5.1

Table Of Contents
Configuring vApps and Virtual Machines
You specify configuration details for vApps and the virtual machines they contain in ovf:SectionType elements
contained in a VApp or Vm element. You can include most of these sections in the InstantiationParams that you
supply when you instantiate a vApp template. You can also retrieve, modify, and update these sections to
reconfigure a deployed vApp.
You establish the initial configuration of a vApp in the OVF package on which its source template is based.
You cannot modify most sections of the template, but you can update the configuration during the following
operations:
n
When you create a vApp by making an instantiateVAppTemplate request, you can update its configuration
by including modified sections in the request's InstantiationParams element.
n
When you compose or recompose a vApp, you can update its configuration by including modified sections
in the request's InstantiationParams element.
n
When you update any of the modifiable sections in a deployed vApp or the virtual machines that it
contains.
You can capture the reconfigured vApp to create a vApp template that preserves your modifications. See
“Capturing and Importing vApps,” on page 72.
Updating a vApp Template
You can update the following sections of a vApp template.
CustomizationSection
You can use a PUT request to update this section, which contains a Boolean
value, CustomizeOnInstantiate, that specifies whether guest customization
should be run during instantiation. You cannot modify this element if the vApp
template has been added to a catalog.
Name and description
You can use a PUT request to update the value of the template's name attribute
or the contents of its Description element.
Owner
You can use a PUT request to update the value of the template's Owner element.
See “View or Change the Owner of an Object,” on page 79.
ProductSection elements
You can retrieve or update the template's ProductSection elements, which
provide a way to pass runtime information to the virtual machines defined in
the template. See “Retrieve or Modify ProductSection Elements,” on
page 120.
Except for the Owner element, all updates to a vApp template propagate to the vApp during instantiation. The
owner of the vApp is set to the identity of the user who instantiates the template.
Chapter 5 Deploying and Operating vApps
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