Set Operating System Options > Generate New Security ID (SID) = Checked. Set Computer Name = Enter a name in the Clone / Deploy Wizard We can now take advantage of the Customization Specifications Manager which provides us with the ability to further customize certain Windows and Linux distributions by going to the vSphere Web Client > Customization Specifications Manager > Create a new specification:Ĭustomization Spec Name: Windows 2012 R2 Base I would like to ensure that the customizations I have made to my administrator profile are replicated throughout all user's environments - so we can use a utility called defprof that will copy a speicifed user's profile data to the Default Windows User Profile like follows: Event Logs: Clear System, Security, Application Folder options > Hide extensions for known file types = Folder options > Show hidden files, folders and drives = Checked Disable Hibernation: powercfg.exe -h off Power Plans > High Performance = Checked Local User Accounts > Administrator > Password Never Expires = Checked. Internet Explorer Enhanced Security (Users) = Turned on Internet Explorer Enhanced Security (Admins) = Turned off We can also make the following conifugrations to the OS itself: We will make the following tweaks to the VM bios settings: VMware Tools: Check and upgrade Tools during power cycling Secondary Disks (Non-boot disks): Paravirtual Controllerĭisk: 40GB, Thick Provision Eager Zeroed, SCSI Node 0:0 Clone a template in the vSphere Client.įor this tutorial I will be creating an initial Server 2012 R2 VM with the following specs:ĭisk Controller (OS / Boot Disk): LSI Logic SAS (must not be part of a MS cluster!) Cloning Virtual Machine to Template in the vSphere Client Converting a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Client There are three ways of creating a VM template: Within vSphere 6.0 (5.0 and 5.5) you have the ability to create VM templates that can be utilizied in scenerios where you have multiple operating systems that need to be deployed.

Vmware esxi 6 windows server 2012 r2