Creating an image profile from scratch_VMware vSphere 5.5 Cookbook-QQ阅读男生武侠网

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Creating an image profile from scratch

When creating an image profile from scratch, you will have to identify the software packages you need to be part of the image. This means that, unlike customizing an existing image, you will create a new one with only what you need, so that you don't have to go through the process of removing software packages from an image profile.

Tip

Pay careful attention to dependencies and acceptance levels when you create an image profile from scratch.

Getting ready

Read the recipes Downloading an ESXi offline bundle, Creating an image profile by cloning a predefined image profile, and Adding a VIB (software package) to an image profile as a preparation before you start learning how create an image from scratch.

How to do it...

The following procedure will guide you through the steps required to create an image profile from scratch:

Use the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet to add all the needed offline bundles to the vSphere PowerCLI session.
```
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot C:\AutoDeploy-VIBS\ESXi500-201111001.zip
```
Issue the Get-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet to verify that the offline bundles have been added successfully.
Assign the output of the Get-EsxSoftwareDepot command to a user-defined variable:
```
$softdepot = Get-EsxSoftwareDepot
```
Use the Get-EsxSoftwarePackage cmdlet to list the needed software packages from the correct depot. Filter the results as needed and assign them to a variable. In this example, let's list all the packages released after 1/5/2013 (mm/dd/yyyy) by issuing the following command:
```
Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -SoftwareDepot $softdepot[0] -CreatedAfter 1/5/2013
```

Assign this output to a user-defined variable:

$afterMay2013 = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -CreatedAfter 1/5/2013 -SoftwareDepot $softdepot[0]

Use the New-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to create a new image profile by supplying Name, Vendor, and AcceptanceLevel:

New-EsxImageProfile -NewProfile -Name "PostMay2013" -Vendor "vDescribed" -SoftwarePackage $afterMay2013 -AcceptanceLevel CommunitySupported

Export the image profile to an ISO or offline bundle:

Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "PortMay2013" –ExportToBundle -FilePath C:\Offline-Bundles\PostMay2013.zip.

How it works...

It creates an ESXi image from scratch and helps to reduce the amount of data in terms of unnecessary drivers and software packages.