Salt: [DOCS] customization_spec is missing from the VMware cloud docs

[nicholasmhughes]

Description
Docs here:

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/master/topics/cloud/vmware.html

talks about enabling customization, but doesn't document the customization_spec parameter that points to how to customize the instance.

https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/master/salt/cloud/clouds/vmware.py#L2805

[ScriptAutomate]

The documentation generated for salt.cloud.clouds.vmware and the create() function:

• https://docs.saltstack.com/en/master/ref/clouds/all/salt.cloud.clouds.vmware.html#salt.cloud.clouds.vmware.create

Which only includes a link to the profile config here:

• https://docs.saltstack.com/en/master/topics/cloud/vmware.html#profiles

But customization_spec is ultimately calling salt.utils.vmware.get_customizationspec_ref() from here:

• https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/master/salt/utils/vmware.py#L354

It looks like it is using the following:

• https://pubs.vmware.com/vi3/sdk/ReferenceGuide/vim.CustomizationSpecManager.html

With more information about vmware custom specifications here:

• https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-EB5F090E-723C-4470-B640-50B35D1EC016.html

This needs an SME, as I don't know what needs to be present in the customization_spec definition in the following locations:

• https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/master/doc/topics/cloud/vmware.rst
• Potentially elsewhere in docstrings in the other above links

[sagetherage]

@nicholasmhughes maybe the Cloud Working Group can help here and we can collaborate between the WGs - Docs and Cloud :)

[nicholasmhughes]

yeah... I mostly put this issue in to remind myself to eventually get around to it (unless someone steals it from me)

[sagetherage]

Great! We do have some tech writers on staff with SaltStack, but they are a small group and split between many teams, so great reason to collaborate here!

[amalaguti]

I ran into the same issue today and was testing customization_spec setting.
A positive side effect of being able to select a customization spec, is that the instance will have its hostname set properly, matching the minion id (if your spec is set to use the virtual machine name for Computer name)
So no need to run a task (most customers use a state during start up) to set hostname on post deployment.