7.0

What to do next
Apply the host profile to individual hosts by using the Host Profiles feature in the vSphere Client.
See the Host Profiles documentation. Alternatively, you can create a rule to assign the host profile
to hosts with the vSphere Client or by using PowerCLI. See Write a Rule and Assign a Host Profile
to Hosts.
n Create a rule that applies the host profile to all hosts that you want to provision with the
settings specified in the reference host. For writing a rule in a PowerCLI session, see Write a
Rule and Assign a Host Profile to Hosts.
n For hosts that are already provisioned with vSphere Auto Deploy, perform the test and repair
compliance operations in a PowerCLI session, see Test and Repair Rule Compliance .
n Power on unprovisioned hosts to provision them with the new host profile.
Setting Up a vSphere Auto Deploy Reference Host
In an environment where no state is stored on the host, a reference host helps you set up multiple
hosts with the same configuration. You configure the reference host with the logging, coredump,
and other settings that you want, save the host profile, and write a rule that applies the host profile
to other hosts as needed.
You can configure the storage, networking, and security settings on the reference host and set up
services such as syslog and NTP.
Understanding Reference Host Setup
A well-designed reference host connects to all services such as syslog, NTP, and so on. The
reference host setup might also include security, storage, networking, and ESXi Dump Collector.
You can apply such a host's setup to other hosts by using host profiles.
The exact setup of your reference host depends on your environment, but you might consider the
following customization.
NTP Server Setup
When you collect logging information in large environments, you must make sure that log
times are coordinated. Set up the reference host to use the NTP server in your environment
that all hosts can share. You can specify an NTP server by running the esxcli system ntp
set command. You can start and stop the NTP service for a host with the esxcli system
ntp set command, or the vSphere Client.
Syslog Server Setup
All ESXi hosts run a syslog service (vmsyslogd), which logs messages from the VMkernel and
other system components to a file. You can specify the log host and manage the log location,
rotation, size, and other attributes by running the esxcli system syslog command or by
using the vSphere Client. Setting up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts
provisioned with vSphere Auto Deploy that have no local storage. You can optionally install the
vSphere Syslog Collector to collect logs from all hosts.
VMware ESXi Installation and Setup
VMware, Inc. 169