1.5

Customizing Your Guest Operating System
When you customize your guest OS you can set up a virtual machine with the operating system that you want.
vCloud Director can customize the network settings of the guest operating system of a virtual machine created
from a vApp template. When you customize your guest operating system, you can create and deploy multiple
unique virtual machines based on the same vApp template without machine name or network conflicts.
When you configure a vApp template with the prerequisites for guest customization and add a virtual machine
to a vApp based on that template, vCloud Director creates a package with guest customization tools. When
you deploy and power on the virtual machine for the first time, vCloud Director copies the package, runs the
tools, and deletes the package from the virtual machine.
Understanding Guest Customization
When you customize your guest operating system, there are some settings and options you should know about.
Enable Guest Customization Check Box
This check box is found on the Guest OS customization tab on the virtual machine Properties page. The goal
of guest customization is to configure based on the options selected in the Properties page. If this check box is
selected, guest customization and re-customization is performed when required.
This process is required for all guest customization features, such as the computer name, network settings,
setting and expiring the administrator/root password, SID change for Windows Operating systems, and so on,
to work. This option should be selected for Power on and Force re-customization to work.
If the check box is selected, and the virtual machine's configuration parameters in vCloud Director are out of
synch with the settings in the guest OS, the Profile tab on the virtual machines Properties page displays that
the settings out of synch with the guest OS and the virtual machine needs guest customization.
Guest customization Behavior for vApps and Virtual Machines
The check boxes are deselected.
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Enable guest customization
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In Windows guest OSs, Change SID
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Password reset
If you want to perform customization (or you made changes to network settings that need to be reflected in
the guest OS), you can select the Enable guest customizationcheck box and set the options on the Guest OS
Customization tab of the virtual machine Properties page. When virtual machines from vApp templates are
used to create a new vApp and then add a virtual machine, the vApp templates act as building blocks. When
you add virtual machines from the catalog to a new vApp, the virtual machines are enabled for guest
customization by default. When you save a vApp template from a catalog as a vApp, virtual machines are
enabled for guest customization only if the Enable guest customization check box is selected.
These are the default values of guest customization settings:
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The Enable guest customization check box is the same as the source virtual machine in your Catalog.
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For Windows guest virtual machines, Change SID is the same as the source virtual machine in your
catalog.
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The password reset setting is same as the source virtual machine in your catalog.
You can deselect the Enable guest customization check box if required before you start the VApp.
If blank virtual machines, which are pending guest OS installation, are added to a vApp, the Enable guest
customization check box is deselected by default because these virtual machines are not yet ready for
customization .
Chapter 9 Working with Virtual Machines
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