Working with Desired Software
States
When you commit a draft software specification, you make the committed draft the
desired state for that cluster or standalone host. If all hosts in the cluster are compliant
with the desired state, you can remediate the cluster. If the single standalone host is
compliant with the desired state, you can update the
ESXi
host to that state.You can use the methods provided with
the cluster and host
to manage a desired state for a cluster or a standalone host. Before
you apply a desired state on a cluster or a standalone host, you can run pre-checks to
ensure that all hosts in the cluster or the single host are in a good state to be
remediated. The pre-checks verify whether any of the hosts in the cluster or the single
standalone host must be rebooted or are in maintenance mode. You can also check the
compliance of the cluster or the standalone host against the desired state. See Checking the Compliance Against the Desired State.Software
servicesYou can export a software specification
created for a cluster or a standalone host by using one of the following formats:
- An offline bundle in a ZIP file format.
- An ISO image.
- A JSON file.
Use the
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
API to import a
software specification as a draft and then edit it. You have several options for running
the import operation depending on the location and format of the desired software state.