6.5.1

15 Select how the virtual machine will participate in the network and click Next.
Option Action
Workgroup Type a workgroup name. For example, MSHOME.
Windows Server Domain a Type the domain name.
b Type the user name and password for a user account that has permission to
add a computer to the specified domain.
16 (Optional) Select Generate New Security ID (SID) and click Next.
A Windows Security ID (SID) is used in some Windows operating systems to uniquely identify
systems and users. If you do not select this option, the new virtual machine has the same SID as the
virtual machine or template from which it was cloned or deployed.
Duplicate SIDs do not cause problems when the computers are part of a domain and only domain
user accounts are used. However, if the computers are part of a Workgroup or local user accounts
are used, duplicate SIDs can compromise file access controls. For more information, see the
documentation for your Microsoft Windows operating system.
17 Click Finish to save your changes.
The customization specification that you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager. You
can use the specification to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.
Create a Customization Specification for Windows Using a Custom Sysprep
Answer File in the vSphere Web Client
A custom sysprep answer file is a file that stores various customization settings such as computer name,
licensing information, and workgroup or domain settings. You can supply a custom sysprep answer file as
an alternative to specifying many of the settings in the Guest Customization wizard.
Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP use a text file called sysprep.inf. Windows Server 2008,
Windows Vista, and Windows 7 use an XML file called sysprep.xml. You can create these files using a
text editor, or use the Microsoft Setup Manager utility to generate them. For more information about how
to create a custom sysprep answer file, see the documentation for the relevant operating system.
You can prevent Windows from assigning new virtual machines or templates with the same Security IDs
(SIDs) as the original virtual machine. Duplicate SIDs do not cause problems when the computers are
part of a domain and only domain user accounts are used. However, if the computers are part of a
Workgroup or local user accounts are used, duplicate SIDs can compromise file access controls. For
more information, see the documentation for your Microsoft Windows operating system.
Prerequisites
Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization
Requirements.
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