6.7

3 vSphere Auto Deploy provisions each host with the image profile or by using the script bundle
associated with the rule. The exact effect of applying the host profile depends on the host profile you
selected.
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For stateful installs, vSphere Auto Deploy proceeds as follows:
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During first boot, vSphere Auto Deploy installs the image on the host.
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During subsequent boots, the host boots from disk. The hosts do not need a connection to
the vSphere Auto Deploy server.
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For stateless caching, vSphere Auto Deploy proceeds as follows:
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During first boot, vSphere Auto Deploy provisions the host and caches the image.
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During subsequent boots, vSphere Auto Deploy provisions the host. If vSphere Auto Deploy
is unavailable, the host boots from the cached image, however, setup can only be completed
when the host can reach the vSphere Auto Deploy server.
Configure a Host Profile to Use Stateless Caching
When a host is set up to use stateless caching, the host uses a cached image if the vSphere Auto Deploy
Server is not available. To use stateless caching, you must configure a host profile. You can apply that
host profile to other hosts that you want to set up for stateless caching.
Prerequisites
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Decide which disk to use for caching and determine whether the caching process will overwrite an
existing VMFS partition.
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In production environments, protect the vCenter Server system and the vSphere Auto Deploy server
by including them in a highly available environment. Having the vCenter Server in a management
cluster guarantees that VDS and virtual machine migration are available. If possible, also protect
other elements of your infrastructure. See Set Up Highly Available vSphere Auto Deploy
Infrastructure.
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Set up your environment for vSphere Auto Deploy. See Preparing for vSphere Auto Deploy.
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Verify that a disk with at least 1GB of free space is available. If the disk is not yet partitioned,
partitioning happens when you apply the host profile.
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Set up the host to attempt a network boot first and to boot from disk if network boot fails. See your
hardware vendor's documentation.
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Create a host profile. See the Host Profiles documentation.
Procedure
1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Host Profiles.
2 Select the host profile you want to configure and select the Manage tab.
3 Click Edit Host Profile.
4 Leave the name and description and click Next.
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