7.4

Templates that are to be shared across organizations must be public. Only reserved templates are
available to vRealize Automation as a cloning source.
Note When you create a blueprint by cloning from a template, that template's unique identifier becomes
associated with the blueprint. When the blueprint is published to the vRealize Automation catalog and
used in the provisioning and data collection processes, the associated template is recognized. If you
delete the template in vCloud Air or vCloud Director, subsequent vRealize Automation provisioning and
data collection fails because the associated template no longer exists. Instead of deleting and recreating
a template, for example to upload an updated version, replace the template using the vCloud Air
vCloud Director template replacement process. Using vCloud Air or vCloud Director to replace the
template, rather than deleting and recreating the template, keeps the template's unique ID intact and
allows provisioning and data collection to continue functioning.
The following overview illustrates the steps you need to perform before you use vRealize Automation to
create endpoints and define reservations and blueprints. For more information about these administrative
tasks, see vCloud Air and vCloud Director product documentation.
1 In vCloud Air or vCloud Director, create a template for cloning and add it to the organization catalog.
2 In vCloud Air or vCloud Director, use the template to specify custom settings such as passwords,
domain, and scripts for the guest operating system on each machine.
You can use vRealize Automation to override some of these settings.
Customization can vary depending on the guest operating system of the resource.
3 In vCloud Air or vCloud Director, configure the catalog to be shared with everyone in the organization.
In vCloud Air or vCloud Director, configure account administrator access to applicable organizations
to allow all users and groups in the organization to have access to the catalog. Without this sharing
designation, the catalog templates are not be visible to endpoint or blueprint architects in
vRealize Automation.
4 Gather the following information so that you can include it in blueprints:
n
Name of the vCloud Air or vCloud Director template.
n
Amount of total storage specified for the template.
Preparing for Linux Kickstart Provisioning
Linux Kickstart provisioning uses a configuration file to automate a Linux installation on a newly
provisioned machine. To prepare for provisioning you must create a bootable ISO image and a Kickstart
or autoYaST configuration file.
The following is a high-level overview of the steps required to prepare for Linux Kickstart provisioning:
1 Verify that a DHCP server is available on the network. vRealize Automation cannot provision
machines by using Linux Kickstart provisioning unless DHCP is available.
2 Prepare the configuration file. In the configuration file, you must specify the locations of the
vRealize Automation server and the Linux agent installation package. See Prepare the Linux Kickstart
Configuration Sample File.
Configuring vRealize Automation
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