7.0

n If both vCenter Server and vSphere Auto Deploy are unavailable, you can connect to each
ESXi host by using the VMware Host Client, and add virtual machines to each host.
n If vCenter Server is not available, vSphere DRS does not work. The vSphere Auto Deploy
server cannot add hosts to the vCenter Server. You can connect to each ESXi host by using the
VMware Host Client, and add virtual machines to each host.
n If you make changes to your setup while connectivity is lost, the changes are lost when the
connection to the vSphere Auto Deploy server is restored.
Understanding Stateless Caching and Stateful Installs
When you want to use vSphere Auto Deploy with stateless caching or stateful installs, you must
set up a host profile, apply the host profile, and set the boot order.
When you apply a host profile that enables caching to a host, vSphere Auto Deploy partitions the
specified disk. What happens next depends on how you set up the host profile and how you set
the boot order on the host.
n vSphere Auto Deploy caches the image when you apply the host profile if Enable stateless
caching on the host is selected in the System Cache Configuration host profile. No reboot
is required. When you later reboot, the host continues to use the vSphere Auto Deploy
infrastructure to retrieve its image. If the vSphere Auto Deploy server is not available, the
host uses the cached image.
n vSphere Auto Deploy installs the image if Enable stateful installs on the host is selected in
the System Cache Configuration host profile. When you reboot, the host initially boots using
vSphere Auto Deploy to complete the installation. A reboot is then issued automatically, after
which the host boots from disk, similar to a host that was provisioned with the installer.
vSphere Auto Deploy no longer provisions the host.
You can apply the host profile from the vSphere Client, or write a vSphere Auto Deploy rule in a
PowerCLI session that applies the host profile.
Using the vSphere Client to Set Up vSphere Auto Deploy for Stateless Caching or Stateful Installs
You can create a host profile on a reference host and apply that host profile to additional hosts or
to a vCenter Server folder or cluster. The following workflow results.
1 You provision a host with vSphere Auto Deploy and edit that host's System Image Cache
Configuration host profile.
2 You place one or more target hosts in maintenance mode, apply the host profile to each host,
and instruct the host to exit maintenance mode.
3 What happens next depends on the host profile you selected.
n If the host profile enabled stateless caching, the image is cached to disk. No reboot is
required.
n If the host profile enabled stateful installs, the image is installed. When you reboot, the
host uses the installed image.
VMware ESXi Installation and Setup
VMware, Inc. 162