7.3

Network profiles are used to configure network settings when machines are provisioned. Network profiles
also specify the configuration of NSX Edge devices that are created when you provision machines. You
identify a network profile when you create reservations and blueprints. In a reservation, you can assign a
network profile to a network path and specify any one of those paths for a machine component in a
blueprint.
A blueprint creator specifies an appropriate network profile when defining network components in the
blueprint. You can use an existing network profile and an on-demand NAT or routed network profile as
you define network adapters and load balancers for the provisioning machine.
Network profiles also support third party IP Address Management (IPAM) providers, such as Infoblox.
When you configure a network profile for IPAM, your provisioned machines can obtain their IP address
data, and related information such as DNS and gateway, from the configured IPAM solution. You can use
an external IPAM package for a third party provider, such as Infoblox, to define an IPAM endpoint for use
with a network profile.
Note If you are using a third-party IPAM provider and want to specify on which network to deploy your
machine, use a separate network profile for each VLAN to avoid the known issue described in Knowledge
Base Article 2148656.
If you do not use a third-party IPAM provider, but instead use the vRealize Automation-supplied IPAM
endpoint, you can specify the ranges of IP addresses that network profiles can use. Each IP address in
the specified ranges that are allocated to a machine is reclaimed for reassignment when the machine is
destroyed. You can create a network profile to define a range of static IP addresses that can be assigned
to machines. When provisioning virtual machines by cloning or by using kickstart/autoYaST provisioning,
the requesting machine owner can assign static IP addresses from a predetermined range.
You can assign a network profile to a specific network path on a reservation. For some machine
component types, such as vSphere, you can assign a network profile when you create or edit blueprints.
Note While you cannot change the network profile of a deployed virtual machine, you can change the
network to which the VM is connected. If the network is associated to a different network profile,
vRealize Automation assigns an IP address from that network profile to the VM. However the VM
continues to use the old IP address until you update the IP address on the guest operating system.
Alternatively you can use the Reconfigure action on the deployed VM, which also requires you to update
the IP address on the guest operating system.
If you specify a network profile in a reservation and a blueprint, the blueprint value takes precedence. For
example, if you specify a network profile in the blueprint by using the
VirtualMachine.NetworkN.ProfileName custom property and in a reservation that is used by the
blueprint, the network profile specified in the blueprint takes precedence. However, if the custom property
is not used in the blueprint, and you select a network profile for a machine NIC, vRealize Automation uses
the reservation network path for the machine NIC for which the network profile is specified.
For more information about these network types, see NSX Administration Guide in the NSX Information
Center at https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/nsx_pubs.html.
Configuring vRealize Automation
VMware, Inc. 223