Installation guide

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If the virtual machine resides on a host running ESX Server 3.0.x or earlier, both the active partition (the
partition containing boot.ini) and the system partition (the partition containing the system directory, for
example, \WINNT or \WINDOWS), must be on the same virtual disk.
Linux Requirements for Guest Customization
To customize a Linux guest operating system, the virtual machine must meet certain requirements.
The following are the requirements for Linux:
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The clone or template has the Linux versions that is supported for Guest Customization. For a list of Linux
operating systems supported for guest customization, see the vSphere Compatibility Matrixes at
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_compatibility_matrix.pdf on the VMware vSphere
documentation Web site.
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The guest operating system has the most recent version of VMware Tools installed.
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Perl must be installed in the Linux guest operating system.
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The clone or template has a root volume formatted with an ext2, ext3, or ReiserFS file system.
Naming Requirements for a Guest Operating System
In the Guest Customization wizard, on the Computer Name page, you must specify a name for this instance
of a guest operating system. On Linux systems, it is called the host name. The operating system uses this name
to identify itself on the network.
You can set the computer name using one of the following options:
Use a specific name
The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the underscore ( _ ) and
hyphen (-) characters. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot
be made up of digits only. To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a
numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This appends a hyphen followed by a
numeric value to the virtual machine name. Names are case-insensitive.
Use the virtual
machine’s name
The computer name that vCenter Server creates is identical to the name of the
virtual machine on which the guest operating system is running.
Prompt the user for a
name in the Deploy
wizard
The vSphere Client populates the Deploy Virtual Machine wizard with a
prompt for the computer name after you complete all the steps in the wizard.
Use a custom
application configured
with vCenter Server to
generate a name
Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.
Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment
In the process of deploying a new virtual machine from a template or cloning an existing virtual machine, you
can customize Windows guest operating systems for the virtual machine.
Procedure
1 From the Clone Virtual Machine or Deploy Template wizard, select Guest Customization.
2 Type the virtual machine owner’s name and organization and click Next.
3 Specify the name that will identify the guest operating system on the network and click Next.
4 Type the Windows product key for the new guest operating system.
Chapter 15 Customizing Guest Operating Systems
VMware, Inc. 179