PropertyParams when deploying VM from OVF - rest

Question

I am using the VMWare vCenter REST API to deploy new Virtual Machines from OVF library items. Part of the API allows for additional_paramaters but I am unable to get it to function properly. Specifically, I would like to set the PropertyParams for custom OVF template properties.
When deploying VM from OVF, I am using the following REST API:
POST https://{server}/rest/com/vmware/vcenter/ovf/library-item/id:{ovf_library_item_id}?~action=deploy
I have tried many structures and either end up with the POST succeeding but the parameters completely ignored, or with a 500 Internal Server error with a message about failing to convert the properties structure:
Could not convert field 'properties' of structure 'com.vmware.vcenter.ovf.property_params'
The payload that seems correct from the documentation (but fails with the error above):
deployment_spec : {
/* ... */
additional_parameters : [
{
type : 'PropertyParams',
properties : [
{
id : 'my_property_name',
value : 'foo',
}
]
}
]
}
Given an OVF that contains the following:
<ProductSection>
<Info>Information about the installed software</Info>
<Product>MyProduct</Product>
<Vendor>MyCompany</Vendor>
<Version>1.0</Version>
<Category>Config</Category>
<Property ovf:userConfigurable="true" ovf:type="string" ovf:key="my_property_name" ovf:value="">
<Label>My Property</Label>
<Description>A custom property</Description>
</Property>
</ProductSection>
This also fails for other property types such as boolean.
Note that I have posted on the vCenter forums as well.

Answer 1

I had the same issue, i success to solve it by browsing the vapi structure /com/vmware/vapi/metadata/metamodel/structure/id:<idstructure>
Here is my finding :
firstly, get your properties structure by using the filter api :
https://{{vc}}/rest/com/vmware/vcenter/ovf/library-item/id:300401a5-4561-4c3d-ac67-67bc7a1a6
Then, to deploy, use the class com.vmware.vcenter.ovh.property_params. It will be more clear with the exemple :
{
"deployment_spec": {
"accept_all_EULA": true,
"name": "clientok",
"default_datastore_id": "datastore-10",
"additional_parameters": [
{
"#class": "com.vmware.vcenter.ovf.property_params",
"properties":
[
{
"instance_id": "",
"class_id": "",
"description": "The gateway IP for this virtual appliance.",
"id": "gateway",
"label": "Default Gateway Address",
"category": "LAN",
"type": "ip",
"value": "10.1.2.1",
"ui_optional": true
}
],
"type": "PropertyParams"
}
]
}