead,youupdatethedefault
profileandthehostsusetheupdatedprofile.However,ifyourenvironmentusesmultipleprofiles,youcan
usethiscommandtoassignanondefaultprofiletoahost.
Thiscommanddoesnotaffectacurrentlyrunninghost.Toapplythechanges,rebootthehost.
Options
Option Description
--hostid <host_id> HostIDassignedtothehostbyAutoDeploy.Usethedeploy-cmd listhostscommand

tolistallhostsandtheirdeploy-cmdIDnumbers.
WhenAutoDeployaddsahosttothedatabase,itassignsanIDtothehost.
UsethehostIDdefaulttoconfiguretheprofilethatunknownhostsarebootedwith.
--profile Nameofaprofilecreatedwithdeploy-cmd createprofile.
<profile_name>
Error Conditions
host id not foundIfthehostidisnotfound,youmighthavemisspelledtheID.Rundeploy-cmd
listhoststolistallhostsandtheirdeploy-cmdIDnumbers.
profile not foundIftheprofileisnotfound,youmighthavemisspelledtheprofile.Rundeploy-cmd

listprofiles tolistallprofiles.
deploy-cmd updateprofile
Updatesanexistingbootprofile.Youmustspecifyanamefortheprofileyouwanttoupdate.Youcanspecify
alloptionsthatdeploy-cmd createprofilesupports.
Options
Thecommandonlychangesoptionsyouprovide.
Option Description
--name <profile name> Nameofthebootprofiletoupdate.

deploy-cmdusesthenametoidentifytheprofilewhenyoucallothercommands,for
example,deploy-cmd updatehost.
--vcenter NameorIPaddressofavCenterServertoaddthehostto.
<vcenter_server_name> Ifthisoptionisanemptystring,thecommandusesadefaultvaluefromthebootprofile
nameddefault.IfdefaultdoesnotpointtoavCenterServer,thehostisnotaddedto
avCenterServersystemandnohostprofileisapplied.
--repo <repo_url> ThelocationoftheESXisoftwarethatthehostsboundtothisprotocolshouldboot.You
canspecifyafilepathrelativeto /var/lib/deploy/imagesontheappliance,oraURL.
Forexample,avalueof 4.1.0-123456indicatesthatthefilesarein
/var/lib/deploy/images/4.1.0-123456.
IfyouupdateabootprofiletouseaURLtopointtotherepository,youcannotaccess
VMwareToolsdirectly.DownloadVMwareToolsfromvmware.comexplicitly.
--bootimages Acommaseparatedandorderedlistoffilesthatthemachinesshouldboot.Thedefault
<image_list> isb.z,k.z,s.z,c.z,oem.tgz,m.z.ThePXEbootloaderdownloadsthosefiles
separatelyfromtheimagerepositoryonthehost.
28 VMware, Inc.
Option Description
--bootoptions Kernelcommandlineoptions.
<options> AutoDeploysupportstheno-auto-partitionoption,whichisturnedonbydefault.
SeeUsingBootOptionsonpage 19.
Tosetmultiplebootoptions,separatethembyspaces.
--hostprofile NameofahostprofileinthespecifiedvCenterServersystem.AutoDeployappliesthat
<profile_name> hostprofiletothehostthatusesthisbootprofile.Defaultisnohostprofile.
Ifyouaddahosttoacluster,AutoDeployignoresthisoptionandappliestheclusters
hostprofile.
Hostprofilesmustbefullyspecified,theycannotincludesettingsthatprompttheuser
forinformation.
--plugins <names> Pluginmodulenames.Namesofthepythonmodulesstoredin

/var/lib/deploy/.plugins/deployplugins/...
Youcanaddmodulestothedirectoryandspecifythemasoptionto--plugins.For
example,ifaPythonmoduleisnamedmy_module.py,use--plugins my_module.
Anyfunctionsinsidethemodulesyouaddmuststartwithanunderbar(_)character.
Ifyouspecifymorethanonemodule,modulesareexecutedintheordertheyare
specified.
SeeUsingPluginsonpage 18
--hostfolder <folder> PathtothefolderorclusterinthevCenterServersystemtoaddthehostto,forexample

/MyDataCenter/MyFolder.
Ifyoudonotspecifythisoption,andifthehostisaddedtoavCenterServersystem,the
hostisaddedtothefirstdatacenteronthatvCenterServer.Youcanlatermovethehost
toadifferentdatacenter.
Ifyouspecifyapath,thehostisaddedtothespecifiedfolderorcluster.Ifthehostwas
addedtothevCenterServersystemduringadifferentbootprocess,thehostismovedto
thespecifiedfolder.
Ifthefolderorclusterdoesnotexist,amessageisloggedin/var/log/deploy.
Warnings
ThiscommandprintsawarningifnohostprofileornovCenterServersystemisspecified.
Examples
deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=default --bootimages=b.z,k.z,s.z,c.z,oem.tgz,m.z
--vcenter=192.NNN.N.N
UpdatesthedefaultprofiletousethespecifiedbootimagesandvCenterServersystem.
deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=Test1 --hostprofile=demoprofile
--hostfolder=/Techpubs/host/Test1
UpdatestheTest1profiletousethedemoprofilehostprofileandtoplacetheESXihostthatiscreatedusing
Test1intheTechpubs/host/Test1folder.
VMware, Inc. 29
30 VMware, Inc.
4
Frequently Asked Questions and

Troubleshooting 4
ThischapterhelpsyoufindlogsonVMwareAutoDeploy,listssomeFAQs(frequentlyaskedquestions),and
discussesbestpractices.Thechapterincludesthesetopics:
UsingLogstoResolveProblemsonpage 31
FrequentlyAskedQuestionsonpage 31
Using Logs to Resolve Problems

IfyouhaveproblemswiththedeploymentofthecustomizedESXisystem,considerlookingatthefollowing
logs:
/var/log/messagesDHCPmessages,generalsysteminformation
/var/log/deployLoggingfromthedeploycmdcommandsandCGIscripts
/var/log/httpd (Apache)Webserverlogs
vCenterServerlogsYoucandownloadvCenterServerlogsandlogsforthehostsmanagedbyvCenter
ServerbyusingAdministration>ExportSystemLogsinthevSphereClient.
/var/coreESXicoredumps.Inmostcases,coredumpinformationisofinterestmainlytoVMware
TechnicalSupport.
Frequently Asked Questions

Hostswithrootpassword.Iwanttocreateaprofilewithapresetrootpasswordforeachhost.Rightnow,
therootpasswordistheemptystring.
InthevSphereClient,editthehostprofile.SettheAdministratorpassword,whichisintheSecurity
Configurationsection.
VMwarerecommendsthatyoucreateahostprofileinwhicharootuseraccountisdefinedandhasa
password.SeeTogeneratethehostprofileonpage 17.Youcanthenupdatethebootprofiletousethat
hostprofile.
Virtualmachinesarenotreregistered.WhenyouuseAutoDeploytoupdateanESX/ESXihost,for
example,touseanewversionofESXi,thevirtualmachinesthatwereregisteredwiththehostare
unregistered.
ThevCenterServerkeepstrackofvirtualmachinesandregistersthemduringhostbootifthebootprofile
wascreatedwiththe--vcenteroption.IfthevCenterServerisdown,orifyoudidnotspecifythe
vCenterServerinthebootprofilebutaddthehosttothevCenterServersystemexplicitly,thevirtual
machinesarenotreregistered.
HostsbootwhenvCenterServerisnotavailable.WhathappenswhenESXihostsbootandthevCenter
Serversystemspecifiedinthebootprofileisnotavailable?
VMware, Inc. 31
HostscannotcompletethebootprocesswhenthevCenterServersystemisnotavailable.Thehostreboots
periodicallyuntilthevCenterServersystembecomesavailable.
ProblemsreconnectingtovCenterServer.IrebootaPXEbootedESXihost,butthehostdoesnot
reconnecttothevCenterServersystem.
InthevSphereClient,chooseAdministration>vCenterServerSettingsanduncheckthevCenterrequires
verifiedhostSSLcertificatescheckbox.Thehostcanreconnectafterreboot.
DifferencesbetweenESXihosts.HowcanIdistinguishbetweenahostbootedandconfiguredbyAuto
DeployandotherESXihosts?
SomefunctionalityisnotavailableonaPXEboothost.PXEboothostsdonotsupport:
Resourcepools
Virtualmachineregistrationafterreboot
Hostprofilesarenotapplied.HostprofilesareavailableonthevCenterServersystembutarenot
applied.Whatstheproblem?
Makesurethehostprofileisfullyspecifiedanddoesnotrequireinputfromtheuser.Checkforthe
followinglogmessagein/var/log/deploy:
"error: host profile '<name>' requires user input; profiles must be fully specified"
32 VMware, Inc.

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Introduction to VMware Auto Deploy 1

Auto Deploy Components

Auto Deploy Architecture

Figure 1-1. Auto Deploy Architecture

vCenter Server VMware Auto Deploy Virtual Appliance

deploy-cmd Image Repository

Figure 1-2. Overview of PXE Boot Process

Give me a boot loader

Give me configuration info

Auto Deploy Prerequisites Checklist

Diagnostic Partitions for ESXi Hosts

To create a diagnostic partition on your host

Using VMware Auto Deploy for ESXi

Setting Up the vCenter Server System

Deploying and Configuring the Appliance

To deploy Auto Deploy

To configure Auto Deploy

Setting Up the DHCP Server

Auto Deploy DHCP Server

Preparing the DHCP Server

To turn on DHCP and check Auto Deploy setup

Resolving IP Address Issues

Third-Party DHCP Server

To configure DHCP servers to PXE boot through Auto Deploy

1 SpecifytheAutoDeployapplianceIPasthenext-serverorBoot Server Host NameintheDHCP

Making the vCenter Server System a Target Server

Deploying the First Host with the Default Boot Profile

Customizing the First Host and Creating a Host Profile

To generate the host profile

Customizing Hosts Using Plugins and Boot Options

Example 2-1. Sample Plugin Code Fragment

from pyVim import host

def vmwHostUp(_pm, si, hostDesc, bootProfile):

Using Boot Options

Deploying Additional Hosts

Updating the Default Boot Profile

deploy-cmd updateprofile --name=default --hostprofile=<profile_name>

Adding a New Image to the Auto Deploy Image Repository

To check which VIBs are currently installed

To add a new image to Auto Deploy

Creating a Custom Boot Profile

To create a boot profile

Adding a Host to the Database

To add a host to the database

Rundeploy-cmd addhost <host>

VMware Auto Deploy Interfaces 3

deploy-cmd Command Return Values

--bootmac <mac> MACaddressinhexadecimalform,forexample:

--assettag <asset_tag> Stringrepresentingtheassettag.

profile not foundIfyougetthismessage,thesystemwasunabletofindthebootprofileyouspecified.

--name <profile name> Nameofthebootprofiletocreate.

--repo <repo_url> ThelocationoftheESXisoftwarethatthehostsboundtothisprotocolshouldboot.You

--plugins <names> Pluginmodulenames.Namesofthepythonmodulesstoredin

--hostfolder <folder> PathtothefolderorclusterinthevCenterServersystemtoaddthehostto,forexample

--hostid <host_id> HostIDassignedtothehostbyAutoDeploy.Usethedeploy-cmd listhostscommand

--name <profile_name> Nameofthebootprofiletodelete

Cannot delete the default profileIfyoutrytodeletethedefaultprofile,thismessagedisplays.You

deploy-cmd listprofiles profile1 profile2

--hostid <host_id> HostIDassignedtothehostbyAutoDeploy.Usethedeploy-cmd listhostscommand