The Image Builder PowerCLI commands are used to create a custom image from the ESXi Offline Bundle and the vendor-provided bundle. To maintain the smallest footprint possible, not all supported hardware drivers are included with the native ESXi installation package.
The ESXi Offline Bundle contains multiple profiles: one that includes VMware tools (the standard profile) and one without VMware tools (the no-tools profile). A clone of the profile is created and the vendor software is added to it. When all of the necessary software has been added to the profile, it is exported to an ISO image that can be used to deploy ESXi hosts.
Custom image profiles that are created using the Image Builder PowerCLI commands are also used when using auto deploy to deploy stateless or stateful hosts. The procedure for creating a custom image profile to be used by Auto Deploy is the same, with the exception of the profile being exported to the custom ISO.