I had a chance to set up some Host Profiles last weekend and get a handle on how they work. These are a very handy tool for reducing your management overhead, especially in a large cluster.

Features/Use Cases

–  Ensure configuration accuracy by applying a single configuration profile to all hosts in a cluster

–  Reduce time for deployment by automating many configuration settings

–  Update one configuration to update all hosts, a la dvSwitch.

Hit the whole run through after the jump!

Setup

1. Go to the Home screen in vCenter and click Management > Host Profiles
   1. 
   2. Click ‘Create Profile’
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      2. Select ‘Create Profile from existing host’
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         2. Select a Host that’s already been properly configured to create a profile from
         3. 

 

1. Name and describe the new Host Profile, then hit Next and Finish
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   2. Select ‘Attach Host/Cluster’ from the menu bar
   3. 

1. Expand the list and select the cluster. Then click ‘Attach’ to move it to the right. Hit ‘OK.’
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   2. You should now see your Cluster and all Hosts listed on the Hosts and Clusters tab.
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      2. Right-click a Host and select ‘Enter Maintenance Mode’
      3. 

Apply Profile to Hosts

1. Once machine is in Maintenance Mode, right-click and select ‘Apply Profile’
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   2. Configure the Answer File with the wizard that appears, review, then select Finish
   3. 

1. Once the profile applies, you should see that the Host is now Compliant.
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   2. Remove the host from Maintenance Mode and continue this process on the remaining Hosts until all entities are Compliant.
   3. 

Troubleshooting

There are some common errors with this version of vSphere that appear in Host Profile compliance checks.

1. If you get an error that looks like the one below, the compliance check is detecting your local storage as a configuration that all hosts should be able to see. The workaround to pass the compliance check is to disable these pieces.
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   2. The way to disable this check is to right-click the Host Profile and select ‘Enable/Disable Profile Configuration’

i.     

ii.      Remove the two checkboxes shown below:

iii.     

iv.      Run the compliance check again, and Hosts should pass this time.

v.      For more information, see this KB article:

1. http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2002488

1. Another common compliance failure is for the host the profile is based on to show an error that says ‘Given Services are not enabled on the port group <portgroupname>.’  This is a bug and the only way to pass compliance is to either disable the check, or to make sure that each different vmk# is in a different dvPortGroup. (i.e. one for FT logging, one for vMotion, one for Management)
   1. To disable the check, right-click the Host Profile and select ‘Enable/Disable Profile Configuration’

i.     

ii.      Remove the following compliance check

1. 
2. Re-scan for compliance. If this doesn’t work, you may be forced to separate out into individual dvPortGroups.
3. See this VMware KB for reference
   1. http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1035431

Lastly, here’s a link to an older but relevant white paper on Host Profiles.

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/techpaper/VMW-Host-Profiles-Tech-Overview.pdf

What’s your experience with Host Profiles like?