7.1

Using Custom Properties 1
You can use vRealize Automation custom properties to add values or override existing or default values for
conguring seings for network, platform, guest agent, and many other deployment parameters.
Some properties are determined by standard seings that you must specify for all machines. For example,
memory and disk size values are required for all blueprints. You can specify additional properties
individually or in property groups in blueprints and in reservations. When you add a property to a
blueprint or a property group, you can mark it as a required property. When a property is specied as
required, the user must provide a value for that property when they request a machine, such as in the
following examples.
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Require information about multiple disks sharing the machine’s allocated storage.
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Require information about users or groups to be added to a local group on the machine.
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Require the host name of the machine.
The Windows guest agent records property values on the provisioned machine in the %SystemDrive
%\VRMGuestAgent\site\workitem.xml le.
The Linux guest agent records property values on the provisioned machine in
the /usr/share/gugent/site/workitem.xml le.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Adding Custom Properties,” on page 9
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“Using Properties in Machine Provisioning,” on page 10
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“Understanding Custom Properties Precedence,” on page 10
Adding Custom Properties
You can use custom properties to control machine provisioning. You can add properties and property
groups to overall blueprints, components in a blueprint, and reservations. You can also add custom
properties to other vRealize Automation items, including some endpoint types.
You can add properties and property groups when you create a blueprint, or later when the blueprint is in
the draft or published state. Alternatively you can add custom properties and property groups to individual
components in the blueprint.
Blueprint-level custom properties take precedence over custom properties that are congured at the
component level. You can edit blueprint-level properties by using the blueprint properties page.
Custom property names are case-sensitive. For example, a custom property expressed as hostname and
another custom property expressed as HOSTNAME are considered dierent custom properties.
VMware, Inc.
9