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mastefani
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

vRA 8.8 custom naming

Prior to 8.8 with project based naming you could reference a custom property defined in the blueprint similar to the example below.  Seems like with the custom naming templates in 8.8 that no longer works.  Is that something that just changed the syntax or is there no way to directly reference a blueprint custom property with the templates now?   Do those have to be defined in input properties now?

 

LAB${resource.Environment}${resource.OSType}${resource.Prefix}${#####}

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emacintosh
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

According to the docs, it doesn't sound like it should have changed?  But I think they did revamp this functionality in general in 8.8, so maybe they introduced some bugs?

Create global custom naming for deployed resources in Cloud Assembly (vmware.com)

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emacintosh
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

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mastefani
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Still waiting for support to confirm, but best I can tell you can't reference custom properties in the blueprints anymore.  I've worked around it by using the build-in property "name".  So in the blueprint I set the built-in property based on my inputs and then the naming template can reference the built-in property.  Something like this:

 

name: ${input.OSType + input.Environment + input.DeptPrefix}

 

Custom Naming template:

LAB${resource.name}${#####}

ljm123
Contributor
Contributor

The workaround I was looking for. Than k you.

Very strange how we can use the name inputproperty to reference but not a custom inpuutproperty of our own, whereas before we could like you said.

Definately seems like an oversight maybe?

Although it does clealy seem that this new custom naming method is overriding a blueprint name property which in itself is interesting. Intended? Who knows.

Either way there are a few caveats if you were exploring migrating to using the new custom naming feature and you were using existing vRA8 ways of auto naming resources (don't do what I did and just hit the enroll now button, luckily my env is still non prod so I was fine to take the hit, but still...!)

However this is my workaround right now, but I feel it is one to watch out for should they change it again in a future version!

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