Image Servers Using the VMware Imaging Appliance

Once you have uploaded the required ESXi and VIB packages to the
VMware Imaging Appliance service
, you can begin imaging servers. You can image an individual server, or multiple servers at the same time.
You can use the
VMware Imaging Appliance service
to image servers for use in the management domain and VI workload domains. The management domain requires a minimum of four servers. See the
Planning and Preparation Workbook
for more information about requirements.
When you image servers, the
VMware Imaging Appliance service
uses the ESXi ISO that you activated and the VIB(s) that you marked as
In use
.
  1. In a web browser on the Windows machine that is connected to the
    VMware Cloud Builder appliance
    , navigate to
    https://
    Cloud_Builder_VM_IP
    :8445/via
    .
  2. Enter the admin credentials you provided when you deployed the
    VMware Cloud Builder appliance
    and click Log in.
  3. In the navigation pane, click
    Imaging
    .
  4. Enter a name and description for the imaging job.
  5. Enter the requirements for the imaging job
    Option
    Description
    NTP Server
    Enter the FQDN/IP address for the NTP server
    Number
    Enter the number of servers you want to image as part of the job using the selected ISO and VIBs.
    IP
    Enter the IP address that will be allocated to the server.
    MAC
    Enter the MAC address of the server. This is used by the imaging service to identify the physical host.
    Host FQDN
    Enter the FQDN to allocate to the server.
  6. Click
    Start Imaging
    .
  7. When prompted, power cycle the server(s) to continue imaging.
    The
    VMware Imaging Appliance service
    displays information about the progress of imaging. Click a server to view details. Once imaging is complete, the
    VMware Imaging Appliance service
    performs verification of the servers.
  8. When verification is finished, click
    Complete
    .
Perform post-imaging tasks.