Windows 7 provisioning error: Customization operation timed out

[frentz01]

Hi,

We are running ESXi 4.1, Vcenter 4.1 (with View Composer), View Manager 4.6. I am creating Win7 images, provisioned 5 test virtual desktops using linked clone quickprep. Customizing took a long time and the event says: Customization operation timed out. I've checked that that View Agent is the latest version (ver 4.6.0), also tried reinstalling the View Agent but the result is still the same.

[kgsivan]

You need to check the domain connectity and DNS name resolution for the specified domain. This could be the basic issue.

There may be other configuration issues impacting customization like Parent VMs DNS settings etc.

Make sure the snapshot VM has IP set to DHCP, the the DNS can resolve your domain. If not, only the DNS parameter you cna specify manually.

You may also refer the blog post Common errors with SVI Pools and View Composer

[mittim12]

Here is a link to a KB with all of the View log locations.   These logs should assist in troubleshooting the issue.

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1027744

[tacticsbaby]

Also check your firewall settings. The agent may be blocked from communication.

[adrianw]

Another area to troubleshoot is permission. When using linked-clone, the account you use needs the appropriate permission for vCenter Server and View Composer setting.

Also account needs permission to create linked-clone objects in the OU specify during setup of the pool.

Hope this helps: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/view-46-installation.pdf

[chulerico]

frentz,

are the VMs activating?

I have the same issue, and in my case it was that the VMs were not activating, so I configure the master image to point to our KMS server, tested the activation, then I create a pool, and all went ok

good luck.

Sam

[umarzuki]

does it really need to be activated because i once configured a pool with master that was not activated its license and all's well. Although i found that a few desktops got automatically activated (don't know how) and after a recent power failure all desktops goes to startup repair screen. I can see the error "customization timed out" on view admin web interface.

[tacticsbaby]

We had the same issue in our environment. What you need to do is make sure that the master image does not have a MAK key. As long as you have a reachable KMS server you don't need to do anything for your clones. The nice thing about KMS is that it does most of the work for you. I think you should look up a tool called VAMT this handy FREE tool will tell you what kind of license you are using on a desktop, server or Office installation. It can also change the key for you. This tool helped us quickly clean up our environment and go completely KMS. Here is a link to it: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff686876.aspx. Also, here is a link to information on KMS: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793434.aspx

Hope this is useful.

[umarzuki]

i just found out with VAMT that the license that is being used actually 'retail', not KMS, where do i go from here?

[umarzuki]

after a few tests, this problem actually caused by a problem by one of the blade in hs22 that have problem accessing xserve storage