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Vsphere Esxi Vcenter Server 50 Virtual Machine Admin Guide

This document provides information about creating, configuring, and managing virtual machines in VMware vSphere. It covers topics like virtual machine provisioning, templates, cloning, configuration, and management. The document supports ESXi and vCenter Server.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

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Vsphere Esxi Vcenter Server 50 Virtual Machine Admin Guide

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fullerton420

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

ESXi 5.0 vCenter Server 5.0

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000523-01

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: [email protected]

Copyright 20092011 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com

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Contents

About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 7 Updated Information 9

1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 11

What Is a Virtual Machine? 11 Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure Virtual Machine Lifecycle 13 Virtual Machine Components 13 Virtual Machine Options and Resources 13 Where to Go From Here 14 vSphere Client and vSphere Web Client 15 12

2 About Provisioning Virtual Machines 17 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client 19
Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Web Client 19 Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone in the vSphere Web Client Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 26

4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 31

Start the Virtual Machine Creation Process in the vSphere Client 31 Select a Configuration Option for the New Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client Enter a Name and Location for the Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 33 Select a Host or Cluster in the vSphere Client 33 Select a Resource Pool in the vSphere Client 34 Select a Datastore in the vSphere Client 34 Select a Virtual Machine Version in the vSphere Client 35 Select an Operating System in the vSphere Client 35 Select the Number of Virtual CPUs in the vSphere Client 36 Configure Virtual Memory in the vSphere Client 36 Configure Networks in the vSphere Client 37 Select a SCSI Controller in the vSphere Client 38 Selecting a Virtual Disk Type 38 Complete Virtual Machine Creation in the vSphere Client 42 Installing a Guest Operating System 42

5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client 45

Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 46 Create a Scheduled Task to Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client Create a Template in the vSphere Client 49

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Client 52 Change Template Software or Virtual Machine Configuration 55 Change Template Name in the vSphere Client 55 Deleting Templates 55 Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 57 Customizing Guest Operating Systems 57

6 Deploying OVF Templates 71

About OVF 71 Deploy an OVF Template 72 Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 73 Export an OVF Template 74

7 Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool 77

Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site 77 Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD 78

8 Configuring Virtual Machines 81

Virtual Machine Hardware, Options, and Resources Available to vSphere Virtual Machines 82 Virtual Machine Hardware Versions 85 Determine the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 86 Locate the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 87 Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Web Client 87 Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Client 87 View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Web Client 88 View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Client 88 Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Web Client 88 Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Client 89 Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users in the vSphere Web Client 90 Change the Configured Guest Operating System in the vSphere Client 90 Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools 91 Virtual CPU Configuration 92 Virtual Memory Configuration 104 Network Virtual Machine Configuration 111 Parallel and Serial Port Configuration 115 Virtual Disk Configuration 125 Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Profiles 135 SCSI Controller Configuration 136 Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration 140 Configuring vServices 152 USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine 153 USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 163 USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client 168 Cannot Copy Data From an ESXi Host to a USB Device That Is Connected to the Host 174 Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Client 174 Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client 175 Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine 175 Configure the Virtual Machine Power States 176

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Contents

Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Web Client 178 Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Client 178 Enable Virtual Machine Logging in the vSphere Web Client 179 Enable Logging in the vSphere Client 179 Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration in the vSphere Web Client 179 Disable Acceleration in the vSphere Client 180 Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Web Client Configure Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Client 181

180

9 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp 183

Create a vApp in the vSphere Web Client 184 Create a vApp in the vSphere Client 186 Populate the vApp 187 Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Web Client 189 Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Client 192 Configuring IP Pools 197 Clone a vApp 199 Power on a vApp in the vSphere Web Client 199 Power On a vApp in the vSphere Client 200 Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Web Client 200 Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Client 200 Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Web Client 200 Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Client 201 Resume a vApp in the vSphere Web Client 201 Resume a vApp in the vSphere Client 201 Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Web Client 201 Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Client 201

10 Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager 203

Viewing Solutions 203 Monitoring Agents 204 Monitoring vServices 205

11 Managing Virtual Machines 207

Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings 207 Install the Client Integration Plug-In in the vSphere Web Client 208 Open a Virtual Machine Console in the vSphere Web Client 209 Open a Console to a Virtual Machine 209 Adding and Removing Virtual Machines 210 Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines 211 Migrating Virtual Machines 225

12 Required Privileges for Common Tasks 235

Index 239

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

VMware, Inc.

About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration describes how to create, configure, and manage virtual machines in the VMware vSphere environment. In addition, this information provides introductions to the tasks that you can do within the system as well as cross-references to the information that describes the tasks. This information focuses on managing virtual machines in the VMware vSphere Web Client and the VMware vSphere Client and includes the following information.
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Creating and deploying virtual machines Working with templates and clones Deploying OVF templates Configuring virtual machine hardware, options, and resources Managing multitiered applications with VMware vSphere vApp Monitoring solutions with the vCenter Solution Manager Managing virtual machines, including migration with VMware vSphere vMotion and using snapshots

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration covers Vmware ESXi and VMware vCenter Server.

Intended Audience
This information is written for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with virtualization.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

VMware, Inc.

Updated Information

This vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation is updated with each release of the product or when necessary. This table provides the update history of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation.

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Revision EN-000523-01

Description
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The topic Connect USB Devices to an ESXi Host, on page 157 clarifies that the ESXi host must be shut down if you are adding USB CD/DVD-ROM devices to the host. The topic Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD, on page 78 includes the Sysprep file location for vCenter Server Virtual Appliance. The topic Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site, on page 77 includes the Sysprep file location for vCenter Server Virtual Appliance. The topic Configure a Script to Generate Computer Names and IP Addresses During Guest Operating System Customization in the vSphere Client, on page 58 provides instructions for using a name-ipapp algorithm to create a custom application for vCenter Server to use to generate computer names and IP addresses during guest operating system customization. The topic Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web Client, on page 144 clarifies that connecting virtual floppy drives to a floppy drive on a host is not supported. The topic Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Client, on page 145 clarifies that connecting virtual floppy drives to a floppy drive on a host is not supported. The topic Add a Floppy Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 146 clarifies that connecting virtual floppy drives to a floppy drive on a host is not supported. The topic Add a Floppy Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 146 clarifies that connecting virtual floppy drives to a floppy drive on a host is not supported. The new topic Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections, on page 116 provides instructions for changing firewall settings for serial port network connections. The topic Change the Serial Port Configuration in the vSphere Client, on page 118 includes a prerequisite to change the firewall rule set for serial port network connections. The topic Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 115 includes a prerequisite to change the firewall rule set for serial port network connections. The topic Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 119 includes a prerequisite to change the firewall rule set for serial port network connections. The topic Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 121 includes a prerequisite to change the firewall rule set for serial port network connections. The topic Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client, on page 59 includes information about resetting the Windows 2008 administrator password after customization. The topic Create a Customization Specification for Windows in the vSphere Client, on page 64 includes information about resetting the Windows 2008 administrator password after customization. The topic Add USB Devices From a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 166 clarifies that the Client Integration Plug-in must be installed before you add USB devices to a host. The topic Using PXE with Virtual Machines, on page 43 includes a link to the VMware Guest Operating System Installation. The topic Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57 includes updated information about accessing the VMware Compatibility Guide online tool. The topic Restoring Snapshots, on page 219 now clarifies the results of a restore operation. The topic Virtual Machine Hardware, Options, and Resources Available to vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 82 table includes chipset information.

EN-000523-00

Initial release.

VMware, Inc.

Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines

This information introduces the concept of virtual machines and how they function in the infrastructure environment with vSphere. You will find information about what constitutes a virtual machine and the features available for managing them. This chapter includes the following topics:
n n n n n n n

What Is a Virtual Machine?, on page 11 Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure, on page 12 Virtual Machine Lifecycle, on page 13 Virtual Machine Components, on page 13 Virtual Machine Options and Resources, on page 13 Where to Go From Here, on page 14 vSphere Client and vSphere Web Client, on page 15

What Is a Virtual Machine?

A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and applications. The virtual machine is comprised of a set of specification and configuration files and is backed by the physical resources of a host. Every virtual machine has virtual devices that provide the same functionality as physical hardware and have additional benefits in terms of portability, manageability, and security. A virtual machine consists of several types of files that you store on a supported storage device. The key files that make up a virtual machine are the configuration file, virtual disk file, NVRAM setting file, and the log file. You configure virtual machine settings through the vSphere Web Client or the vSphere Client. You do not need to touch the key files. A virtual machine can have more files if one or more snapshots exist or if you add Raw Device Mappings (RDMs). CAUTION Do not change, move, or delete these files without instructions from a VMware Technical Support Representative. Table 1-1. Virtual Machine Files
File .vmx .vmxf .vmdk Usage vmname.vmx vmname.vmxf vmname.vmdk Description Virtual machine configuration file Additional virtual machine configuration files Virtual disk characteristics

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Table 1-1. Virtual Machine Files (Continued)

File -flat.vmdk .nvram .vmsd .vmsn .vswp .vmss .log -#.log Usage vmname-flat.vmdk vmname.nvram or nvram vmname.vmsd vmname.vmsn vmname.vswp vmname.vmss vmware.log vmware-#.log (where # is a number starting with 1) Description Preallocated virtual disk Virtual machine BIOS or EFI configuration Virtual machine snapshots Virtual machine snapshot data file Virtual machine swap file Virtual machine suspend file Current virtual machine log file Old virtual machine log entries

Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure

The infrastructure that supports virtual machines consists of at least two software layers, virtualization and management. In vSphere, ESXi provides the virtualization capabilities that aggregate and present the host hardware to virtual machines as a normalized set of resources. Virtual machines can run on an isolated ESXi host or on ESXi hosts that vCenter Server manages. vCenter Server lets you pool and manage the resources of multiple hosts and lets you effectively monitor and manage your physical and virtual infrastructure. You can manage resources for virtual machines, provision virtual machines, schedule tasks, collect statistics logs, create templates, and more. vCenter Server also provides vSphere vMotion , vSphere Storage vMotion, vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), vSphere High Availability (HA), and vSphere Fault Tolerance. These services enable efficient and automated resource management and high availability for virtual machines. The VMware vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client are interfaces to vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and virtual machines. With the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client, you can connect remotely to vCenter Server. With the vSphere Client you can also connect directly to ESXi from any Windows system. The vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client are the primary interfaces for managing all aspects of the vSphere environment. They also provide console access to virtual machines. The vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client present the organizational hierarchy of managed objects in inventory views. Inventories are the hierarchal structure used by vCenter Server or the host to organize managed objects. This hierarchy includes all of the monitored objects in vCenter Server. In the vCenter Server hierarchy, a datacenter is the primary container of ESXi hosts, folders, clusters, resource pools, vSphere vApps, virtual machines, and so on. Datastores are virtual representations of underlying physical storage resources in the datacenter. A datastore is the storage location (for example, a physical disk or LUN on a RAID, or a SAN) for virtual machine files. Datastores hide the idiosyncrasies of the underlying physical storage and present a uniform model for the storage resources required by virtual machines. For some resources, options, or hardware to be available to virtual machines, the host must have the appropriate vSphere license. Licensing in vSphere is applicable to ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, and solutions. Licensing can be based on different criteria, depending on the specifics of each product. For details about vSphere licensing, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines

Virtual Machine Lifecycle

You create and deploy virtual machines into your datacenter in a several ways. You can create a single virtual machine and install a guest operating system and VMware Tools on it. You can clone or create a template from an existing virtual machine, or deploy OVF templates. The vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client New Virtual Machine wizards and Virtual Machine Properties editors let you add, configure, or remove most of the virtual machine's hardware, options, and resources. You monitor CPU, memory, disk, network, and storage metrics using the performance charts in the vSphere Client. Snapshots let you capture the state of the virtual machine, including the virtual machine memory, settings, and virtual disks. You can roll back to the previous virtual machine state when needed. With vSphere vApps, you can manage multitiered applications. You use vSphere Update Manager to perform orchestrated upgrades to upgrade the virtual hardware and VMware Tools of virtual machines in the inventory at the same time. When a virtual machine is no longer needed, you can remove it from the inventory without deleting it from the datastore, or you can delete the virtual machine and all its files.

Virtual Machine Components

Virtual machines typically have an operating system, VMware Tools, and virtual resources and hardware that you manage in much the same way as you would manage a physical computer. You install a guest operating system on a virtual machine the same way as you install an operating system on a physical computer. You must have a CD/DVD-ROM or ISO image containing the installation files from an operating system vendor. VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improves management of the virtual machine. With VMware Tools, you have more control over the virtual machine interface. All virtual machines have a hardware version. The hardware version indicates virtual hardware features that the virtual machine supports, such as BIOS or EFI, number of virtual slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other hardware characteristics. The version of the ESXi host on which you create the virtual machine determines the virtual machine hardware version. The hardware devices listed in the Virtual Machine Properties editor complete the virtual machine. Not all devices are configurable. Some hardware devices are part of the virtual motherboard and appear in the expanded device list of the Virtual Machine Properties editor, but you cannot modify or remove them. For a list of hardware devices and their functions, see Virtual Machine Hardware, Options, and Resources Available to vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 82. Access to a virtual machine is controlled by the vSphere administrator.

Virtual Machine Options and Resources

Each virtual device performs the same function for the virtual machine as hardware on a physical computer does. A virtual machine might be running in any of several locations, such as ESXi hosts, datacenters, clusters, or resource pools. Many of the options and resources that you configure have dependencies on and relationships with these objects. Every virtual machine has CPU, memory, and disk resources. CPU virtualization emphasizes performance and runs directly on the processor whenever possible. The underlying physical resources are used whenever possible. The virtualization layer runs instructions only as needed to make virtual machines operate as if they were running directly on a physical machine.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

All recent operating systems provide support for virtual memory, allowing software to use more memory than the machine physically has. Similarly, the ESXi hypervisor provides support for overcommitting virtual machine memory, where the amount of guest memory configured for all virtual machines might be larger than the amount of the host's physical memory. You can add virtual disks and add more space to existing disks, even when the virtual machine is running. You can also change the device node and allocate shares of disk bandwidth to the virtual machine. VMware virtual machines have the following options: General Options View or modify the virtual machine name, check the location of the configuration file and the working location of the virtual machine, or change the guest operating system type. Enable or disable vApp functionality. When vApp is enabled, you can edit and configure an IP allocation policy and other configurations particular to vApps. Manage the power controls for the virtual machine and run VMware Tools scripts. You can also upgrade VMware Tools during power cycling and synchronize guest time with the host. Disable acceleration and enable logging, debugging, and statistics. You can also add configuration parameters. Manage guest power options. Suspend the virtual machine or leave the virtual machine powered on when you put the guest operating system into standby. Hide or expose the NX/XD flag. Hiding the NX/XD flag increases vMotion compatibility between hosts. Enable or disable CPU and memory hotplug. If the guest operating system supports this option, you can add Memory or CPU resources to a virtual machine while the virtual machine is running. You can disable Memory or CPU hotplug to avoid adding memory or CPUs while the virtual machine is running. Memory hotplug is supported on all 64 bit operating systems. Set the boot delay when powering on virtual machines or to force BIOS setup and configure failed boot recovery. Control virtual machine access to LUNs on a per-virtual machine basis. N-port ID virtualization (NPIV) provides the ability to share a single physical Fibre Channel HBA port among multiple virtual ports, each with unique identifiers.

vApp Options VMware Tools

General Advanced Options Power Management CPUID Mask Memory/CPU Hotplug

Boot Options Fibre Channel NPIV

Where to Go From Here

You must create, provision, and deploy your virtual machines before you can manage them. To begin provisioning virtual machines, determine whether to create a single virtual machine and install an operating system and VMware tools, work with templates and clones, or deploy virtual machines, virtual appliances, or vApps stored in Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF). After you provision and deploy virtual machines into the vSphere infrastructure, you can configure and manage them. You can configure existing virtual machines by modifying or adding hardware or install or upgrade VMware Tools. You might need to manage multitiered applications with VMware vApps or change virtual machine startup and shutdown settings, use virtual machine snapshots, work with virtual disks, or add, remove, or delete virtual machines from the inventory.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines

vSphere Client and vSphere Web Client

All administrative functions are available through the vSphere Client. A subset of those functions is available through the vSphere Web Client. Table 1-2. Comparing the Two Clients
vSphere Client For infrastructure configuration and day-to-day operations.
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vSphere Web Client For day-to-day operations.

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Locally installed application. Windows operating system only. Can connect to vCenter Server or directly to hosts. Full range of administrative functionality.

Web application. Cross platform. Can connect to only vCenter Server. Subset of full functionality, focused on virtual machine deployment and basic monitoring functions. Cannot configure hosts, clusters, networks, datastores, or datastore clusters. Extensible plug-in-based architecture.

Users: Virtual infrastructure administrators for specialized functions.

Users: Virtual infrastructure administrators, help desk, network operations center operators, virtual machine owners.

The vSphere Client uses the VMware API to access vCenter Server. After the user is authenticated, a session starts in vCenter Server, and the user sees the resources and virtual machines that are assigned to the user. For virtual machine console access, the vSphere Client first uses the VMware API to obtain the virtual machine location from vCenter Server. The vSphere Client then connects to the appropriate host and provides access to the virtual machine console. Users can use the vSphere Web Client to access vCenter Server through a Web browser. The vSphere Web Client uses the VMware API to mediate the communication between the browser and the vCenter Server.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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About Provisioning Virtual Machines

VMware provides several methods to provision vSphere virtual machines. The optimal method for your environment depends on factors such as the size and type of your infrastructure and the goals that you are trying to achieve. Create a single virtual machine if no other virtual machines in your environment have the requirements you are looking for, such as a particular operating system or hardware configuration. For example, you might need a virtual machine that is configured only for testing purposes. You can also create a single virtual machine and install an operating system on it, then use that virtual machine as a template to clone other virtual machines from. See Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone in the vSphere Web Client, on page 22 or Chapter 4, Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 31. Deploy and export virtual machines, virtual appliances, and vApps stored in Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF) to use a preconfigured virtual machine. A virtual appliance is a prebuilt virtual machine that typically has an operating system and other software already installed. You can deploy virtual machines from local file systems, such as local disks (such as C:), removable media (such as CDs or USB keychain drives), and shared network drives. See Chapter 6, Deploying OVF Templates, on page 71. Create a template to deploy multiple virtual machines from. A template is a master copy of a virtual machine that you can use to create and provision virtual machines. Templates can be a real time saver. If you have a virtual machine that you want to clone frequently, make that virtual machine a template. See Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Web Client, on page 19 or Chapter 5, Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client, on page 45. Cloning a virtual machine can save time if you are deploying many similar virtual machines. You can create, configure, and install software on a single virtual machine and clone it multiple times, rather than creating and configuring each virtual machine individually. See Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 26 or Chapter 5, Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client, on page 45.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

To deploy virtual machines in the vCenter Server inventory, you can deploy from a template, create a virtual machine, or clone an existing virtual machine. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Web Client, on page 19 Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone in the vSphere Web Client, on page 22 Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 26

Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Web Client

Deploying a virtual machine from a template creates a virtual machine that is a copy of the template. The new virtual machine has the virtual hardware, installed software, and other properties that are configured for the template. Prerequisites You must have the following privileges to deploy a virtual machine from a template:
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Virtual machine .Inventory.Create from existing on the datacenter or virtual machine folder. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the datacenter or virtual machine folder. Virtual machine.Provisioning.Deploy template on the template or template folder. Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool. Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore or datastore folder. Network.Assign network on the network to which the virtual machine will be assigned. Virtual machine.Provisioning.Customize on the template or template folder if you are customizing the guest operating system. Virtual machine.Provisioning.Read customization specifications on the root vCenter Server if you are customizing the guest operating system.

Procedure 1 2 Select to Deploy from a Template on page 20 You can deploy a virtual machine from a template to create a virtual machine that is a copy of the template. Select a Template on page 20 You can create a virtual machine from a template.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 21 When you deploy a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you name it and select the folder where it will be located.

Select a Resource Pool on page 21 When you deploy a virtual machine, select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool in which the virtual machine will run.

Select a Datastore on page 21 When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks.

Customize the Guest Operating System on page 22 When you clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template, you can customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine to change properties such as the computer name, network settings, and license settings.

7 8

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client on page 22 Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option to configure the virtual hardware. Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 22 Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Select to Deploy from a Template

You can deploy a virtual machine from a template to create a virtual machine that is a copy of the template. Procedure 1 Select any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host and click the Create Virtual Machine icon ( 2 Select Deploy from Template and click Next. ).

Select a Template
You can create a virtual machine from a template. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 Browse or search to locate a template. Select the template. (Optional) Select Customize the operating system to customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine. (Optional) Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware to configure the virtual machine's hardware before deployment. (Optional) Select Power On Virtual Machine after creation to power on the virtual machine after creation is complete. Click Next.

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Chapter 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder

When you deploy a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you name it and select the folder where it will be located. Procedure 1 2 3 In the Name text box, type a name for the virtual machine. Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the virtual machine. Click Next.

Select a Resource Pool

When you deploy a virtual machine, select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool in which the virtual machine will run. Procedure 1 Search or browse for the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool for the virtual machine. If deploying the virtual machine to the selected location might cause compatibility problems, these compatibility problems are displayed at the bottom of the window. 2 Click Next.

Select a Datastore
When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks. Procedure
u

Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Store all virtual machine files in the same location on a datastore. Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. Action Select a datastore and click Next. a b Select a datastore cluster. (Optional) If you do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click Next. Click Advanced. For the virtual machine configuration file and for each virtual disk, click Browse and select a datastore or datastore cluster. (Optional) If you selected a datastore cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click OK. Click Next.

c Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

d e

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Customize the Guest Operating System

Select a customization specification from the Guest OS Customization drop-down menu and click Next.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client

Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option to configure the virtual hardware. Procedure 1 2 3 (Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the Add a device drop-down menu and click Add device. (Optional) Click the triangle next to any virtual device to view and configure the device settings. Click Next.

Finish Virtual Machine Creation

Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings. Procedure 1 2 Review the virtual machine settings and make any necessary changes by clicking Previous to go back to the relevant page. Click Finish.

Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone in the vSphere Web Client
When you create a virtual machine without a template or clone, you configure the virtual hardware, including processors, memory, and virtual disks. Prerequisites You must have the following privileges to create a virtual machine:
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Virtual machine.Inventory.Create new on the destination folder or datacenter. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are adding a new disk. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add existing disk on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are adding an existing disk. Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are using a RDM or SCSI pass-through device.

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Chapter 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

Virtual machine.Configuration.Host USB device on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are attaching a virtual USB device backed by a host USB device. Virtual machine.Configuration.Advanced on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are configuring advanced virtual machine settings. Virtual machine.Configuration.Swapfile placement on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are configuring swapfile placement. Virtual machine.Configuration.Disk change tracking on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are enabling change tracking on the virtual machine's disks. Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool. Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore or datastore folder. Network.Assign network on the network that the virtual machine will be assigned to.

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Procedure 1 Select to Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone on page 23 When you create a virtual machine without a template or clone, you configure the processors, memory, disks, and other virtual hardware. 2 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 24 When you deploy a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you name it and select the folder where it will be located. 3 Select a Resource Pool on page 24 When you deploy a virtual machine, select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool in which the virtual machine will run. 4 Select a Datastore on page 24 When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks. 5 Select a Virtual Machine Version on page 24 If the host or cluster where you place the virtual machine supports more than one VMware virtual machine version, you can select a version for the virtual machine. 6 Select a Guest Operating System on page 25 The guest operating system that you select affects the supported devices and number of virtual CPUs available for the virtual machine. 7 8 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client on page 25 Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option to configure the virtual hardware. Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 26 Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Select to Create a Virtual Machine without a Template or Clone

When you create a virtual machine without a template or clone, you configure the processors, memory, disks, and other virtual hardware. Procedure 1 Select any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host and click the Create Virtual Machine icon ( 2 Select Create a new virtual machine and click Next. ).

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder

Select a Resource Pool

Select a Datastore
When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks. Procedure
u

Select a Virtual Machine Version

If the host or cluster where you place the virtual machine supports more than one VMware virtual machine version, you can select a version for the virtual machine. Only those options that are compatible with the selected host or cluster appear.

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Chapter 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

Procedure
u

Select a virtual machine hardware version.

Option Virtual machine version 7 Description Compatible with ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later hosts. Provides greater virtual machine functionality. Recommended for virtual machines that need to run on ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts that do not need to migrate to ESX 3.x hosts. Compatible with ESXi 5.0 and later hosts. Provides greater virtual machine functionality. Recommended for virtual machines that do not need to migrate to ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts.

Virtual machine version 8

Select a Guest Operating System

The guest operating system that you select affects the supported devices and number of virtual CPUs available for the virtual machine. See the VMware Compatibility Guide for details. The New Virtual Machine does not install the guest operating system for you. The wizard uses this information to select appropriate default values, such as the amount of memory needed. When you select a guest operating system, BIOS or Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is selected by default, depending on the firmware supported by the operating system. Mac OS X Server guest operating systems support only EFI. If the operating system supports BIOS and EFI, you can change the default from the Options tab of the Virtual Machine Properties editor after you create the virtual machine and before you install the guest operating system. If you select EFI, you cannot boot an operating system that supports only BIOS, and the reverse. IMPORTANT Do not change the firmware after the guest operating system is installed. The Mac OS X Server must run on Apple hardware. You cannot power on a Mac OS X Server if it is running on other hardware. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Select the guest operating system family. Select a guest operating system version. If you selected Other (32-bit) or Other (64-bit), enter a name for the operating system in the text box. Click Next.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Finish Virtual Machine Creation

Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

Cloning a virtual machine creates a virtual machine that is a copy of the original. The new virtual machine is configured with the same virtual hardware, installed software, and other properties that were configured for the original virtual machine. Prerequisites You must have the following privileges to clone a virtual machine:
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Virtual machine.Provisioning.Clone virtual machine on the virtual machine you are cloning. Virtual machine .Inventory.Create from existing on the datacenter or virtual machine folder. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the datacenter or virtual machine folder. Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool. Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore or datastore folder. Network.Assign network on the network to which the virtual machine will be assigned. Virtual machine.Provisioning.Customize on the virtual machine or virtual machine folder if you are customizing the guest operating system. Virtual machine.Provisioning.Read customization specifications on the root vCenter Server if you are customizing the guest operating system.

Procedure 1 2 3 Select to Clone a Virtual Machine on page 27 When you clone a virtual machine, you create a copy of an existing virtual machine. Select a Virtual Machine to Clone on page 27 Select the virtual machine to clone. Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 27 When you deploy a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you name it and select the folder where it will be located. 4 Select a Resource Pool on page 28 When you deploy a virtual machine, select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool in which the virtual machine will run. 5 Select a Datastore on page 28 When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks.

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Chapter 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

Customize the Guest Operating System on page 28 When you clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template, you can customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine to change properties such as the computer name, network settings, and license settings.

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Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client on page 29 Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option to configure the virtual hardware. Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 29 Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Select to Clone a Virtual Machine

When you clone a virtual machine, you create a copy of an existing virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host and click the Create Virtual Machine icon ( 2 Select Clone an existing virtual machine and click Next. ).

Select a Virtual Machine to Clone

Select the virtual machine to clone. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 Browse or search for the virtual machine and select it. (Optional) Select Customize the operating system to customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine. (Optional) Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware to configure the virtual machine's hardware before deployment. (Optional) Select Power On Virtual Machine after creation to power on the virtual machine after creation is complete. Click Next.

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select a Resource Pool

Select a Datastore
When you add a virtual machine to the vCenter Server inventory, you must select the datastore on which to create the virtual machine's disks. Procedure
u

c Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

d e

Customize the Guest Operating System

Select a customization specification from the Guest OS Customization drop-down menu and click Next.

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Chapter 3 Deploying Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware in the vSphere Web Client

Finish Virtual Machine Creation

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Virtual machines are the key component in a virtual infrastructure. You can create a single virtual machine to add to the vSphere inventory. When you create a virtual machine, you associate it to a particular datacenter, host, cluster, or resource pool, and a datastore. After you turn on the virtual machine, it consumes resources dynamically as the workload increases, or it returns resources dynamically as the workload decreases. Every virtual machine has virtual devices that provide the same function as physical hardware. A virtual machine gets CPU and memory, access to storage, and network connectivity from the host it runs on. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Start the Virtual Machine Creation Process in the vSphere Client, on page 31 Select a Configuration Option for the New Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 32 Enter a Name and Location for the Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 33 Select a Host or Cluster in the vSphere Client, on page 33 Select a Resource Pool in the vSphere Client, on page 34 Select a Datastore in the vSphere Client, on page 34 Select a Virtual Machine Version in the vSphere Client, on page 35 Select an Operating System in the vSphere Client, on page 35 Select the Number of Virtual CPUs in the vSphere Client, on page 36 Configure Virtual Memory in the vSphere Client, on page 36 Configure Networks in the vSphere Client, on page 37 Select a SCSI Controller in the vSphere Client, on page 38 Selecting a Virtual Disk Type, on page 38 Complete Virtual Machine Creation in the vSphere Client, on page 42 Installing a Guest Operating System, on page 42

Start the Virtual Machine Creation Process in the vSphere Client

You use the Create New Virtual Machine wizard to create a virtual machine to place in the vSphere inventory. You open the wizard from the vSphere Client. The selections you make in the New Virtual Machine wizard are not saved until you click Finish on the Ready to Complete page. If you cancel the wizard without completing all tasks, you cannot resume the wizard where you left off. You must start a new creation task.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

You can create a new virtual machine in a datacenter, host, cluster, resource pool, or virtual machine folder. Prerequisites Verify that you have the following privileges:
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Host.Local operations.Create virtual machine Virtual machine.Inventory.Create new on the destination folder or datacenter. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are adding a new disk. Virtual machine.Configuration.Add existing disk on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are adding an existing disk. Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device on the destination folder or datacenter, if you are using a RDM or SCSI pass-through device. Virtual Machine.Configuration.Network Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool. Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore or datastore folder. Network.Assign network on the network that the virtual machine will be assigned to.

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Procedure 1 2 Display the inventory objects in the vSphere Client by using the Host and Clusters view or the VM and Templates view. Right-click an object and select New > Virtual Machine. The New Virtual Machine wizard opens. What to do next Select a Typical or Custom configuration option in the New Virtual Machine wizard.

Select a Configuration Option for the New Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
The Typical option shortens the virtual machine creation process by skipping choices that you rarely need to change from their defaults. The Custom option provides more flexibility and choices. Several relationships affect the information that you must provide during virtual machine creation. These relationships include the inventory object on which you place the virtual machine, the customization path option you select, the datastore on which the virtual machine and its files reside, and the host or cluster on which it runs. If you select a Typical configuration, the virtual machine hardware version defaults to that of the host on which you place the virtual machine. If you select a Custom configuration, you can accept the default or select an earlier hardware version. This configuration is useful if maintaining compatibility with an earlier version of an ESX/ESXi host is necessary. Prerequisites For a Typical configuration, verify that you have the following information:
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Virtual machine name and inventory location. Location in which to place the virtual machine (cluster, host, resource pool). Datastore on which to store the virtual machine's files.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

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Guest operating system and version. Parameters for the virtual disk size and provisioning settings.

In addition to the information for a Typical configuration, for a Custom configuration, verify that you have the following information:
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Virtual machine version. Number of CPUs and memory size. Number of NICs, network to connect to, and network adapter types. SCSI controller type. Disk type (new disk, existing disk, RDM, or no disk).

Procedure 1 2 On the Configuration page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select an option for creating the virtual machine. Click Next. The Name and Location page appears. What to do next Select a name and location for the virtual machine.

Enter a Name and Location for the Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
The name you enter is used as the virtual machines base name in the inventory. It is also used as the name of the virtual machines files. The name can be up to 80 characters long. If you are connected to vCenter Server and have folders in your inventory, names must be unique within the folder. Names are not case-sensitive, so the name my_vm is identical to My_Vm. Prerequisites Verify that you have an appropriate naming strategy in place. Procedure 1 2 3 On the Name and Location page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, type a name. Select a folder or the root of the datacenter. Click Next. The Host / Cluster or the Resource Pool page opens.

Select a Host or Cluster in the vSphere Client

You can place the virtual machine in a cluster or on a host that is not in a cluster. A cluster is a collection of ESXi hosts and associated virtual machines with shared resources and a shared management interface. Grouping hosts into clusters allows you to enable many optional features that enhance the availability and flexibility of your infrastructure. Procedure 1 On the Host / Cluster page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select the host or cluster where you want to run the virtual machine.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Click Next. If resource pools are configured on the host, the Resource Pool page opens. Otherwise, the Datastore page opens.

What to do next Select a resource pool or a datastore on which to run the virtual machine.

Select a Resource Pool in the vSphere Client

Resource pools let you manage your computing resources within a host or cluster by setting them up in a meaningful hierarchy. Virtual machines and child resource pools share the resources of the parent resource pool. The Resource Pool page appears only when resource pools are configured on the host. Procedure 1 2 On the Resource Pool page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, navigate to the resource pool where you want to run the virtual machine. Select the resource pool and click Next. The virtual machine is placed in the resource pool you selected. What to do next Select a datastore in which to store the virtual machine files.

Select a Datastore in the vSphere Client

Datastores are logical containers that hide specifics of each storage device and provide a uniform model for storing virtual machine files. You can use datastores to store ISO images and virtual machine templates. You can select from datastores already configured on the destination host or cluster. Prerequisites Required privileges:
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Host.Local operations.Create virtual machine Virtual machine.Inventory.Create Datastore.Allocate space

Procedure 1 2 3 On the Storage page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select a datastore in which to store the virtual machine files. (Optional) To turn off Storage DRS for the virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine. (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. Select a datastore that is compatible with the virtual machine storage profile and large enough to hold the virtual machine and all of its virtual disk files. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Click Next. If you selected a Typical configuration path, the Guest Operating System page appears. If you selected a Custom configuration path, the Virtual Machine Version page appears.

Select a Virtual Machine Version in the vSphere Client

If the host or cluster where you place the virtual machine supports more than one VMware virtual machine version, you can select a version for the virtual machine. For virtual machine and host compatibility options, see Virtual Machine Hardware Versions, on page 85. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine hardware version.
Option Virtual machine version 8 Description Compatible with ESXi 5.0 and later hosts. Provides the latest virtual machine features. Recommended for virtual machines that do not need to migrate to ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts. Compatible with ESX/ESXi 4, 4.x and 5.0 hosts. Recommended for sharing storage or virtual machines with ESX/ESXi versions 3.5 to 4.1. Compatible with ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later hosts. Recommended for virtual machines that need to run on ESX/ESXi 4 hosts.

Virtual machine version 7 Virtual machine version 4

Click Next. The Guest Operating System page opens.

What to do next Select a guest operating system for the virtual machine.

Select an Operating System in the vSphere Client

The guest operating system that you select affects the supported devices and number of virtual CPUs available to the virtual machine. The New Virtual Machine wizard does not install the guest operating system. The wizard uses this information to select appropriate default values, such as the amount of memory needed. When you select a guest operating system, BIOS or Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is selected by default, depending on the firmware supported by the operating system. Mac OS X Server guest operating systems support only EFI. If the operating system supports BIOS and EFI, you can change the default from the Options tab of the Virtual Machine Properties editor after you create the virtual machine and before you install the guest operating system. If you select EFI, you cannot boot an operating system that supports only BIOS, and the reverse. IMPORTANT Do not change the firmware after the guest operating system is installed. The Mac OS X Server must run on Apple hardware. You cannot power on a Mac OS X Server if it is running on other hardware. Procedure 1 On the Guest Operating System page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select an operating system family.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select an operating system and version from the drop-down menu and click Next. If you selected a Novell NetWare guest operating system, the Memory page opens. If any of the total cores available on the host, the maximum virtual CPUs supported by the virtual machine hardware version, or the maximum supported CPUs on the guest operating system equal 1, the virtual machine CPU count is set to 1 and the Memory page opens.

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If you selected Other (32-bit) or Other (64-bit), enter a name for the operating system in the text box. Click Next.

What to do next You can add memory or CPUs for the virtual machine.

Select the Number of Virtual CPUs in the vSphere Client

You can configure a virtual machine to have up to 32 virtual CPUs. The number of licensed CPUs on the host, the number of CPUs that the guest operating system supports, and the virtual machine hardware version determine the number of virtual CPUs that you can add. VMware Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (Virtual SMP) enables a single virtual machine to use multiple physical processors simultaneously. You must have Virtual SMP to power on multiprocessor virtual machines. Procedure 1 2 On the CPUs page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select a value from the Number of virtual sockets drop-down menu. Select a value from the Number of cores per socket drop-down menu. To determine the total number of cores, multiply the number of cores per socket by the number of virtual sockets. The resulting total number of cores is a number equal to or less than the number of logical CPUs on the host. The total number of cores appears. 3 Click Next. The Memory page opens. What to do next Select the memory for the virtual machine.

Configure Virtual Memory in the vSphere Client

The amount of memory that you allocate for a virtual machine is the amount of memory that the guest operating system detects. Minimum memory size is 4MB for virtual machines that use BIOS firmware. Virtual machines that use EFI firmware require at least 96MB of RAM or they cannot power on. Maximum memory size for a virtual machine depends on the host's physical memory and the virtual machine's hardware version. If the virtual machine memory is greater than the host memory size, swapping occurs, which can have a severe effect on virtual machine performance. The memory size must be a multiple of 4MB. The maximum for best performance represents the threshold above which the hosts physical memory is insufficient to run the virtual machine at full speed. This value fluctuates as conditions on the host change, for example, as virtual machines are powered on or off.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Table 4-1. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory

Introduced in Host Version ESXi 5.0 ESX/ESXi 4.x ESX/ESXi 3.x Virtual Machine Version 8 7 4 Maximum Memory Size 1011GB 255GB 65,532MB

The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the memory size of a version 4 virtual machine running on ESXi 5.0 is restricted to 65,532MB. Procedure 1 On the Memory page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select a size for the virtual memory. You can use the slider or use the up and down arrows to select the number. To access the predefined default or recommended setting, click the colored triangles on the right-hand side of the memory bar. 2 Click Next. The Network page opens. What to do next Select network adapters for the virtual machine.

Configure Networks in the vSphere Client

You can select the virtual network interface cards (NICs) to create on the virtual machine so that the virtual machine can communicate with other hosts and virtual machines. For each NIC, select the network and adapter type. CAUTION Because virtual machines share their physical network hardware with the host, the accidental or malicious bridging of two networks by a virtual machine can occur. Spanning Tree protocol cannot protect against these occurrences. You can select only four NICs during virtual machine creation. You can add more virtual NICs by selecting Edit the virtual machine settings before completion on the Ready to Complete page of the wizard, or by editing the virtual machine after it is created. For more information about networking, see the vSphere Networking documentation. Procedure 1 2 On the Network page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select the number of NICs to connect from the drop-down menu. For each NIC, select a network and adapter type from the drop-down menus Depending on the host version and the guest operating system, a choice of adapter types for each virtual NIC might not be available. In many cases, only one type of adapter is supported. If more than one type of adapter is supported, the recommended type for the guest operating system is selected by default. 3 4 (Optional) Click Connect at Power On to connect the NIC when the virtual machine is powered on. Click Next to add a SCSI Controller.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select a SCSI Controller in the vSphere Client

To access virtual disks, a virtual machine uses virtual SCSI controllers. Each virtual disk that a virtual machine can access through one of the virtual SCSI controllers resides in the VMFS datastore, NFS-based datastore, or on a raw disk. The choice of SCSI controller does not affect whether your virtual disk is an IDE or SCSI disk. The wizard preselects the correct default controller based on the guest operation system you selected on the Guest Operating System page. LSI Logic SAS and VMware Paravirtual controllers are available only for virtual machines with hardware version 7 or later. For details about VMware Paravirtual controllers, including conditions for use and limitations, see About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers, on page 138. Disks with snapshots might not experience performance gains when used on LSI Logic SAS and LSI Logic Parallel controllers. Procedure 1 On the SCSI Controller page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, accept the default or select a SCSI controller type.
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BusLogic Parallel LSI Logic Parallel LSI Logic SAS VMware Paravirtual

Click Next. The Select a Disk page opens.

What to do next Select a disk on which to store the guest operating system files and data.

Selecting a Virtual Disk Type

You can create a virtual disk, use an existing virtual disk, or create Raw Device Mappings (RDMs), which give your virtual disk direct access to SAN. A virtual disk comprises one or more files on the file system that appear as a single hard disk to the guest operating system. These disks are portable among hosts. You use the Create Virtual Machine wizard to add virtual disks during virtual machine creation. To add disks later, select the Do Not Create Disk option and use the Add Hardware wizard in the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. NOTE You cannot reassign virtual disks to a different controller type. You can select from the following options:
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Create a Virtual Disk in the vSphere Client on page 39 When you create a virtual disk, you can specify disk properties such as size, format, clustering features, and more.

Use an Existing Virtual Disk in the vSphere Client on page 40 You can use an existing disk that is configured with an operating system or other virtual machine data. This choice allows you to freely move the virtual hard drive from virtual machine to virtual machine.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client on page 41 You can store virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN instead of storing it in a virtual disk file. This ability is useful if you are running applications in your virtual machines that must detect the physical characteristics of the storage device. Mapping a SAN LUN allows you to use existing SAN commands to manage storage for the disk.

Create a Virtual Disk in the vSphere Client

When you create a virtual disk, you can specify disk properties such as size, format, clustering features, and more. For detailed information about disk types, see About Virtual Disk Provisioning Policies, on page 126. Procedure 1 On the Create a Disk page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select the disk size. You can increase the disk size later or add disks in the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. 2 Select the format for the virtual machine's disks and click Next.
Option Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Action Create a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated during creation. Any data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. Create a thick disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use the thin provisioned format. At first, a thin provisioned disk uses only as much datastore space as the disk initially needs. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to the maximum capacity allocated to it.

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

Select a location to store the virtual disk files and click Next.
Option Store with the virtual machine Specify a datastore or datastore cluster Description Stores the files with the configuration and other virtual machine files. This option makes file management easier. Stores the file separately from other virtual machine files.

The Advanced Options page opens. 4 Accept the default or select a different virtual device node. In most cases, you can accept the default device node. For a hard disk, a nondefault device node is useful to control the boot order or to have different SCSI controller types. For example, you might want to boot from an LSI Logic controller and share a data disk with another virtual machine using a BusLogic controller with bus sharing turned on.

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(Optional) To change the way disks are affected by snapshots, click Independent and select an option.
Option Independent - Persistent Description Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click Next. Your changes are recorded and the Ready to Complete page opens.

What to do next View the selections for your virtual machine on the Ready to Complete page.

Use an Existing Virtual Disk in the vSphere Client

You can use an existing disk that is configured with an operating system or other virtual machine data. This choice allows you to freely move the virtual hard drive from virtual machine to virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 On the Select Existing Disk page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, browse for a virtual disk file, click OK, and click Next. Accept the default or select a different virtual device node. In most cases, you can accept the default device node. For a hard disk, a nondefault device node is useful to control the boot order or to have different SCSI controller types. For example, you might want to boot from an LSI Logic controller and share a data disk with another virtual machine using a BusLogic controller with bus sharing turned on. 3 (Optional) To change the way disks are affected by snapshots, click Independent and select an option.
Option Independent - Persistent Description Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click Next. Your changes are recorded and the Ready to Complete page opens.

What to do next Review the virtual machine configuration.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can store virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN instead of storing it in a virtual disk file. This ability is useful if you are running applications in your virtual machines that must detect the physical characteristics of the storage device. Mapping a SAN LUN allows you to use existing SAN commands to manage storage for the disk. When you map a LUN to a VMFS volume, vCenter Server creates a Raw Device Mapping (RDM) file that points to the raw LUN. Encapsulating disk information in a file allows vCenter Server to lock the LUN so that only one virtual machine can write to it at a time. For details about RDM, see the vSphere Storage documentation. The RDM file has a .vmdk extension, but the file contains only disk information that describes the mapping to the LUN on the ESXi host. The actual data is stored on the LUN. You can create the RDM as an initial disk for a new virtual machine or add it to an existing virtual machine. When you create the RDM, you specify the LUN to be mapped and the datastore on which to put the RDM. NOTE You cannot deploy a virtual machine from a template and store its data on a LUN. You can only store its data in a virtual disk file. Procedure 1 2 3 On the Select a Disk page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select Raw Device Mapping and click Next. From the list of SAN disks or LUNs, select a LUN for your virtual machine to access directly and click Next. Select a datastore for the LUN mapping file and click Next. You can place the RDM file on the same datastore where your virtual machine configuration file resides, or select a different datastore. NOTE To use vMotion for virtual machines with enabled NPIV, make sure that the RDM files of the virtual machines are located on the same datastore. You cannot perform Storage vMotion or vMotion between datastores when NPIV is enabled. 4 Select a compatibility mode and click Next.
Option Physical Description Allows the guest operating system to access the hardware directly. Physical compatibility is useful if you are using SAN-aware applications on the virtual machine. However, a virtual machine with a physical compatibility RDM cannot be cloned, made into a template, or migrated if the migration involves copying the disk. Allows the RDM to behave as if it were a virtual disk, so you can use such features as taking a snapshot, cloning, and so on. When you clone the disk or make a template from it, the contents of the LUN are copied into a .vmdk virtual disk file. When you migrate a virtual compatibility mode RDM, you can migrate the mapping file or copy the contents of the LUN into a virtual disk.

Virtual

Accept the default or select a different virtual device node. In most cases, you can accept the default device node. For a hard disk, a nondefault device node is useful to control the boot order or to have different SCSI controller types. For example, you might want to boot from an LSI Logic controller and share a data disk with another virtual machine using a BusLogic controller with bus sharing turned on.

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Independent - Nonpersistent

Click Next. Your changes are recorded and the Ready to Complete page opens.

What to do next Review the virtual machine configuration.

Complete Virtual Machine Creation in the vSphere Client

The Ready to Complete page lets you review the configuration selections that you made for the virtual machine. You can change existing settings, configure resources, add hardware, and more. You can configure additional virtual machine settings before or after completing the wizard. Procedure 1 2 On the Ready to Complete page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, review the configuration settings for the virtual machine. (Optional) Select Edit the virtual machine settings before completion and click Continue. The Virtual Machine Properties editor opens. After you complete your changes and click Finish, both the Virtual Machine Properties editor and the New Virtual Machine wizard close. You cannot go back to review the wizard settings unless you click Cancel. 3 4 (Optional) Click Cancel to go back and review the wizard settings. Click Finish to complete the creation task and close the wizard.

The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Client Inventory view. What to do next Before you can use the new virtual machine, you must partition and format the virtual drive, install a guest operating system, and install VMware Tools. Typically, the operating systems installation program handles partitioning and formatting the virtual drive.

Installing a Guest Operating System

A virtual machine is not complete until you install the guest operating system and VMware Tools. Installing a guest operating system in your virtual machine is essentially the same as installing it in a physical computer. The basic steps for a typical operating system are described in this section. See VMware Guest Operating System Installation on the VMware website for more information about individual guest operating systems.

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Chapter 4 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Using PXE with Virtual Machines

You can start a virtual machine from a network device and remotely install a guest operating system using a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE). You do not need the operating system installation media. When you turn on the virtual machine, the virtual machine detects the PXE server. PXE booting is supported for Guest Operating Systems that are listed in the VMware Guest Operating System Compatibility list and whose operating system vendor supports PXE booting of the operating system. The virtual machine must meet the following requirements:
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Have a virtual disk without operating system software and with enough free disk space to store the intended system software. Have a network adapter connected to the network where the PXE server resides.

For details about guest operating system installation, see the Guest Operating System Installation Guide at http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/home.html.

Install a Guest Operating System from Media

You can install a guest operating system from a CD-ROM or from an ISO image. Installing from an ISO image is typically faster and more convenient than a CD-ROM installation. If the virtual machines boot sequence progresses too quickly for you to open a console to the virtual machine and enter BIOS or EFI setup, you might need to delay the boot order. See Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Client, on page 178. Prerequisites
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Verify that the installation ISO image is present on a VMFS datastore or network file system (NFS) volume accessible to the ESXi host. Verify that you have the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.

Procedure 1 2 Open the vSphere Client and log in to the vCenter Server system or host on which the virtual machine resides. Select an installation method.
Option CD-ROM ISO image Action Insert the installation CD-ROM for your guest operating system into the CDROM drive of your ESXi host. a b c Right-click the virtual machine in the inventory list and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select CD/DVD Drive. In the Device Type panel, select Datastore ISO File and browse for the ISO image for your guest operating system.

Right-click the virtual machine and select Power > Power On. A green right arrow appears next to the virtual machine icon in the inventory list.

Follow the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.

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What to do next Install VMware Tools. Installing VMware Tools in the guest operating system is important. Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, you lose important functionality and convenience without them. See the Installing and Configuring VMware Tools documentation.

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Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

A clone is a copy of a virtual machine. A template is a master copy of a virtual machine that can be used to create many clones. When you clone a virtual machine, you create a copy of the entire virtual machine, including its settings, any configured virtual devices, installed software, and other contents of the virtual machine's disks. You also have the option to use guest operating system customization to change some of the properties of the clone, such as the computer name and networking settings. Cloning a virtual machine can save time if you are deploying many similar virtual machines. You can create, configure, and install software on a single virtual machine, and then clone it multiple times, rather than creating and configuring each virtual machine individually. If you create a virtual machine that you want to clone frequently, make that virtual machine a template. A template is a master copy of a virtual machine that can be used to create and provision virtual machines. Templates cannot be powered on or edited, and are more difficult to alter than ordinary virtual machine. A template offers a more secure way of preserving a virtual machine configuration that you want to deploy many times. When you clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template, the resulting cloned virtual machine is independent of the original virtual machine or template. Changes to the original virtual machine or template are not reflected in the cloned virtual machine, and changes to the cloned virtual machine are not reflected in the original virtual machine or template. This chapter includes the following topics:
n n n n n n n n n

Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 46 Create a Scheduled Task to Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 48 Create a Template in the vSphere Client, on page 49 Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Client, on page 52 Change Template Software or Virtual Machine Configuration, on page 55 Change Template Name in the vSphere Client, on page 55 Deleting Templates, on page 55 Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 57 Customizing Guest Operating Systems, on page 57

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Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Cloning a virtual machine creates a duplicate of the virtual machine with the same configuration and installed software as the original. Optionally, you can customize the guest operating system of the clone to change the virtual machine name, network settings, and other properties. This prevents conflicts that can occur if a virtual machine and a clone with identical guest operating system settings are deployed simultaneously. Prerequisites
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You must be connected to vCenter Server in order to clone a virtual machine. You cannot clone virtual machines if you connect directly to an ESXi host. To customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine, check that your guest operating system meets the requirements for customization. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. To use a customization specification, you must first create or import the customization specification. To use a custom script to generate the host name or IP address for the new virtual machine, configure the script. See Configure a Script to Generate Computer Names and IP Addresses During Guest Operating System Customization in the vSphere Client, on page 58.

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Procedure 1 2 3 Right-click the virtual machine and select Clone. Enter a virtual machine name, select a location, and click Next. Select a host or cluster on which to run the new virtual machine.
Option Run the virtual machine on a standalone host. Run the virtual machine in a cluster with DRS automatic placement. Run the virtual machine in a cluster without DRS automatic placement. Action Select the host and click Next. Select the cluster and click Next. a b Select the cluster and click Next. Select a host within the cluster and click Next.

Select a resource pool in which to run the virtual machine and click Next.

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Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Store all virtual machine files in the same location on a datastore. Action a (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile for the virtual machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. Select a datastore and click Next. (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile for the virtual machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. Select a datastore cluster. (Optional) If you do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click Next. Click Advanced. For the virtual machine configuration file and for each virtual disk, click Browse and select a datastore or datastore cluster. (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. (Optional) If you selected a datastore cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click Next.

b Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. a

b c

d Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

Select the format for the virtual machine's disks and click Next.
Option Same format as source Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Action Use the same format as the source virtual machine. Create a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated during creation. Any data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. Create a thick disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use the thin provisioned format. At first, a thin provisioned disk uses only as much datastore space as the disk initially needs. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to the maximum capacity allocated to it.

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

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Select a guest operating system customization option.

Option Do not customize Description Select Do not customize and click Next. Does not customize any of the guest operating system settings. All settings remain identical to those of the source virtual machine. Customize using the Customization Wizard Opens the Customization Wizard so that you can select customization options for the guest operating system. Select this option and click Next to launch the Customization Wizard. n To customize a Linux guest operating system, see Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client, on page 61. n To customize a Windows guest operating system, see Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client, on page 59. Uses the settings in a saved customization specification to customize the guest operating system. a Select Customize using an existing customization specification. b Select the customization specification that you want to use. c (Optional) Select Use the Customization Wizard to temporarily adjust the specification before deployment if you want to make changes to the specification for this deployment only. d Click Next.

Customize using an existing customization specification

Review your selections and select whether to power on the virtual machine or edit virtual machine settings.
Option Power on this virtual machine after creation Edit virtual hardware Action Select this option and click Finish. The virtual machine powers on after the deployment task completes. a b Select this option and click Continue. In the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box, make any changes and click OK.

Show all storage recommendations

This option appears only when the virtual machine disks are stored on a datastore cluster and Storage DRS is enabled. When you select this option, the Virtual Machine Storage Placement Recommendations dialog box appears when you click Continue. The dialog box lists the datastores in the datastore cluster that are recommended for virtual machine placement. This option appears only when the virtual machine disks are stored on a datastore cluster. This option is selected when you select Edit virtual hardware. You can edit Storage DRS rules on the Options tab of the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. When you select the Edit Storage DRS rules check box, the Storage DRS rules dialog box appears when you click Continue.

Edit Storage DRS rules

The cloned virtual machine is deployed. You cannot use or edit the virtual machine until the cloning is complete. This might take several minutes if the cloning involves creating a virtual disk. You can cancel the cloning at any point before the customization stage.

Create a Scheduled Task to Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

This procedure creates a scheduled task to clone a virtual machine. Procedure 1 Start the vSphere Client, and log in to the vCenter Server system.

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2 3

From the Home page, click Scheduled Tasks. Select File > New > Scheduled Task, or click New. The Select a Task to Schedule dialog box appears.

Select Clone a virtual machine from the drop-down menu, and click OK. The Clone Virtual Machine wizard appears.

5 6 7 8 9

Select the virtual machine to clone and click Next. Follow the wizard through the same steps as those in the previous task in which you cloned a virtual machine. Enter a name and a task description in the text box. Select the frequency of the task. Select Now or Later. If later, enter the time and date when you want the virtual machine to be deployed, and click Next. To see the calendar, click Later, and click the drop-down arrow to select a date from the calendar. A red circle indicates todays date, and a dark circle indicates the scheduled date.

Review the information on the Ready to Complete New Virtual Machine page, and click Finish. Optionally, you can select the check box to power on the new virtual machine after it is created. vCenter Server adds the new task to the scheduled task list and completes it at the designated time. When it is time to perform the task, vCenter Server first verifies that the user who created the task still has permission to complete the task. If the permission levels are not acceptable, vCenter Server sends a message to the log and the task is not performed.

Create a Template in the vSphere Client

Create a template to create a master image of a virtual machine from which you can deploy many virtual machines. You can create a template by converting a virtual machine to a template, cloning a virtual machine to a template, or cloning another template.

Convert a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Client

You can convert a virtual machine directly to a template instead of making a copy by cloning. When you convert a virtual machine to a template, you cannot edit or power on the template unless you convert it back to a virtual machine. Prerequisites
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You must be connected to vCenter Server to convert a virtual machine to a template. You cannot create templates if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. Before you convert a virtual machine to a template, select it in the inventory and power it off.

Procedure
u

Right-click the virtual machine and select Template > Convert to Template. vCenter Server marks that virtual machine as a template and displays the task in the Recent Tasks pane.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Clone Virtual Machine to Template in the vSphere Client

Cloning a virtual machine to a template creates a template copy of the virtual machine while leaving the original virtual machine in place. Prerequisites You must be connected to vCenter Server to clone a virtual machine to a template. You cannot create templates if you connect directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Right-click the virtual machine and select Template > Clone to Template. Give the new template a name, select its inventory location, and click Next. Pass through the target location page and click Next. Specify in which format to store the templates virtual disks and click Next.
Option Same format as source Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Action Use the same format as the source virtual machine. Create a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated during creation. Any data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. Create a thick disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use the thin provisioned format. At first, a thin provisioned disk uses only as much datastore space as the disk initially needs. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to the maximum capacity allocated to it.

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

b Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. a

b c

d Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

Click Finish. vCenter Server displays the Tasks inventory panel for reference and adds the cloned template to the list in the information panel.

Clone a Template in the vSphere Client

Clone a template to create a copy of it. Prerequisites You must be connected to vCenter Server to clone a template. You cannot create templates if you connect directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Right-click the template and select Clone. Give the new template a unique name and description and click Next. Select the host or cluster and click Next. Select a datastore for the template and click Next.

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Specify in which format to store the templates virtual disks.

Option Same format as source Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Action Use the same format as the source virtual machine. Create a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated during creation. Any data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. Create a thick disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use the thin provisioned format. At first, a thin provisioned disk uses only as much datastore space as the disk initially needs. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to the maximum capacity allocated to it.

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

6 7

Click Next. Review the information for the template and click Finish. You cannot use the new template until the cloning task completes. vCenter Server adds the cloned template to the list in the Virtual Machines tab.

Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Client

Deploying a virtual machine from a template creates a new virtual machine that is a copy of the template. The new virtual machine has the virtual hardware, installed software, and other properties configured for the template. Prerequisites
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Verify that you are connected to vCenter Server. You cannot work with templates if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. You must be connected to vCenter Server to deploy a virtual machine from a template. You cannot deploy from a template if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. To customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine, check that your guest operating system meets the requirements for customization. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. To use a customization specification, you must first create or import the customization specification. To use a custom script to generate the host name or IP address for the new virtual machine, configure the script. See Configure a Script to Generate Computer Names and IP Addresses During Guest Operating System Customization in the vSphere Client, on page 58.

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Procedure 1 2 Right-click the template, and select Deploy Virtual Machine from this Template. Enter a virtual machine name, select a location, and click Next.

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

Select a host or cluster on which to run the new virtual machine.

Option Run the virtual machine on a standalone host. Run the virtual machine in a cluster with DRS automatic placement. Run the virtual machine in a cluster without DRS automatic placement. Action Select the host and click Next. Select the cluster and click Next. a b Select the cluster and click Next. Select a host within the cluster and click Next.

4 5

Select a resource pool in which to run the virtual machine and click Next. Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Store all virtual machine files in the same location on a datastore. Action a (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile for the virtual machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. Select a datastore and click Next. (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile for the virtual machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. Select a datastore cluster. (Optional) If you do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click Next. Click Advanced. For the virtual machine configuration file and for each virtual disk, click Browse and select a datastore or datastore cluster. (Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile. (Optional) If you selected a datastore cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click Next.

b Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. a

b c

d Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

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Option Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Action Create a thick disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use the thin provisioned format. At first, a thin provisioned disk uses only as much datastore space as the disk initially needs. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to the maximum capacity allocated to it.

Thin Provision

Select a guest operating system customization option.

Option Do not customize Description Select Do not customize and click Next. Does not customize any of the guest operating system settings. All settings remain identical to those of the source virtual machine. Opens the Customization Wizard so that you can select customization options for the guest operating system. Select this option and click Next to launch the Customization Wizard. n To customize a Linux guest operating system, see Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client, on page 61. n To customize a Windows guest operating system, see Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client, on page 59. Uses the settings in a saved customization specification to customize the guest operating system. a Select Customize using an existing customization specification. b Select the customization specification that you want to use. c (Optional) Select Use the Customization Wizard to temporarily adjust the specification before deployment if you want to make changes to the specification for this deployment only. d Click Next.

Customize using the Customization Wizard

Customize using an existing customization specification

Show all storage recommendations

Edit Storage DRS rules

The virtual machine is deployed. You cannot use or edit the virtual machine until the deployment is complete. This might take several minutes if the deployment involves creating a virtual disk.

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

Change Template Software or Virtual Machine Configuration

To change the virtual hardware or virtual machine options in a template, or to upgrade an application, you must convert the template to a virtual machine. After you have edited the virtual machine, convert it back to a template. Prerequisites Verify that you are connected to vCenter Server. You cannot work with templates if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 3 Convert the template to a virtual machine. Edit the virtual machine. Convert the virtual machine to a template.

Change Template Name in the vSphere Client

Unlike other changes to templates, you do not have to convert a template to a virtual machine to change the name of a template. Prerequisites Verify that you are connected to vCenter Server. You cannot work with templates if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 Right-click the template and select Rename. Enter a new name and click outside the field to save your changes.

Deleting Templates
You can delete a template by removing it from the inventory or deleting the template from the disk. If you remove the template from the inventory, it remains on the disk and can be reregistered with vCenter Server to restore it to the inventory.
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Remove Templates from the Inventory in the vSphere Client on page 56 If you remove a template from the inventory, it is unregistered from the vCenter Server inventory, but it is not removed from the datastore.

Delete a Template from the Disk in the vSphere Client on page 56 Deleted templates are permanently removed from the system. Reregister Templates in the vSphere Client on page 56 Templates can become unregistered from the vCenter Server if they are removed from the inventory or if the hosts with which they are associated are removed from the vCenter Server and then readded.

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Remove Templates from the Inventory in the vSphere Client

If you remove a template from the inventory, it is unregistered from the vCenter Server inventory, but it is not removed from the datastore. Prerequisites You must be connected to vCenter Server to remove a template from the inventory. You cannot work with templates if you connect directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 Right-click the template, and select Remove from Inventory. Click OK to confirm removing the template from the vCenter Server database. The template is unregistered from the vCenter Server inventory.

Delete a Template from the Disk in the vSphere Client

Deleted templates are permanently removed from the system. Prerequisites You must be connected to vCenter Server to delete a template. You cannot work with templates if you connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 Right-click the template, and select Delete from Disk. Click OK to confirm removing the template from the datastore. The template is deleted from the disk and cannot be recovered.

Reregister Templates in the vSphere Client

Templates can become unregistered from the vCenter Server if they are removed from the inventory or if the hosts with which they are associated are removed from the vCenter Server and then readded. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 Start the vSphere client, and log in to the vCenter Server system. From the Home page, click VMs and Templates. Right-click the datastore that contains the template and select Browse Datastore. Browse through the datastore folders to find the .vmtx file. Right-click the .vmtx file and select Add to Inventory. The Add to Inventory wizard appears. 6 Enter a template machine name, select a location, and click Next. If you want the template to retain its original name, do not enter a name in the Add to Inventory wizard. vCenter Server will use the original name if the field in the wizard is left blank. 7 8 Select a host or cluster on which to store the template, and click Next. Review your selections, and click Finish.

The template is registered to the host. You can view the template from the hosts Virtual Machine tab.

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

Converting a template to a virtual machine changes the template rather than making a copy. You can convert a template to a virtual machine to edit the template. You might also convert a template to a virtual machine if you no longer need to preserve it as a master image for deploying virtual machines. Prerequisites You must be connected to vCenter Server to convert a template to a virtual machine. You cannot work with templates if you connect directly to an ESXi host. Procedure 1 2 Right-click the template and select Convert to Virtual Machine. Select the host or cluster on which to run the virtual machine.
Option Run the virtual machine on a standalone host. Run the virtual machine in a cluster with DRS automatic placement. Run the virtual machine in a cluster without DRS automatic placement. Action Select the host and click Next. Select the cluster and click Next. a b Select the cluster and click Next. Select a host within the cluster and click Next.

If the template resides on a legacy VMFS2 datastore, you must select the host on which the template was created as the destination for the virtual machine. 3 4 Select a resource pool in which to run the virtual machine and click Next. Review your selections and click Finish.

Customizing Guest Operating Systems

When you clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template, you can customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine to change properties such as the computer name, network settings, and license settings. Customizing guest operating systems can help prevent conflicts that can result if virtual machines with identical settings are deployed, such as conflicts due to duplicate computer names. You can specify the customization settings by choosing to launch the Guest Customization wizard during the cloning or deployment process. Alternatively, you can create customization specifications, which are customization settings stored in the vCenter Server database. During the cloning or deployment process, you can select a customization specification to apply to the new virtual machine. Use the Customization Specification Manager to manage customization specifications you create with the Guest Customization wizard.

Guest Operating System Customization Requirements

To customize the guest operating system, you must configure the virtual machine and guest to meet VMware Tools and virtual disk requirements. Other requirements apply, depending on the guest operating system type.

VMware Tools Requirements

The current version of VMware Tools must be installed on the virtual machine or template to customize the guest operating system during cloning or deployment.

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Virtual Disk Requirements

The guest operating system being customized must be installed on a disk attached as SCSI node 0:0 in the virtual machine configuration.

Windows Requirements
Customization of Windows guest operating systems requires the following conditions:
n

Microsoft Sysprep tools must be installed on the vCenter Server system. See Chapter 7, Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool, on page 77. The ESXi host that the virtual machine is running on must be 3.5 or later.

Guest operating system customization is supported on multiple Windows operating systems.

Linux Requirements
Customization of Linux guest operating systems requires that Perl is installed in the Linux guest operating system. Guest operating system customization is supported on multiple Linux distributions.

Verifying Customization Support for a Guest Operating System

To verify customization support for Windows operating systems or Linux distributions and compatible ESXi hosts, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at VMware.com. You can use this online tool to search for the guest operating system and ESXi version. After the tool generates your list, click the guest operating system to see whether guest customization is supported.

Configure a Script to Generate Computer Names and IP Addresses During Guest Operating System Customization in the vSphere Client
As an alternative to entering the computer name or IP addresses for virtual NICs during guest operating system customization, you can create a custom application and configure it so that vCenter Server can use it to generate the computer name and IP addresses. The application can be an arbitrary executable binary or script file appropriate for the corresponding operating system in which vCenter Server is running. After you configure a name-ip-generation application in vCenter Server, each time you initiate a guest os customization for a virtual machine, the name-ip-app is executed and an XML string is generated in place and passed to its standard input. The name-ip-generation application on its behalf should generate and return the resulting XML string through its standard output. The application must comply with the reference XML file in the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2007557. Prerequisites Verify that Perl is installed on vCenter Server. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Create the script and save it on the vCenter Server system's local disk. In the vSphere Client connected to vCenter Server, select Administration > vCenter Server Settings. Select Advanced Settings. Enter the configuration parameters for the script. a b In the Key text box, type config.guestcust.name-ip-generator.arg1. In the Value text box, type c:\sample-generate-name-ip.pl and clickAdd.

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c d e f 5

In the Key text box, type config.guestcust.name-ip-generator.arg2. In the Value text box, type the path to the script file on the vCenter Server system and click Add. For example, type c:\sample-generate-name-ip.pl. In the Key text box, type config.guestcust.name-ip-generator.program. In the Value text box, type c:\perl\bin\perl.exe and click Add.

Click OK.

You can select the option to use an application to generate computer names or IP addresses during customization.

Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client

When you deploy a new virtual machine from a template or clone an existing virtual machine, you can customize Windows guest operating systems for the virtual machine. NOTE The default administrator password is not preserved for Windows Server 2008 after customization. During customization, the Windows Sysprep utility deletes and recreates the administrator account on Windows Server 2008. You must reset the administrator password when the virtual machine boots the first time after customization. Prerequisites Verify that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. Start the Guest Customization wizard when you clone a virtual machine or deploy from a template. See Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 46 or Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Client, on page 52. Procedure 1 2 3 On the Guest Customization page of the Clone Virtual Machine wizard, select Customize using the Customization Wizard and click Next. Type the virtual machine owners name and organization and click Next. Enter the guest operating system's computer name and click Next. The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the host name.
Option Enter a name Action a Type a name. The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the hyphen (-) character. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot be made up of digits only. Names are case-insensitive. (Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This appends a hyphen followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is truncated if it exceeds 15 characters when combined with the numeric value.

Use the virtual machine name

The computer name that vCenter Server creates is identical to the name of the virtual machine on which the guest operating system is running. If the name exceeds 15 characters, it is truncated.

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Option Enter a name in the Deploy wizard Generate a name using the custom application configured with vCenter Server

Action The vSphere Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or deployment is complete. Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

Provide licensing information for the Windows operating system and click Next.
Option For non-server operating systems For server operating systems Action Type the Windows product key for the new guest operating system. a b c d Type the Windows product key for the new guest operating system. Select Include Server License Information. Select either Per seat or Per server. (Optional) If you selected Per server, enter the maximum number of simultaneous connections for the server to accept.

Configure the administrator password for the virtual machine and click Next. a Type a password for the administrator account and confirm the password by typing it again. NOTE You can change the administrator password only if the administrator password on the source Windows virtual machine is blank. If the source Windows virtual machine or template already has a password, the administrator password does not change. b (Optional) To log users into the guest operating system as Administrator, select the check box, and select the number of times to log in automatically.

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Select the time zone for the virtual machine and click Next. (Optional) On the Run Once page, specify commands to run the first time a user logs into the guest operating system and click Next. See the Microsoft Sysprep documentation for more information on Run Once commands.

Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option Typical settings Action Select Typical settings and click Next. vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server using default settings. a b c d Select Custom settings and click Next. For each network interface in the virtual machine, click the ellipsis button (...) to open the Network Properties dialog box. Enter IP address and other network settings and click OK. When all network interfaces are configured, click Next.

Custom settings

Select how the virtual machine will participate in the network and click Next.
Option Workgroup Windows Server Domain Action Type a workgroup name. For example, MSHOME. a b Type the domain name. Type the user name and password for a user account that has permission to add a computer to the specified domain.

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(Optional) Select Generate New Security ID (SID) and click Next. A Windows Security ID (SID) is used in some Windows operating systems to uniquely identify systems and users. If you do not select this option, the new virtual machine has the same SID as the virtual machine or template from which it was cloned or deployed. Duplicate SIDs do not cause problems when the computers are part of a domain and only domain user accounts are used. However, if the computers are part of a Workgroup or local user accounts are used, duplicate SIDs can compromise file access controls. For more information, see the documentation for your Microsoft Windows operating system.

Save the customized options as an .xml file. a b Select Save this customization specification for later use. Specify the filename for the specification and click Next.

Click Finish to save your changes.

You return to the Deploy Template or Clone Virtual Machine wizard. The customization is carried out after you complete the Deploy Template or Clone Virtual Machine wizard. When the new virtual machine boots for the first time, the guest operating system runs finalization scripts to complete the customization process. The virtual machine might reboot a number of times during this process. If the guest operating system pauses when the new virtual machine boots, it might be waiting for you to correct errors, such as an incorrect product key or invalid user name. Open the virtual machines console to determine whether the system is waiting for information. What to do next After you deploy and customize versions of Windows XP or Windows 2003 that are not volume licensed, you might need to reactivate your operating system on the new virtual machine. If the new virtual machine encounters customization errors while it is booting, the errors are logged to %WINDIR %\temp\vmware-imc. To view the error log file, click the Windows Start button and select Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer.

Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment in the vSphere Client

In the process of deploying a new virtual machine from a template or cloning an existing virtual machine, you can customize Linux guest operating systems for the virtual machine. Prerequisites Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. To perform this procedure, launch the Customization wizard when cloning a virtual machine or deploying from a template. See Clone a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 46 or Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template in the vSphere Client, on page 52. Procedure 1 On the Guest Customization page of the Clone Virtual Machine wizard, select Customize using the Customization Wizard and click Next.

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Specify how to determine the host name to identify the guest operating system on the network.
Option Enter a name Action a Type a name. The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the hyphen (-) character. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot be made up of digits only. Names are case-insensitive. (Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This appends a hyphen followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is truncated if it exceeds 15 characters when combined with the numeric value.

Use the virtual machine name

The computer name that vCenter Server creates is identical to the name of the virtual machine on which the guest operating system is running. If the name exceeds 15 characters, it is truncated. The vSphere Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or deployment is complete. Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

Enter a name in the Deploy wizard Generate a name using the custom application configured with vCenter Server

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Enter the Domain Name for the computer and click Next. Select the time zone for the virtual machine and click Next. Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option Typical settings Action Select Typical settings and click Next. vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server using default settings. a b c d Select Custom settings and click Next. For each network interface in the virtual machine, click the ellipsis button (...) to open the Network Properties dialog box. Enter IP address and other network settings and click OK. When all network interfaces are configured, click Next.

Custom settings

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Enter DNS and domain settings. Save the customized options as an .xml file. a b Select Save this customization specification for later use. Specify the filename for the specification and click Next.

Click Finish to save your changes.

You return to the Deploy Template or Clone Virtual Machine wizard. The customization is carried out after you complete the Deploy Template or Clone Virtual Machine wizard. When the new virtual machine boots for the first time, the guest operating system runs finalization scripts to complete the customization process. The virtual machine might reboot a number of times during this process. If the guest operating system pauses when the new virtual machine boots, it might be waiting for you to correct errors, such as an incorrect product key or invalid user name. Open the virtual machines console to determine whether the system is waiting for information. What to do next If the new virtual machine encounters customization errors while it is booting, the errors are reported using the guests system logging mechanism. View the errors by opening /var/log/vmwareimc/toolsDeployPkg.log.

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

Managing Customization Specifications in the vSphere Client

Customization specifications are XML files that contain guest operating system settings for virtual machines. You create customization specifications with the Guest Customization wizard, and manage specifications using the Customization Specification Manager. vCenter Server saves the customized configuration parameters in the vCenter Server database. If the customization settings are saved, the administrator, and domain administrator, passwords are stored in encrypted format in the database. Because the certificate used to encrypt the passwords is unique to each vCenter Server system, reinstalling vCenter Server, or attaching a new instance of the server the database, invalidates the encrypted passwords. The passwords must be re-entered before they can be used.

Create a Customization Specification for Linux in the vSphere Client

Use the Guest Customization wizard to save guest operating system settings in a specification that you can apply when cloning virtual machines or deploying from templates. Prerequisites Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Click New. Select Linux from the Target Virtual Machine OS menu. Under Customization Specification Information, enter a name for the specification and an optional description and click Next. Specify how to determine the host name to identify the guest operating system on the network.
Option Enter a name Action a Type a name. The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the hyphen (-) character. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot be made up of digits only. Names are case-insensitive. (Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This appends a hyphen followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is truncated if it exceeds 15 characters when combined with the numeric value.

Use the virtual machine name

Enter a name in the Deploy wizard Generate a name using the custom application configured with vCenter Server

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Enter the Domain Name for the computer and click Next. Select the time zone for the virtual machine and click Next.

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Custom settings

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Enter DNS and domain settings. Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager, and can be used to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

Create a Customization Specification for Windows in the vSphere Client

Use the Guest Customization wizard to save Windows guest operating system settings in a specification that you can apply when cloning virtual machines or deploying from templates. NOTE The default administrator password is not preserved for Windows Server 2008 after customization. During customization, the Windows Sysprep utility deletes and recreates the administrator account on Windows Server 2008. You must reset the administrator password when the virtual machine boots the first time after customization. Prerequisites Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Click New. In the Guest Customization wizard, select Windows from the Target Virtual Machine OS menu. Under Customization Specification Information, enter a name for the specification and an optional description and click Next. Type the virtual machine owners name and organization and click Next.

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Chapter 5 Working with Templates and Clones in the vSphere Client

Enter the guest operating system's computer name and click Next. The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the host name.
Option Enter a name Action a Type a name. The name can contain alphanumeric characters and the hyphen (-) character. It cannot contain periods (.) or blank spaces and cannot be made up of digits only. Names are case-insensitive. (Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This appends a hyphen followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is truncated if it exceeds 15 characters when combined with the numeric value.

Use the virtual machine name

Enter a name in the Deploy wizard Generate a name using the custom application configured with vCenter Server

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Custom settings

Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager, and can be used to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

Create a Customization Specification for Windows Using a Custom Sysprep Answer File in the vSphere Client
A custom sysprep answer file is a file that stores a number of customization settings such as computer name, licensing information, and workgroup or domain settings. You can supply a custom sysprep answer file as an alternative to specifying many of the settings in the Guest Customization wizard. Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP use a text file called sysprep.inf. Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 use an XML file called sysprep.xml. You can create these files using a text editor, or use the Microsoft Setup Manager utility to generate them. For more information about how to create a custom sysprep answer file, see the documentation for the relevant operating system. Prerequisites Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See Guest Operating System Customization Requirements, on page 57. Procedure 1 2 3 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Click New. In the Guest Customization wizard, select Windows from the Target Virtual Machine OS menu.

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(Optional) Select Use Custom Sysprep Answer File. Under Customization Specification Information, enter a name for the specification and an optional description and click Next. Select the option to import or create a sysprep answer file and click Next.
Option Import a Sysprep answer file Create a Sysprep answer file Description Click Browse and browse to the file. Type the contents of the file in the text box.

Custom settings

Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager, and can be used to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

Edit a Customization Specification in the vSphere Client

You can edit existing specifications using the Customization Specification Manager. Prerequisites You must have at least one customization specification. Procedure 1 2 3 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Right-click a specification and select Edit. Proceed through the Guest Customization wizard to change specification settings.

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Remove a Customization Specification in the vSphere Client

You can remove customization specifications from the Customization Specification Manager. Prerequisites You must have at least one customization specification. Procedure 1 2 3 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Right-click a specification and select Remove. In the confirmation dialog box, select Yes.

The specification is deleted from the disk.

Copy a Customization Specification in the vSphere Client

You can copy an existing customization specification using the Customization Specification Manager. Prerequisites You must have at least one customization specification. Procedure 1 2 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Right-click a specification and select Copy.

A new specification is created, Copy of specification_name.

Export a Customization Specification in the vSphere Client

You can export customization specifications and save them as .xml files. To apply an exported specification to a virtual machine, import the .xml file using the Customization Specification Manager. Prerequisites You must have at least one customization specification. Procedure 1 2 3 4 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Right-click a specification and select Export. In the Save As dialog, enter a file name and location. Click Save.

The specification is saved as an .xml file to the location you specified.

Import a Customization Specification in the vSphere Client

You can import an existing specification using the Customization Specification Manager, and use the specification to customize the guest operating system of a virtual machine. Prerequisites Before you begin, you must have at least one customization specification saved as an xml file located on a file system accessible from the vSphere Client.

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Procedure 1 2 3 From the vSphere Client Home page, select Customization Specifications Manager. Click Import. From the Open dialog, browse to the .xml to import and click Open.

The imported specification is added to the list of customization specifications.

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Deploying OVF Templates

The VMware vSphere Client (vSphere Client) allows you to deploy and export virtual machines, virtual appliances, and vApps stored in Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF). An appliance is a pre-configured virtual machine that typically includes a preinstalled guest operating system and other software. Deploying an OVF template allows you to add pre-configured virtual machines to your vCenter Server or ESXi inventory. Deploying an OVF template is similar to deploying a virtual machine from a template. However, you can deploy an OVF template from any local file system accessible from the vSphere Client machine, or from a remote web server. The local file systems can include local disks (such as C:), removable media (such as CDs or USB keychain drives), and shared network drives. Exporting OVF templates allows you to create virtual appliances that can be imported by other users. You can use the export function to distribute pre-installed software as a virtual appliance, or as a means of distributing template virtual machines to users, including users who cannot directly access and use the templates in your vCenter Server inventory. This chapter includes the following topics:
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About OVF, on page 71 Deploy an OVF Template, on page 72 Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace, on page 73 Export an OVF Template, on page 74

About OVF
OVF is a file format that allows for exchange of virtual appliances across products and platforms. The OVF format offers the following advantages:
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OVF files are compressed, allowing for faster downloads. The vSphere Client validates an OVF file before importing it, and ensures that it is compatible with the intended destination server. If the appliance is incompatible with the selected host, it cannot be imported and an error message appears. OVF can encapsulate multi-tiered applications and more than one virtual machine.

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Deploy an OVF Template

You can deploy an OVF template from a local file system accessible to the vSphere Client machine, or from a web URL. Procedure 1 In the vSphere Client, select File > Deploy OVF Template. The Deploy OVF Template wizard appears. 2 Specify the source location and click Next.
Option Deploy from File Deploy from URL Action Browse your file system for an OVF or OVA template. Specify a URL to an OVF template located on the internet. Example: http://vmware.com/VMTN/appliance.ovf

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View the OVF Template Details page and click Next. If license agreements are packaged with the OVF template, the End User License Agreement page appears. Agree to accept the terms of the licenses and click Next. (Optional) Edit the name and select the folder location within the inventory where the vApp will reside, and click Next. NOTE When the vSphere Client is connected directly to an ESXi host, the option to select the folder location does not appear.

Select the deployment configuration from the drop-down menu and click Next. The option selected typically controls the memory settings, number of CPUs and reservations, and application-level configuration parameters. NOTE This page appears only if the OVF template contains deployment options.

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Select the host or cluster on which you want to deploy the OVF template and click Next. Select the host on which you want to run the deployed OVF template, and click Next. NOTE This page appears only if the destination is a resource pool associated with a cluster with DRS disabled or in manual mode.

Navigate to, and select the resource pool where you want to run the OVF template and click Next. NOTE This page appears only if the cluster contains a resource pool.

(Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. IMPORTANT You cannot select a virtual machine storage profile if the host or cluster in which the virtual machine runs has a license that does not include virtual machine storage profiles. The list of datastores shows which datastores are compatible and which are incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage profile.

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Chapter 6 Deploying OVF Templates

Select a datastore to store the deployed OVF template, and click Next. Datastores are a unifying abstraction for storage locations such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI LUNs, or NAS volumes. On this page, you select from datastores already configured on the destination cluster or host. The virtual machine configuration file and virtual disk files are stored on the datastore. Select a datastore large enough to accommodate the virtual machine and all of its virtual disk files.

Select the disk format to store the virtual machine virtual disks, and click Next.
Format Thick Provisioned Lazy Zeroed Description Creates a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated when the virtual disk is created data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. A type of thick virtual disk that supports clustering features such as Fault tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out when the virtual disk is created. it might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types o disks. Use this format to save storage space. For the thin disk, you provision as much datastore space as the disk would require based on the value that you enter for the disk size. However, the thin disk starts small and at first, uses only as much datastore space as the disk needs for its initial operations.

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

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If the appliance that you are deploying has one ore more vService dependencies, select a binding service provider. For each network specified in the OVF template, select a network by right-clicking the Destination Network column in your infrastructure to set up the network mapping and click Next. On the IP Allocation page, configure how IP addresses are allocated for the virtual appliance and click Next.
Option Fixed Transient Description You will be prompted to enter the IP addresses in the Appliance Properties page. IP addresses are allocated from a specified range when the appliance is powered on. The IP addresses are released when the appliance is powered off. A DHCP server is used to allocate the IP addresses.

DHCP

This page does not appear if the deployed OVF template does not contain information about the IP scheme it supports. 16 Set the user-configurable properties and click Next. The set of properties that you are prompted to enter depend on the selected IP allocation scheme. For example, you are prompted for IP related information for the deployed virtual machines only in the case of a fixed IP allocation scheme. 17 Review your settings and click Finish.

The progress of the import task appears in the vSphere Client Status panel.

Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace

Available vApps appear in the main panel. To get to the Virtual Appliance Marketplace page, select File > Browse VA Marketplace from the main menu.

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Procedure
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Select an available vApp and click Download Now.

The OVF Template Details page appears.

Export an OVF Template

An OVF package captures the state of a virtual machine or vApp into a self-contained package. The disk files are stored in a compressed, sparse format. Required privilege: vApp.Export Procedure 1 2 Select the virtual machine or vApp and select File > Export > Export OVF Template. In the Export OVF Template dialog, type the Name of the template. For example, type MyVm. NOTE When exporting an OVF template with a name that contains asterisk (*) characters, those characters turn into underscore characters (_). 3 Enter the Directory location where the exported virtual machine template is saved, or click ... to browse for the location. The C:\ drive is the default location where the template is stored. For example, OvfLib. 4 In the Format field, determine how you want to store the files.
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Select Folder of files (OVF) to store the OVF template as a set of files (.ovf, .vmdk, and .mf) This format is optimal if you plan to publish the OVF files on a web server or image library. The package can be imported, for example, into the vSphere client by publishing the URL to the .ovf file. Select Single file (OVA) to package the OVF template into a single .ova file. This might be convenient to distribute the OVF package as a single file if it needs to be explicitly downloaded from a web site or moved around using a USB key.

In Description, type a description for the virtual machine. By default, the text from the Notes pane on the virtual machines Summary tab appears in this text box.

Select the checkbox if you want to include image files attached to floppy and CD/DVD devices in the OVF package. NOTE This checkbox only shows if the virtual machine is connected to an ISO file or if the floppy drive is connected to a floppy image.

Click OK.

The download process is shown in the Export window.

Example: Folder Locations for OVF and OVA Files

If you type OvfLib for a new OVF folder, the following files might be created:
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If you type C:\NewFolder\OvfLib for a new OVF folder, the following files might be created:
n n n C:\NewFolder\OvfLib\MyVm\MyVm.ovfI C:\NewFolder\OvfLib\MyVm.mf C:\NewFolder\OvfLib\MyVm-disk1.vmdk

If you choose to export into the OVA format, and type MyVm, the file C:\MyVm.ova is created.

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Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool

You install the Microsoft Sysprep tool so that you can customize Windows guest operating systems. Using the Sysprep tool is useful when you clone virtual machines. The guest operating system customization feature in vCenter Server uses the functions of the Sysprep tool. Verify that your vCenter Server system meets the following requirements before you customize your virtual machines Windows guest operating systems:
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Install the Microsoft Sysprep tool. Microsoft includes the system tool set on the installation CD-ROM discs for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003. The Sysprep tool is built in to the Windows Vista and Windows 2008 operating systems. The correct versions of the Sysprep is installed for each guest operating system you want to customize. The password for the local administrator account on the virtual machines is set to blank ("").

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NOTE Customization operations will fail if the correct version of the Sysprep tool is not found. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site, on page 77 Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD, on page 78

Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site

You can download and install the Microsoft Sysprep tool from the Microsoft Web site. Prerequisites Verify that you download the correct version for the guest operating system to customize. Microsoft has a different version of Sysprep for each release and service pack of Windows. You must use the version of Sysprep specific to the operating system that you are deploying. The ALLUSERSPROFILE location is usually \Documents And Settings\All Users\. This is also the location of the vpxd.cfg file. On Windows 2008, the file location is C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\. For the VMware vCenter Server Appliance, extract the contents of the .cab file for the Sysprep Tool version you downloaded to /etc/vmware-vpx/sysprep. For example, /etc/vmware-vpx/sysprep/2k, /etc/vmwarevpx/sysprep/xp. The vpx daemon process must have read permission on the files. Procedure 1 2 3 Open a browser window and navigate to the Microsoft Download Center. Navigate to the page that contains the download link to the version of the Sysprep tools that you want. Click Download and save the file to your local disk.

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Open and expand the .cab file. Extract the files to the provided directory. The following Sysprep support directories were created during the vCenter Server installation:
C:\ALLUSERSPROFILE\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep ...\1.1\ ...\2k\ ...\xp\ ...\svr2003\ ...\xp-64\ ...\svr2003-64\

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Select the subdirectory that corresponds to your operating system. Click OK to expand the files. The contents of the .cab file vary, depending on the operating system.

What to do next You are now ready to customize a new virtual machine with a supported Windows guest operating system when you clone an existing virtual machine.

Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD
You can install the Microsoft Sysprep tool from a CD. The ALLUSERSPROFILE location is usually \Documents and Settings\All Users\. This is also the location of the vpxd.cfg file. On Windows 2008, the file location is C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\. For the VMware vCenter Server Appliance, extract the contents of the DEPLOY.CAB file for the Sysprep Tool version you downloaded to /etc/vmware-vpx/sysprep. For example, /etc/vmwarevpx/sysprep/2k, /etc/vmware-vpx/sysprep/xp. The vpx daemon process must have read permission on the files. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Insert the Windows operating system CD into the CD-ROM drive, often the D: drive. Locate the DEPLOY.CAB file in the \Support\Tools directory on the CD . Open and expand the DEPLOY.CAB file. Extract the files to the directory appropriate to your Sysprep guest operating system. The following Sysprep support directories were created during the vCenter Server installation:
C:\ALLUSERSPROFILE\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep ...\1.1\ ...\2k\ ...\xp\ ...\svr2003\ ...\xp-64\ ...\svr2003-64\

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Select the subdirectory that corresponds to your operating system. Click OK to expand the files. The contents of the .cab file vary, depending on the operating system.

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Chapter 7 Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool

Repeat this procedure to extract Sysprep files for each of the Windows guest operating systems that you plan to customize using vCenter Server.

What to do next You are now ready to customize a new virtual machine with a supported Windows guest operating system when you clone an existing virtual machine.

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Configuring Virtual Machines

You can add or configure most virtual machine properties during the virtual machine creation process or after you create the virtual machine and install the guest operating system. You configure virtual machines and change nearly every characteristic that you selected when you created the virtual machine. You can configure three types of virtual machine properties. Hardware Options View existing hardware configuration and add or remove hardware. View and configure a number of virtual machine properties, such as power management interaction between the guest operating system and virtual machine, and VMware Tools settings. Configure CPUs, CPU hyperthreading resources, memory and disks.

Resources

This chapter includes the following topics:

Virtual Machine Hardware, Options, and Resources Available to vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 82 Virtual Machine Hardware Versions, on page 85 Determine the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 86 Locate the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 87 Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Web Client, on page 87 Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Client, on page 87 View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Web Client, on page 88 View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Client, on page 88 Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Web Client, on page 88 Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Client, on page 89 Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users in the vSphere Web Client, on page 90 Change the Configured Guest Operating System in the vSphere Client, on page 90 Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools, on page 91 Virtual CPU Configuration, on page 92 Virtual Memory Configuration, on page 104 Network Virtual Machine Configuration, on page 111

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Parallel and Serial Port Configuration, on page 115 Virtual Disk Configuration, on page 125 Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Profiles, on page 135 SCSI Controller Configuration, on page 136 Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration, on page 140 Configuring vServices, on page 152 USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine, on page 153 USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 163 USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 168 Cannot Copy Data From an ESXi Host to a USB Device That Is Connected to the Host, on page 174 Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Client, on page 174 Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client, on page 175 Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine, on page 175 Configure the Virtual Machine Power States, on page 176 Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Web Client, on page 178 Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Client, on page 178 Enable Virtual Machine Logging in the vSphere Web Client, on page 179 Enable Logging in the vSphere Client, on page 179 Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration in the vSphere Web Client, on page 179 Disable Acceleration in the vSphere Client, on page 180 Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Web Client, on page 180 Configure Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Client, on page 181

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Virtual Machine Hardware, Options, and Resources Available to vSphere Virtual Machines
VMware provides devices, options, resources, profiles, and vServices that you can configure or add to your virtual machine.

Virtual Machine Hardware

Not all hardware devices are available to every virtual machine. The host that the virtual machine runs on and the guest operating system must support devices that you add or configurations that you make. In some cases, the host might not have the required vSphere license for a resource, option, or device. Licensing in vSphere is applicable to ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, and solutions and can be based on different criteria, depending on the specifics of each product. For details about vSphere licensing, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation. You can add or configure some virtual machine hardware, only if the virtual machine uses the latest available hardware version. The PCI and SIO virtual hardware devices are part of the virtual motherboard, but cannot be configured or removed.

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Chapter 8 Configuring Virtual Machines

Table 8-1. Virtual Machine Hardware

Hardware Device CPU Description You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host to have one or more virtual processors. A virtual machine cannot have more virtual CPUs than the actual number of logical CPUs on the host. You can change the number of CPUs allocated to a virtual machine and configure advanced CPU features, such as the CPU Identification Mask and hyperthreaded core sharing. The motherboard uses VMware proprietary devices based on the following chips: n Intel 440BX AGPset 82443BX Host Bridge/Controller n Intel 82371AB (PIIX4) PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator n National Semiconductor PC87338 ACPI 1.0 and PC98/99 Compliant SuperI/O n Intel 82093AA I/O Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller Installed by default when you create a new vSphere virtual machine. You can configure DVD/CD-ROM devices to connect to client devices, host devices, or Datastore ISO files. You can add, remove, or configure DVD/CD-ROM devices. Installed by default when you create a new vSphere virtual machine. You can connect to a floppy drive located on the ESXi host, a floppy (.flp) image, or the floppy drive on your local system. You can add, remove, or configure floppy devices. Stores the virtual machine's operating system, program files, and other data associated with its activities. A virtual disk is a large physical file, or a set of files, that can be copied, moved, archived, and backed up as easily as any other file. By default, two Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interfaces are presented to the virtual machine. The IDE interface (controller) is a standard way for storage devices (Floppy drives, hard drives and CD-ROM drives) to connect to the virtual machine. Mirrors the keyboard that is connected to the virtual machine console when you first connect to the console. The virtual hardware memory size determines how much memory applications that are running inside the virtual machine have available to them. A virtual machine cannot benefit from more memory resources than its configured virtual hardware memory size. ESXi networking features provide communication between virtual machines on the same host, between virtual machines on different hosts, and between other virtual and physical machines. When you configure a virtual machine, you can add network adapters (NICs) and specify the adapter type. Interface for connecting peripherals to the virtual machine. The virtual parallel port can connect to a file. You can add, remove, or configure virtual parallel ports. Bus on the virtual machine motherboard that communicates with components such as hard disks and other devices. One PCI controller is presented to the virtual machine. You cannot configure or remove this device. You can add up to six PCI vSphere DirectPath devices to a virtual machine. The devices must be reserved for PCI passthrough on the host on which the virtual machine runs. Snapshots are not supported with DirectPath I/O passthrough devices. Mirrors the pointing device that is connected to the virtual machine console when you first connect to the console. Interface for connecting peripherals to the virtual machine. The virtual serial port can connect to a physical serial port, to a file on the host computer, or over the network. You can also use it to establish a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. A virtual machine can use up to four virtual serial ports. You can add, remove, or configure virtual serial ports.

Chipset

DVD/CD-ROM Drive

Floppy Drive

Hard Disk

IDE 0, IDE 1

Keyboard Memory

Network Adapter

Parallel port PCI controller

PCI Device

Pointing device Serial Port

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Table 8-1. Virtual Machine Hardware (Continued)

Hardware Device SCSI controller Description Provides access to virtual disks. The SCSI virtual controller appears to a virtual machine as different types of controllers, including BusLogic Parallel, LSI Logic Parallel, LSI Logic SAS, and VMware Paravirtual. You can change the SCSI controller type, allocate bus sharing for a virtual machine, or add a paravirtualized SCSI controller. By default, a SCSI device interface is available to the virtual machine. The SCSI interface is a typical way to connect storage devices (floppy drives, hard drives, and DVD/CD-ROMs) to a virtual machine. You can add, remove, or configure SCSI devices. Provides serial and parallel ports, floppy devices, and performs system management activities. One SIO controller is available to the virtual machine. You cannot configure or remove this device. The USB hardware chip that provides USB function to the USB ports that it manages. The virtual USB Controller is the software virtualization of the USB host controller function in the virtual machine. You can add multiple USB devices, such as security dongles and mass storage devices, to a virtual machine. The USB devices can be connected to an ESXi host or a client computer. Virtual Machine Communication Interface device. Provides a high-speed communication channel between a virtual machine and the hypervisor. You can also enable VMCI for communication between virtual machines. You cannot add or remove VMCI devices.

SCSI device

SIO controller

USB controller

USB device

VMCI

Virtual Machine Options

The virtual machine options define a range of virtual machine properties, such as the virtual machine name and the virtual machine behavior with the guest operating system and VMware Tools. In addition, the options define vApp functionality and other options that you rarely need to change from their defaults. You change the virtual machine settings on the Options tab of the Virtual Machine Properties Editor Table 8-2. Virtual Machine Options
Options General Options vApp Options VMware Tools Power Management Description Display name and type of guest operating system. Location of the virtual machine and its configuration file. Options for functionality, product information, properties, and OVF settings specific to virtual appliances. Power Controls behavior, VMware Tools scripts, and automatic updates. Virtual machine Suspend behavior.

You can change advanced virtual machine settings on the Options tab. Table 8-3. Advanced Virtual Machine Options
Advanced Options General CPUID Mask Memory/CPU Hotplug Boot Options Fibre Channel NPIV Description Acceleration, logging, debugging and statistics. NX flag and advanced identification mask options. Hot add enablement for individual virtual machines. Virtual machine boot options. Add a delay before booting or force entry into the BIOS or EFI setup screen. Virtual node and port World Wide Names (WWNs).

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Table 8-3. Advanced Virtual Machine Options (Continued)

Advanced Options CPU/MMU Virtualization Swapfile Location SDRS Rules Description Settings for enabling Hardware Page Table Virtualization. In some new processors, controls the use of hardware support for virtual MMUs. Swapfile location. Set affinity rules for virtual disks within a datastore cluster.

Virtual Machine Resources

You can adjust the host resource allocation for the selected virtual machine on the Resources tab. Table 8-4. Virtual Machine Resources
Virtual Machine Resource CPU Memory Disk Advanced CPU (hyperthreaded core sharing) Go to Virtual CPU Configuration, on page 92 Virtual Memory Configuration, on page 104 Virtual Disk Configuration, on page 125 Virtual CPU Configuration, on page 92

Profiles
You can associate a virtual machine storage profile with a virtual machine to define the storage capabilities that are required by the applications running on the virtual machine. See Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Profiles, on page 135.

vServices
You can add a vService dependency to a virtual machine or vApp. This dependency allows a virtual machine or vApp to request that a specific vService be available. See Configuring vServices, on page 152.

Virtual Machine Hardware Versions

The hardware version of a virtual machine reflects the virtual machine's supported virtual hardware features. These features correspond to the physical hardware available on the ESXi host on which you create the virtual machine. Virtual hardware features include BIOS and EFI, available virtual PCI slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other characteristics typical to hardware. When you create a virtual machine, you can accept the default hardware version, which corresponds to the host on which you create the virtual machine, or an earlier version. You can use an earlier hardware version in the following situations:
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To standardize testing and deployment in your virtual environment. If you do not need the capabilities of the newer version. To maintain compatibility with older hosts.

Virtual machines with hardware versions earlier than version 8 can run on ESXi 5.0 hosts, but do not have all the capabilities available in hardware version 8. For example, you cannot use 32 virtual processors or 1011GB of memory in virtual machines with hardware versions earlier than version 8.

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The vSphere Web Client or the vSphere Client allows you to upgrade virtual machines only to the latest hardware version. If virtual machines do not have to stay compatible with older ESX/ESXi hosts, you can upgrade them on ESXi 5.0 hosts. In this case, they are upgraded to version 8.
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To maintain virtual machine compatibility with ESX/ESXi 3.5 hosts, upgrade the virtual machine on an ESX/ESXi 3.5 host, which results in a virtual machine upgrade to version 4. To maintain virtual machine compatibility with ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts, upgrade the virtual machine on an ESX/ESXi 4.x host, which results in a virtual machine upgrade to version 7.

A virtual machine can have an earlier hardware version than that of the host on which it runs in the following cases:
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You migrate a virtual machine created on an ESX/ESXi 4.x or earlier host to an ESXi 5.0 host. You create a virtual machine on an ESXi 5.0 host by using an existing virtual disk that was created on an ESX/ESXi 4.x or earlier host. You add a virtual disk created on an ESX/ESXi 4.x or earlier host to a virtual machine created on an ESXi 5.0 host.

You can create, edit, and run different virtual machine versions on a host if the host supports that version. Sometimes, virtual machine actions on a host are limited or the virtual machine has no access to the host. Table 8-5. ESXi Hosts and Compatible Virtual Machine Hardware Versions
Version 8 ESXi 5.0 ESX/ESXi 4.x ESX Server 3.x Create, edit, run Not supported Not supported Version 7 Create, edit, run Create, edit, run Not supported Version 4 Edit, run Create, edit, run Create, edit, run Compatible with vCenter Server Version vCenter Server 5.0 vCenter Server 4.x VirtualCenter Server 2.x and later

Version 3 virtual machines are not supported on ESXi 5.0 hosts. To make full use of these virtual machines, upgrade the virtual hardware. NOTE Virtual machine hardware version 4 might be listed as VM3 in documentation for earlier versions of ESX/ESXi.

Determine the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
Determine the hardware version of a virtual machine to determine which hosts and features the virtual machine is compatible with. Procedure
u

Select a virtual machine.

In the virtual machines and templates inventory tree, select a group of virtual machines and select a virtual machine from the list on the right. Search for a virtual machine and select it from the search results list.

The VM Hardware panel displays the hardware version in the HW Version field.

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Chapter 8 Configuring Virtual Machines

Locate the Hardware Version of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can locate the hardware version of a virtual machine by looking in the virtual machine Summary tab or the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. You can also locate the hardware version for multiple virtual machines on the Virtual Machine tab of a datacenter, host, or cluster. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, select the virtual machine. Select a method for viewing the version information.
Option Click the Summary tab. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Select a datacenter, host, or cluster and click the Virtual Machine tab. Description The virtual machine hardware version appears under General on the virtual machine's Summary tab. The virtual machine hardware version appears in the upper-right corner of the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. The virtual machine hardware version appears in the VM Version column. If the VM Version column is not displayed, right-click any column title and select VM Version.

Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Web Client

Changing the name of a virtual machine changes the name used to identify the virtual machine in the vCenter Server inventory, but does not change the name used as the computer name by the guest operating system. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. In the VM Name text box, type a new name for the virtual machine. Click OK.

Change the Virtual Machine Name in the vSphere Client

You can change the virtual machine name in the Virtual Machine Name panel in the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. Changing the name does not change the name of any virtual machine files or the name of the directory that the files are located in. Prerequisites
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Verify that you are connected to the vCenter Server or ESXi host on which the virtual machine runs. Verify that you have access to the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory list.

Procedure 1 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.

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2 3 4

Click the Options tab and select General Options. Type a new name for the virtual machine. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Web Client
You can view the location of the virtual machine configuration and working files. This information is useful when you are configuring backup systems. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the General Options triangle. The location of the virtual machine configuration file appears in the VM Config File text box.

View the Virtual Machine Configuration File Location in the vSphere Client
You can view the location of the virtual machine configuration and working files. This information is useful when you are configuring backup systems. Prerequisites
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Verify that you are connected to the vCenter Server or ESXi host on which the virtual machine runs. Verify that you have access to the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory list.

Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select General Options. Record the location of the configuration and working files and click OK to close the dialog box.

Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Web Client

You can change or add virtual machine configuration parameters if you intend to use experimental features or when instructed by a VMware technical support representative. You also might see VMware documentation that instructs you to change or add a parameter. In such cases, you can safely follow the recommended procedure. The following conditions apply:
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To change a parameter, you change the existing value for the keyword/value pair. For example, if you start with the keyword/value pair, keyword/value, and change it to keyword/value2, the result is keyword=value2.

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You cannot delete a configuration parameter entry.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Advanced triangle to expand the advanced options. Click Edit Configuration. (Optional) To add a parameter, click Add Row and enter a name and value for the parameter. (Optional) To change a parameter, type a new value in the Value text box for that parameter. Click OK.

Edit Configuration File Parameters in the vSphere Client

CAUTION You must assign a value to configuration parameter keywords. If you don't assign a value, the keyword can return a value of 0, false, or disable, which can result in a virtual machine that cannot power on. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced, click General. Click Configuration Parameters. (Optional) Change or add a parameter. Click OK to exit the Configuration Parameters dialog box. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users in the vSphere Web Client
In the vSphere Web Client, you can limit the number of simultaneous connections to a virtual machine and lock the guest operating system when the last remote user disconnects from the virtual machine console. Prerequisites
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Verify that VMware Tools is installed and running. To use the Guest OS lock option, you must have a Windows XP or later guest operating system.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Remote Console Options triange to expand the remote console options. Click the check box to select an option.
Option Guest OS lock (*) Maximum number of sessions Description Locks the guest operating system when the last remote user disconnects. Limits the number of simultaneous connections to this virtual machine.

Change the Configured Guest Operating System in the vSphere Client

When you change the guest operating system type in the virtual machine settings, you change the setting for the guest operating system in the virtual machine's configuration file. To change the guest operating system itself, you must install the new operating system in the virtual machine. When you set the guest operating system type for a new virtual machine, vCenter Server chooses configuration defaults based on the guest type. Changing the guest operating system type after the virtual machine is created does not retroactively change those settings. It affects the recommendations and setting ranges offered after the change. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select General Options. Select a guest operating system type and version. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

The virtual machine configuration parameters for the guest operating system are changed. You can now install the guest operating system.

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Chapter 8 Configuring Virtual Machines

Change the Configured Guest Operating System in the vSphere Web Client
When you change the guest operating system type in the virtual machine settings, you change the setting for the guest operating system in the virtual machine's configuration file. To change the guest operating system itself, you must install the new operating system in the virtual machine. You might change the guest operating system, for example, if you are upgrading the guest operating system installed in the virtual machine. When you set the guest operating system type for a new virtual machine, vCenter Server chooses configuration defaults based on the guest type. Changing the guest operating system type after the virtual machine is created does not retroactively change those settings. It affects the recommendations and setting ranges offered after the change. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the General Options triangle to show the guest operating system options. From the Guest OS drop-down menu, select the guest operating system family. Select a guest operating system version. If you selected Other (32-bit) or Other (64-bit), enter a name for the operating system in the text box. Click OK.

Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools

You can configure virtual machines to automatically update VMware Tools. NOTE Automatic VMware Tools upgrade is not supported for virtual machines with Solaris or NetWare guest operating systems. Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machines have a version of VMware Tools shipped with ESX/ESXi 3.5 or later installed. Verify that the virtual machines are hosted on ESX/ESXi 3.5 or later and vCenter Server 3.5 or later. Verify that the virtual machines are running a Linux or Windows guest OS that ESX/ESXi 3.5 or later and vCenter Server 3.5 or later support.

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Procedure 1 2 3 Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select VMware Tools. Select Check and upgrade Tools during power cycling in the Advanced pane.

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Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

The next time the virtual machine is powered on, it checks the ESX/ESXi host for a newer version of VMware Tools. If one is available, it is installed and the guest operating system is restarted (if required).

Virtual CPU Configuration

You can add, change, or configure CPU resources to improve virtual machine performance. You can set most of the CPU parameters during virtual machine creation or after the guest operating system is installed. Some actions require you to power off the virtual machine before changing the settings. VMware uses the following terminology. Understanding these terms can help you plan your CPU resource allocation strategy. CPU The CPU or processor is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. CPUs contain cores. A physical connector on a computer motherboard that accepts a single physical CPU. Many motherboards can have multiple sockets that can in turn accept multicore processors (CPUs). The vSphere Client computes the total number of cores to give the virtual machine from the number of virtual sockets and cores per socket that you select. The vSphere Web Client computes the total number of virtual sockets from the number of cores and cores per socket that you select. Comprises a unit containing an L1 cache and functional units needed to run programs. Cores can independently run programs or threads. One or more cores can exist on a single CPU. An AMD processor corelet is architecturally equivalent to a logical processor. Certain future AMD processors will comprise a number of compute units, where each compute unit has a number of corelets. Unlike a traditional processor core, a corelet lacks a complete set of private, dedicated execution resources. It shares some execution resources with other corelets such as an L1 Instruction Cache or a floating-point execution unit. AMD refers to corelets as cores, but because these are unlike traditional cores, VMware uses the nomenclature of corelets to make resource sharing more apparent. Some cores can run independent streams of instructions simultaneously. In existing implementations, cores can run one or two software threads at one time by multiplexing the functional units of the core between the software threads, as necessary. Such cores are called dual or multithreaded. Shares specify the relative priority or importance of a virtual machine or resource pool. If a virtual machine has twice as many shares of a resource as another virtual machine, it is entitled to consume twice as much of that resource when these two virtual machines are competing for resources. You can change CPU resource allocation settings, such as shares, reservation, and limit, when available resource capacity does not meet demands. For example, if at year end the workload on accounting increases, you can increase the accounting resource pool reserve. Feature that enables a single virtual machine to have multiple cores.

CPU Socket

Core

Corelet

Thread

Resource sharing

Resource allocation

vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (Virtual SMP)

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Chapter 8 Configuring Virtual Machines

Virtual CPU Limitations

The maximum number of virtual CPUs that you can assign to a virtual machine depends on the number of logical CPUs on the host, the host license, and the type of guest operating system that is installed on the virtual machine. Be aware of the following limitations:
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A virtual machine cannot have more virtual CPUs than the number of logical cores on the host. The number of logical cores is equal to the number of physical cores if hyperthreading is disabled or two times that number if hyperthreading is enabled. Not every guest operating system supports Virtual SMP, and some that do require reinstallation if the number of CPUs changes. For more information about using Virtual SMP, search the VMware Knowledge Base. Guest operating systems that support Virtual SMP might support fewer processors than are available on the host. For information about Virtual SMP support, see the VMware Compatibility Guide. Running Virtual SMP virtual machines on hyperthreaded hosts with Virtual SMP can affect virtual machine performance. Running uniprocessor virtual machines on hyperthreaded hosts can also affect virtual machine performance.

Configuring Multicore Virtual CPUs

VMware multicore virtual CPU support lets you control the number of cores per virtual socket in a virtual machine. This capability lets operating systems with socket restrictions use more of the host CPU's cores, which increases overall performance. IMPORTANT When you configure your virtual machine for multicore virtual CPU settings, you must ensure that your configuration complies with the requirements of the guest operating system EULA. Using multicore virtual CPUs can be useful when you run operating systems or applications that can take advantage of only a limited number of CPU sockets. Previously, each virtual CPU was, by default, assigned to a single-core socket, so that the virtual machine would have as many sockets as virtual CPUs. You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host to have up to 32 virtual CPUs. A virtual machine cannot have more virtual CPUs than the actual number of logical CPUs on the host. The number of logical CPUs is the number of physical processor cores or two times that number if hyperthreading is enabled. For example, if a host has 32 logical CPUs, you can configure the virtual machine for 32 virtual CPUs. You configure how the virtual CPUs are assigned in terms of sockets and cores. For example, you can configure a virtual machine with 12 virtual CPUs in the following ways:
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12 virtual sockets with 1 core per socket 6 virtual sockets with 2 cores per socket 4 virtual sockets with 3 cores per socket 3 virtual sockets with 4 cores per socket 2 virtual sockets with 6 cores per socket 1 virtual socket with 12 cores per socket

For multicore CPUs, the host must have a license for Virtual SMP. For more information about multicore CPUs, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation. You can also search the VMware Knowledge Base for articles about multicore CPUs.

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Change CPU Hot Plug Settings in the vSphere Web Client

The CPU hot plug option lets you add CPU resources for a virtual machine while the machine is powered on. The following conditions apply:
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For best results, use hardware version 8 virtual machines. Hot-adding multicore virtual CPUs is supported only with hardware version 8 virtual machines. Not all guest operating systems support CPU hot add. You can disable these settings if the guest is not supported. To use the CPU hot-add feature with hardware version 7 virtual machines, set the Number of cores per socket to 1. Adding CPU resources to a running virtual machine with CPU hot plug enabled disconnects and reconnects all USB passthrough devices connected to that virtual machine.

Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is running under the following conditions:
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VMware Tools is installed. This condition is required for hot plug functionality with Linux guest operating systems. The virtual machine has a guest operating system that supports CPU hot plug. The virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. The virtual machine is powered off. Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Settings

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU options. Select Enable CPU Hot Add to enable adding CPUs while this virtual machine is powered on. Click OK.

Change CPU Hot-Plug Settings in the vSphere Client

The CPU hot plug option lets you add CPU resources for a virtual machine while the machine is powered on. The following conditions apply:
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To use the CPU hot-add feature with hardware version 7 virtual machines, set Number of cores per socket to 1. Adding CPU resources to a running virtual machine with CPU hot plug enabled disconnects and reconnects all USB passthrough devices connected to that virtual machine.

Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is running under the following conditions:
n

n n n n

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced, select Memory/CPU Hotplug. Change the CPU Hot Plug setting. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

What to do next You can now add CPUs to the powered on virtual machine.

Change the Number of Virtual CPUs in the vSphere Web Client

You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host to have up to 32 virtual CPUs. You can change the number of virtual CPUs while the virtual machine is running or powered off. Virtual CPU hot add is supported for virtual machines with multicore CPU support and running on hardware version 8 or later. When the virtual machine is powered on, and CPU hot add is enabled, you can hot add virtual CPUs to the running virtual machine. You can only add multiples of the number of cores per socket. For multicore CPUs, the host must have a license for vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (Virtual SMP). IMPORTANT When you configure your virtual machine for multicore virtual CPU settings, you must ensure that your configuration complies with the requirements of the guest operating system EULA. Prerequisites
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If CPU hot add is not enabled, power off the virtual machine before adding CPUs. If CPU hot remove is not enabled, power off the virtual machine before removing CPUs. To hot add multicore CPUs, verify that the virtual machine has hardware version 8. Required privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Change CPU Count on the virtual machine

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Expand the CPU options, and select the number of cores for the virtual machine from the Cores dropdown menu. Select the number of cores per socket from the Cores Per Socket drop-down menu. Click OK.

Change the Number of Virtual CPUs in the vSphere Client

You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host to have up to 32 virtual CPUs. You can change the number of virtual CPUs while the virtual machine is running or powered off. Virtual CPU hot add is supported for virtual machines with multicore CPU support that are running on hardware version 8 or later. When the virtual machine is powered on, and CPU hot add is enabled, you can hot add virtual CPUs to the running virtual machine. You can add only multiples of the number of cores per socket. For multicore CPUs, the host must have a license for vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (Virtual SMP). IMPORTANT When you configure your virtual machine for multicore virtual CPU settings, you must ensure that your configuration complies with the requirements of the guest operating system EULA. Prerequisites
n n n n

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select CPUs. Select a value from the Number of virtual sockets drop-down menu. Select a value from the Number of cores per socket drop-down menu. The resulting total number of cores is a number equal to or less than the number of logical CPUs on the host. 5 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Example: Adding Multicore CPU Resources to a Virtual Machine

You might have the following existing CPU resources, which you configured for the virtual machine while you were creating it, or after you created it and it was in a powered off state.

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CPU Resource Settings Number of virtual sockets Number of cores per socket Total number of cores

Existing Value 2 2 4

With CPU hot plug enabled and the virtual machine running, you can select the number of sockets to add from the Number of virtual sockets drop-down menu. The Number of cores per socket drop-down menu is unavailable and retains a value of 2. If you select 3 virtual sockets, you are adding 1 socket with 2 cores so that the virtual machine has 6 virtual CPUs.
CPU Resource Settings Number of virtual sockets Number of cores per socket Total Number of cores Existing Value 2 2 4 Hot-plug value 3 2 6

Allocate CPU Resources in vSphere Web Client

You can change the amount of CPU resources allocated to a virtual machine by using the shares, reservations, and limits settings. A virtual machine has the following user-defined settings that affect its CPU resource allocation. Limit Places a limit on the consumption of CPU time for a virtual machine. This value is expressed in MHz. Specifies the guaranteed minimum allocation for a virtual machine. The reservation is expressed in MHz. Each virtual machine is granted a number of CPU shares. The more shares a virtual machine has, the more often it gets a time slice of a CPU when there is no CPU idle time. Shares represent a relative metric for allocating CPU capacity.

Reservation

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU options.

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Allocate the CPU capacity for the virtual machine.

Option Reservation Limit Shares Description Guaranteed CPU allocation for this virtual machine. Upper limit for this virtual machines CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit. CPU shares for this virtual machine with respect to the parents total. Sibling virtual machines share resources according to their relative share values bounded by the reservation and limit. Select Low, Normal, or High, which specify share values respectively in a 1:2:4 ratio. Select Custom to give each virtual machine a specific number of shares, which express a proportional weight.

Click OK.

Allocate CPU Resources in the vSphere Client

Reservation

Prerequisites Required Privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Change resource Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Resources tab and select CPU. Allocate the CPU capacity for this virtual machine.
Option Shares Description CPU shares for this virtual machine with respect to the parents total. Sibling virtual machines share resources according to their relative share values bounded by the reservation and limit. Select Low, Normal, or High, which specify share values respectively in a 1:2:4 ratio. Select Custom to give each virtual machine a specific number of shares, which express a proportional weight. Guaranteed CPU allocation for this virtual machine. Upper limit for this virtual machines CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit.

Reservation Limit

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Configuring Advanced CPU Scheduling Settings

You can select CPU options that involve scheduling the virtual machine processing to physical processor cores and hyperthreads. ESXi generally manages processor scheduling well, even when hyperthreading is enabled. These settings are useful only for detailed tweaking of critical virtual machines.

Configure Hyperthreaded Core Sharing in the vSphere Web Client

You can select how the virtual CPUs of a virtual machine share physical cores on a hyperthreaded system. Hyperthreading technology allows a single physical processor to behave like two logical processors. The hyperthreaded core sharing option provides detailed control over whether to schedule a virtual machine to share a physical processor core. The processor can run two independent applications at the same time. Although hyperthreading does not double the performance of a system, it can increase performance by better utilizing idle resources. Prerequisites
n

The hyperthreaded core sharing option must be enabled in your system's BIOS settings. For more information, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation. Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU options. In the HT Sharing drop-down menu, select a sharing mode.
Option Any (default) None Description The virtual CPUs of this virtual machine can share cores with other virtual CPUs of this or other virtual machines. The virtual CPUs of this virtual machine have exclusive use of a processor core whenever they are scheduled to it. The other hyperthread of the core is halted while this virtual machine is using the core. On a virtual machine with exactly two virtual processors, the two virtual processors are allowed to share one physical core (at the discretion of the host scheduler), but this virtual machine never shares a core with any other virtual machine. If this virtual machine has any other number of processors other than two, this setting is the same as the None setting.

Internal

Click OK.

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Configure Hyperthreaded Core Sharing in the vSphere Client

The hyperthreaded core sharing option must be enabled in your system's BIOS settings. For more information, see the Resource Management documentation. Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Resources tab and select Advanced CPU. Select a mode from the Hyperthreading Sharing Mode drop-down menu.
Option Any (default) None Description The virtual CPUs of this virtual machine can share cores with other virtual CPUs of this or other virtual machines. The virtual CPUs of this virtual machine have exclusive use of a processor core whenever they are scheduled to it. The other hyperthread of the core is halted while this virtual machine is using the core. On a virtual machine with exactly two virtual processors, the two virtual processors are allowed to share one physical core (at the discretion of the host scheduler), but this virtual machine never shares a core with any other virtual machine. If this virtual machine has any other number of processors other than two, this setting is the same as the None setting.

Internal

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Configure Processor Scheduling Affinity in the vSphere Web Client

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2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU options. In the Scheduling Affinity panel, enter a comma-separated list of hyphenated processor ranges. For example, "0,4-7" would indicate affinity with CPUs 0,4,5,6, and 7. Selecting all processors is identical to selecting no affinity. You must provide at least as many processor affinities as you have virtual CPUs.

Click OK.

Configure Processor Scheduling Affinity in the vSphere Client

The Scheduling Affinity option gives you detailed control over how virtual machine CPUs are distributed across the host's physical cores (and hyperthreads if hyperthreading is enabled). This panel does not appear for virtual machines in a DRS cluster or when the host has only one processor core and no hyperthreading. Using CPU affinity, you can assign a virtual machine to a specific processor. This assignment allows you to restrict the assignment of virtual machines to a specific available processor in multiprocessor systems. For potential issues with CPU affinity, see the Resource Management documentation. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Resources tab and select Advanced CPU. In the Scheduling Affinity panel, enter a comma-separated list of hyphenated processor ranges. For example, "0,4-7" would indicate affinity with CPUs 0,4,5,6, and 7. Selecting all processors is identical to selecting no affinity. You must provide at least as many processor affinities as you have virtual CPUs. 4 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change CPU Identification Mask Settings in the vSphere Web Client

CPU identification (CPU ID) masks control the CPU features visible to the virtual machine's guest operating system. Masking or hiding CPU features can make a virtual machine widely available to ESXi hosts for migration. vCenter Server compares the CPU features available to a virtual machine with the CPU features of the destination host to determine whether to allow or disallow migration with vMotion. For example, masking the AMD No eXecute (NX) and the Intel eXecute Disable (XD) bits prevents the virtual machine from using these features, but provides compatibility that allows you to migrate virtual machines to ESXi hosts that do not include this capability. When the NX/XD bit is visible to the guest operating system, the virtual machine can use this feature, but you can migrate the virtual machine only to hosts on which the feature is enabled. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU options. In the CPUID Mask drop-down menu, select an NX/XD option.
Option Hide the NX/XD flag from guest Description Increases vMotion compatibility. Hiding the NX/XD flag increases vMotion compatibility between hosts, but might disable certain CPU security features. Keeps all CPU security features enabled. Uses the NX/XD flag settings specified in the CPU Identification Mask dialog box. Enabled only when current settings specify something other than what is specified in the other NX/XD flag options, for example, if the NX/XD flag bit setting varies with processor brand.

Expose the NX/XD flag to guest Keep current Advanced setting values for the NX/XD flag

Click OK.

Change CPU Identification Mask Settings in the vSphere Client

CPU identification (CPU ID) masks control the CPU features visible to the virtual machine's guest operating system. Masking or hiding CPU features can make a virtual machine widely available to ESXi hosts for migration. vCenter Server compares the CPU features available to a virtual machine with the CPU features of the destination host to determine whether to allow or disallow migration with vMotion. For example, masking the AMD No eXecute (NX) and the Intel eXecute Disable (XD) bits prevents the virtual machine from using these features, but provides compatibility that allows you to migrate virtual machines to ESXi hosts that do not include this capability. When the NX/XD bit is visible to the guest operating system, the virtual machine can use this feature, but you can migrate the virtual machine only to hosts on which the feature is enabled. NOTE You rarely need to change the CPU identification mask configuration settings. Almost all changes are made only to the NX/XD bit. See the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation for detailed information about vMotion compatibility and CPU masks. Prerequisites
n n

Verify that you have access to the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory list. Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced, select CPUID Mask.

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In the CPU Identification Mask panel, select an NX flag option.

Option Hide the NX/XD flag from guest Description Increases vMotion compatibility. Hiding the NX/XD flag increases vMotion compatibility between hosts, but might disable certain CPU security features. Expose the NX/XD flag to guest Keep current Advanced setting values for the NX/XD flag Keeps all CPU security features enabled. Uses the NX/XD flag settings specified in the CPU Identification Mask dialog box. Enabled only when current settings specify something other than what is specified in the other NX/XD flag options, for example, if the NX/XD flag bit setting varies with processor brand.

(Optional) To edit mask values other than the NX bit or to set NX mask values to states other than 0 or H, click Advanced. a b Select the relevant tab. Click a row and edit the mask value. To view an explanation of a values symbol, click Legend. c Click OK to apply the changes and return to the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change CPU/MMU Virtualization Settings in the vSphere Web Client

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the CPU triangle to expand the CPU settings. From the CPU/MMU Virtualization drop-down menu, select an instruction set.
n n n n

Automatic Software CPU and MMU Hardware CPU, Software MMU Hardware CPU and MMU

Click OK.

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Change CPU/MMU Virtualization Settings in the vSphere Client

ESXi can determine whether a virtual machine should use hardware support for virtualization. It makes this determination based on the processor type and the virtual machine. Overriding the automatic selection can provide better performance for some use cases. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced, select CPU/MMU Virtualization. Select an instruction set.
n n n n

Automatic Use only software virtualization Use hardware support for CPU virtualization (VT/AMD-V) only Use hardware support for both CPU and MMU virtualization (VT/AMD-V and EPT/RVI)

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Virtual Memory Configuration

You can add, change, or configure virtual machine memory resources or options to enhance virtual machine performance. You can set most of the memory parameters during virtual machine creation or after the guest operating system is installed. Some actions require that you power off the virtual machine before changing the settings. Memory resource configuration is distinct from the virtual hardware memory size, which you configure on the Hardware tab. The memory resource setting determines how much of the host's memory is allocated to a virtual machine. The virtual hardware memory size determines how much memory applications that are running inside the virtual machine have available to them. A virtual machine cannot benefit from more memory resources than its configured virtual hardware memory size. The ESXi host caps memory resource use to the maximum useful for the virtual machine, so you can accept the default of Unlimited memory resources.

Change the Memory Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

You can reconfigure the memory allocated to a virtual machine. Minimum memory size is 4MB for virtual machines that use BIOS firmware. Virtual machines that use EFI firmware require at least 96MB of RAM or they cannot power on. Maximum memory size for a virtual machine depends on the host's physical memory and the virtual machine's hardware version. If the virtual machine memory is greater than the host memory size, swapping occurs, which can have a severe effect on virtual machine performance. The memory size must be a multiple of 4MB. The maximum for best performance represents the threshold above which the hosts physical memory is insufficient to run the virtual machine at full speed. This value fluctuates as conditions on the host change, for example, as virtual machines are powered on or off.

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Table 8-6. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory

Introduced in Host Version ESXi 5.0 ESX/ESXi 4.x ESX/ESXi 3.x Virtual Machine Version 8 7 4 Maximum Memory Size 1011GB 255GB 65,532MB

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. In the RAM text box, type the amount of RAM to assign to the virtual machine or select one of the suggested values from the drop-down menu. Select whether the memory is specified in MB or GB. Click OK.

Change the Memory Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can reconfigure the memory allocated to a virtual machine's hardware. Minimum memory size is 4MB for virtual machines that use BIOS firmware. Virtual machines that use EFI firmware require at least 96MB of RAM or they cannot power on. Maximum memory size for a virtual machine depends on the host's physical memory and the virtual machine's hardware version. If the virtual machine memory is greater than the host memory size, swapping occurs, which can have a severe effect on virtual machine performance. The memory size must be a multiple of 4MB. The maximum for best performance represents the threshold above which the hosts physical memory is insufficient to run the virtual machine at full speed. This value fluctuates as conditions on the host change, for example, as virtual machines are powered on or off. Table 8-7. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory
Introduced in Host Version ESXi 5.0 ESX/ESXi 4.x ESX/ESXi 3.x Virtual Machine Version 8 7 4 Maximum Memory Size 1011GB 255GB 65,532MB

The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the memory size of a version 4 virtual machine running on ESXi 5.0 is restricted to 65,532MB. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select Memory.

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3 4

Adjust the amount of memory allocated to the virtual machine. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Allocate Memory Resources in the vSphere Web Client

You can change the amount of memory resources allocated to a virtual machine by using the shares, reservations, and limits settings. The following user-defined settings affect the memory resource allocation of a virtual machine. Limit Places a limit on the consumption of memory for a virtual machine. This value is expressed in megabytes. Specifies the guaranteed minimum allocation for a virtual machine. The reservation is expressed in megabytes. If the reservation cannot be met, the virtual machine will not power on. Each virtual machine is granted a number of memory shares. The more shares a virtual machine has, the greater share of host memory it receives. Shares represent a relative metric for allocating memory capacity. For more information about share values, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation.

Reservation

Assigning a reservation to a virtual machine that is larger than its configured memory is wasteful. The vSphere Web Client prevents you from making such an assignment on the Resources tab. If you give a virtual machine a large reservation and reduce its configured memory size on the Hardware tab, the reservation is reduced to match the new configured memory size. You must power off the virtual machine before configuring memory resources. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
n

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the Memory triangle to expand the memory options. Allocate the memory capacity for the virtual machine.
Option Reservation Limit Shares Description Guaranteed memory allocation for this virtual machine. Upper limit for this virtual machines memory allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit. The values Low, Normal, High, and Custom are compared to the sum of all shares of all virtual machines on the server.

Click OK.

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Allocate Memory Resources in the vSphere Client

You can change the amount of memory resources allocated to a virtual machine by using the shares, reservations, and limits settings. A virtual machine has three user-defined settings that affect its memory resource allocation. Limit Places a limit on the consumption of memory for a virtual machine. This value is expressed in megabytes. Specifies the guaranteed minimum allocation for a virtual machine. The reservation is expressed in megabytes. Each virtual machine is granted a number of memory shares. The more shares a virtual machine has, the more often it gets a time slice of a memory when no memory idle time is present. Shares represent a relative metric for allocating memory capacity. For more information about share values, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation.

Reservation

Assigning a virtual machine a reservation larger than its configured memory is wasteful. The vSphere Client does not allow you to make such an assignment on the Resources tab. If you give a virtual machine a large reservation and then reduce its configured memory size on the Hardware tab, the reservation is reduced to match the new configured memory size. You must power off the virtual machine before configuring memory resources. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Resources tab and select Memory. Allocated the memory capacity for this virtual machine.
Option Shares Description The values Low, Normal, High, and Custom are compared to the sum of all shares of all virtual machines on the server. You can use share allocation symbolic values to configure their conversion into numeric values. Guaranteed memory allocation for this virtual machine. Upper limit for this virtual machines memory allocation. No upper limit is specified.

Reservation Limit Unlimited

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change Memory Hot Add Settings in the vSphere Web Client

Memory hot add lets you add memory resources for a virtual machine while the machine is powered on. Enabling memory hot add produces some extra memory overhead on theESXi host for the virtual machine. Prerequisites
n n n n

Power off the virtual machine. Ensure that the virtual machine has a guest operating system that supports memory hot add functionality. Ensure that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. Ensure that VMware Tools is installed.

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the Memory triangle to expand the memory options. Select Enable to enable adding memory to the virtual machine while it is powered on. Click OK.

Change Memory Hot-Add Settings in the vSphere Client

Memory hot add lets you add memory resources for a virtual machine while the machine is powered on. Prerequisites
n n n

The virtual machine has a guest operating system that supports Memory hot add functionality. The virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. VMware Tools is installed.

Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced, select Memory/CPU Hotplug. Enable or disable memory hot add.
n n

Enable memory hot add for this virtual machine. Disable memory hot add for this virtual machine.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Associate Memory Allocation with a NUMA Node in the vSphere Web Client
You can specify that all future memory allocations on a virtual machine use pages associated with a single NUMA node. The NUMA code is also known as manual memory affinity. When the virtual machine uses local memory, the performance improves on that virtual machine. The following conditions apply to memory optimization with NUMA:
n n

The NUMA option is available only if the host uses NUMA memory architecture. Affinity settings are meaningful only when used to modify the performance of a specific set of virtual machines on one host. This option is not available when the virtual machine resides on a DRS cluster. All affinity values are cleared when you move the virtual machine to a new host. You can specify nodes to use for future memory allocations only if you also specified CPU affinity. If you make manual changes only to the memory affinity settings, automatic NUMA rebalancing does not work properly. Checking all the boxes is the same as applying no affinity.

For information about NUMA and advanced memory resources, including usage examples, see the Resource Management documentation.

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the Memory triangle to expand the Memory options. In the NUMA Memory Affinity panel, set the NUMA node affinity for the virtual machine. Click OK.

Associate Memory Allocations with a NUMA Node in the vSphere Client

You can specify that all future memory allocations on a virtual machine use pages associated with a single NUMA node (also known as manual memory affinity). When the virtual machine uses local memory, the performance improves on that virtual machine. The following conditions apply to memory optimization with NUMA:
n

The NUMA option is available on the Advanced Memory Resources page only if the host uses NUMA memory architecture. Affinity settings are meaningful only when used to modify the performance of a specific set of virtual machines on one host. This option is not available when the virtual machine resides on a DRS cluster. All affinity values are cleared when you move the virtual machine to a new host. You can specify nodes to use for future memory allocations only if you have also specified CPU affinity. If you make manual changes only to the memory affinity settings, automatic NUMA rebalancing does not work properly. Checking all the boxes is the same as applying no affinity.

For information about NUMA and advanced memory resources, including usage examples, see the Resource Management documentation. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Select the Resources tab, and select Memory. In the NUMA Memory Affinity panel, set the NUMA node affinity for the virtual machine.
n n

No affinity Use memory from nodes

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Change the Swap File Location in the vSphere Web Client

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Advanced triangle to expand the advanced options. Select an option.
Option Default Always store with the virtual machine Store in the host's swapfile datastore Description Stores the virtual machine swap file at the default location defined by the host or cluster swap file settings. Stores the virtual machine swap file in the same folder as the virtual machine configuration file. If the host or cluster settings define a location for the swap file, this location is used. Otherwise, the swap file is stored with the virtual machine.

Click OK.

Change the Swap File Location in the vSphere Client

When a virtual machine is powered on, the system creates a VMkernel swap file to serve as a backing store for the virtual machine's RAM contents. You can accept the default swap file location or save the file to a different location. By default, the swap file is stored in the same location as the virtual machine's configuration file. For more information about host swap file settings, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation. For more information about cluster settings, see the Resource Management documentation. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Option tab and under Advanced, select Swapfile Location. Select an option.
Option Default Always store with the virtual machine Store in the host's swapfile datastore Description Stores the virtual machine swap file at the default location defined by the host or cluster swap file settings. Stores the virtual machine swap file in the same folder as the virtual machine configuration file. Stores the virtual machine swap file in the swap file datastore defined by the host or cluster swap file settings.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Network Virtual Machine Configuration

ESXi networking features provide communication between virtual machines on the same host, between virtual machines on different hosts, and between other virtual and physical machines. The networking features also allow management of ESXi hosts and provide communication between VMkernel services (NFS, iSCSI, or vSphere vMotion) and the physical network. When you configure networking for a virtual machine, you select or change an adapter type, a network connection, and whether to connect the network when the virtual machine powers on.

Network Adapter Types

When you configure a virtual machine, you can add network adapters (NICs) and specify the adapter type. The type of network adapters that are available depend on the following factors:
n n n

The virtual machine version, which depends on what host created it or most recently updated it. Whether the virtual machine has been updated to the latest version for the current host. The guest operating system.

The following NIC types are supported: E1000 Emulated version of the Intel 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet NIC, with drivers available in most newer guest operating systems, including Windows XP and later and Linux versions 2.4.19 and later. Identifies itself as a Vlance adapter when a virtual machine boots, but initializes itself and functions as either a Vlance or a VMXNET adapter, depending on which driver initializes it. With VMware Tools installed, the VMXNET driver changes the Vlance adapter to the higher performance VMXNET adapter. Emulated version of the AMD 79C970 PCnet32 LANCE NIC, an older 10 Mbps NIC with drivers available in most 32bit guest operating systems except Windows Vista and later. A virtual machine configured with this network adapter can use its network immediately. Optimized for performance in a virtual machine and has no physical counterpart. Because operating system vendors do not provide built-in drivers for this card, you must install VMware Tools to have a driver for the VMXNET network adapter available. Based on the VMXNET adapter but provides high-performance features commonly used on modern networks, such as jumbo frames and hardware offloads. VMXNET 2 (Enhanced) is available only for some guest operating systems on ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later. Next generation of a paravirtualized NIC designed for performance. VMXNET 3 offers all the features available in VMXNET 2 and adds several new features, such as multiqueue support (also known as Receive Side Scaling in Windows), IPv6 offloads, and MSI/MSI-X interrupt delivery. VMXNET 3 is not related to VMXNET or VMXNET 2.

Flexible

Vlance

VMXNET

VMXNET 2 (Enhanced)

VMXNET 3

For network adapter compatibility considerations, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.

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Network Adapters and Legacy Virtual Machines

Legacy virtual machines are virtual machines that are supported by the product in use, but are not current for that product. The default network adapter types for all legacy virtual machines depend on the adapters available and compatible to the guest operating system and the version of virtual hardware on which the virtual machine was created. If you do not upgrade a virtual machine to correspond with an upgrade to a newer version of an ESXi host, your adapter settings remain unchanged. If you upgrade your virtual machine to take advantage of newer virtual hardware, your default adapter settings will likely change to be compatible with the guest operating system and upgraded host hardware. To verify the network adapters that are available to your supported guest operating system for a particular version of vSphere ESXi, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Change the Virtual Network Adapter (NIC) Configuration in the vSphere Web Client
You can change the power-on connection setting, the MAC address, and the network connection for the virtual network adapter configuration for a virtual machine. Prerequisites Required privilege: Network.Assign network on a network if you are changing the network the virtual machine connects to. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
n

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the network adapter to expand the network adapter options. (Optional) Specify how the MAC address is assigned.
n n

Select Automatic to automatically assign a MAC address. Select Manual to manually enter the MAC address you want.

From the Network Connection drop-down menu, select the network to connect to. The menu lists all networks configured for virtual machine use on the host.

(Optional) Change the Status settings.

Option Connected Description Select or deselect this option while the virtual machine is running to connect or disconnect the virtual network adapter. This check box is not available when the virtual machine is not powered on. Select this option for the virtual network adapter to connect to the network when the virtual machine powers on. If you do not check this option, you must manually connect the adapter in order for the virtual machine to access the network.

Connect at power on

Click OK.

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Change the Virtual Network Adapter (NIC) Configuration in the vSphere Client
You can change the power-on connection setting, the MAC address, and the network connection for the virtual network adapter configuration for a virtual machine. Prerequisites Required Privileges:
n n n

Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings for editing the MAC address and network. Virtual machine.Interaction.Device connection for changing Connect and Connect at power on. Network.Assign network

Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the appropriate NIC in the Hardware list. (Optional) To connect the virtual NIC when the virtual machine is powered on, select Connect at power on. (Optional) Click the blue information icon under DirectPath I/O to view details regarding the virtual NIC's DirectPath I/O status and capability. Select an option for MAC address configuration.
Option Automatic Manual Description vSphere assigns a MAC address automatically. Type the MAC address to use.

Configure the Network Connection for the virtual NIC.

Option Standard settings Description The virtual NIC connects to a standard or distributed port group. Select the port group for the virtual NIC to connect to from the Network label dropdown menu. The virtual NIC connects to a specific port on a vSphere distributed switch. This option appears only when a vSphere distributed switch is available. a Click Switch to advanced settings. b Select a vSphere distributed switch for the virtual NIC to use from the VDS drop-down menu. c Type the Port ID of the distributed port for virtual NIC to connect to.

Advanced settings

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Add a Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

When you add a network adapter (NIC) to a virtual machine, you select the adapter type, network connection, and whether the device should connect when the virtual machine is powered on. Prerequisites Required privilege: Network.Assign network on a network.

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select Network and click Add device. The new network adapter appears in the virtual devices list above.

5 6 7

Click the triangle next to the new network adapter to expand the network adapter options. From the Adapter Type drop-down menu, select the adapter type to use. (Optional) Specify how the MAC address is assigned.
n n

Select Automatic to automatically assign a MAC address. Select Manual to manually enter the MAC address you want.

From the Network Connection drop-down menu, select the network to connect to. The menu lists all networks configured for virtual machine use on the host.

(Optional) Change the Device status settings.

Connect at power on

Click OK.

Add a Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

When you add a Network adapter (NIC) to a virtual machine, you select the adapter type, the network connection, and whether the device should connect when the virtual machine is powered on. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select Ethernet Adapter, and click Next. Select an adapter type from the drop-down menu. In the Network connection panel, select either a named network with a specified label or a legacy network. To connect the virtual NIC when the virtual machine is powered on, select Connect at power on. Click Next. Review your selections and click Finish. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Parallel and Serial Port Configuration

Parallel and serial ports are interfaces for connecting peripherals to the virtual machine. The virtual serial port can connect to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use it to establish a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. You can add parallel and serial ports and change the serial port configuration.

Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines

You can set up virtual serial ports connections for vSphere virtual machines in several ways. The connection method that you select depends on the task that you need to accomplish. You can set up virtual serial ports to send data in the following ways. Physical serial port on the host Output to file Sets the virtual machine to use a physical serial port on the host computer. This method is useful for using an external modem or a hand-held device in a virtual machine. Sends output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. This method is useful for capturing the data that a program running in the virtual machine sends to the virtual serial port. Sets a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. With this method, two virtual machines or a virtual machine and a process on the host can communicate as if they were physical machines connected by a serial cable. For example, you can use this option for remote debugging on a virtual machine. Enables a serial connection to and from a virtual machine's serial port over the network. The Virtual Serial Port Concentrator (vSPC) aggregates traffic from multiple serial ports onto one management console. vSPC behavior is similar to physical serial port concentrators. Using a vSPC also allows network connections to a virtual machine's serial ports to migrate seamlessly when you use vMotion to migrate the virtual machine. For requirements and steps to configure the Avocent ACS v6000 virtual serial port concentrator, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1022303.

Connect to a named pipe

Connect over the network

Server and Client Connections for Named Pipe and Network Serial Ports
You can select a client or server connection for serial ports. Your selection determines whether the system waits for a connection or initiates it. Typically, to control a virtual machine over a serial port, you select a server connection. This selection allows you to control the connections, which is useful if you connect to the virtual machine only occasionally. To use a serial port for logging, select a client connection. This selection allows the virtual machine to connect to the logging server when the virtual machine starts and to disconnect when it stops.

Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Network Serial Ports

Before you connect network-backed virtual serial ports, you must add one of the following firewall rule sets to prevent the firewall from blocking traffic:
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VM serial port connected over network. Use to connect the serial port output through a network without the virtual serial port concentrator.

IMPORTANT Do not change the allowed IP list for either rule set. Updates to the IP list can affect other network services that might be blocked by the firewall. For details about adding rule sets to a firewall, see the vSphere Security documentation.

Physical Serial Port Conditions

When you use a physical serial port for serial port passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the following conditions apply:
Supported Serial ports that are integrated into the motherboard Not Supported Migration with vMotion

Serial ports present on add-on expansion cards might be supported by PCI DirectPath I/O. See Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Web Client, on page 148 or Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Client, on page 149. Serial ports connected through USB are not supported for serial port passthrough. They might be supported by USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine. See USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine, on page 153.

Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections

If you add or configure a serial port that is backed by a remote network connection, ESXi firewall settings can prevent transmissions. Before you connect network-backed virtual serial ports, you must add one of the following firewall rule sets to prevent the firewall from blocking communication:
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VM serial port connected to vSPC. Use to connect the serial port output through a network with the Use virtual serial port concentrator option enabled to allow only outgoing communication from the host. VM serial port connected over network. Use to connect the serial port output through a network without the virtual serial port concentrator.

IMPORTANT Do not change the allowed IP list for either rule set. Updates to the IP list can affect other network services that might be blocked by the firewall. For details about allowing access to an ESXi service through the firewall, see the vSphere Security documentation.

Change the Serial Port Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

A virtual machine can use up to four virtual serial ports. You can connect the virtual serial port to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use a host-side named pipe to set up a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. In addition, you can use a port or vSPC URI to connect a serial port over the network. Virtual machines can be in a powered-on state during configuration. Prerequisites
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Check that you known the correct media types for the port to access, vSPC connections, and any conditions that might apply. See Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 115.

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To connect a serial port over a network, add a Firewall rule set. See Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections, on page 116. Required privileges:
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings on the virtual machine. Virtual machine.Interaction.Device connection on the virtual machine to change the device connection status.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the serial port to expand the serial port options. (Optional) Change the Device status settings.
Option Connected Connect at power on Description Connects or disconnects the device while the virtual machine is running. Connects the device whenever you power on the virtual machine. You can change this setting when the virtual machine is either powered on or powered off.

Select a connection type.

Option Use physical serial port Use output file Use named pipe Action Select this option to have the virtual machine use a physical serial port on the host computer. Select the serial port from the drop-down menu. Select this option to send output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. Browse to select an output file to connect the serial port to. Select this option to set a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. a Type a name for the pipe in the Pipe Name field. b Select the Near end and Far end of the pipe from the drop-down menus. Select Use network to connect through a remote network. a Select the network backing. n Select Server to have the virtual machine monitor incoming connections from other hosts. n Select Client to have the virtual machine initiate a connection to another host. b Enter a Port URI. The URI is the remote end of the serial port to which the virtual machine's serial port should connect. If vSPC is used as an intermediate step to access all virtual machines through a single IP address, select Use Virtual Serial Port Concentrator and enter the vSPC URI location.

Connect over the network

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(Optional) Select Yield on poll. Select this option only for guest operating systems that use serial ports in polled mode. This option prevents the guest from consuming excessive CPUs.

Click OK.

Example: Establishing Serial Port Network Connections to a Client or Server

If you do not use vSPC and you configure your virtual machine with a serial port connected as a server with a telnet://:12345 URI, you can connect to your virtual machine's serial port from your Linux or Windows operating system.
telnet yourESXiServerIPAddress 12345

Similarly, if you run the Telnet Server on your Linux system on port 23 (telnet://yourLinuxBox:23), you configure the virtual machine as a client URI.
telnet://yourLinuxBox:23

The virtual machine initiates the connection to your Linux system on port 23.

Change the Serial Port Configuration in the vSphere Client

A virtual machine can use up to four virtual serial ports. You can connect the virtual serial port to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also set up a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer by using a hostside-named pipe. In addition, you can use a port or vSPC URI to connect a serial port over the network. Virtual machines can be in a powered-on state during configuration. Prerequisites
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Check that you known the correct media types for the port to access, vSPC connections, and any conditions that might apply. See Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 115. To connect a serial port over a network, add a Firewall rule set. See Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections, on page 116. Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Device connection

Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select a serial port in the Hardware list. (Optional) Change the Device status settings.
Option Connected Connect at power on Description Connects or disconnects the device while the virtual machine is running. Connects the device whenever you power on the virtual machine. You can change this setting when the virtual machine is either powered on or powered off.

Select a connection type.

Option Use physical serial port Use output file Action Select this option to have the virtual machine use a physical serial port on the host computer. Select the serial port from the drop-down menu. Select this option to send output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. Browse to select an output file to connect the serial port to.

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Option Use named pipe

Action Select this option to set a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. a Type a name for the pipe in the Pipe Name field. b Select the Near end and Far end of the pipe from the drop-down menus. Select Use network to connect through a remote network. a Select the network backing. n Select Server to have the virtual machine monitor incoming connections from other hosts. n Select Client to have the virtual machine initiate a connection to another host. b Enter a Port URI. The URI is the remote end of the serial port to which the virtual machine's serial port should connect. If vSPC is used as an intermediate step to access all virtual machines through a single IP address, select Use Virtual Serial Port Concentrator and enter the vSPC URI location.

Connect over the network

(Optional) Select Yield on poll. Select this option only for guest operating systems that use serial ports in polled mode. This option prevents the guest from consuming excessive CPUs.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Example: Establishing Serial Port Network Connections to a Client or Server

Similarly, if you run the Telnet Server on your Linux system on port 23 (telnet://yourLinuxBox:23), you configure the virtual machine as a client URI.
telnet://yourLinuxBox:23

The virtual machine initiates the connection to your Linux system on port 23.

Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

Verify that the virtual machine is powered off. Check that you known the correct media types for the port to access, vSPC connections, and any conditions that might apply. See Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 115. To connect a serial port over a network, add a Firewall rule set. See Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections, on page 116. Required privilege: Virtual Machine .Configuration.Add or Remove Device

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select Serial Port and click Add device. The serial port appears in the virtual device list.

5 6

Click the triangle next to the serial port to expand the serial port options. Select a connection type.
Option Use physical serial port Use output file Use named pipe Action Select this option to have the virtual machine use a physical serial port on the host computer. Select the serial port from the drop-down menu. Select this option to send output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. Browse to select an output file to connect the serial port to. Select this option to set a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. a Type a name for the pipe in the Pipe Name field. b Select the Near end and Far end of the pipe from the drop-down menus. Select Use network to connect through a remote network. a Select the network backing. n Select Server to have the virtual machine monitor incoming connections from other hosts. n Select Client to have the virtual machine initiate a connection to another host. b Enter a Port URI. The URI is the remote end of the serial port to which the virtual machine's serial port should connect. If vSPC is used as an intermediate step to access all virtual machines through a single IP address, select Use Virtual Serial Port Concentrator and enter the vSPC URI location.

Connect over the network

(Optional) Select Yield on poll. Select this option only for guest operating systems that use serial ports in polled mode. This option prevents the guest from consuming excessive CPUs.

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(Optional) Deselect Connect at power on if you do not want the parallel port device to be connected when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Example: Establishing Serial Port Network Connections to a Client or Server

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Similarly, if you run the Telnet Server on your Linux system on port 23 (telnet://yourLinuxBox:23), you configure the virtual machine as a client URI.
telnet://yourLinuxBox:23

The virtual machine initiates the connection to your Linux system on port 23.

Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

A virtual machine can use up to four virtual serial ports. You can connect the virtual serial port to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use a host-side-named pipe to set up a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. In addition, you can use a port or vSPC URI to connect a serial port over the network. Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is powered off. Familiarize yourself with the media types for the port to access, vSPC connections, and any conditions that might apply. See Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines, on page 115. To connect a serial port over a network, add a Firewall rule set. See Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections, on page 116. Required privilege: Virtual Machine .Configuration.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select Add. Select Serial Port and click Next. On the Serial Port Type page, select the type of media for the port to access.
Option Use physical serial port on the host Output to file Connect to named pipe Connect via network Description Click Next and select the port from the drop-down menu. Click Next and browse to the location of the file on the host to store the output of the virtual serial port. a b a Click Next and type a name for the pipe in the Pipe Name field. Select the Near end and Far end of the pipe from the drop-down menus. Click Next and clickServer or Client and type the Port URI. The URI is the remote end of the serial port to which the virtual machine's serial port should connect. If vSPC is used as an intermediate step to access all virtual machines through a single IP address, select Use Virtual Serial Port Concentrator (vSPC) and type the vSPC URI location.

5 6

(Optional) Deselect Connect at power on if you do not want the parallel port device to be connected when the virtual machine powers on. (Optional) Select Yield on poll. Select this option only for guest operating systems that use serial ports in polled mode. This option prevents the guest from consuming excessive CPUs.

Review the information on the Ready to Complete page and click Finish.

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Example: Establishing Serial Port Network Connections to a Client or Server

Similarly, if you run the Telnet Server on your Linux system on port 23 (telnet://yourLinuxBox:23), you configure the virtual machine as a client URI.
telnet://yourLinuxBox:23

The virtual machine initiates the connection to your Linux system on port 23.

Change the Parallel Port Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

2 3 4 5 6 7

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Locate the parallel port in the device list and expand the menu. Select Output to file and click Browse to navigate to the file location. (Optional) Deselect Connect at power on if you do not want the parallel port device to be connected when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Change the Parallel Port Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can change the output file and schedule the parallel port to connect or disconnect when the virtual machine powers on. You can use a parallel port on the virtual machine to send output to a file. You cannot use a physical parallel port on ESXi hosts. Virtual machines can be powered on during the configuration Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the parallel port to change. Select Output to file and click Browse to navigate to the file location. (Optional) Deselect Connect at power on if you do not want the parallel port device to be connected when the virtual machine powers on.

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Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

You can add a parallel port to a virtual machine and send output to a file on the host computer. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select Parallel Port and click Add device. The parallel port appears in the virtual device list above.

5 6 7 8

Select Output to file and browse to the location of the file. (Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. (Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can use the Add Hardware wizard to add and configure a parallel port to send output to a file on the host computer. Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is powered off. Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device

Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select Parallel Port and click Next. Select Output to file and browse to the location of the file. (Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. Click Next. Review the information on the Ready to Complete page, and click Finish.

Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings in the vSphere Web Client

N-port ID virtualization (NPIV) provides the ability to share a single physical Fibre Channel HBA port among multiple virtual ports, each with unique identifiers. This capability lets you control virtual machine access to LUNs on a per-virtual machine basis. Each virtual port is identified by a pair of world wide names (WWNs): a world wide port name (WWPN) and a world wide node name (WWNN). These WWNs are assigned by vCenter Server.

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For detailed information on how to configure NPIV for a virtual machine, see vSphere Storage. NPIV support is subject to the following limitations:
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NPIV must be enabled on the SAN switch. Contact the switch vendor for information about enabling NPIV on their devices. NPIV is supported only for virtual machines with RDM disks. Virtual machines with regular virtual disks continue to use the WWNs of the hosts physical HBAs. The physical HBAs on the ESXi host must have access to a LUN using its WWNs in order for any virtual machines on that host to have access to that LUN using their NPIV WWNs. Ensure that access is provided to both the host and the virtual machines. The physical HBAs on the ESXi host must support NPIV. If the physical HBAs do not support NPIV, the virtual machines running on that host will fall back to using the WWNs of the hosts physical HBAs for LUN access. Each virtual machine can have up to 4 virtual ports. NPIV-enabled virtual machines are assigned exactly 4 NPIV-related WWNs, which are used to communicate with physical HBAs through virtual ports. Therefore, virtual machines can utilize up to 4 physical HBAs for NPIV purposes.

Prerequisites
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To edit the virtual machines WWNs, power off the virtual machine. Verify that the virtual machine has a datastore containing a LUN that is available to the host.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Fibre Channel NPIV triangle to expand the NPIV options. (Optional) Select the Temporarily Disable NPIV for this virtual machine check box. Select an option for assigning WWNs.
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To leave WWNs unchanged, select Leave unchanged. To have vCenter Server or the ESXi host generate new WWNs, select Generate New WWNs. To remove the current WWN assignments, select Remove WWN assignment.

Click OK.

Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings in the vSphere Client

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NPIV support is subject to the following limitations:

You can view or edit the virtual machines WWNs on the Options tab. Prerequisites
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To edit the virtual machines WWNs, power off the virtual machine. Verify that the virtual machine has a datastore containing a LUN that is available to the host.

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced select Fibre Channel NPIV. (Optional) Select the Temporarily Disable NPIV for this virtual machine check box. Assigned WWNs appear in the WWN Assignments panel.
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5 6

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box. Provide the WWN assignments to your SAN administrator. The administrator needs the assignments to configure virtual machine access to the LUN.

Virtual Disk Configuration

You can add virtual disks and add more space to existing disks, even when the virtual machine is running. You can set most of the virtual disk parameters during virtual machine creation or after you install the guest operating system. You can store virtual machine data in a new virtual disk, an existing virtual disk, or a mapped SAN LUN. A virtual disk, which appears as a single hard disk to the guest operating system, is composed of one or more files on the host file system. You can copy or move virtual disks on the same hosts or between hosts. For virtual machines running on an ESXi host, you can store the virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN instead of storing it in a virtual disk file. This ability is useful if you are running applications in your virtual machines that must detect the physical characteristics of the storage device. Additionally, mapping a SAN LUN allows you to use existing SAN commands to manage storage for the disk.

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When you map a LUN to a VMFS volume, vCenter Server creates a raw device mapping (RDM) file that points to the raw LUN. Encapsulating disk information in a file allows vCenter Server to lock the LUN so that only one virtual machine can write to it. This file has a .vmdk extension, but the file contains only disk information that describes the mapping to the LUN on the ESXi system. The actual data is stored on the LUN. You cannot deploy a virtual machine from a template and store its data on a LUN. You can store only its data in a virtual disk file.

About Virtual Disk Provisioning Policies

When you perform certain virtual machine management operations, such as creating a virtual disk, cloning a virtual machine to a template, or migrating a virtual machine, you can specify a provisioning policy for the virtual disk file. NFS datastores with Hardware Acceleration and VMFS datastores support the following disk provisioning policies. On NFS datastores that do not support Hardware Acceleration, only thin format is available. You can use Storage vMotion to transform virtual disks from one format to another. Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Creates a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated when the virtual disk is created. Data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from the virtual machine. Using the default flat virtual disk format does not zero out or eliminate the possibility of recovering deleted files or restoring old data that might be present on this allocated space. You cannot convert a flat disk to a thin disk. Thick Provision Eager Zeroed A type of thick virtual disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out when the virtual disk is created. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks. Use this format to save storage space. For the thin disk, you provision as much datastore space as the disk would require based on the value that you enter for the disk size. However, the thin disk starts small and at first, uses only as much datastore space as the disk needs for its initial operations. NOTE If a virtual disk supports clustering solutions such as Fault Tolerance, do not make the disk thin. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to its maximum capacity and occupy the entire datastore space provisioned to it. Also, you can manually convert the thin disk into a thick disk.

Thin Provision

Change the Virtual Disk Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

You can change the virtual device node, the size of the disk, and the persistence mode for virtual disk configuration for a virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings.

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3 4 5 6

Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to a virtual disk to expand the disk options. (Optional) To change the size of the disk, type a new value in the Provisioned Size text box and select the units from the drop-down menu. (Optional) Select a disk mode.
Option Dependent Independent - Persistent Description Dependent disks are included in snapshots. Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

Change the Virtual Disk Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can change the virtual device node, the size of the disk, and the persistence mode for virtual disk configuration for a virtual machine. NOTE The Manage Paths feature for RDM disks is not available for virtual machines on legacy hosts running versions of ESX Server earlier than 3.0. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the hard disk to modify. The name of the disk file and the disk type (thick or thin) appear in the upper-right pane. 3 4 5 Select a Virtual Device Node type from the drop-down menu. To change the size of the disk, enter a new value in the Provisioned Size text box. (Optional) To change the way disks are affected by snapshots, click Independent and select an option.
Option Independent - Persistent Description Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

When you add a hard disk to a virtual machine, you can create a new virtual disk, add an existing virtual disk, or add a mapped SAN LUN.
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Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client on page 128 You can create a virtual hard disk and add it to a virtual machine. Add an Existing Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client on page 130 You can add an existing hard disk to a virtual machine. Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client on page 130 You can use a raw device mapping (RDM) to store virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN, instead of storing it in a virtual disk file.

Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can create a virtual hard disk and add it to a virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select New Hard Disk and click Add device. The hard disk appears in the virtual devices list.

5 6 7

Click the triangle next to the new hard disk to expand the hard disk options. (Optional) Type a value in the Provisioned Size text box and select the units from the drop-down menu. Select the location for the virtual disk.
Option Store the disk with the virtual machine Store the disk on another datastore or datastore cluster Action Select Store with the virtual machine. The disk will be stored in the same location as the virtual machine configuration file. a b c Select Browse. Select a datastore or datastore cluster. If you selected a datastore cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this disk, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the datastore cluster. Click OK.

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Select a disk provisioning option.

Option Allocate and commit space on demand (Thin Provisioning) Description Saves storage space. For the thin disk, you provision as much datastore space as the disk would require based on the value you enter for the disk size. However, the thin disk starts small and at first, uses only as much datastore space as the disk actually needs for its initial operations. NOTE If a virtual disk supports clustering solutions such as Fault Tolerance, do not make the disk thin. If the thin disk needs more space later, it can expand to its maximum capacity and occupy the entire datastore space provisioned to it. Also, you can manually convert the thin disk into a thick virtual disk. A type of thick virtual disk that support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is overwritten with zeroes during creation. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types of disks.

Flat pre-initialized

In the Shares drop-down menu, select a value for the shares to allocate to the virtual disk. Shares is a value that represents the relative metric for controlling disk bandwidth. The values Low, Normal, High, and Custom are compared to the sum of all shares of all virtual machines on the host. Share allocation symbolic values can be used to configure their conversion into numeric values.

10 11

If you selected Custom, type a number of shares in the text box. In the Limit - IOPs box, enter the upper limit of storage resources to allocate to the virtual machine, or select Unlimited. This value is the upper limit of I/O operations per second allocated to the virtual disk.

Accept the default or select a different virtual device node. In most cases, you can accept the default device node. For a hard disk, a nondefault device node is useful to control the boot order or to have different SCSI controller types. For example, you might want to boot from an LSI Logic controller and share a data disk with another virtual machine that is using a Buslogic controller with bus sharing turned on.

(Optional) Select a disk mode.

Option Dependent Independent - Persistent Description Dependent disks are included in snapshots. Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

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Add an Existing Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can add an existing hard disk to a virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select Existing Hard Disk and click Add device. Browse for and select the disk file and click OK. The disk appears in the virtual devices list.

What to do next
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(Optional) Change the virtual disk configuration. See Change the Virtual Disk Configuration in the vSphere Web Client, on page 126. (Optional) Use disk shares to prioritize virtual machine access to this disk. See Use Disk Shares to Prioritize Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client, on page 132.

Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

You can use a raw device mapping (RDM) to store virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN, instead of storing it in a virtual disk file. When you give a virtual machine direct access to an RDM disk, you create a mapping file that resides on a VMFS datastore and points to the LUN. Although the mapping file has the same .vmdk extension as a regular virtual disk file, the mapping file contains only mapping information. The virtual disk data is stored directly on the LUN. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select RDM Disk and click Add device. Select the target LUN for the raw device mapping and click OK. The disk appears in the virtual device list.

Select the location for the mapping file.

To store the mapping file with the virtual machine configuration file, select Store with the virtual machine. To select a location for the mapping file, select Browse and select the datastore location for the disk.

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Select a compatibility mode.

Option Physical Description Allows the guest operating system to access the hardware directly. Physical compatibility is useful if you are using SAN-aware applications on the virtual machine. However, a virtual machine with a physical compatibility RDM cannot be cloned, made into a template, or migrated if the migration involves copying the disk. Allows the RDM to behave as if it were a virtual disk, so you can use such features as taking snapshots, cloning, and so on. When you clone the disk or make a template out of it, the contents of the LUN are copied into a .vmdk virtual disk file. When you migrate a virtual compatibility mode RDM, you can migrate the mapping file or copy the contents of the LUN into a virtual disk.

Virtual

(Optional) If you selected virtual compatibility mode, select a disk mode. Disk modes are not available for RDM disks using physical compatibility mode.
Option Dependent Independent - Persistent Description Dependent disks are included in snapshots. Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

When you add a hard disk to a virtual machine, you can create a new virtual disk, add an existing virtual disk, or add a mapped SAN LUN. In most cases, you can accept the default device node. For a hard disk, a nondefault device node is useful to control the boot order or to have different SCSI controller types. For example, you might want to boot from an LSI Logic controller and use a Buslogic controller with bus sharing turned on to share a data disk with another virtual machine. NOTE You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate virtual machines that use raw disks for clustering purposes. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select Hard Disk and click Next.

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Select the type of disk to use.

Option Create a new virtual disk Action a b Type the disk capacity. Select a disk format. n Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed creates a virtual disk in a default thick format. n Thick Provision Eager Zeroed creates a type of thick virtual disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance. n Thin Provision creates a disk in thin format. Use this format to save storage space. Select a location to store the disk. Store with the virtual machine or Specify a datastore. If you selected Specify a datastore, browse for the datastore location, and click Next.

c d Use an Existing Virtual Disk Raw Device Mappings

Browse for the disk file path and click Next. Gives your virtual machine direct access to SAN. a Select the LUN to use for the raw disk, and click Next. b Select the datastore and click Next. c Select the compatibility mode. n Physical allows the guest operating system to access the hardware directly. n Virtual allows the virtual machine to use VMware snapshots and other advanced functions. d Click Next.

Independent - Nonpersistent

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Click Next. Review the information and click Finish. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Use Disk Shares to Prioritize Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client
You can change the disk resources for a virtual machine. If multiple virtual machines access the same VMFS datastore and the same logical unit number (LUN), use disk shares to prioritize the disk accesses from the virtual machines. Disk shares distinguish high-priority from low-priority virtual machines. You can allocate the host disk's I/O bandwidth to the virtual hard disks of a virtual machine. Disk I/O is a hostcentric resource so you cannot pool it across a cluster.

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Shares is a value that represents the relative metric for controlling disk bandwidth to all virtual machines. The values are compared to the sum of all shares of all virtual machines on the server. Disk shares are relevant only within a given host. The shares assigned to virtual machines on one host have no effect on virtual machines on other hosts. You can select an IOP limit, which sets an upper bound for storage resources that are allocated to a virtual machine. IOPs are the number of I/O operations per second. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to a virtual disk to expand the disk options. In the Shares drop-down menu, select a value for the shares to allocate to the virtual machine. If you selected Custom, enter a number of shares in the text box. In the Limit - IOPs box, enter the upper limit of storage resources to allocate to the virtual machine, or select Unlimited. Click OK.

Use Disk Shares to Prioritize Virtual Machines in the vSphere Client

You can change the disk resources for a virtual machine. If multiple virtual machines access the same VMFS datastore and the same logical unit number (LUN), use disk shares to prioritize the disk accesses from the virtual machines. Disk shares distinguish high-priority from low-priority virtual machines. You can allocate the host disk's I/O bandwidth to the virtual hard disks of a virtual machine. Disk I/O is a hostcentric resource so you cannot pool it across a cluster. Shares is a value that represents the relative metric for controlling disk bandwidth to all virtual machines. The values are compared to the sum of all shares of all virtual machines on the server. Disk shares are relevant only within a given ESXi host. The shares assigned to virtual machines on one host have no effect on virtual machines on other hosts. You can select an IOP limit, which sets an upper bound for storage resources that are allocated to a virtual machine. IOPs are the number of I/O operations per second. Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Resources tab and select Disk. In the Resource Allocation panel, select the virtual hard disk to change. Click the Shares column and change the value to allocate a number of shares of its disk bandwidth to the virtual machine.
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Low (500) Normal (1000)

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High (2000) Custom

When you select a shares symbolic value, the numeric value appears in the Shares Value column. You can select Custom to enter a user-defined shares value. 5 6 Click the Limit - IOPS column and enter the upper limit of storage resources to allocate to the virtual machine. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Converting Virtual Disks from Thin to Thick

You can determine whether your virtual disk is in the thin provision format and, if required, convert it to the thick provision format. For more information on thin provisioning and available disk formats, see the vSphere Storage documentation.

Determine the Disk Format of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can determine whether your virtual disk is in thick or thin format. If you have thin provisioned disks, you can change them to thick by selecting Flat pre-initialized disk provisioning. You change thick provisioned disks to thin by selecting Allocate and commit space on demand. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the virtual disk to expand the disk options. The disk type is displayed in the Disk Provisioning field.

Click OK.

What to do next If your virtual disk is in the thin format, you can inflate it to its full size using the vSphere Client. See the vSphere Client online Help.

Determine the Disk Format of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can determine whether your virtual disk is in thick or thin format. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the appropriate hard disk in the Hardware list. The Disk Provisioning section on the right shows the type of your virtual disk. 3 Click OK.

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What to do next If your virtual disk is in the thin format, you can inflate it to its full size.

Convert a Virtual Disk from Thin to Thick

If you created a virtual disk in the thin provision format, you can convert it to the thick provision format. The thin provisioned disk starts small and at first, uses just as much storage space as it needs for its initial operations. After having been converted, the virtual disk grows to its full capacity and occupies the entire datastore space provisioned to it during the disks creation. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Select the virtual machine in the inventory. Click the Summary tab and, under Resources, double-click the datastore for the virtual machine to open the Datastore Browser dialog box. Click the virtual machine folder to find the virtual disk file you want to convert. The file has the .vmdk extension. Right-click the virtual disk file and select Inflate.

The virtual disk in the thick provision format occupies the entire datastore space originally provisioned to it.

Understanding Virtual Machine Storage Profiles

Virtual machine storage profiles list the storage capabilities that virtual machine home files and virtual disks require to run the applications within the virtual machine. You can create a list of virtual machine storage profiles to define different levels of storage requirements. The virtual machine home files (.vmx, .vmsd, .nvram, .log, and so on) and the virtual disks (.vmdk) can have separate virtual machine storage profiles as shown in the following table. Table 8-8. Example Virtual Machine Storage Profiles for a Virtual Machine
Example Virtual Machine Files Example for a VM Storage Profile Example for a Datastore Compliant with the VM Storage Profile

windows_2008r2_test.vmx windows_2008r2_test.vmxf windows_2008r2_test.log windows_2008r2_test.nvram windows_2008r2_test.vmem windows_2008r2_test.vmsd windows_2008r2_test.vmdk windows_2008r2_test_1.vmdk

Storage Profile 3 Storage Profile 5 datastore05 datastore10 Storage Profile 2 datastore02

When you create, clone, or migrate a virtual machine, you can select to associate it with a virtual machine storage profile. When you select a virtual machine storage profile, vSphere Client shows you the datastores that are compatible with the capabilities of the profile. You can then select a datastore or a datastore cluster. If you select a datastore that does not match the virtual machine storage profile, the vSphere Client shows that the virtual machine is using non-compliant storage.

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Associate a Virtual Machine Storage Profile with a Virtual Machine and Its Virtual Disks
You can associate a virtual machine storage profile with a virtual machine to define the storage capabilities that are required by the applications running on the virtual machine. You can associate a virtual machine storage profile with a powered-off and powered-on virtual machine. Procedure 1 Open the Profiles tab of a virtual machine.
Option Edit the settings of a virtual machine Description a b Use the virtual machine context menu Right-click a virtual machine from the inventory and select Edit Settings. In the Virtual Machine Properties window, select the Profiles tab.

Right-click a virtual machine from the inventory and select VM Storage Profile > Manage Profiles.

Associate the virtual machine home files with a virtual machine storage profile from the Home VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. NOTE The virtual machine home files include the file types .vmx, .vmsd, .nvram, and so on.

3 4 5

(Optional) Click Propagate to disks to associate all virtual disks with the same virtual machine storage profile. Under VM storage profiles for virtual disks, associate each virtual disk with a different virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu. Click OK.

The virtual machine storage profile name appears in the VM Storage Profiles pane of the Summary tab for the virtual machine. NOTE If you add a new virtual disk and associate it with a virtual machine storage profile at the same time, the VMware vSphere Profile-Driven Storage Service might take some to associate the virtual machine storage profile with the new virtual disk.

SCSI Controller Configuration

To access virtual disks, a virtual machine uses virtual SCSI controllers. These virtual controllers appear to a virtual machine as different types of controllers, including BusLogic Parallel, LSI Logic Parallel, LSI Logic SAS, and VMware Paravirtual. You can add a SCSI controller, change the SCSI controller type, and select bus sharing for a virtual machine.

Change the SCSI Bus Sharing Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can set the type of SCSI bus sharing for a virtual machine and indicate whether the SCSI bus is shared. Depending on the type of sharing, virtual machines can access the same virtual disk simultaneously on the same server or on any server. You can change the SCSI controller configuration for a virtual machine on an ESXi host only. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select a SCSI Controller in the hardware list.

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Select the type of sharing in the SCSI Bus Sharing list.

Option None Virtual Physical Description Virtual disks cannot be shared by other virtual machines. Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on the same server. Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on any server.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change the SCSI Controller Type in the vSphere Web Client

You configure virtual SCSI controllers on your virtual machines to attach virtual disks and RDMs to. The choice of SCSI controller does not affect whether your virtual disk is an IDE or SCSI disk. The IDE adapter is always ATAPI. The default for your guest operating system is already selected. Older guest operating systems default to the BusLogic adapter. If you create an LSI Logic virtual machine and add a virtual disk that uses BusLogic adapters, the virtual machine boots from the BusLogic adapters disk. LSI Logic SAS is available only for virtual machines with hardware version 7 or later. Disks with snapshots might not experience performance gains when used on LSI Logic SAS, VMware Paravirtual, and LSI Logic Parallel adapters. CAUTION Changing the SCSI controller type might result in a virtual machine boot failure.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the SCSI controller to expand the SCSI controller options. Select a SCSI controller type from the Change Type drop-down menu. The vSphere Web Client displays information about what will happen if you change the controller type. If you have selected a controller type that is not recommended for the virtual machine's guest operating system, a warning is displayed.

Select whether to change the controller type.

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Click Change Type to change the controller type. Click Don't change to cancel the change and keep the original controller type.

Click OK.

Change the SCSI Controller Type in the vSphere Client

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If you create an LSI Logic virtual machine and add a virtual disk that uses BusLogic adapters, the virtual machine boots from the BusLogic adapters disk. LSI Logic SAS is available only for virtual machines with hardware version 7. Disks with snapshots might not experience performance gains when used on LSI Logic SAS, VMware Paravirtual, and LSI Logic Parallel adapters. CAUTION Changing the SCSI controller type might result in a virtual machine boot failure.

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab, select a SCSI controller, and click Change Type. Select a SCSI controller type and click OK. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers

Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) controllers are high performance storage controllers that can result in greater throughput and lower CPU use. PVSCSI controllers are best suited for high-performance storage environments. PVSCSI controllers are available for virtual machines running hardware version 7 and later. For platform support for PVSCSI controllers, see the VMware Compatibility Guide. PVSCSI controllers have the following limitations:
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Hot add or remove requires a bus rescan from within the guest operating system. Disks on PVSCSI controllers might not experience performance gains if they have snapshots or if memory on the ESXi host is over committed. If you upgrade your Linux virtual machine to an unsupported kernel, you might not be able to access data on the disks attached to a PVSCSI controller. To regain access to such disks, you can run vmware-configtools.pl with the kernel-version parameter to regain access. a b Upgrade the guest kernel but do not restart the guest. Run the VMware Tools configuration with the kernel-version parameter and pass the kernel version within the guest:
vmware-config-tools.pl --kernel-version kernel_version

To determine the kernel version, search for the directory name that was created in /lib/modules during the kernel upgrade. Use that directory name, including all dashes, periods, and other characters as an argument to --kernel-version. c
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Restart the guest.

MSCS clusters are not supported. PVSCSI controllers do not support boot disks, the disk that contains the system software, on Red Hat Linux 5 virtual machines. Attach the boot disk to the virtual machine by using any of the other supported controller types.

Add a Paravirtual SCSI Controller

You can add a VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) high performance storage controller to provide greater throughput and lower CPU utilization. PVSCSI controllers are best suited for environments, especially SAN environments, running I/O-intensive applications.

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Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine has a guest operating system with VMware Tools installed. Verify that the virtual machine has hardware version 7 or later. Ensure that you are familiar with PVSCSI limitations. See About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers, on page 138. To access boot disk devices attached to a PVSCSI controller, verify that the virtual machine has a Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 guest operating system. In some operating systems, before you change the controller type you need to create a virtual machine with an LSI Logic controller, install VMware Tools, then change to paravirtual mode.

Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select SCSI Device and click Next. Select a SCSI device in the Connection panel. Select an unused Virtual Device Node and click Next. For device node SCSI (0:2), 0 is the controller number and 2 is the number of the device that is attached to the controller. If you select a node on which devices already exist (for example, SCSI 0:3) you will add a SCSI device to the existing controller. To add a new controller, you must select an unused device node on an unused SCSI controller (for example 1:0). 6 Review your selections and click Finish. New SCSI Controller (adding) and New SCSI Device (adding) appear in the Hardware list. 7 8 9 10 11 Click OK to save your changes and exit the dialog box. Reopen the Virtual Machine Properties Editor. Select the new SCSI controller and click Change Type. Select VMware Paravirtual and click OK. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration

In addition to configuring virtual machine CPU and Memory and adding a hard disk and virtual NICs, you can also add and configure virtual hardware, such as DVD/CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, and SCSI devices. Not all devices are available to add and configure. For example, you cannot add a video card, but you can configure available video cards and PCI devices.

Change the CD/DVD Drive Configuration

You can configure DVD or CD devices to connect to client devices, host devices, or Datastore ISO files.

Configure a Client Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
You can connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device on the system from which you access the vSphere Web Client. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the CD/DVD drive to expand the CD/DVD drive options. Select the Client Device under Device Type. Select the mode used for the connection.
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Passthrough IDE (raw). Use mode only for remote client device access. Emulate IDE. Use to access a host CD-ROM device.

The host CD device is accessed through emulation mode. Passthrough mode is not functional for local host CD access. You can write or burn a remote CD only through pass-through mode access, but in emulation mode you can only read a CD-ROM from a host CD-ROM device. 7 8 In the drop-down menu under Virtual Device Node, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. Click OK.

Configure a Client Device Type for the DVD/CD-ROM Drive in the vSphere Client
You can connect the DVD/CD-ROM device to a physical DVD or CD-ROM device on the system running the vSphere Client. Procedure 1 2 3 Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory. Click the CD/DVD Connections icon on the virtual machine toolbar. Select a drive or ISO image from the CD/DVD drive drop-down menu. Passthrough IDE (raw) mode access is set by default, which lets you write or burn a remote CD.

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Configure a Host Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
You can connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device that resides on the host. You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the physical CD drive on the host. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine. When you add a CD/DVD drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding and removing SCSI devices is not supported. Prerequisites Ensure that the host is powered off before you add USB CD/DVD devices. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the CD/DVD drive to expand the drive options. In the Device Type drop-down menu, select Host Device. If there is more than one device available on the host, select the device. In the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. (Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. (Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Configure a Host Device Type for the DVD/CD-ROM Drive in the vSphere Client
You can connect the DVD/CD-ROM device to a physical DVD or CD-ROM device that resides on the host. You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the physical CD drive on the host. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine. When you add a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding or removing SCSI devices from an ESXi host is not supported. Prerequisites Ensure that the host is powered off before you add USB CD/DVD-ROM devices. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the DVD/CD-ROM drive. Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. If you do not want the CD-ROM drive connected when the virtual machine starts, deselect Connect at power on. Select Host Device under Device Type and select a device from the drop-down menu.

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6 7

(Optional) In the drop-down menu under Virtual Device Node, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Configure a Datastore ISO File for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
You can connect the CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the CD/DVD drive to expand the CD/DVD drive options. From the Device Type drop-down menu, Datastore ISO File and click Browse to navigate to the file. In the drop-down menu under Virtual Device Node, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. (Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. (Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Configure a Datastore ISO File for the DVD/CD-ROM Drive in the vSphere Client
You can connect the DVD/CD-ROM device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the DVD/CD-ROM drive. Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. If you do not want the CD-ROM drive connected when the virtual machine starts, deselect Connect at power on. Select Datastore ISO File under Device Type and click Browse to navigate to the file. In the drop-down menu under Virtual Device Node, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Add a CD or DVD Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

You can use a physical drive on a client or host or you can use an ISO image to add a CD/DVD drive to a virtual machine. If you are adding a CD/DVD drive that is backed by USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding and removing SCSI devices is not supported. You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the physical CD drive on the host. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine.

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Prerequisites Ensure that the host is powered off before you add USB CD/DVD devices. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select CD/DVD Drive and click Add device. The new drive appears in the virtual devices list above.

5 6

Click the triangle next to the new drive to expand the drive options. Select the type of device.
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Select Client Device to connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device on the system from which you access the vSphere Web Client. Select Host Device to connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device on the host. Select Datastore ISO File to connect the CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host.

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For client or host devices, select the mode used for the connection.
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Passthrough IDE (raw). Use mode only for remote client device access. Emulate IDE. Use to access a host CD-ROM device.

The host CD-ROM device is accessed through emulation mode. Passthrough mode is not functional for local host CD-ROM access. You can write or burn a remote CD only through pass-through mode access, but in emulation mode you can only read a CD-ROM from a host CD-ROM device. 8 9 10 11 (Optional) In the drop-down menu under Virtual Device Node, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine. (Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. (Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Add a DVD or CD-ROM Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can use a physical drive on a client or host or you can use an ISO image to add a DVD/CD-ROM drive to a virtual machine. If you are adding a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding or removing SCSI devices from an ESXi host is not supported. You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the physical CD drive on the host. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine. Prerequisites Ensure that the host is powered off before you add USB DVD/CD-ROM devices.

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Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Select the Hardware tab and click Add. Select DVD/CD-ROM Drive, and click Next. Select one option.
Option Use physical drive Description a b c Select Client or Host as the location. Select the drive you want to use from the drop-down menu. Select a Pass through (recommended) or ATAPI emulation connection type.

Use ISO Image

Enter the path and filename for the image file, or click Browse to navigate to the file.

5 6 7 8 9

If you do not want the CD-ROM drive connected when the virtual machine starts, deselect Connect at power on. Click Next. Select the virtual device node the drive uses in the virtual machine and click Next. Review the information on the Ready to Complete window, and click Finish or clickBack to change the settings. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the floppy device to expand the drive options.

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Select the device type to use for this virtual device.

Option Client Device Action Select this option to connect the floppy device to a physical floppy device or a .flp floppy image on the system from which you access the vSphere Web Client. a b Create new floppy image a b c Select this option to connect the virtual device to an existing floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and select the floppy image. Select this option to create a floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and browse to the location for the floppy image. Enter a name for the floppy image and click OK.

Existing File

6 7 8

(Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can configure a virtual floppy drive device to connect to a client device or to an existing or new floppy image. ESXi does not support floppy drives that are backed by a physical floppy drive on the host. NOTE You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have floppy drives backed by a physical floppy drive on ESX 3.5, 4. 0, and 4.x hosts that vCenter Server 5.0 manages. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the Floppy drive. Under Device Status, select Connect at power on to connect this virtual machine to the floppy drive when the virtual machine is powered on. Select the device type to use for this virtual device.
Option Client Device Description Select this option to connect the floppy device to a physical floppy device or a .flp floppy image on the system running the vSphere Client. To connect the device, click the Floppy Connections button in the toolbar when you power on the virtual machine. a b Create new floppy image in datastore a b c Select this option to connect the virtual device to an existing floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and select the floppy image. Select this option to create a floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and browse to the location for the floppy image. Enter a name for the floppy image and click OK.

Use existing floppy image in datastore

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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Add a Floppy Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

Use a physical floppy drive or a floppy image to add a floppy drive to a virtual machine. ESXi does not support floppy drives that are backed by a physical floppy drive on the host. NOTE You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have floppy drives backed by a physical floppy drive on ESX 3.5, 4. 0, and 4.x hosts that vCenter Server 5.0 manages. You must disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select Floppy Drive and click Add device. The new floppy drive appears in the virtual devices list above.

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Click the triangle next to the floppy device to expand the drive options. Select the device type to use for this virtual device.
Option Client Device Description Select this option to connect the floppy device to a physical floppy device or a .flp floppy image on the system from which you access the vSphere Web Client. a b Create new floppy image a b c Select this option to connect the virtual device to an existing floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and select the floppy image. Select this option to create a floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and browse to the location for the floppy image. Enter a name for the floppy image and click OK.

Existing File

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(Optional) Select or deselect the Connected check box to connect or disconnect the device. Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on. Click OK.

Add a Floppy Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

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2 3 4

Select the Hardware tab and click Add. Select Floppy Drive, and click Next. Select the device type to use for this virtual device.
Option Use a physical floppy drive Description Select this option to connect the floppy device to a physical floppy device or a .flp floppy image on the system running the vSphere Client. To connect the device, click the Floppy Connections button in the toolbar when you power on the virtual machine. a b Create a blank floppy image a b c Select this option to connect the virtual device to an existing floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and select the floppy image. Select this option to create a floppy image on a datastore accessible to the host. Click Browse and browse to the location for the floppy image. Enter a name for the floppy image and click OK.

Use a floppy image

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To have the floppy drive connected to the virtual machine when you power it on, select Connect at power on. Click Next. Review the information on the Ready to Complete page, and click Finish. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change the SCSI Device Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

You can change the physical device and configure the virtual device node for a virtual SCSI device. Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle next to the SCSI device to expand the device options. From the Connection drop-down menu, select the physical SCSI device to connect to. (Optional) From the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the virtual device node. Click OK.

Add a SCSI Device to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can add a SCSI device to a virtual machine through the Add Hardware wizard. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select Add.

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Select SCSI Device and click Next. Under Connection, use the drop-down menu to select a physical device. UnderVirtual Device Node, select the virtual device node where you want this device to appear in the virtual machine. Review the information in the Ready to Complete page, and click Finish. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Change the SCSI Device Configuration in the vSphere Web Client

You can change the physical device and configure the virtual device node for a virtual SCSI device. Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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Change the SCSI Device Configuration in the vSphere Client

You can change the physical device and the virtual device node of the SCSI device connection. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select a SCSI device in the Hardware list. Under Connection, select the physical device you want to use. Under Virtual device node, select the virtual device node where you want this device to appear in the virtual machine. 4 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Web Client

To use DirectPath, verify that the host has Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) or AMD I/O Virtualization Technology (IOMMU) enabled in the BIOS.

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Verify that the PCI devices are connected to the host and marked as available for passthrough. Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select PCI Device and click Add device. Select the passthrough device to connect to the virtual machine from the drop-down list and click Next. Click OK.

Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Client

vSphere DirectPath I/O allows a guest operating system on a virtual machine to directly access physical PCI and PCIe devices connected to a host. Each virtual machine can be connected to up to six PCI devices. PCI devices connected to a host can be marked as available for passthrough from the Hardware Advanced Settings in the Configuration tab for the host. Snapshots are not supported with PCI vSphere Direct Path I/O devices. Prerequisites
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To use DirectPath I/O, verify that the host has Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) or AMD I/O Virtualization Technology (IOMMU) enabled in the BIOS. Verify that the PCI devices are connected to the host and marked as available for passthrough. Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later.

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Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. On the Hardware tab, click Add. In the Add Hardware wizard, select PCI Device and click Next. Select the passthrough device to connect to the virtual machine from the drop-down list and click Next. Click Finish.

Configure the Virtual Machine Communication Interface in the vSphere Web Client
The Virtual Machine Communication Interface (VMCI) provides a high-speed communication channel between a virtual machine and the ESXi host that it runs on. You can also enable VMCI for communication between virtual machines that run on the same host. Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later.

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Select Enable VMCI between VMs. Click OK.

Virtual machine communication is no longer restricted to the host it runs on. Other virtual machines that run on the same host can now communicate with the unrestricted virtual machine.

Configure the Virtual Machine Communication Interface in the vSphere Client

The Virtual Machine Communication Interface (VMCI) provides a high-speed communication channel between a virtual machine and the ESXi host that it runs on. You can also enable VMCI for communication between virtual machines that run on the same host. Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. On the Hardware Tab, select Show All Devices and click VMCI device. Select the Enable VMCI Between VMs check box. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Virtual machine communication is no longer restricted to the host it runs on. Other virtual machines that run on the same host can now communicate with the unrestricted virtual machine.

Configure Video Cards in the vSphere Web Client

You can change the number of displays for a virtual machine, allocate memory for the displays, and enable 3D support. The default setting for total video RAM is adequate for minimal desktop resolution. For more complex situations, you can change the default memory. Some 3D applications require a minimum video memory of 64MB. Keep this in mind when you assign video memory. Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is powered off. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Web Client inventory, right-click a virtual machine and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Select Virtual Hardware and click the Video card triangle to view the options.

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Select the display settings type from the Settings drop-down menu and configure the available settings.
Option Auto-detect video settings Specify custom settings Description Applies common video settings to the guest operating system. Lets you select the number of displays and the total video memory.

Select the number of displays from the drop-down menu. The vSphere Web Client supports setting a number of displays and extending the screen across them. True multimonitor support is not available with the vSphere Client.

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Enter the video memory required for the displays. (Optional) Click Video Memory Calculator to calculate the required video memory based on the maximum number of displays, resolution, and color depth that the guest operating system must support, and clickOK. (Optional) Click Enable 3D support. This check box is active only for guest operating systems on which VMware supports 3D.

Click OK.

Sufficient memory allocation is set for this virtual machine's video display.

Configure Video Cards in the vSphere Client

You can change the number of displays for a virtual machine, allocate memory for the displays, and enable 3D support. The default setting for total video RAM is adequate for minimal desktop resolution. For more complex situations, you can change the default memory. Some 3D applications require a minimum video memory of 64MB. Keep this in mind when you assign video memory. Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine is powered off. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select Video card. Select the display settings type and configure the available settings.
Option Auto-detect video settings Specify custom settings Description Applies common video settings to the guest operating system. Lets you select the number of displays and the total video memory.

Select the number of displays from the drop-down menu. The vSphere Client supports setting a number of displays and extending the screen across them. True multimonitor support is not available with the vSphere Client.

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(Optional) Click Enable 3D support. This check box is active only for guest operating systems on which VMware supports 3D.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Sufficient memory allocation is set for the virtual machines video display.

Configuring vServices
A vService dependency allows a vApp or a virtual machine to request that a vService be available on a specified platform. A vService specifies a particular service on which vApps and virtual machines can depend. The vService configuration tab monitors and manages vService dependencies. This tab displays all the dependencies that a virtual machine or vApp has and each of their states. Each dependency shows the dependency name, description, requirement, bound status, and provider name.

Add a vService Dependency

You can add a vService dependency to a virtual machine or vApp. This dependency allows a virtual machine or vApp to request that a specific vService be available. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Display the virtual machine or vApp in the inventory. Power off the virtual machine or vApp. Right-click the virtual machine or vApp and select Edit Settings. Click the vServices tab. Click Add. In the Add Dependency wizard, select the provider for this dependency and click Next. Enter the name and description for this dependency. (Optional) If this dependency is required, select the check box and click Next. Required dependencies must be bound before powering on. 9 (Optional) If this dependency should be bound to the provider immediately, select the Bind to provider immediately check box, and click Next after the validation is complete. If you choose to bind this dependency now, the validation result displays. If the validation fails, you cannot complete adding the dependency. Deselect the check box to proceed. 10 Review the options and click Finish to create the dependency.

Edit a vService Dependency

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Select a provider for the dependency. When you select a provider, the description is entered containing the provider description. The validation box displays the results of the validation. If validation fails, the OK button is disabled until another provider or no provider is selected.

Click OK.

Remove a vService Dependency

You can remove a vService dependency from a virtual machine or vApp. Procedure 1 2 From the vServices tab in the Edit Settings dialog box, click Edit. Select the dependency and click Remove.

The dependency is removed from the list.

USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine

You can add multiple USB devices to a virtual machine when the physical devices are connected to an ESXi host. USB passthrough technology supports adding USB devices, such as security dongles and mass storage devices to virtual machines that reside on the host to which the devices are connected.

How USB Device Passthrough Technology Works

When you attach a USB device to a physical host, the device is available only to virtual machines that reside on that host. The device cannot connect to virtual machines that reside on another host in the datacenter. A USB device is available to only one virtual machine at a time. When a device is connected to a powered-on virtual machine, it is not available to connect to other virtual machines that run on the host. When you remove the active connection of a USB device from a virtual machine, it becomes available to connect to other virtual machines that run on the host. Connecting a USB passthrough device to a virtual machine that runs on the ESXi host to which the device is physically attached requires an arbitrator, a controller, and a physical USB device or device hub. USB Arbitrator Manages connection requests and routes USB device traffic. The arbitrator is installed and enabled by default on ESXi hosts. It scans the host for USB devices and manages device connection among virtual machines that reside on the host. It routes device traffic to the correct virtual machine instance for delivery to the guest operating system. The arbitrator monitors the USB device and prevents other virtual machines from using it until you release it from the virtual machine it is connected to. The USB hardware chip that provides USB function to the USB ports that it manages. The virtual USB Controller is the software virtualization of the USB host controller function in the virtual machine.

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USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices must exist on the host. Two virtual USB controllers are available to each virtual machine. A controller must be present before you can add USB devices to the virtual computer. The USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. Devices connected to controllers numbered 16 or greater are not available to the virtual machine. USB Devices You can add up to 20 USB devices to a virtual machine. This is the maximum number of devices supported for simultaneous connection to one virtual machine. The maximum number of USB devices supported on a single ESXi host for simultaneous connection to one or more virtual machines is also 20. For a list of supported USB devices, see the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1021345.

USB Autoconnect Feature

When you add a USB device connection from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the autoconnect feature is enabled for the device connection. It is not disabled until you remove the device connection from the virtual machine. With autoconnect enabled, the device connection re-establishes in the following cases:
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The virtual machine is cycling through power operations, such as Power Off/Power On, Reset, Pause/Resume. The device is unplugged from the host then plugged back in to the same USB port. The device is power cycled but has not changed its physical connection path. The device is mutating identity during usage.

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The USB passthrough autoconnect feature identifies the device by using the USB path of the device on the host. It uses the physical topology and port location, rather than the device identity. This feature can seem confusing if you expect the autoconnect feature to match the connection target by device ID. If the same device is plugged back in to the host through a different USB port, it cannot re-establish connection with the virtual machine. If you unplug the device from the host and plug in a different device to the same USB path, the new device appears and is connected to the virtual machine by the autoconnect feature that the previous device connection enabled. Autoconnect is useful in cases where devices mutate during usage. For example, for iPhones and other such devices, the device VID:PID changes during software or firmware upgrades. The upgrade process disconnects and reconnects the devices to the USB port. The USB port is speed-specific. The autoconnect feature assumes that devices do not transition from USB 1.1 (low-full speed) to USB 2.0 (high speed) or the reverse. You cannot interchange USB 2.0 high-speed devices with USB 1.1 devices. For example, you might connect a USB 2.0 high-speed device to a port and connect that device to the virtual machine. If you unplug the device from the host and plug a USB 1.1 device into the same port, the device does not connect to the virtual machine. For a list of supported USB devices for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, see the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1021345.

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vSphere Features Available with USB Passthrough

Migrations with vMotion and DRS are supported with USB device passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine. Table 8-9. vSphere Features Available for USB Passthrough from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine
Feature vSphere Distributed Power Management (DPM) vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) vSphere Fault Tolerance vSphere vMotion Supported with USB Device Passthrough No Yes No Yes

For details about migration with vMotion, see Configuring USB Devices for vMotion, on page 155. If a host with connected USB devices resides in a DRS cluster with DPM enabled, you must disable DPM for that host. Otherwise DPM might turn off the host with the device, which disconnects the device from the virtual machine.

Configuring USB Devices for vMotion

With USB passthrough from a host to a virtual machine, you can migrate a virtual machine to another ESXi host in the same datacenter and maintain the USB passthrough device connections to the original host. If a virtual machine has USB devices attached that pass through to an ESXi host, you can migrate that virtual machine with the devices attached. For a successful migration, review the following conditions:
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You must configure all USB passthrough devices connected to a virtual machine for vMotion. If one or more devices is not configured for vMotion, the migration cannot proceed. For troubleshooting details, see the vSphere Troubleshooting documentation. When you migrate a virtual machine with attached USB devices away from the host to which the devices are connected, the devices remain connected to the virtual machine. However, if you suspend or power off the virtual machine, the USB devices are disconnected and cannot reconnect when the virtual machine is resumed. The device connections can be restored only if you move the virtual machine back to the host to which the devices are attached. If you resume a suspended virtual machine that has a Linux guest operating system, the resume process might mount the USB devices at a different location on the file system. If a host with attached USB devices resides in a DRS cluster with distributed power management (DPM) enabled, disable DPM for that host. Otherwise DPM might turn off the host with the attached device. This action disconnects the device from the virtual machine because the virtual machine migrated to another host.

Avoiding Data Loss with USB Devices

Virtual machine functions can affect USB device behavior and connections.
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Before you hot add memory, CPU, or PCI devices, you must remove any USB devices. Hot adding these resources disconnects USB devices, which might result in data loss. Before you suspend a virtual machine, make sure that a data transfer is not in progress. During the suspend or resume process, USB devices behave as if they have been disconnected, then reconnected. For information about suspend and resume behavior after migration with vMotion, see Configuring USB Devices for vMotion, on page 155.

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Before you change the state of the arbitrator, make sure that USB devices residing on the host are not attached to a virtual machine. If USB devices become unavailable to a virtual machine, a host administrator might have disabled the arbitrator. When an administrator stops or disconnects the arbitrator for troubleshooting or other purposes, USB devices attached to that host become unavailable to the virtual machine. If a data transfer is taking place at this time, you might lose the data. To reestablish the arbitrator, you must reboot the host.

Connecting USB Devices to an ESXi Host

You can connect and chain multiple USB hubs and devices to an ESXi host. Careful planning and knowledge of hub behavior and limitations can help ensure that your devices work optimally. USB physical bus topology defines how USB devices connect to the host. Support for USB device passthrough to a virtual machine is available if the physical bus topology of the device on the host does not exceed tier seven. The first tier is the USB host controller and root hub. The last tier is the target USB device. You can cascade up to five tiers of external or internal hubs between the root hub and the target USB device. An internal USB hub attached to the root hub or built into a compound device counts as one tier. The quality of the physical cables, hubs, devices, and power conditions can affect USB device performance. To ensure the best results, keep the host USB bus topology as simple as possible for the target USB device, and use caution when you deploy new hubs and cables into the topology. The following conditions can affect USB behavior:
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Communication delay between the host and virtual machine increases as the number of cascading hubs increases. Connecting or chaining multiple external USB hubs increases device enumeration and response time, which can make the power support to the connected USB devices uncertain. Chaining hubs together also increases the chance of port and hub error, which can cause the device to lose connection to a virtual machine. Certain hubs can cause USB device connections to be unreliable, so use care when you add a new hub to an existing setup. Connecting certain USB devices directly to the host rather than to a hub or extension cable might resolve their connection or performance issues.

NOTE To prevent additional problems, be aware of the physical constraints of long-term deployment in a machine room environment. Small devices are easily damaged by being stepped on or knocked loose. In some cases, you must hard reset the device and hub to restore the device to a working state. For a list of supported USB devices for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, see the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1021345.

USB Compound Devices

For compound devices, the virtualization process filters out the USB hub so that it is not visible to the virtual machine. The remaining USB devices in the compound appear to the virtual machine as separate devices. You can add each device to the same virtual machine or to different virtual machines if they run on the same host. For example, the Aladdin HASP HL Drive USB dongle package contains three devices (0529:0001 HASP dongle, 13fe:1a00 Hub, 13fe:1d00 Kingston Drive). The virtualization process filters out the USB hub. The remaining Aladdin HASP HL Drive USB dongle devices (one Aladdin HASP dongle and one Kingston Drive) appear to the virtual machine as individual devices. You must add each device separately to make it accessible to the virtual machine.

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Connect USB Devices to an ESXi Host

You can connect multiple USB devices to ESXi hosts so that virtual machines that run on the hosts can access the devices. The number of devices that you can connect depends on several factors, such as how the devices and hubs chain together and the device type. Each ESXi host has several USB ports. The number of ports on each host depends on the physical setup of the host. When you calculate the depth of hub chaining, remember that on a typical server the front ports connect to an internal hub. The USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. If your system includes controllers that exceed the 15 controller limit and you connect USB devices to them, the devices are not available to the virtual machine. The host treats USB CD/DVD-ROM devices as SCSI devices. Hot adding and removing these devices is not supported. Prerequisites
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If a host has attached USB devices and resides in a DRS cluster with DPM enabled, disable DPM for that host. See the vSphere Resource Management documentation for instructions about overriding the default DPM setting for an individual host. Verify that you know the virtual machine requirements for USB devices. See Connecting USB Devices to an ESXi Host, on page 156. Verify that the ESXi host is powered off before you add USB CD/DVD-ROM devices.

Procedure
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To add a USB device to an ESXi host, connect the device to an available port or hub.

The USB device appears in the virtual machine Add Hardware wizard device list. What to do next You can now add the device to the virtual machine.

Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

USB controllers are available to add to virtual machines to support USB passthrough from an ESXi host or from a client computer to a virtual machine. You can add two USB controllers to a virtual machine. The xHCI controller, available for Linux guest operating systems only, supports USB 3.0 superspeed, 2.0, and 1.1 devices. The EHCI+UHCI controller supports USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices. The conditions for adding a controller vary, depending on the device version, the type of passthrough (host or client computer), and the guest operating system. Table 8-10. USB Controller Support
Controller type EHCI+UHCI xHCI Supported USB Device Version 2.0 and 1.1 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 Supported for Passthrough from ESXi Host to VM Yes Yes (USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices only) Supported for Passthrough from Client Computer to VM Yes Yes (Linux guests only)

NOTE Drivers are not available for the xHCI controller on Windows guest operating systems.

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For Mac OS X systems, the EHCI+UHCI controller is enabled by default and is required for USB mouse and keyboard access. For virtual machines with Linux guests, you can add one or both controllers, but 3.0 superspeed devices are not supported for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine. You cannot add two controllers of the same type. For USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. If your system includes controllers that exceed the 15 controller limit and you connect USB devices to them, the devices are not available to the virtual machine. Prerequisites
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ESXi hosts must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices present. Client computers must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices present. To use the xHCI controller on a Linux guest, ensure that the Linux kernel version is 2.6.35 or later. Verify that the virtual machine is powered on. Required Privilege (ESXi host passthrough): Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add or Remove Device

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select USB Controller and click Add device. The USB controller appears in the virtual device list above.

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Click the USB controller triangle to expand the USB controller options. Select the type of USB controller. Click OK.

What to do next Add one or more USB devices to the virtual machine.

Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

USB controllers are available to add to virtual machines to support USB passthrough from an ESXi host or client computer to the virtual machine. You can add two USB controllers to a virtual machine. The xHCI controller, available for Linux guest operating systems only, supports USB 3.0 superspeed, 2.0, and 1.1 devices. The EHCI+UHCI controller supports USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices. The conditions for adding a controller vary, depending on the device version, the type of passthrough (host or client computer), and the guest operating system.

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Table 8-11. USB Controller Support

Controller type EHCI+UHCI xHCI Supported USB Device Version 2.0 and 1.1 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 Supported for Passthrough from ESXi Host to VM Yes Yes (USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices only) Supported for Passthrough from Client Computer to VM Yes Yes (Linux guests only)

NOTE Drivers are not available for the xHCI controller on Windows guest operating systems. For Mac OS X systems, the EHCI+UHCI controller is enabled by default and is required for USB mouse and keyboard access. For virtual machines with Linux guests, you can add one or both controllers, but 3.0 superspeed devices are not supported for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine. You cannot add two controllers of the same type. For USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. If your system includes controllers that exceed the 15 controller limit and you connect USB devices to them, the devices are not available to the virtual machine. Prerequisites
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Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select the type of USB Controller to add and click Next. Review the device information and click Next. Click Finish. New USB Controller (adding) appears in the hardware list as Present. 6 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

When you reopen the Properties Editor, the xHCI controller appears on the Hardware tab as USB xHCI controller. The EHCI+UHCI controller appears asUSB controller. What to do next Add one or more USB devices to the virtual machine.

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Add USB Devices from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can add one or more USB passthrough devices from an ESXi host to a virtual machine if the physical devices are connected to the host on which the virtual machine runs. If a USB device is connected to another virtual machine, you cannot add it until that machine releases it. NOTE If you have the Apple Frontpanel Controller device in your environment, you can safely add it to a virtual machine. However, this device has no documented function and no known use. ESXi hosts do not use it and do not provide Xserver functionality for USB passthrough Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. Verify that a USB controller is present. See Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 157. To use vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with multiple USB devices, you must enable all attached USB devices for vMotion. You cannot migrate individual USB devices. For vMotion limitations, see Configuring USB Devices for vMotion, on page 155. When you add a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding and removing SCSI devices is not supported. Verify that you know the virtual machine requirements for USB devices. See USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine, on page 153. Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.HostUSBDevice

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. From the Add a device drop-down menu, select USB Device and click Add device. The USB device appears in the virtual device list above.

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Click the USB device triangle to expand the USB device options. Select the device to add. You can add multiple USB devices, but only one device at a time.

If you do not plan to migrate a virtual machine with USB devices attached, deselect the Support vMotion option. This reduces migration complexity, which results in better performance and stability.

Click OK.

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Add USB Devices from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
You can add one or more USB passthrough devices from an ESXi host to a virtual machine if the physical device is connected to the host on which the virtual machine runs. If a USB device is connected to another virtual machine, you cannot add it until that machine releases it. NOTE If you have the Apple Frontpanel Controller device in your environment, you can safely add it to a virtual machine. However, this device has no documented function and no known use. ESXi hosts do not use it and do not provide Xserver functionality for USB passthrough Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later. Verify that a USB controller is present. See Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 158. To use vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with multiple USB devices, you must enable all attached USB devices for vMotion. You cannot migrate individual USB devices. For vMotion limitations, see Configuring USB Devices for vMotion, on page 155. When you add a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, you must add the drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding and removing SCSI devices is not supported. Verify that you know the virtual machine requirements for USB devices. See USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine, on page 153. Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.HostUSBDevice

Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and click Add. Select USB Device and click Next. (Optional) Select Support vMotion while device is connected. If you do not plan to migrate a virtual machine with USB devices attached, deselect the Support vMotion option. This reduces migration complexity, which results in better performance and stability. 6 Select a device to add. You can add multiple USB devices, but only one device at a time. 7 Click Finish. New USB Device (adding) appears in the hardware list as Present. 8 Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

When you reopen the Properties editor, the USB device appears on the Hardware tab of the Properties Editor. The device type and ID appear in the right pane.

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Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through an ESXi Host

When you remove USB devices from a virtual machine, devices that use passthrough technology from a host to the virtual machine revert to the host. The devices become available to other virtual machines that run on that host. Prerequisites
n n

Verify that the devices are not in use. To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows operating systems typically include a Remove Hardware icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating systems use the umount command. NOTE You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for example after you issue a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems.

Procedure 1 2 3 4 Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the USB device. Click Remove and click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Remove a USB Controller from a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can remove a USB controller from a virtual machine if you do not want to connect to USB devices. Prerequisites
n n

Verify that all USB devices are disconnected from the virtual machine. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select USB controller. Click Remove. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

The controller is no longer connected to the virtual machine, but remains available to add at a later time.

Remove USB Devices from an ESXi Host

You can remove USB devices from the host if you must shut down the host for maintenance or if you do not want those devices to be available to virtual machines that run on the host. When you detach a USB device from the host, the device disconnects from the virtual machine. CAUTION If data transfer is taking place when you remove USB devices from a host, you can lose data.

Prerequisites Verify that the USB devices are not in use.

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Procedure
u

Follow the device manufacturers instructions to safely remove the device. When you remove the device from the host, it is no longer available to the virtual machines that run on the host.

USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can add multiple USB devices to a virtual machine when the physical devices connect to a client computer on which the vSphere Web Client is running. The vSphere Web Client must be logged in to an instance of vCenter Server that manages the ESXi host where the virtual machines reside. USB passthrough technology supports adding multiple USB devices, such as security dongles, mass storage devices, and smartcard readers to virtual machines.

How USB Device Passthrough Technology Works

The USB controller is the USB hardware chip that provides USB function to the USB ports that it manages. USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and USB 1.1 devices must exist in the virtual machine. Two USB controllers are available for each virtual machine. The controllers support multiple USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices. The controller must be present before you can add USB devices to the virtual machine. You can add up to 20 USB devices to a virtual machine. This is the maximum number of devices supported for simultaneous connection to one virtual machine. You can add multiple devices to a virtual machine, but only one at a time. The virtual machine retains its connection to the device while in S1 standby. USB device connections are preserved when you migrate virtual machines to another host in the datacenter. A USB device is available to only one powered-on virtual machine at a time. When a virtual machine connects to a device, that device is no longer available to other virtual machines or to the client computer. When you disconnect the device from the virtual machine or shut the virtual machine down, the device returns to the client computer and becomes available to other virtual machines that the client computer manages. For example, when you connect a USB mass storage device to a virtual machine, it is removed from the client computer and does not appear as a drive with a removable device. When you disconnect the device from the virtual machine, it reconnects to the client computer's operating system and is listed as a removable device.

USB 3.0 Device Limitations

USB 3.0 devices have the following requirements and limitations:
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The virtual machine that you connect the USB 3.0 device to must be configured with an xHCI controller and have a Linux guest operating system with a 2.6.35 or later kernel. You can connect only one USB 3.0 device operating at superspeed to a virtual machine at a time. USB 3.0 devices are available only for passthrough from a client computer to a virtual machine. They are not available for passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine.

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Avoiding Data Loss

Before you connect a device to a virtual machine, make sure the device is not in use on the client computer. If the vSphere Client disconnects from the vCenter Server or host, or if you restart or shut down the client computer, the device connection breaks. It is best to have a dedicated client computer for USB device use or to reserve USB devices connected to a client computer for short-term use, such as updating software or adding patches to virtual machines. To maintain USB device connections to a virtual machine for an extended time, use USB passthrough from an ESXi host to the virtual machine.

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Connecting USB Devices to a Client Computer

You can connect and chain any multiple low, full, and high- or super-speed USB hubs and devices to a client computer. Careful planning and knowledge of hub behavior and limitations can help ensure that your devices work optimally. USB physical bus topology defines how USB devices connect to the client computer. Support for USB device passthrough to a virtual machine is available if the physical bus topology of the device on the client computer does not exceed tier seven. The first tier is the USB host controller and root hub. The last tier is the target USB device. You can cascade up to five tiers of external or internal hubs between the root hub and the target USB device. An internal USB hub attached to the root hub or built into a compound device counts as one tier. The quality of the physical cables, hubs, devices, and power conditions can affect USB device performance. To ensure the best results, keep the client computer USB bus topology as simple as possible for the target USB device, and use caution when you deploy new hubs and cables into the topology. The following conditions can affect USB behavior:
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Connecting or chaining multiple external USB hubs increases device enumeration and response time, which can make the power support to the connected USB devices uncertain. Chaining hubs together increases the chance of port and hub error, which can cause the device to lose connection to a virtual machine. Certain hubs can cause USB device connections to be unreliable, so use care when you add a new hub to an existing setup. Connecting certain USB devices directly to the client computer rather than to a hub or extension cable might resolve their connection or performance issues. In some cases, you must remove and reattach the device and hub to restore the device to a working state.

USB Compound Devices

Connect USB Devices to a Client Computer

You can connect multiple USB devices to a client computer so that virtual machines can access the devices. The number of devices that you can add depends on several factors, such as how the devices and hubs chain together and the device type. The number of ports on each client computer depends on the physical setup of the client. When you calculate the depth of hub chaining, remember that on a typical server the front ports connect to an internal hub. The USB arbitrator can monitor a maximum of 15 USB controllers. If your system includes controllers that exceed the 15 controller limit and you connect USB devices to them, the devices are not available to the virtual machine. Prerequisites Verify that you know the requirements for configuring USB devices from a remote computer to a virtual machine.

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Procedure
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To add a USB device to a client computer, connect the device to an available port or hub.

The USB device appears in the virtual machine toolbar menu. What to do next You can now add the USB device to the virtual machine.

Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

USB controllers are available to add to virtual machines to support USB passthrough from an ESXi host or from a client computer to a virtual machine. You can add two USB controllers to a virtual machine. The xHCI controller, available for Linux guest operating systems only, supports USB 3.0 superspeed, 2.0, and 1.1 devices. The EHCI+UHCI controller supports USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices. The conditions for adding a controller vary, depending on the device version, the type of passthrough (host or client computer), and the guest operating system. Table 8-12. USB Controller Support
Controller type EHCI+UHCI xHCI Supported USB Device Version 2.0 and 1.1 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 Supported for Passthrough from ESXi Host to VM Yes Yes (USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices only) Supported for Passthrough from Client Computer to VM Yes Yes (Linux guests only)

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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2 3 4

5 6 7

Click the USB controller triangle to expand the USB controller options. Select the type of USB controller. Click OK.

What to do next Add one or more USB devices to the virtual machine.

Add USB Devices From a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can add one or more USB passthrough devices from a client computer to a virtual machine on the virtual machine Summary page in the vSphere Web Client. The devices must be connected to a client computer that connects to the ESXi host on which the virtual machine resides. The devices maintain their virtual machine connections in S1 standby, if the vSphere Web Client is running and connected. After you add the USB device to the virtual machine, an information message appears on the client computer stating that the device is disconnected. The device remains disconnected from the client computer until the virtual machine releases it. FT is not supported with USB passthrough from a client computer to a virtual machine. Prerequisites
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Verify that the Client Integration Plug-in is installed. Verify that a USB Controller is present. Verify that the vSphere Web Client has access to the ESXi host on which the virtual machines are running. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Interaction.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 Select a virtual machine in the inventory and click the Summary tab. Click the USB icon to the right of USB Devices under VM Hardware and select an available device from the drop-down menu. A Connecting label and a spinner appear, which indicates that a connection is in progress. When the device has successfully connected and the Summary tab refreshes, the device is connected and the device name appears next to USB Devices.

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Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through a Client Computer in the vSphere Web Client
You can remove USB devices from a virtual machine if the devices are no longer needed. When you disconnect a USB device from a virtual machine, the device is released from the virtual machine and is given back to the client computer, which starts using it. Prerequisites
n

To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows operating systems typically include a Remove Hardware icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating systems use the umount command. NOTE You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for example after you run a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems.

Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Interaction.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 3 Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system. On the virtual machine Summary tab, click the disconnect icon on the right side of the USB device entry. Select a device to disconnect from the drop-down menu. A Disconnecting label and a spinner appear, indicating that a disconnection is in progress. When the device is disconnected, after a slight delay, the Summary tab refreshes and the device is removed from the virtual machine configuration. The device reconnects to the client computer and is available to add to another virtual machine. In some cases, Windows Explorer detects the device and opens a dialog box on the client computer. You can close this dialog box.

Remove a USB Controller from a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client
You can remove a USB controller from the virtual machine if you do not want to connect to USB devices. Prerequisites
n n

Verify that all USB devices are disconnected from the virtual machine. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 3 4 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Select Virtual Hardware and expand the USB controller menu. Click Remove. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

The controller is no longer connected to the virtual machine, but remains available to add at a later time.

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Remove USB Devices from a Client Computer

You can remove USB devices from a client computer if you do not want those devices to be available to virtual machines. When you detach a USB device from the remote client, the device disconnects from the virtual machine. Ensure that data transfer is not taking place before you remove the device. Prerequisites Verify that the devices are not in use. Procedure
u

To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows operating systems typically include a Remove Hardware icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating systems use the umount command. You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for example after you issue a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems. When you remove the device from the client computer, it is no longer available to virtual machines.

USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
You can add multiple USB devices to a virtual machine when the physical devices connect to a client computer on which the vSphere Client is running. The vSphere Client must be logged in to an instance of vCenter Server that manages the ESXi host where the virtual machines reside. USB passthrough technology supports adding multiple USB devices, such as security dongles, mass storage devices, and smartcard readers to virtual machines.

How USB Device Passthrough Technology Works

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USB 3.0 Device Limitations

USB 3.0 devices have the following requirements and limitations:
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Avoiding Data Loss

vSphere Features Available with USB Passthrough from a Client Computer

Migration with vMotion, DRS, and DPM are supported with USB device passthrough from a client computer to a virtual machine. Table 8-13. Features Available for USB Passthrough from a Remote Computer to a Virtual Machine
Feature vSphere Distributed Power Management (DPM) vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) vSphere HA vSphere Fault Tolerance vSPhere vMotion Supported with USB Device Passthrough Yes Yes No No Yes

Connecting USB Devices to a Client Computer

Connecting or chaining multiple external USB hubs increases device enumeration and response time, which can make the power support to the connected USB devices uncertain.

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Chaining hubs together increases the chance of port and hub error, which can cause the device to lose connection to a virtual machine. Certain hubs can cause USB device connections to be unreliable, so use care when you add a new hub to an existing setup. Connecting certain USB devices directly to the client computer rather than to a hub or extension cable might resolve their connection or performance issues. In some cases, you must remove and reattach the device and hub to restore the device to a working state.

USB Compound Devices

Connect USB Devices to a Client Computer

To add a USB device to a client computer, connect the device to an available port or hub.

The USB device appears in the virtual machine toolbar menu. What to do next You can now add the USB device to the virtual machine.

Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

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Table 8-14. USB Controller Support

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Add USB Devices From a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
You can add one or more USB passthrough devices from a client computer to a virtual machine in the vSphere Client. The devices must be connected to a client computer that connects to the ESXi host on which the virtual machines reside. The devices maintain their virtual machine connections in S1 standby, if the vSphere Client is running and connected. After you add the USB device to the virtual machine, an information message appears on the client computer stating that the device is disconnected. The device remains disconnected from the client computer until the virtual machine releases it. FT is not supported with USB passthrough from a client computer to a virtual machine. Prerequisites
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Verify that a USB controller is installed. Verify that the vSphere Client is connected to the ESXi host on which the virtual machines are running. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Interaction.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 3 Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory. Click the USB icon on the virtual machine toolbar. Select an available device from the Connect to USB Devices drop-down menu. The status of the device appears as Connecting. The device appears in the USB Connections drop-down menu and is ready to use. The device remains connected until you power off the virtual machine or disconnect the vSphere Client from the ESXi host.

Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through a Client Computer in the vSphere Client
You can remove USB devices from a virtual machine if the devices are no longer needed. When you disconnect a USB device from a virtual machine, the device is released from the virtual machine and is given back to the client computer, which starts using it. Prerequisites To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows operating systems typically include a "Remove Hardware" icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating systems use the umount command. NOTE You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for example after you run a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems. Procedure 1 2 3 Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system. Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory. Click USB Connections on the virtual machine toolbar.

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Select the device to remove from the drop-down menu. For example, select USB Device 1 > Disconnect fromdevice name. The menu shows the device status as Disconnecting.

The device reconnects to the client computer and is available to add to another virtual machine. In some cases, Windows Explorer detects the device and opens a dialog box on the client computer. You can close this dialog box.

Remove a USB Controller from a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can remove a USB controller from a virtual machine if you do not want to connect to USB devices. Prerequisites
n n

Verify that all USB devices are disconnected from the virtual machine. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add or Remove Device

The controller is no longer connected to the virtual machine, but remains available to add at a later time.

Remove USB Devices from a Client Computer

To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows operating systems typically include a Remove Hardware icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating systems use the umount command. You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for example after you issue a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems. When you remove the device from the client computer, it is no longer available to virtual machines.

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Cannot Copy Data From an ESXi Host to a USB Device That Is Connected to the Host
You can connect a USB device to an ESXi host and copy data to the device from the host. For example, you might want to gather the vm-support bundle from the host after the host loses network connectivity. To perform this task, you must stop the USB arbitrator. Problem If the USB arbitrator is being used for USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, or if the USB device is formatted with a FAT16 partition and is the maximum size of 2GB, the USB device appears under lsusb but does not mount correctly. Cause This problem occurs because the usbarbitrator service has claimed the device to make it available for passthrough from the host to virtual machines. Solution 1 2 Stop the usbarbitrator service:/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop Disconnect and reconnect the USB device. By default, the device location is /vmfs/devices/disks/mpx.vmhbaXX:C0:T0:L0. After using the device, restart the usbarbitrator service:/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator start

Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Client
You can configure multiple virtual machines to use a virtual shared smart card reader for smart card authentication. The smart card reader must be connected to a client computer on which the vSphere Client runs. All smart card readers are treated as USB devices. A license is required for the shared smart card feature. See the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation. When you log out of Windows XP guest operating systems, to log back in, you must remove the smart card from the smart card reader and re-add it. You can also disconnect the shared smart card reader and reconnect it. If the vSphere Client disconnects from the vCenter Server or host, or if the client computer is restarted or shut down, the smart card connection breaks. For this reason, it is best to have a dedicated client computer for smart card use. To connect a USB smart card reader that is not shared, see USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 168. Prerequisites
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Verify that the smart card reader is connected to the client computer. Verify that the virtual machine is powered on. Verify that a USB controller is present.

Procedure 1 2 Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory. Click the USB icon on the virtual machine toolbar.

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Select the shared smart card reader from the Connect to USB Devices drop-down menu. The smart card device appears in the menu as a USB device and as a virtual shared device.

Select Sharedthe model name of your smart card reader followed by a number. The device status appears as Connecting, then the device connects.

You can now use smart card authentication to log in to virtual machines in the vSphere Client inventory.

Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client
You can configure multiple virtual machines to use a virtual shared smart card reader for smart card authentication. The smart card reader must be connected to a client computer on which the vSphere Web Client runs. All smart card readers are treated as USB devices. A license is required for the shared smart card feature. See vCenter Server and Host Management. When you log out of Windows XP guest operating systems, to log back in, you must remove the smart card from the smart card reader and re-add it. You can also disconnect the shared smart card reader and reconnect it. If the vSphere Web Client disconnects from the vCenter Server or host, or if the client computer is restarted or shut down, the smart card connection breaks. For this reason, it is best to have a dedicated client computer for smart card use. To connect a USB smart card reader that is not shared, see USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client, on page 163. Prerequisites
n n n n

Verify that the smart card reader is connected to the client computer. Verify that the virtual machine is powered on. Verify that a USB controller is present. Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Interaction.Add or Remove Device

Procedure 1 2 Select a virtual machine in the inventory and click the Summary tab. Click the USB icon on the right side of USB Devices under VM Hardware, and select an available shared smart card reader from the drop down menu. Select a device that appears as Sharedthe model name of your smart card reader followed by a number. A Connecting label and a spinner appear showing that a connection is in progress. When the device has successfully connected and the Summary tab refreshes, the device is connected and the device name appears next to USB Devices. You can now use smart card authentication to log in to virtual machines in the vSphere Client inventory.

Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine

You can set the power options so that a virtual machine is suspended or remains powered on when the guest operating system is placed on standby. Power Management options are not available on every guest operating system. Wake on LAN supports only Windows guest operating systems and is not available on Vlance NICs, or when a Flexible NIC is operating in Vlance mode (that is, the current VMware Tools are not installed on the guest operating system).

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Wake on LAN can resume virtual machines that are in an S1 sleep state only. It cannot resume suspended, hibernated, or powered off virtual machines. The following NICs support Wake on LAN:
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Flexible (VMware Tools required). vmxnet Enhanced vmxnet vmxnet 3

Prerequisites You must power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select Power Management. In the Guest Power Management panel, select a power option.
n n

Suspend the virtual machine Put the guest operating system in standby mode and leave the virtual machine powered on

(Optional) Select Wake on LAN for virtual machine traffic on and select the virtual NICs to trigger this action. Unsupported NICs might be listed, but are unavailable to connect.

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Configure the Virtual Machine Power States

Changing virtual machine power states is useful when you do maintenance on the host. You can use the system default settings for the toolbar power controls or you can configure the controls to interact with the guest operating system. For example, you can configure the stop button on the toolbar to power off the virtual machine or shut down the guest operating system. You can modify many virtual machine configurations while the virtual machine is running, but you might need to change the virtual machine power state for some configurations. Table 8-15 lists available power buttons and describes their behavior. Table 8-15. Virtual Machine Power Button Settings
Power Button Description Shuts down the guest operating system or powers off the virtual machine. A power off operation displays a confirmation dialog box indicating that the guest operating system might not shut down properly. Use this power off option only when necessary. Suspends the virtual machine without running a script when VMware Tools is not installed. When VMware Tools is installed and available, a suspend action runs a script, and suspends the virtual machine.

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Table 8-15. Virtual Machine Power Button Settings (Continued)

Power Button Description Powers on a virtual machine when a virtual machine is stopped, or resumes the virtual machine and runs a script when it is suspended and VMware Tools is installed and available. Resumes the virtual machine and does not run a script when VMware Tools is not installed. Resets the virtual machine when VMware Tools is not installed. Restarts the guest operating system when VMware Tools is installed and available. A reset operation displays a confirmation dialog box indicating that the guest operating system is not shut down properly.

Prerequisites
n n n n n

Verify that the vSphere Client is logged in to a vCenter Server. Verify that you have access to at least one virtual machine in the inventory. Verify that you have privileges to perform the intended power operation on the virtual machine. To set optional power functions, you must install VMWare Tools in the virtual machine. Power off the virtual machine before editing the VMware Tools options.

Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select VMware Tools. In the right panel, select the Power Controls for the virtual machine. Select an option for the Power Off button.
Option Shut Down Guest Description Uses VMware Tools to initiate an orderly system shut down of the virtual machine. This type of powering off is known as a "soft" power operation. Soft power operations are possible only if the tools are installed in the guest operating system. Immediately stops the virtual machine. This type of powering off is known as a "hard" power operation. Follows system settings. The current value of the system settings is shown in parentheses.

Power Off System Default

Select an option for the Suspend button.

Option Suspend System Default Description Pauses all virtual machine activity. Follows system settings. The current value of the system setting is shown in parentheses.

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Select an option for the Reset button.

Option Restart Guest Description Uses VMware Tools to initiate an orderly reboot. (This type of reset is known as a "soft" power operation. Soft power operations are possible only if the tools are installed in the guest operating system.) Shuts down and restarts the guest operating system without powering off the virtual machine. (This type of reset is known as a "hard" power operation.) Follows system settings; the current value of the system setting is shown in parentheses.

Reset

System Default

Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

What to do next Configure VMware Tools scripts to run before or after power operations.

Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Web Client

Delaying the boot operation is useful for changing BIOS or EFI settings such as the boot order. For example, you can change the BIOS or EFI settings to force a virtual machine to boot from a CD-ROM. Prerequisites
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vSphere Web Client logged in to a vCenter Server Access to at least one virtual machine in the inventory Privileges to edit boot options for the virtual machine

Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Boot Options triangle to expand the options. Select the time in milliseconds to delay the boot operation. (Optional) Select whether to force entry into the BIOS or EFI setup screen the next time the virtual machine boots. (Optional) Select whether to try to reboot after a boot failure. Click OK.

Delay the Boot Sequence in the vSphere Client

The time between when you power on the virtual machine and when it exits the BIOS or EFI and launches the guest operating system software can be short. You can change the boot delay or force the virtual machine to enter the BIOS or EFI setup screen after power on. Delaying the boot operation is useful for changing BIOS or EFI settings such as the boot order. For example, you can change the BIOS or EFI settings to force a virtual machine to boot from a CD-ROM. Prerequisites Required Privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings

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Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 6 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and under Advanced select Boot Options. In the Power on Boot Delay panel, select the time in milliseconds to delay the boot operation. (Optional) Select whether to force entry into the BIOS or EFI setup screen the next time the virtual machine boots. (Optional) Select whether to try to reboot after a boot failure. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

Enable Virtual Machine Logging in the vSphere Web Client

You can enable logging to collect log files to help troubleshoot issues with your virtual machine. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Advanced triangle to expand the advanced virtual machine options. Select Enable logging. Click OK.

Enable Logging in the vSphere Client

You can enable logging to collect log files to help troubleshoot issues with your virtual machine. Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings Procedure 1 2 3 4 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click the Options tab and select AdvancedGeneral. In the Settings pane, select Enable logging. Click OK.

Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration in the vSphere Web Client

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This setting slows down virtual machine performance, so only use it for getting past the problem with running the program. After the program stops encountering problems, deselect Disable acceleration. Then you might be able to run the program with acceleration. You can enable and disable acceleration when the virtual machine is running. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5 6

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Advanced triangle to expand the advanced virtual machine options. Select Disable acceleration. Click OK.

Disable Acceleration in the vSphere Client

You can temporarily disable acceleration to allow a virtual machine to successfully run or install software. In rare instances, you might find that when you install or run software in a virtual machine, the virtual machine appears to stop responding. Generally, the problem occurs early in the programs execution. Often, you can get past the problem by temporarily disabling acceleration in the virtual machine. This setting slows down virtual machine performance, so only use it for getting past the problem with running the program. After the program stops encountering problems, deselect Disable acceleration. Then you might be able to run the program with acceleration. You can enable and disable acceleration when the virtual machine is running. Procedure 1 2 3 Click the Options tab. Select Advanced > General in the Settings list. To disable acceleration, select the Disable acceleration check box.

Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Web Client
You can run a virtual machine so that it collects additional debugging information that is helpful to VMware technical support in resolving issues. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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2 3 4 5

In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click VM Options. Click the Advanced triangle to expand the advanced virtual machine options. Select a debugging and statistics option.
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Run normally Record Debugging Information Record Statistics Record Statistics and Debugging Information

The number of debugging and statistics options available depends on the host software type and version. On some hosts, some options are not available. 6 Click OK.

Configure Debugging and Statistics in the vSphere Client

You can run a virtual machine so that it collects debugging information and statistics that are helpful to VMware technical support in resolving issues. Procedure 1 2 Click the Options tab and click Advanced > General. To enable debugging mode, select an option from the Debugging and Statistics section.
Option Run normally Record debugging information Description Collects debugging information. Collects debugging and performance information. Use this option to aid troubleshooting when the guest operating system crashes or is not behaving properly.

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Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

You can use VMware vSphere as a platform for running applications, in addition to using it as a platform for running virtual machines. The applications can be packaged to run directly on top of VMware vSphere. The format of how the applications are packaged and managed is called vSphere vApp. A vApp is a container, like a resource pool and can contain one or more virtual machines. A vApp also shares some functionality with virtual machines. A vApp can power on and power off, and can also be cloned. In the vSphere Client, a vApp is represented in both the Host and Clusters view and the VM and Template view. Each view has a specific summary page with the current status of the service and relevant summary information, as well as operations on the service. The distribution format for vApp is OVF. NOTE The vApp metadata resides in the vCenter Server's database, so a vApp can be distributed across multiple ESXi hosts. This information can be lost if the vCenter Server database is cleared or if a standalone ESXi host that contains a vApp is removed from vCenter Server. You should back up vApps to an OVF package to avoid losing any metadata. vApp metadata for virtual machines within vApps do not follow the snapshots semantics for virtual machine configuration. So, vApp properties that are deleted, modified, or defined after a snapshot is taken remain intact (deleted, modified, or defined) after the virtual machine reverts to that snapshot or any prior snapshots. You can use VMware Studio to automate the creation of ready-to-deploy vApps with pre-populated application software and operating systems. VMware Studio adds a network agent to the guest so that vApps bootstrap with minimal effort. Configuration parameters specified for vApps appear as OVF properties in the vCenter Server deployment wizard. For information about VMware Studio and for download, see the VMware Studio developer page on the VMware web site. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Create a vApp in the vSphere Web Client, on page 184 Create a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 186 Populate the vApp, on page 187 Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Web Client, on page 189 Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Client, on page 192 Configuring IP Pools, on page 197 Clone a vApp, on page 199 Power on a vApp in the vSphere Web Client, on page 199 Power On a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 200

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n n n n n n n n

Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Web Client, on page 200 Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 200 Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Web Client, on page 200 Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 201 Resume a vApp in the vSphere Web Client, on page 201 Resume a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 201 Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Web Client, on page 201 Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Client, on page 201

Create a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

After you create a datacenter and add a clustered host enabled with DRS or a standalone host to your vCenter Server system, you can create a vApp. You can create a vApp under the following conditions.
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A standalone host is selected in the inventory that is running ESX 3.0 or greater. A cluster enabled with DRS is selected in the inventory.

You can create vApps on folders, standalone hosts, resource pools, clusters enabled with DRS, and within other vApps. Procedure 1 2 3 Select vApp Name and Location on page 184 The name that you enter is the vApp display name that appears in the inventory. Allocate vApp Resources on page 185 You can allocate CPU and memory resources for the new vApp using shares, reservations, and limits. Complete the vApp Creation on page 185 Before you deploy the vApp, you can review the vApp settings.

Select vApp Name and Location

The name that you enter is the vApp display name that appears in the inventory. Procedure 1 Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent of a vApp and select Inventory > New vApp. Valid parents of a vApp include clusters, resource pools, hosts, or other vApps. 2 3 4 In the vApp Name text box, type a name for the vApp. Select the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the vApp. Click Next.

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Allocate vApp Resources

You can allocate CPU and memory resources for the new vApp using shares, reservations, and limits. Procedure 1 Allocate CPU capacity for this vApp.
Option Shares Description CPU shares for this vApp with respect to the parents total. Sibling vApps share resources according to their relative share values bounded by the reservation and limit. Select Low, Normal, or High, which specify share values respectively in a 1:2:4 ratio. Select Custom to give each vApp a specific number of shares, which express a proportional weight. Guaranteed CPU allocation for this vApp. Select the Expandable check box to make the reservation expandable. When the vApp is powered on, if the combined reservations of its virtual machines are larger than the reservation of the vApp, the vApp can use resources from its parent or ancestors. Upper limit for this vApp's CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit.

Reservation Reservation Type

Limit

Allocate memory capacity for this vApp.

Option Shares Description Memory shares for this vApp with respect to the parents total. Sibling vApps share resources according to their relative share values bounded by the reservation and limit. Select Low, Normal, or High, which specify share values respectively in a 1:2:4 ratio. Select Custom to give each vApp a specific number of shares, which express a proportional weight. Guaranteed memory allocation for this vApp. Select the Expandable check box to make the reservation expandable. When the vApp is powered on, if the combined reservations of its virtual machines are larger than the reservation of the vApp, the vApp can use resources from its parent or ancestors. Upper limit for this vApp's memory allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit.

Reservation Reservation Type

Limit

Click Next.

Complete the vApp Creation

Before you deploy the vApp, you can review the vApp settings. Procedure 1 2 Review the vApp settings and make any necessary changes by clicking Previous to back to the relevant page. Click Finish.

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Create a vApp in the vSphere Client

A standalone host is selected in the inventory that is running ESX 3.0 or greater. A cluster enabled with DRS is selected in the inventory.

You can create vApps on folders, standalone hosts, resource pools, clusters enabled with DRS, and within other vApps. Procedure 1 2 3 Start the New vApp Wizard on page 186 The New vApp wizard allows you to create a vApp. Name the vApp on page 186 The name that you enter is the vApp display name that appears in the inventory. Select the vApp Destination on page 187 The destination is the standalone host, cluster, resource pool, or another vApp on which the vApp will run. 4 5 Allocate vApp Resources on page 187 Determine how CPU and memory should be allocated for the vApp. Complete the vApp Creation on page 187 The Ready to Complete page lets you review the vApp configuration.

Start the New vApp Wizard

The New vApp wizard allows you to create a vApp. Procedure
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Select File > New > vApp to open the New vApp wizard.

Name the vApp

The name that you enter is the vApp display name that appears in the inventory. The vApp name can be up to 80 characters long. This name must be unique within the folder. Procedure 1 2 On the Name and Folder page, enter a name for the vApp. Select a folder location in the inventory for the vApp. If you are creating a vApp from within another vApp, the vApp Inventory Location selection is unavailable. 3 Click Next.

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Select the vApp Destination

The destination is the standalone host, cluster, resource pool, or another vApp on which the vApp will run. NOTE This step, selecting a vApp destination, does not appear if you create a vApp from a standalone host, cluster, resource pool, or another vApp within the inventory. Procedure 1 On the Destination page, select a standalone host, cluster, or resource pool where this vApp will run and click Next. If you selected a cluster enabled with DRS and the cluster is in DRS manual mode, select the host as the destination for the vApp. The message in the Compatibility panel indicates whether the validation for this destination succeeded or whether a specific requirement was not met. 2 Click Next.

Allocate vApp Resources

Determine how CPU and memory should be allocated for the vApp. Procedure 1 2 In the Resource Allocation page, allocate CPU and memory resources for this vApp. Click Next.

Complete the vApp Creation

The Ready to Complete page lets you review the vApp configuration. Procedure 1 2 3 Review the new vApp settings on the Ready to Complete page. (Optional) Click Back to edit or change any settings. Click Finish to create the vApp.

Populate the vApp

Virtual machines and other vApps can be added to and removed from a vApp. After you create a vApp, you can populate it with virtual machines or other vApps.

Create an Object Inside a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

Within a vApp, you can create a new virtual machine, resource pool, or another vApp. Procedure 1 In the inventory, select the vApp in which you want to create the object machine.

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Select the menu option to create a specific object.

Menu Option Click the Create Virtual Machine ( ) icon. ) Description Creates a new virtual machine inside the vApp. Complete the Create New Virtual Machine wizard. Adds a resource pool inside the vApp. Complete the Create Resource Pool dialog box. Creates a new vApp inside the currently selected vApp. Complete the New vApp wizard.

Click the Create Resource Pool ( icon.

Click the All Actions icon ( ) and select Inventory > New vApp.

The new object appears as part of the vApp in the inventory.

Create an Object Inside the vApp in the vSphere Client

Within a vApp, you can create a new virtual machine, resource pool, or another vApp. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the vApp in which you want to create the object machine. Select the menu option to create a specific object.
Menu Option Inventory > vApp > New Virtual Machine Description Creates a new virtual machine inside the vApp. Complete the Create New Virtual Machine wizard. See Chapter 4, Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client, on page 31 for instructions on creating a new virtual machine. Adds a resource pool inside the vApp. Complete the Create Resource Pool window. Creates a new vApp inside the currently selected vApp. Complete the New vApp wizard. See Create a vApp in the vSphere Client, on page 186 for instructions on creating a new vApp.

Inventory > vApp > New Resource Pool Inventory > vApp > New vApp

The new object appears as part of the vApp in the inventory.

Add an Object to a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

You can add an object, such as a virtual machine or another vApp, to an existing vApp. An existing virtual machine or another vApp that is not already contained inside the vApp can be moved into the currently selected vApp. Procedure 1 2 Display the object in the inventory. Click and drag the object to the target object. If the move is not permitted, red x icon appears, and the object is not moved. 3 Release the mouse button.

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Add an Object to a vApp in the vSphere Client

If the move is permitted, a box appears around the target-object, indicating it is selected. If the move is not permitted, a naught sign (zero with a slash) appears, and the object is not moved.

Release the mouse button. Either the object moves to the new location or an error message indicates what needs to be done to permit the move.

Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Web Client

You can edit and configure several vApp settings, including startup order, resources, and custom properties.

Configure vApp Resources in the vSphere Web Client

You can configure the CPU and memory resource allocation for the vApp. Reservations on vApps and all their child resource pools, child vApps, and child virtual machines count against the parent resources only when they are powered on. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp resource configuration on the vApp. Procedure 1 2 Right-click the vApp in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Allocate CPU capacity for this vApp.
Option Shares Description CPU shares for this vApp with respect to the parents total. Sibling vApps share resources according to their relative share values bounded by the reservation and limit. Select Low, Normal, or High, which specify share values respectively in a 1:2:4 ratio. Select Custom to give each vApp a specific number of shares, which express a proportional weight. Guaranteed CPU allocation for this vApp. Select the Expandable check box to make the reservation expandable. When the vApp is powered on, if the combined reservations of its virtual machines are larger than the reservation of the vApp, the vApp can use resources from its parent or ancestors. Upper limit for this vApp's CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no upper limit.

Reservation Reservation Type

Limit

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Allocate memory capacity for this vApp.

Reservation Reservation Type

Limit

Click OK.

Configure vApp Properties in the vSphere Web Client

You can edit any vApp property that is defined in Advanced Property Configuration. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Right-click the vApp in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Click the Properties triangle to expand the vApp properties. Edit the vApp properties. Click OK.

Configure vApp IP Allocation Policy in the vSphere Web Client

You can edit how IP addresses are allocated for the vApp. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.vApp instance configuration Procedure 1 2 3 Right-click the vApp in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Click the IP Allocation triangle to expand the IP allocation options. Select an IP allocation option.
Option Fixed Transient Description IP addresses are manually configured. No automatic allocation is performed. IP addresses are automatically allocated using IP pools from a specified range when the vApp is powered on. The IP addresses are released when the appliance is powered off. A DHCP server is used to allocate the IP addresses. The addresses assigned by the DHCP server are visible in the OVF environments of virtual machines started in the vApp.

DHCP

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Click OK.

Configure vApp Startup and Shutdown Options in the vSphere Web Client
You can change the order in which virtual machines and nested vApps within a vApp start up and shut down. You can also specify delays and actions performed at startup and shutdown. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 Right-click the vApp in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Click the Start Order triangle to expand the start order options. Select a virtual machine and click the up or down arrow to move the virtual machine in the startup order. Virtual machines and vApps in the same group will start concurrently with each other. The reverse order will be used for shutdown. 4 5 For each virtual machine, select the startup action for the virtual machine. (Optional) Set the delay for the startup action.
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Enter a time delay in seconds for the startup action. Select VMware Tools are ready to perform the startup action when VMware Tools has started.

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For each virtual machine, select the shutdown action for the virtual machine. (Optional) Enter a time delay in seconds for the shutdown action. Click OK.

Configure vApp Product Properties in the vSphere Web Client

You can configure product and vendor information for a vApp. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 Right-click the vApp in the inventory and select Configuration > Edit Settings. Click the Product triangle to expand the product options. Set and configure the settings that appear on the summary page of the virtual machine.
vApp Setting Product Name Version Full Version Product URL Description Product Name. vApp version. Full version of the vApp. If you enter a product URL, a user can click the product name on the virtual machine summary page and go to the product's web page.

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vApp Setting Vendor URL Application URL

Description If you enter a vendor URL, a user can click the vendor name on the virtual machine summary page and go to the vendor's web page. If you use properties to specify the virtual machine IP address, you can enter a dynamic application URL that points to a web page exposed by running the virtual machine. If you enter a valid application URL, the state of the virtual machine changes to the Available link when the virtual machine begins running.

Edit vApp Settings in the vSphere Client

You can edit and configure several vApp settings, including startup order, resources, and custom properties. Procedure 1 2 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click the Options tab to edit or view vApp properties. NOTE The deployer typically edits the IP allocation policy and properties. The vApp author typically edits the other, more advanced settings. 3 4 Click the Start Order tab to edit vApp startup and shutdown options. Click OK.

Edit vApp Startup and Shutdown Options

You can change the order in which virtual machines and nested vApps within a vApp start up and shut down. You can also specify delays and actions performed at startup and shutdown. Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration Procedure 1 2 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. In the Start Order tab of the Edit vApp Settings window, select a virtual machine and use the arrow keys to change the startup order. Virtual Machines and vApps with the same start order (or within the same grouping) will start concurrently with each other. The reverse order will be used for shutdown. 3 4 5 Select the startup and shutdown action for each virtual machine. (Optional) Use the arrow keys to change the time delay for startup and shutdown for each virtual machine. Click OK.

Edit vApp Resources

You can edit the CPU and memory resource allocation for the vApp. Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration

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Reservations on vApps and all their child resource pools, child vApps, and child virtual machines count against the parent resources only when they are powered on. Procedure 1 2 3 4 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click Resources in the Options list. Edit the CPU and memory resource allocation. Click OK.

Edit vApp Properties

You can edit any vApp property that is defined in Advanced Property Configuration. Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration Procedure 1 2 3 4 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click Properties in the Options list. Edit the vApp properties. Click OK.

View vApp License Agreement

You can view the license agreement for the vApp that you are editing. NOTE This option is available only if the vApp was imported and contains a license agreement. Procedure 1 2 3 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click View License Agreement in the Options list. Click OK.

Edit IP Allocation Policy

You can edit how IP addresses are allocated for the vApp. Prerequisites
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For automatic (transient) IP allocation to work, you must use the vSphere Client and configure an IP pool. See Configuring IP Pools, on page 197.

Required privilege: vApp.vApp instance configuration. Procedure 1 2 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click IP Allocation Policy in the Options list.

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Select an IP allocation option.

Option Fixed Transient Description IP addresses are manually configured. No automatic allocation is performed. IP addresses are automatically allocated using IP pools from a specified range when the vApp is powered on. The IP addresses are released when the appliance is powered off. A DHCP server is used to allocate the IP addresses. The addresses assigned by the DHCP server are visible in the OVF environments of virtual machines started in the vApp.

DHCP

Click OK.

View Additional OVF Sections

View OVF sections that are not recognized by vCenter Server. These additional OVF sections originate from the OVF deployment process that created this vApp. Most of the OVF sections that vCenter Server did not recognize during deployment are accessible here for reference. Procedure 1 2 3 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click View Additional OVF Sections in the Options list. Click OK.

Add a vService Dependency

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Edit a vService Dependency

You can edit a vService dependency name, description, and requirement. Procedure 1 2 3 From the vServices tab in the Edit Settings dialog box, click Edit. In the Dependency Properties dialog box, edit the dependency name and description. Select or deselect the check box to change the required status of the dependency. The required check box is disabled if the virtual machine or vApp is running. 4 Select a provider for the dependency. When you select a provider, the description is entered containing the provider description. The validation box displays the results of the validation. If validation fails, the OK button is disabled until another provider or no provider is selected. 5 Click OK.

Remove a vService Dependency

You can remove a vService dependency from a virtual machine or vApp. Procedure 1 2 From the vServices tab in the Edit Settings dialog box, click Edit. Select the dependency and click Remove.

The dependency is removed from the list.

Configure Advanced vApp Properties

You can edit and configure advanced settings, such as product and vendor information, custom properties, and IP allocation. Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration Procedure 1 2 3 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click Advanced in the Options list. Set and configure the settings that appear on the summary page of the virtual machine.
vApp Setting Product Name Version Full Version Product URL Description Product Name. vApp version. Full version of the vApp. If you enter a product URL, a user can click the product name on the virtual machine summary page and go to the product's web page.

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vApp Setting Vendor URL Application URL

If you configure the virtual machine to use the property called webserver_ip and the virtual machine has a web server, you can enter http://${webserver_ip}/ as the Application URL. 4 5 6 7 (Optional) Click View to test the Product URL and Vendor URL. Click Properties to edit the custom vApp properties. Click IP Allocation to edit the supported IP allocation schemes of this vApp. Click OK.

Define OVF Environment Properties

You can view or modify the OVF environment properties for the vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 4 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click Advanced in the Options list. Click Properties. In Advanced Property Configuration, you can perform the following actions.
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ClickNew to add a new custom property. Select the property and click Edit to edit a property. Click Delete to delete a property.

Click OK.

Edit Advanced IP Allocation Properties

You can edit the IP allocation scheme for the vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 4 On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings. Click Advanced in the Options list. Click IP Allocation. In the Advanced IP Allocation dialog box, you can perform the following actions.
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Select an IP allocation scheme. Select the IP protocols supported by the vApp: IPv4, IPv6, or both.

Click OK.

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Configuring IP Pools
IP pools provide a network identity to vApps. An IP pool is a network configuration that is assigned to a network used by a vApp. The vApp can then leverage vCenter Server to automatically provide an IP configuration to its virtual machines.

Specify an IP Address Range

You can set up an IP address range by specifying a host address range within a network. IP pool ranges are configured with IPv4 and IPv6. vCenter Server uses these ranges to dynamically allocate IP addresses to virtual machines when a vApp is set up to use transient IP allocation. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp. In the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool that you want to edit and select Properties. If no IP pools appear, click Add to add a new IP pool. 3 4 5 In the Properties dialog box, select the IPv4 or the IPv6 tab, depending on your IP protocol. Enter the IP Subnet and Gateway in their respective fields. (Optional) Select the Enable IP Pool check box. Enable this setting to specify an IP address range. 6 (Optional) Enter a comma-separated list of host address ranges in the Ranges field. A range consists of an IP address, a pound sign (#), and a number indicating the length of the range. The gateway and the ranges must be within the subnet, but must exclude the gateway address. For example, 10.20.60.4#10, 10.20.61.0#2 indicates that the IPv4 addresses can range from 10.20.60.4 to 10.209.60.13 and 10.20.61.0 to 10.20.61.1. 7 Click OK.

Select DHCP
You can specify that an IPv4 or IPv6 DHCP server is available on the network. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp you are configuring. In the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool that you want to edit and select Properties. If no IP pools appear, click Add to add a new IP pool. 3 4 5 In the Properties dialog box, select theDHCP tab. Select either the IPv4 DHCP Present or IPv6 DHCP Present check box to indicate that one of the DHCP servers is available on this network. Click OK.

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Specify DNS Settings

Enter the DNS settings for the vApp. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp you are configuring. In the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool that you want to edit and select Properties. If no IP pools appear, click Add to add a new IP pool. 3 4 In the Properties dialog box, select the DNS tab. Enter the DNS server information. Specify the servers by IP addresses separated by a comma, semicolon, or space. You can enter the following types of DNS information:
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DNS Domain Host Prefix DNS Search Path IPv4 DNS Servers IPv6 DNS Servers

Click OK.

Specify a Proxy Server

Specify a HTTP proxy server for the vApp. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp. In the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool that you want to edit and select Properties. If no IP pools appear, click Add to add a new IP pool. 3 4 In the Properties dialog box, select the Proxy tab. Enter the server name and port number for the proxy server. The server name can optionally include a colon and a port number. For example, web-proxy:3912 is a valid proxy server. 5 Click OK.

Select Network Associations

You can associate one or more networks with an IP pool. Procedure 1 2 In the inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp. In the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool that you want to edit and select Properties. If no IP pools appear, click Add to add a new IP pool. 3 In the Properties dialog box, select the Associationstab.

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Select the networks that use this IP pool. A network can be associated with one IP pool at a time.

Click OK.

Clone a vApp
Cloning a vApp is similar to cloning a virtual machine. Prerequisites To clone a vApp, the vSphere Client must be connected to the vCenter Server system. A host must be selected in the inventory that is running ESX 3.0 or greater, or a cluster enabled with DRS. Procedure 1 2 Select the vApp in the inventory. Select Inventory > vApp > Clone. Complete each page in Clone vApp the wizard. 3 4 Select the vApp destination and click Next. Specify a Host and click Next. NOTE This step is available only if you select a cluster that is in DRS manual mode. 5 6 7 8 Name the vApp and click Next. Select a datastore and click Next. (Optional) Select a network and click Next. Complete the vApp clone.

Power on a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

Each virtual machine within the vApp is powered on according to the startup order configuration. When powering on a vApp within a DRS cluster in manual mode, no DRS recommendations are generated for virtual machine placements. The power-on operation performs as if DRS is run in a semiautomatic or automatic mode for the initial placements of the virtual machines. This does not affect vMotion recommendations. Recommendations for individual powering on and powering off of virtual machines are also generated for vApps that are running. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.Power On on the vApp. Procedure
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Right-click the vApp and select Power > Power On. If a delay is set in the startup settings, the vApp waits for the set length of time before powering up that virtual machine.

In the Summary tab, the Status portlet indicates when the vApp has started and is available.

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Power On a vApp in the vSphere Client

In the Summary page for the service, click Power On. If a delay is set in the startup settings, the vApp waits for the set length of time before powering up that virtual machine.

In the Summary tab, the status indicates when the vApp has started and is available. Links to the product and vendor Web sites are also found under the General section.

Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

Each virtual machine within the vApp is powered off in reverse order to how they are configured for startup. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.Power Off on the vApp. Procedure
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Right-click the vApp and select Power > Power Off. If a delay is set in the shutdown settings, the vApp waits for the set length of time before powering down that virtual machine.

Power Off a vApp in the vSphere Client

Each virtual machine within the vApp is powered off in reverse order to how they are configured for startup. Procedure
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In the Summary page for the service, click Power Off. If a delay is set in the shutdown settings, the vApp waits for the set length of time before powering down that virtual machine.

Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

A suspended vApp pauses all its running virtual machines until you resume the vApp. The virtual machines within a vApp are suspended based on their stop order. All virtual machines are suspended regardless of stop action. Prerequisites Required privilege: vApp.Suspend on the vApp. Procedure
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Right-click the vApp and select Power > Suspend.

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Suspend a vApp in the vSphere Client

A suspended vApp pauses all its running virtual machines until you resume the vApp. The virtual machines within a vApp are suspended based on their stop order. All virtual machines are suspended regardless of stop action. Procedure 1 2 From the vSphere Client select the vApp you want to place in suspended state. Right-click the vApp and select Suspend.

Resume a vApp in the vSphere Web Client

You can continue the activity of the virtual machines within a vApp that is in a suspended state. The suspended virtual machines within the vApp are resumed in reverse order to the order in which they were suspended. Procedure
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Right-click the vApp and select Power > Power On.

Resume a vApp in the vSphere Client

Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Web Client

You can add or edit notes for a particular vApp. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 Select the vApp in the inventory. Click the Summary tab for the vApp. In the Annotation panel, click Edit. Type your comments in the Edit vApp Annotation window. Click OK.

Your comments appear in the Annotation panel.

Edit vApp Annotation in the vSphere Client

You can add or edit notes for a particular vApp. Procedure 1 Select the vApp in the inventory.

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Click the Summary tab for the vApp. In the Annotation section, click Edit. Type your comments in the Edit Service Annotation window. Click OK.

Your comments appear under Annotation.

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Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager

A vSphere administrator uses the vCenter Solutions Manager to view the installalled solutions, view detailed information about the solutions, and monitor the solution health status. You can monitor and manage vSphere solutions from the vSphere Client that displays an inventory of vSphere solutions and details about each solution. A solution is an extension of the vCenter Server that adds new functions to a vCenter Server instance. For example, vSphere ESX Agent Manager is a standard vCenter solution provided by VMware that allows you to manage ESX host agents that add new capabilities to ESX hosts. Another standard solution that vSphere provides is vService Manager. VMware products that integrate with vCenter Sever are also considered solutions. You can install a solution to add functionality from third-party technologies to the standard functions of vCenter Server. Solutions typically are delivered as OVF packages. You can install and deploy solutions from vSphere Client. Solutions can be integrated into the vCenter Solutions Manager. If a virtual machine or vApp is running a solution, a custom icon appears next to it in the inventory view of the vSphere Client. When you power on or power off a virtual machine or vApp, you are notified that you are performing this operation on an entity that is managed by the solution manager. Each solution registers a unique icon to identify that the virtual machine or vApp is being managed by that solution. The icons show the power states (powered on, paused, powered off). The solutions display more than one type of icon if they manage more than one type of virtual machine or vApp. When you attempt an operation on a virtual machine or a vApp that is managed by a solution, an informational warning message appears. For more information, see the Developing and Deploying vSphere Solutions, vServices, and ESX Agents documentation. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Viewing Solutions, on page 203 Monitoring Agents, on page 204 Monitoring vServices, on page 205

Viewing Solutions
You can deploy, monitor, and interact with solutions that are installed in a vCenter Server instance with the vCenter Solutions Manager. The Solutions Manager displays information about the health of a solution. You can navigate to the Solutions Manager from the home page of the vSphere Client. The Solutions Manager view displays information about the solution:
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Solution name

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Solution health vService providers

Procedure 1 2 Click the Solutions Manager icon from vSphere Client home. Navigate through the tabs in the Solutions Manager.
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Summary tab. Lists the number of installed solutions and a brief health overview for each of the solutions. Solutions tab. Lists each managed solution. Health tab. Provides the health status of the vCenter services. It also shows alerts or warnings for each of the services.

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In the Solutions Manager inventory, click one of the solutions.

Summary tab. Lists information about the solution, including a link to the product and vendor Web sites, a link to launch the management UI in a separate window, and a link to the virtual machine or vApp running this solution. Selecting the vendor Web site link takes you to the Summary page of the virtual machine or vApp. A link under "Managed by" returns you to the solution.

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Virtual Machines tab. Lists all the virtual machines belonging to the solution vServices Providers tab. Management tab or any other tabs the solution specified.

Monitoring Agents
The vCenter Solutions Manager displays the vSphere ESX Agent Manager agents that you use to deploy and manage related agents on ESX hosts. An administrator uses the solutions manager to keep track of whether a solution's agents are working as expected. Outstanding issues are reflected by the solution's ESX Agent Manager status and a list of issues. When a solution's state changes, the solutions manager updates the ESX Agent Manager's summary status and state. Administrators use this status to track whether the goal state is reached. The agency's health status is indicated by a specific color:
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Red. The solution must intervene for the ESX Agent Manager to proceed. For example, if a virtual machine agent is powered off manually on a compute resource and the ESX Agent Manager does not attempt to power on the agent. The ESX Agent Manager reports this action to the solution. The solution alerts the administrator to power on the agent. Yellow. The ESX Agent Manager is actively working to reach a goal state. The goal state can be enabled, disabled, or uninstalled. For example, when a solution is registered, its status is yellow until the ESX Agent Manager deploys the solutions agents to all the specified compute resources. A solution does not need to intervene when the ESX Agent Manager reports its ESX Agent Manager health status as yellow. Green. A solution and all its agents reached the goal state.

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Monitoring vServices
A vService is a service or function that a solution provides to virtual machines and vApps. A solution can provide one or more vServices. These vServices integrate with the platform and are able to change the environment in which the vApp or virtual machine runs. A vService is a type of service for a virtual machine and a vApp provided by a vCenter extension. Virtual machines and vApps can have dependencies on vServices. Each dependency is associated with a vService type. The vService type must be bound to a particular vCenter extension that implements that vService type. This vService type is similar to a virtual hardware device. For example, a virtual machine can have a networking device that at deployment must be connected to a particular network. The vService Manager allows a solution to connect to operations related to OVF templates:
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Importing OVF templates. Receive a callback when OVF templates with a vService dependancy of a certain type is imported. Exporting OVF templates. Inserts OVF sections when a virtual machine is exported. OVF environment generation. Inserts OVF sections into the OVF environment at the power-on instance.

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The vService Provider tab in the solution manager provides details for each vCenter extension. This information allows you to monitor vService providers and list the virtual machines or vApps to which they are bound.

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Managing Virtual Machines

You use the vSphere Client to manage virtual machines. With the vSphere Client, you can open a console to the desktop of managed virtual machines. From the console, you can change operating system settings, use applications, browse the file system, monitor system performance, and so on, as if you were operating a physical system. You can also use snapshots to capture the entire state of the virtual machine at the time you take the snapshot. You can connect the vSphere Client directly to an ESXi host and work with only the virtual machines and the physical resources available on that host. Connect your vSphere Client to a vCenter Server to manage virtual machines and pooled physical resources across multiple hosts. Multiple vCenter Server systems can be joined together in a vCenter Server Connected Group to allow them to be managed with a single vSphere Client connection. This chapter includes the following topics:
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Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings, on page 207 Install the Client Integration Plug-In in the vSphere Web Client, on page 208 Open a Virtual Machine Console in the vSphere Web Client, on page 209 Open a Console to a Virtual Machine, on page 209 Adding and Removing Virtual Machines, on page 210 Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines, on page 211 Migrating Virtual Machines, on page 225

Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings

You can configure virtual machines running on an ESXi host to start up and shut down with the host. You can also set the default timing and startup order for selected virtual machines. This ability allows the operating system to save data when the host enters maintenance mode or is being powered off for another reason. NOTE You can also create a scheduled task to change the power settings of a virtual machine. Information about scheduling tasks is included in vCenter Server and Host Management. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, select the host where the virtual machine is located and click the Configuration tab. Under Software, click Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown and click Properties. The Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown dialog box opens. 3 Select Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system.

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(Optional) Configure the startup and shutdown behavior.

Option Default Startup Delay Continue immediately if the VMware Tools starts Default Shutdown Delay Action Select the amount of time to delay starting the operating system. This delay allows time for VMware Tools or the booting system to run scripts. Select to start the operating system immediately after VMware Tools starts. Select the amount of time to delay shutdown for each virtual machine. The shutdown delay applies only if the virtual machine does not shut down before the delay period elapses. If the virtual machine shuts down before the delay time is reached, the next virtual machine starts shutting down. Select a shutdown option from the drop-down menu. n Power Off n Suspend n Guest Shutdown Select a virtual machine in the Manual Startup category and use the Move Up button to move it up to Automatic Startup or Any Oder. When virtual machines are in the Automatic Startup category, you can use Move Up and Move Down to order them so that they start in a preferred sequence. During shutdown, the virtual machines are stopped in the opposite order. Click Edit to configure user-specified autostartup and shutdown behavior for virtual machines in the Automatic Startup or Any Order category.

Shutdown Action

Move Up and Move Down

Edit

Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

Install the Client Integration Plug-In in the vSphere Web Client

To access a virtual machine's console in the vSphere Web Client, you must install the Client Integration Plugin. You can also use the Client Integration Plug-in to connect virtual devices that reside on a client computer to a virtual machine. You install the Client Integration Plug-in only once to connect virtual devices to virtual machines that you access through an instance of the vSphere Web Client. The following guest operating systems and browsers support Client Integration Plug-In installation:
Operating system Windows 32 bit and 64 bit Linux 32 bit Browser
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Internet Explorer 7 and 8 Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and 3.6

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and 3.6

Procedure 1 Click the Download the client integration plug-in link.

Option vSphere Web Client login page Description a b a b Open a Web browser and enter the URL for the vSphere Web Client. At the bottom of the vSphere Web Clientlogin page, click Download Client Integration Plug-in. Select a virtual machine in the inventory and click the Summary tab. In the Guest OS Details panel, click Install client integration plug-in to view VM console.

Guest OS Details panel

(Optional) If the browser blocks the installation, either by issuing certificate errors or with pop-up blocking, follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.

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What to do next You can now open the virtual machine console to configure operating system settings, run applications, monitor performance, and so on.

Open a Virtual Machine Console in the vSphere Web Client

With the vSphere Web Client, you can access a virtual machine's desktop by launching a console to the virtual machine. From the console, you can perform activities in the virtual machine such as configure operating system settings, run applications, monitor performance, and so on. Prerequisites
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Ensure that the Client Integration Plug-in is installed in your Web browser. Verify that the virtual machine has a guest operating system and that VMware Tools are installed. Verify that the virtual machine is powered on.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

In the Guest OS Details pane on the Summary tab, click Launch console. The virtual machine console opens in a new tab of the Web browser.

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Click anywhere inside the console window to enable your mouse, keyboard, and other input devices to work in the console. (Optional) Press Ctrl+Alt to release the cursor from the console window and work outside the console window. (Optional) Click Full Screen to display the console in full screen mode. (Optional) Press Ctrl+Alt+Enter to exit full screen mode. (Optional) Click Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete to send a Ctrl+Alt+Delete to the guest operating system.

Open a Console to a Virtual Machine

With the vSphere Client, you can access a virtual machine's desktop by launching a console to the virtual machine. From the console, you can perform activities within the virtual machine such as configure operating system settings, run applications, monitor performance, and so on. Procedure 1 2 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Open Console . Click anywhere inside the console window to enable your mouse, keyboard, and other input devices to work in the console.

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Adding and Removing Virtual Machines

You add virtual machines to the vCenter Server inventory through their managed hosts. You can remove virtual machines from vCenter Server, from their managed hosts storage, or from both.

Adding Existing Virtual Machines to vCenter Server

When you add a host to vCenter Server, it discovers all the virtual machines on that managed host and adds them to the vCenter Server inventory. If a managed host is disconnected, the already discovered virtual machines continue to be listed in the inventory. If a managed host is disconnected and reconnected, any changes to the virtual machines on that managed host are identified, and the vSphere Client updates the list of virtual machines. For example, if node3 is removed and node4 is added, the new list of virtual machines adds node4 and shows node3 as orphaned.

Remove Virtual Machines from vCenter Server

Removing a virtual machine from the inventory unregisters it from the host and vCenter Server, but does not delete it from the datastore. Virtual machine files remain at the same storage location and the virtual machine can be re-registered by using the datastore browser. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 Display the virtual machine in the inventory. Right-click the virtual machine and select Remove from Inventory. To confirm that you want to remove the virtual machine from the inventory, click OK.

vCenter Server removes references to the virtual machine and no longer tracks its condition.

Remove Virtual Machines from the Datastore

You use the Delete from Disk option to remove a virtual machine from vCenter Server and delete all virtual machine files, including the configuration file and virtual disk files, from the datastore. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine. Procedure 1 2 3 Display the virtual machine in the inventory. Right-click the virtual machine and select Delete from Disk. Click OK in the confirmation dialog box.

vCenter Server deletes the virtual machine from its datastore. Disks that are shared with other virtual machines are not deleted.

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Return a Virtual Machine or Template to vCenter Server

If you remove a virtual machine or template from vCenter Server, but do not remove it from the managed hosts datastore, you can return it to vCenter Server by using the Datastore Browser. Procedure 1 2 3 4 5 Display the datastore in the inventory. Right-click the datastore and select Browse Datastore. Navigate to the virtual machine or template to add to the inventory. Right-click the virtual machine or template and select Add to Inventory. Complete the Add to Inventory wizard to add the virtual machine or template.

Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines

Snapshots preserve the state and data of a virtual machine at the time you take the snapshot. Snapshots are useful when you must revert repeatedly to the same virtual machine state, but you do not want to create multiple virtual machines. You can take multiple snapshots of a virtual machine to create restoration positions in a linear process. With multiple snapshots, you can save many positions to accommodate many kinds of work processes. Snapshots operate on individual virtual machines. Taking snapshots of multiple virtual machines, for example, taking snapshots for all members of a team, requires that you take a separate snapshot of each team member's virtual machine. Snapshots are useful as a short term solution for testing software with unknown or potentially harmful effects. For example, you can use a snapshot as a restoration point during a linear or iterative process, such as installing update packages, or during a branching process, such as installing different versions of a program. Using snapshots ensures that each installation begins from an identical baseline. With snapshots, you can preserve a baseline before diverging a virtual machine in the snapshot tree. The Snapshot Manager in the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client provide several operations for creating and managing virtual machine snapshots and snapshot trees. These operations let you create snapshots, restore any snapshot in the snapshot hierarchy, delete snapshots, and more. You can create extensive snapshot trees that you can use to save the virtual machine state at any specific time and restore the virtual machine state later. Each branch in a snapshot tree can have up to 32 snapshots. A snapshot preserves the following information:
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Virtual machine settings. The virtual machine directory, which includes disks that were added or changed after you took the snapshot. Power state. The virtual machine can be powered on, powered off, or suspended. Disk state. State of all the virtual machine's virtual disks. (Optional) Memory state. The contents of the virtual machine's memory.

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The Snapshot Hierarchy

The Snapshot Manager presents the snapshot hierarchy as a tree with one or more branches. The relationship between snapshots is like that of a parent to a child. In the linear process, each snapshot has one parent snapshot and one child snapshot, except for the last snapshot, which has no child snapshots. Each parent snapshot can have more than one child. You can revert to the current parent snapshot or restore any parent or child snapshot in the snapshot tree and create more snapshots from that snapshot. Each time you restore a snapshot and take another snapshot, a branch, or child snapshot, is created. Parent Snapshots The first virtual machine snapshot that you create is the base parent snapshot. The parent snapshot is the most recently saved version of the current state of the virtual machine. Taking a snapshot creates a delta disk file for each disk attached to the virtual machine and optionally, a memory file. The delta disk files and memory file are stored with the virtual machine's files. The parent snapshot is always the snapshot that appears immediately above the You are here icon in the Snapshot Manager. If you revert or restore a snapshot, that snapshot becomes the parent of the You are here current state. NOTE The parent snapshot is not always the snapshot that you took most recently. Child Snapshots A snapshot that is taken of the same virtual machine after the parent snapshot. Each child constitutes delta files for each attached virtual disk, and optionally a memory file that points from the present state of the virtual disk (You are here). Each child snapshot's delta files merge with each previous child snapshot until reaching the parent disks. A child disk can later be a parent disk for future child disks.

The relationship of parent and child snapshots can change if you have multiple branches in the snapshot tree. A parent snapshot can have more than one child. Many snapshots have no children. IMPORTANT Do not manually manipulate individual child disks or any of the snapshot configuration files because doing so can compromise the snapshot tree and result in data loss. This restriction includes disk resizing and making modifications to the base parent disk using vmkfstools.

Snapshot Behavior
Taking a snapshot preserves the disk state at a specific time by creating a series of delta disks for each attached virtual disk or virtual RDM and optionally preserves the memory and power state by creating a memory file. Taking a snapshot creates a snapshot object in the Snapshot Manager that represents the virtual machine state and settings. Each snapshot creates an additional delta .vmdk disk file. When you take a snapshot, the snapshot mechanism prevents the guest operating system from writing to the base .vmdk file and instead directs all writes to the delta disk file. The delta disk represents the difference between the current state of the virtual disk and the state that existed at the time that you took the previous snapshot. If more than one snapshot exists, delta disks can represent the difference between each snapshot. Delta disk files can expand quickly and become as large as the entire virtual disk if the guest operating system writes to every block of the virtual disk.

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Snapshot Files
When you take a snapshot, you capture the state of the virtual machine settings and the virtual disk. If you are taking a memory snapshot, you also capture the memory state of the virtual machine. These states are saved to files that reside with the virtual machine's base files.

Snapshot Files
A snapshot consists of files that are stored on a supported storage device. A Take Snapshot operation creates .vmdk, -flat.vmdk, .vmsd, and .vmsn files. By default, the first and all subsequent snapshots are stored with the virtual machine base files. Delta disk files A .vmdk file to which the guest operating system can write. The delta disk represents the difference between the current state of the virtual disk and the state that existed at the time that the previous snapshot was taken. When you take a snapshot, the state of the virtual disk is preserved, which prevents the guest operating system from writing to it, and a delta or child disk is created. A delta disk has two files, including a descriptor file that is small and contains information about the virtual disk, such as geometry and child-parent relationship information, and a corresponding file that contains the raw data. NOTE If you are looking at a datastore with the Datastore Browser in the vSphere Client, you see only one entry to represent both files. The files that make up the delta disk are referred to as child disks or redo logs. A child disk is a sparse disk. Sparse disks use the copy-on-write mechanism, in which the virtual disk contains no data in places, until copied there by a write operation. This optimization saves storage space. A grain is the unit of measure in which the sparse disk uses the copy-on-write mechanism. Each grain is a block of sectors that contain virtual disk data. The default size is 128 sectors or 64KB. Flat file A -flat.vmdk file that is one of two files that comprises the delta disk. The flat disk contains the raw data for the delta disk. This file does not appear as a separate file in the Datastore Browser. A .vmsd file that contains the virtual machine's snapshot information and is the primary source of information for the Snapshot Manager. This file contains line entries, which define the relationships between snapshots and between child disks for each snapshot. A .vmsn file that includes the active state of the virtual machine. Capturing the memory state of the virtual machine lets you revert to a turned on virtual machine state. With nonmemory snapshots, you can only revert to a turned off virtual machine state. Memory snapshots take longer to create than nonmemory snapshots. The time the ESX host takes to write the memory onto the disk is relative to the amount of memory the virtual machine is configured to use.

Database file

Memory file

A Take Snapshot operation creates .vmdk, -flat.vmdk, vmsd, and vmsn files.

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File

Description Snapshot file that represents the difference between the current state of the virtual disk and the state that existed at the time the previous snapshot was taken. The filename uses the following syntax, S1vm-000001.vmdkwhere S1vm is the name of the virtual machine and the six-digit number, 000001, is based on the files that already exist in the directory. The number does not consider the number of disks that are attached to the virtual machine. The same number is used for the descriptor and the flat file. Database of the virtual machine's snapshot information and the primary source of information for the Snapshot Manager. Memory state of the virtual machine at the time you take the snapshot. The file name uses the following syntax, S1vm.snapshot1.vmsn, where S1vm is the virtual machine name, and snapshot1 is the first snapshot. NOTE A .vmsn file is created each time you take a snapshot, regardless of the memory selection. A .vmsn file without memory is much smaller than one with memory.

vmname-number.vmdk and vmname-number-flat.vmdk

vmname.vmsd vmname.Snapshotnumber.vmsn

Snapshot Limitations
Snapshots can affect virtual machine performance and do not support some disk types or virtual machines configured with bus sharing. Snapshots are useful as short-term solutions for capturing point-in-time virtual machine states and are not appropriate for long-term virtual machine backups.
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VMware does not support snapshots of raw disks, RDM physical mode disks, or guest operating systems that use an iSCSI initiator in the guest. Virtual machines with independent disks must be powered off before you take a snapshot. Snapshots of powered-on or suspended virtual machines with independent disks are not supported. Snapshots are not supported with PCI vSphere Direct Path I/O devices. VMware does not support snapshots of virtual machines configured for bus sharing. If you require bus sharing, consider running backup software in your guest operating system as an alternative solution. If your virtual machine currently has snapshots that prevent you from configuring bus sharing, delete (consolidate) the snapshots. Snapshots provide a point-in-time image of the disk that backup solutions can use, but Snapshots are not meant to be a robust method of backup and recovery. If the files containing a virtual machine are lost, its snapshot files are also lost. Also, large numbers of snapshots are difficult to manage, consume large amounts of disk space, and are not protected in the case of hardware failure. Backup solutions, such as VMware Data Recovery, use the snapshot mechanism to freeze the state of the virtual machine. The Data Recovery backup method has additional capabilities that mitigate the limitations of snapshots.

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Snapshots can negatively affect the performance of a virtual machine. Performance degradation is based on how long the snapshot or snapshot tree is in place, the depth of the tree, and how much the virtual machine and its guest operating system have changed from the time you took the snapshot. Also, you might see a delay in the amount of time it takes the virtual machine to power-on. Do not run production virtual machines from snapshots on a permanent basis.

Managing Snapshots
You can review all snapshots for the active virtual machine and act on them by using the Snapshot Manager. After you take a snapshot, you can use the Revert to current snapshot command from the virtual machines right-click menu to restore that snapshot at any time. If you have a series of snapshots, you can use the Go to command in the Snapshot Manager to restore any parent or child snapshot. Subsequent child snapshots that you take from the restored snapshot create a branch in the snapshot tree. You can delete a snapshot from the tree in the Snapshot Manager.

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The Snapshot Manager window contains the following areas: Snapshot tree, Details region, command buttons, Navigation region, and a You are here icon. Snapshot tree You are here icon Displays all snapshots for the virtual machine. Represents the current and active state of the virtual machine. The You are here icon is always selected and visible when you open the Snapshot Manager. You can select the You are here state to see how much space the node is using. Go to, Delete, and Delete all are disabled for the You are here state. Go to, Delete, and Delete All Details Navigation Snapshot options. Displays the name and description of the selected snapshot. These text boxes are blank if you do not select a snapshot. Contains buttons for navigating out of the dialog box.
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Close the Snapshot Manager. Help opens the help system.

Taking Snapshots
You can take one or more snapshots of a virtual machine to capture the settings state, disk state, and memory state at different specific times. When you take a snapshot, you can also quiesce the virtual machine files and exclude the virtual machine disks from snapshots. When you quiesce a virtual machine, VMware Tools quiesces the file system of the virtual machine. A quiesce operation ensures that a snapshot disk represents a consistent state of the guest file systems. If the virtual machine is powered off or VMware Tools are not available, the Quiesce parameter is ignored. When you capture the virtual machine's memory state, the snapshot retains the live state of the virtual machine. The virtual machine's files might not require quiescing. If you do not capture the memory state, the snapshot does not save the live state of the virtual machine and the disks are crash-consistent unless you quiesce them. When you take a snapshot, other activity that is occurring in the virtual machine might affect the snapshot process when you revert to that snapshot. The best time to take a snapshot from a storage perspective, is when you are not incurring a large I/O load. The best time to take a snapshot from a service perspective is when no applications in the virtual machine are communicating with other computers. The potential for problems is greatest if the virtual machine is communicating with another computer, especially in a production environment. For example, if you take a snapshot while the virtual machine is downloading a file from a server on the network, the virtual machine continues downloading the file and communicating its progress to the server. If you revert to the snapshot, communications between the virtual machine and the server are confused and the file transfer fails.

Change Disk Mode to Exclude Virtual Disks from Snapshots in the vSphere Web Client
You can set a virtual disk to independent mode to exclude the disk from any snapshots taken of its virtual machine. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine and delete any existing snapshots before you change the disk mode. Deleting a snapshot involves committing the existing data on the snapshot disk to the parent disk. Required privileges:
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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In the VM Hardware panel, click Edit Settings. Click Virtual Hardware. Click the triangle to display the settings for the disk to exclude from snapshots. Select one of the independent disk mode options.
Option Independent - Persistent Description Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

Change Disk Mode to Exclude Virtual Disks from Snapshots in the vSphere Client
You can set a virtual disk to independent mode to exclude the disk from any snapshots taken of its virtual machine. Prerequisites Power off the virtual machine and delete any existing snapshots before you change the disk mode. Deleting a snapshot involves committing the existing data on the snapshot disk to the parent disk. Required privileges:
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Virtual machine.State.Remove Snapshot Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings

Procedure 1 2 3 Select Inventory > Virtual Machine > Edit Settings. Click the Hardware tab and select the hard disk to exclude. Under Mode, select Independent. Snapshots do not affect the state of an independent disk. NOTE Any disk, regardless of its type, that is created after you take a snapshot does not appear if you revert to that snapshot.

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Select an independent disk mode option.

Option Independent - Persistent Description Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on your physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode are written permanently to the disk. Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine. With nonpersistent mode, you can restart the virtual machine with a virtual disk in the same state every time. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

Take a Snapshot in the vSphere Web Client

Snapshots capture the entire state of the virtual machine at the time you take the snapshot. You can take a snapshot when a virtual machine is powered on, powered off, or suspended. If you are suspending a virtual machine, wait until the suspend operation finishes before you take a snapshot. When you create a memory snapshot, the snapshot captures the state of the virtual machine's memory and the virtual machine power settings. When you capture the virtual machine's memory state, the snapshot operation takes longer to complete. You might also see a momentary lapse in response over the network. When you quiesce a virtual machine, VMware Tools quiesces the file system in the virtual machine. The quiesce operation pauses or alters the state of running processes on the virtual machine, especially processes that might modify information stored on the disk during a restore operation. NOTE You cannot revert to a snapshot with dynamic disks, so quiesced snapshots are not used when you restore dynamic disks. Snapshot technology has no visibility into Dynamic Disks. Dynamic Disks are commonly known as Microsoft specific file systems. Prerequisites
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If you are taking a memory snapshot of a virtual machine that has multiple disks in different disk modes, verify that the virtual machine is powered off. For example, if you have a special purpose configuration that requires you to use an independent disk, you must power off the virtual machine before taking a snapshot. To capture the memory state of the virtual machine, verify that the virtual machine is powered on. To quiesce the virtual machine files, verify that the virtual machine is powered on and that VMware Tools is installed. Required privilege: Virtual machine.State. Create snapshot on the virtual machine.

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Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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Right-click the virtual machine and select Snapshot > Take Snapshot. Type a name for the snapshot. (Optional) Type a description for the snapshot. (Optional) Select the Snapshot the virtual machines memory check box to capture the memory of the virtual machine.

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(Optional) Select the Quiesce guest file system (Needs VMware Tools installed) check box to pause running processes on the guest operating system so that file system contents are in a known consistent state when you take the snapshot. Click OK.

Take a Snapshot in the vSphere Client

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Procedure 1 2 3 Select Inventory > Virtual Machine > Snapshot > Take Snapshot. Type a name for the snapshot. Type a description for the snapshot. Adding a date and time or a description, for example, "Snapshot before applying XYZ patch," can help you determine which snapshot to restore or delete. 4 5 (Optional) Select the Snapshot the virtual machines memory check box to capture the memory of the virtual machine. (Optional) Select the Quiesce guest file system (Needs VMware Tools installed) check box to pause running processes on the guest operating system so that file system contents are in a known consistent state when you take the snapshot. Click OK.

After you take the snapshot, you can view its status in the Recent Tasks field at the bottom of the vSphere Client.

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Restoring Snapshots
To return a virtual machine to its original state, or to return to another snapshot in the snapshot hierarchy, you can restore a snapshot. When you restore a snapshot, you return the virtual machine's memory, settings, and the state of the virtual machine disks to the state they were in at the time you took the snapshot. If you want the virtual machine to be suspended, powered on, or powered off when you start it, make sure that it is in the correct state when you take the snapshot. You can restore snapshots in the following ways: Revert to Current Snapshot Go To Restores the parent snapshot, one level up in the hierarchy from the You are Here position. Revert to Current Snapshot activates the parent snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine. Lets you restore any snapshot in the snapshot tree and makes that snapshot the parent snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine. Subsequent snapshots from this point create a new branch of the snapshot tree.

Restoring snapshots has the following effects:

The current disk and memory states are discarded, and the virtual machine reverts to the disk and memory states of the parent snapshot. Existing snapshots are not removed. You can restore those snapshots at any time. If the snapshot includes the memory state, the virtual machine will be in the same power state as when you created the snapshot. Table 11-1. Virtual Machine Power State After Restoring a Snapshot
Virtual Machine State When Parent Snapshot Is Taken Powered on (includes memory) Powered on (does not include memory) Powered off (does not include memory) Virtual Machine State After Restoration Reverts to the parent snapshot, and the virtual machine is powered on and running. Reverts to the parent snapshot and the virtual machine is powered off. Reverts to the parent snapshot and the virtual machine is powered off.

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Virtual machines running certain kinds of workloads can take several minutes to resume responsiveness after reverting from a snapshot.

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Figure 11-1. Revert to Snapshot

VM take a snapshot VM snapshot_a take a snapshot VM snapshot_a snapshot_b go to snapshot_a VM snapshot_a snapshot_b You are here You are here You are here You are here

Virtual machine with no snapshots

The new snapshot (snapshot_a) is now the parent snapshot of the You are here state. The parent snapshot of the You are here state is the parent snapshot of the virtual machine. When you take a snapshot from the snapshot_a state, snapshot_a becomes the parent of the new snapshot (snapshot_b) and snapshot_b is the parent snapshot of the You are here state. If you take a snapshot now, the new snapshot will be based on the snapshot_b state, whose parent snapshot is the snapshot_b state. When you go to snapshot_a, snapshot_a becomes the parent of the You are here state. If you take a snapshot now, the new snapshot will be based on the snapshot_a state.

When you revert a virtual machine, the virtual machine returns to the parent snapshot of the virtual machine (that is, the parent of the current You are here state).

NOTE vApp metadata for virtual machines in vApps does not follow the snapshot semantics for virtual machine configuration. vApp properties that are deleted, modified, or defined after a snapshot is taken remain intact (deleted, modified, or defined) after the virtual machine reverts to that snapshot or any previous snapshots.

Revert to a Snapshot in the vSphere Web Client

The Revert to Current Snapshot option immediately restores the parent snapshot of the virtual machine. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.State.Revert to snapshot on the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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Right-click the virtual machine and select Revert to Current Snapshot.

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Revert to a Snapshot in the vSphere Client

You can restore the parent snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine. When you revert to a snapshot, disks that you added or changed after the snapshot was taken are reverted to the snapshot point. For example, when you take a snapshot of a virtual machine, add a disk, and revert the snapshot, the added disk is removed. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.State.Revert to snapshot on the virtual machine. Procedure
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Right-click a virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory and select Revert to Current Snapshot.

The virtual machine power and data states are returned to the states they were in at the time you took the parent snapshot. If the parent snapshot is a memory snapshot, the virtual machine is restored to an on power state.

Go to a Snapshot in the vSphere Web Client

Go to a snapshot to restore the virtual machine to the state of that snapshot. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.State.Revert to snapshot on the virtual machine Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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Right-click the virtual machine and select Snapshot > Snapshot Manager. In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it. Click Go to to restore the virtual machine to the snapshot. The Go to command lets you restore the state of any snapshot.

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Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box. Click Close to exit the Snapshot Manager.

Go To a Snapshot in the vSphere Client

You can go to any snapshot in the snapshot tree to restore the virtual machine to the state of that snapshot. NOTE Virtual machines running certain kinds of workloads might take several minutes to resume responsiveness after reverting from a snapshot. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.State.Revert to snapshot on the virtual machine Procedure 1 2 Right-click a virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory and select Snapshot Manager. In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it.

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Click Go to to restore the virtual machine to the snapshot. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.

Subsequent child snapshots from this point create a new branch of the snapshot tree. The delta disks for snapshots that you took after you restored the current snapshot are not removed and you can restore those snapshots at any time.

Deleting Snapshots
Deleting a snapshot removes the snapshot from the Snapshot Manager. The snapshot files are consolidated and written to the parent snapshot disk and merge with the virtual machine base disk. Deleting a snapshot leaves the current state of the virtual machine or any other snapshot untouched. Deleting a snapshot consolidates the changes between snapshots and previous disk states and writes to the parent disk all data from the delta disk that contains the information about the deleted snapshot. When you delete the base parent snapshot, all changes merge with the base virtual machine disk. Deleting snapshots involves large amounts of disk reads and writes, which can reduce virtual machine performance until consolidation is complete. Consolidating snapshots removes redundant disks, which improves virtual machine performance and saves storage space. The time it takes to delete snapshots and consolidate the snapshot files depends on the volume of data that the guest operating system wrote to the virtual disks after you took the last snapshot. The required time is proportional to the amount of data the virtual machine is writing during consolidation if the virtual machine is powered on. If disk consolidation fails when you delete a snapshot or delete all snapshots and you notice a degradation in virtual machine performance, you can view a list of virtual machines to determine if any files require consolidation, and if so, run a separate consolidation operation. For information about locating and viewing the consolidation state of multiple virtual machines and running a separate consolidation operation, see Consolidate Snapshots in the vSphere Client, on page 224 Delete Use the Delete option to remove a single parent or child snapshot from the snapshot tree. Delete writes disk changes between the snapshot and the previous delta disk state to the parent snapshot. You can also use the Delete option to remove a corrupt snapshot and its files from an abandoned branch of the snapshot tree without merging them with the parent snapshot. Delete All Use the Delete All option to delete all snapshots from the Snapshot Manager. Delete all consolidates and writes changes between snapshots and previous delta disk states to the base parent disk and merges them with the base virtual machine disk.

To prevent snapshot files from merging with the parent snapshot, for example in cases of failed updates or installations, first use the Go to command to restore to a previous snapshot. This action invalidates the snapshot delta disks and deletes the memory file. You can then use the Delete option to remove the snapshot and any associated files.

Delete a Snapshot in the vSphere Web Client

You can use the Snapshot Manager to delete a single snapshot or all snapshots in a snapshot tree. Use care when you delete snapshots. You cannot restore a deleted snapshot. For example, you might want to install several browsers, a, b, and c, and capture the virtual machine state after you install each browser. The first, or base snapshot, captures the virtual machine with browser a and the second snapshot captures browser b. If you restore the base snapshot that includes browser a and take a third snapshot to capture browser c and delete the snapshot that contains browser b, you cannot return to the virtual machine state that includes browser b.

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Prerequisites
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Ensure that you are familiar with the Delete and Delete all actions and how they might affect virtual machine performance. See Deleting Snapshots, on page 222. Required Privilege: Virtual machine.State.Remove Snapshot on the virtual machine.

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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Right-click the virtual machine and select Snapshot > Snapshot Manager. In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it. Select whether to delete a single snapshot or all snapshots.
Option Delete Delete All Description Consolidates the snapshot data to the parent snapshot and removes the selected snapshot from the Snapshot Manager and virtual machine. Consolidates all of the immediate snapshots before the You are here current state to the base parent disk and removes all existing snapshots from the Snapshot Manager and virtual machine.

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Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box. Click Close to exit the Snapshot Manager.

Delete a Snapshot in the vSphere Client

Procedure 1 2 Select Inventory > Virtual Machine > Snapshot > Snapshot Manager. In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it.

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Select a delete option.

Option Delete Delete All Description Consolidates the snapshot data to the parent snapshot and removes the selected snapshot from the Snapshot Manager and virtual machine. Consolidates all of the immediate snapshots before the You are here current state to the base parent disk and removes all existing snapshots from the Snapshot Manager and virtual machine.

Click Yes.

Consolidate Snapshots in the vSphere Client

The snapshot Consolidation command searches for hierarchies or delta disks to combine without violating data dependency. After consolidation, redundant disks are removed, which improves virtual machine performance and saves storage space. Snapshot consolidation is useful when snapshot disks fail to compact after a Delete or Delete all operation or if the disk did not consolidate. This might happen, for example, if you delete a snapshot but its associated disk does not commit back to the base disk. The Needs Consolidation column in the vSphere Client shows the virtual machines that need to be consolidated and the virtual machine's Summary tab shows a Configuration Issues consolidation message if the virtual machine needs to be consolidated. If you see errors for failed conditions, such as running out of disk space, correct them and run the consolidation task. Prerequisites Required privilege: Virtual machine.State.Remove Snapshot Procedure 1 Display the Need Consolidation column in the vSphere Client. a b Select a vCenter Server, host, or cluster and click the Virtual Machines tab. Right-click the menu bar for any virtual machine column and select Needs Consolidation from the menu.

The Needs Consolidation column appears. A Yes status indicates that the snapshot files for the virtual machine should be consolidated and that the virtual machine's Tasks and Events tab shows a configuration problem. A No status indicates that the files are OK. 2 3 To consolidate the files, right-click the virtual machine and select Snapshot > Consolidate. Check the Need Consolidation column to verify that the task succeeded. If the task succeeded, the Configuration Issues message should be cleared and the Needs Consolidation value should be No.

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Migrating Virtual Machines

Migration is the process of moving a virtual machine from one host or storage location to another. Copying a virtual machine creates a new virtual machine. It is not a form of migration. In vCenter Server, you have the following migration options: Cold Migration Moving a powered-off virtual machine to a new host. Optionally, you can relocate configuration and disk files to new storage locations. You can use cold migration to move virtual machines from one datacenter to another. Moving a suspended virtual machine to a new host. Optionally, you can relocate configuration and disk files to new storage location. You can migrate suspended virtual machines from one datacenter to another. Moving a powered-on virtual machine to a new host. Migration with vMotion allows you to move a virtual machine to a new host without any interruption in the availability of the virtual machine. You cannot use vMotion to move virtual machines from one datacenter to another. Some configurations include Metro vMotion, a feature that enables reliable migrations between hosts separated by high network round-trip latency times. Metro vMotion is automatically enabled when the appropriate license is installed. No user configuration is necessary. Moving the virtual disks or configuration file of a powered-on virtual machine to a new datastore. Migration with Storage vMotion allows you to move a virtual machines storage without any interruption in the availability of the virtual machine.

Migrating a Suspended Virtual Machine Migration with vMotion

Migration with Storage vMotion

Both migration of a suspended virtual machine and migration with vMotion are sometimes referred to as hot migration, because they allow migration of a virtual machine without powering it off. Migration with vMotion is sometimes referred to as "live migration". You can move virtual machines manually or set up a scheduled task to perform the cold migration. Cloning a virtual machine or copying its disks and configuration file creates a new virtual machine. Cloning is not a form of migration.

Virtual Machine Configuration Requirements for vMotion

A number of specific virtual machine configurations can prevent migration of a virtual machine with vMotion. The following virtual machine configurations can prevent migration with vMotion:
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You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate virtual machines using raw disks for clustering purposes. You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate a virtual machine that uses a virtual device backed by a device that is not accessible on the destination host. (For example, you cannot migrate a virtual machine with a CD drive backed by the physical CD drive on the source host.) Disconnect these devices before migrating the virtual machine. Virtual machines with USB passthrough devices can be migrated with vMotion as long as the devices are enabled for vMotion.

You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate a virtual machine that uses a virtual device backed by a device on the client computer. Disconnect these devices before migrating the virtual machine.

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Host Configuration for vMotion

In order to successfully use vMotion, you must first configure your hosts correctly. Ensure that you have correctly configured your hosts in each of the following areas:
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Each host must be correctly licensed for vMotion. Each host must meet shared storage requirements for vMotion. Each host must meet the networking requirements for vMotion. IMPORTANT The ESXi firewall in ESXi 5.0 does not allow per-network filtering of vMotion traffic. Therefore, you must install rules on your external firewall to ensure that no incoming connections can be made to the vMotion socket.

Migrate a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client

You can use the Migration wizard to migrate a powered-off virtual machine or suspended virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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Right-click the virtual machine and select Inventory > Migrate. Select the migration type.
Option Change host Change datastore Change both host and datastore Description Move the virtual machine to another host. Move the virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks. Move the virtual machine to another host and move its configuration file and virtual disks. (This option is not available for a powered-on virtual machine.)

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Select the destination resource pool for the virtual machine migration and click Next. In the Host Name column, select the destination host or cluster for this virtual machine migration and click Next. Any compatibility problem appears in the Compatibility panel. Fix the problem, or select another host or cluster. Possible targets include hosts and DRS clusters with any level of automation. If a cluster has no DRS enabled, select a specific host in the cluster rather than selecting the cluster itself.

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Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Store all virtual machine files in the same location on a datastore. Store all virtual machine files in the same Storage DRS cluster. Action Select a datastore and click Next. a b Select a Storage DRS cluster. (Optional) If you do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the Storage DRS cluster. Click Next. Click Advanced. For the virtual machine configuration file and for each virtual disk, click the datastore name, select Browse, and select a datastore or Storage DRS cluster. (Optional) If you selected a Storage DRS cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the Storage DRS cluster. Click Next.

c Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b

If you chose to move the virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks, select a disk format.
Option Same as Source Description Use the format of the original virtual disk. If you select this option for an RDM disk in physical compatibility mode, only the mapping file is migrated. If you select this option for an RDM disk in virtual compatibility mode, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. Use the thin format to save storage space. The thin virtual disk uses just as much storage space as it needs for its initial operations. When the virtual disk requires more space, it can grow in size up to its maximum allocated capacity. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a thin virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs. Allocate a fixed amount of hard disk space to the virtual disk. The virtual disk in the thick format does not change its size and from the beginning occupies the entire datastore space provisioned to it. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs.

Thin provisioned

Thick

Disks are converted from thin to thick format or thick to thin format only when they are copied from one datastore to another. If you leave a disk in its original location, the disk format is not converted, regardless of the selection made here. 8 Review the information on the Review Selections page and click Finish.

vCenter Server moves the virtual machine to the new host. Event messages appear in the Events tab. The data displayed on the Summary tab shows the status and state throughout the migration. If errors occur during migration, the virtual machines revert to their original states and locations.

Migrate a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client

You can use the Migration wizard to migrate a powered-off virtual machine or suspended virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select the virtual machine that you want to migrate in the inventory.

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Right-click on the virtual machine and select Migrate from the pop-up menu. Select the migration type.
Option Change host Change datastore Change both host and datastore Description Move the virtual machine to another host. Move the virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks. Move the virtual machine to another host and move its configuration file and virtual disks. (This option is not available for a powered-on virtual machine.)

To move the virtual machine to another host, select the destination host or cluster for this virtual machine migration and click Next. Any compatibility problem appears in the Compatibility panel. Fix the problem, or select another host or cluster. Possible targets include hosts and DRS clusters with any level of automation. If a cluster has no DRS enabled, select a specific host in the cluster rather than selecting the cluster itself.

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Select the destination resource pool for the virtual machine migration and click Next. If you chose to move the virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks, select a disk format.
Option Same as Source Description Use the format of the original virtual disk. If you select this option for an RDM disk in physical compatibility mode, only the mapping file is migrated. If you select this option for an RDM disk in virtual compatibility mode, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. Use the thin format to save storage space. The thin virtual disk uses just as much storage space as it needs for its initial operations. When the virtual disk requires more space, it can grow in size up to its maximum allocated capacity. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a thin virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs. Allocate a fixed amount of hard disk space to the virtual disk. The virtual disk in the thick format does not change its size and from the beginning occupies the entire datastore space provisioned to it. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs.

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b Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. a

b c

d Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

Review the page and click Finish.

Migrate a Powered-On Virtual Machine with vMotion in the vSphere Web Client
You can use the Migration wizard to migrate a powered-on virtual machine from one host to another using vMotion technology. To relocate the disks of a powered-on virtual machine, migrate the virtual machine using Storage vMotion. Prerequisites Before migrating a virtual machine with vMotion, ensure that your hosts and virtual machines meet the requirements for migration with vMotion.
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Host Configuration for vMotion, on page 226 Virtual Machine Configuration Requirements for vMotion, on page 225

Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.

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2 3 4 5

Right-click the virtual machine and select Inventory > Migrate. Select Change host and click Next. Select the destination resource pool for the virtual machine migration and click Next. Select a destination host or cluster for the virtual machine. Any compatibility problem appears in the Compatibility panel. Fix the problem, or select another host or cluster. Possible targets include hosts and fully automated DRS clusters. You can select a non-automated cluster as a target. You are prompted to select a host within the non-automated cluster.

Select the migration priority level and click Next.

Option Reserve CPU for optimal VMotion performance Description vCenter Server attempts to reserve resources on both the source and destination hosts to be shared among all concurrent migrations with vMotion. vCenter Server grants a larger share of host CPU resources. if sufficient CPU resources are not immediately available, vMotion is not initiated. vCenter Server reserves resources on both the source and destination hosts to be shared among all concurrent migration with vMotion. vCenter Server grants a smaller share of host CPU resources. If there is a lack of CPU resources, the duration of vMotion can be extended.

Perform with available CPU resources

Review the page and click Finish.

Migrate a Powered-On Virtual Machine with vMotion in the vSphere Client

You can use the Migration wizard to migrate a powered-on virtual machine from one host to another using vMotion technology. To relocate the disks of a powered-on virtual machine, migrate the virtual machine using Storage vMotion. Prerequisites Before migrating a virtual machine with vMotion, ensure that your hosts and virtual machines meet the requirements for migration with vMotion.
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Host Configuration for vMotion, on page 226 Virtual Machine Configuration Requirements for vMotion, on page 225

Procedure 1 2 3 4 Select the virtual machine that you want to migrate in the inventory. Right-click on the virtual machine and select Migrate from the pop-up menu. Select Change host and click Next. Select a destination host or cluster for the virtual machine. Any compatibility problem appears in the Compatibility panel. Fix the problem, or select another host or cluster. Possible targets include hosts and fully automated DRS clusters. You can select a non-automated cluster as a target. You are prompted to select a host within the non-automated cluster. 5 Select a resource pool and click Next.

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Select the migration priority level and click Next.

Option High Priority Description On hosts running ESX/ESXi version 4.1 or later, vCenter Server attempts to reserve resources on both the source and destination hosts to be shared among all concurrent migrations with vMotion. vCenter Server grants a larger share of host CPU resources to high priority migrations than to standard priority migrations. Migrations always proceed regardless of the resources that have been reserved. On hosts running ESX/ESXi version 4.0 or earlier, vCenter Server attempts to reserve a fixed amount of resources on both the source and destination hosts for each individual migration. High priority migrations do not proceed if resources are unavailable. On hosts running ESX/ESXi version 4.1 or later, vCenter Server reserves resources on both the source and destination hosts to be shared among all concurrent migration with vMotion. vCenter Server grants a smaller share of host CPU resources to standard priority migrations than to high priority migrations. Migrations always proceed regardless of the resources that have been reserved. On hosts running ESX/ESXi version 4.0 or earlier, vCenter Server attempts to reserve a fixed amount resources on the source and destination hosts for each migration. Standard priority migrations always proceed. However, the migration might proceed more slowly or fail to complete if sufficient resources are not available.

Standard Priority

Review the page and click Finish.

A task is created that begins the virtual machine migration process.

Migrate a Virtual Machine with Storage vMotion in the vSphere Web Client
Use migration with Storage vMotion to relocate a virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks while the virtual machine is powered on. You cannot change the virtual machines execution host during a migration with Storage vMotion. Procedure 1 Select a virtual machine.
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Right-click the virtual machine and select Inventory > Migrate. Select Change datastore and click Next.

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Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Store all virtual machine files in the same location on a datastore. Store all virtual machine files in the same Storage DRS cluster. Action Select a datastore and click Next. a b Select a Storage DRS cluster. (Optional) If you do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the Storage DRS cluster. Click Next. Click Advanced. For the virtual machine configuration file and for each virtual disk, click the datastore name, select Browse, and select a datastore or Storage DRS cluster. (Optional) If you selected a Storage DRS cluster and do not want to use Storage DRS with this virtual machine, select Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine and select a datastore within the Storage DRS cluster. Click Next.

c Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b

Review the page and click Finish.

Migrate a Virtual Machine with Storage vMotion in the vSphere Client

Use migration with Storage vMotion to relocate a virtual machines configuration file and virtual disks while the virtual machine is powered on. You cannot change the virtual machines execution host during a migration with Storage vMotion. Procedure 1 2 3 4 Select the virtual machine that you want to migrate in the inventory. Right-click on the virtual machine and select Migrate from the pop-up menu. Select Change datastore and click Next. Select a disk format.
Option Same as Source Description Use the format of the original virtual disk. If you select this option for an RDM disk in physical compatibility mode, only the mapping file is migrated. If you select this option for an RDM disk in virtual compatibility mode, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. Use the thin format to save storage space. The thin virtual disk uses just as much storage space as it needs for its initial operations. When the virtual disk requires more space, it can grow in size up to its maximum allocated capacity. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a thin virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs. Allocate a fixed amount of hard disk space to the virtual disk. The virtual disk in the thick format does not change its size and from the beginning occupies the entire datastore space provisioned to it. This option is not available for RDMs in physical compatibility mode. If you select this option for a virtual compatibility mode RDM, the RDM is converted to a virtual disk. RDMs converted to virtual disks cannot be converted back to RDMs.

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b Store all virtual machine files in the same datastore cluster. a

b c

d Store virtual machine configuration files and disks in separate locations. a b c

Review the page and click Finish.

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Required Privileges for Common Tasks

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Applicable Role Virtual Machine Administrator

Many tasks require permissions on more than one object in the inventory. You can review the privileges required to perform the tasks and, where applicable, the appropriate sample roles. The following table lists common tasks that require more than one privilege. You can use the Applicable Roles on the inventory objects to grant permission to perform these tasks, or you can create your own roles with the equivalent required privileges. Table 12-1. Required Privileges for Common Tasks
Task Create a virtual machine Required Privileges On the destination folder or datacenter: n Virtual Machine.Inventory.Raw Create n Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add New Disk (if creating a new virtual disk) n Virtual Machine .Configuration.Add Existing Disk (if using an existing virtual disk) n Virtual Machine.Configuration.Raw Device (if using a RDM or SCSI pass-through device) n Virtual Machine.Inventory.Raw Create On the destination host, cluster, or resource pool: Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool On the destination datastore or folder containing a datastore: Datastore.Allocate Space On the network that the virtual machine will be assigned to: Network.Assign Network Deploy a virtual machine from a template On the destination folder or datacenter: n Virtual Machine.Inventory.Raw Create n Virtual Machine .Configuration.Add Add New Disk On a template or folder of templates: Virtual Machine.Provisioning.Deploy Template On the destination host, cluster or resource pool: Resource.Assign Virtual.Machine to Resource Pool On the destination datastore or folder of datastores: Datastore.Allocate Spaces On the network that the virtual machine will be assigned to: Network.Assign Network

Virtual Machine Administrator Datastore Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Network Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Administrator Datastore Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Network Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator

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Table 12-1. Required Privileges for Common Tasks (Continued)

Task Take a virtual machine snapshot Required Privileges On the virtual machine or a folder of virtual machines: Virtual Machine.State.Create Snapshots On the destination datastore or folder of datastores: Datastore.Allocate Space Move a virtual machine into a resource pool On the virtual machine or folder of virtual machines: n Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool n Virtual Machine.Inventory Move On the destination resource pool: Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pools Install a guest operating system on a virtual machine On the virtual machine or folder of virtual machines: n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Answer Question n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Console Interaction n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Device Connection n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Power Offs n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Power On n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Reset n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Configure CD Media (if installing from a CD) n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Configure Floppy Media (if installing from a floppy disk) n Virtual Machine.Interaction.Tools Install On a datastore containing the installation media ISO image: Datastore.Browse Datastore (if installing from an ISO image on a datastore) Migrate a virtual machine with vMotion On the virtual machine or folder of virtual machines: n Resource.Migrate n Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool (if destination is a different resource pool from the source) On the destination host, cluster, or resource pool (if different from the source): Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool Cold migrate (relocate) a virtual machine On the virtual machine or folder of virtual machines: n Resource.Relocate n Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool (if destination is a different resource pool from the source) On the destination host, cluster, or resource pool (if different from the source): Resource.Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool On the destination datastore (if different from the source): Datastore.Allocate Space Migrate a Virtual Machine with Storage vMotion On the virtual machine or folder of virtual machines: Resource.Migrate Applicable Role Virtual Machine Power User or Virtual Machine Administrator Datastore Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Administrator Virtual Machine Power User or Virtual Machine Administrator

Virtual Machine Power User or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Resource Pool Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Resource Pool Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Resource Pool Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Resource Pool Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator Datastore Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Resource Pool Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator

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Table 12-1. Required Privileges for Common Tasks (Continued)

Task Required Privileges On the destination datastore: Datastore.Allocate Space Move a host into a cluster On the host: Host.Inventory.Add Host to Cluster On the destination cluster: Host.Inventory.Add Host to Cluster Applicable Role Datastore Consumer or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator Datacenter Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator

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Index

A
acceleration disabling 179, 180 enabling 180 adapters, Ethernet, See network adapters adding CD drives 142 DVD drives 142 floppy drives 146 network adapters 113 paravirtual SCSI controller 138 PCI devices 148 SCSI devices 147 USB controllers 158, 170 USB devices to client computers 164, 170 AMD override mask 101, 102 autoconnect feature, for USB passthrough 154

B
BIOS, settings 178 boot options changing BIOS settings 178 changing delay 178 boot sequence, delaying 178

C
CD drives adding 142 client devices 140 host devices 141 Client Integration Plug-in, installing 208 clones 45 cloning templates 49, 51 vApps 199 virtual machines 17, 26, 27, 46, 50 clusters, selecting 33 cold migration 225 computer names, generating with a script 58 configuration file parameters, editing 89 configuration files, virtual machines 88 configuration parameters, virtual machines 88 configuring floppy drives 144 network adapters 112 NICs 112 parallel ports 122

SCSI devices 147, 148 serial ports 116 video cards 150 consoles, viewing virtual machine 209 consolidation 12 controllers paravirtual SCSI 138 SCSI 38 SCSI types 137 converting in smaller IT environments 17 physical systems 17 virtual machines to templates 49 CPU configuration, virtual machines 95 CPUs adding 36 advanced settings 99, 100 configuration 96 configuring 95 defined 92 disabling security 101, 102 enabling CPU/MMU Virtualization 103, 104 hot adding 96 hot plug 94 hyperthreaded core sharing 99, 100 identification mask 101, 102 limits 97, 98 parameters 92 reservation 97, 98 resources 97 scheduling affinity 100, 101 shares 97, 98 creating vApps 184, 186 virtual machines 22, 31 custom sysprep answer file 66 customization changing specifications 67 copying specifications 68 creating Linux specifications 63 creating Windows specification 66 creating Windows specifications 64 exporting specifications 68 guest operating system requirements 57 importing specifications 68

VMware, Inc.

239

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Linux 57 Windows 57 customization specifications 63

F
Fibre Channel NPIV settings 123, 124 floppy drives adding 146 configuring 144, 145

D
datacenters 12 datastores ISO file 142 roll in datacenter 12 selecting 21, 24, 28, 34 VMFS 38 debugging and statistics 181 debugging mode, for virtual machine 180 delaying, boot sequence 178 deleting snapshots 222 templates 56 deploying, OVF templates 71, 72 DHCP settings 197 disabling, acceleration 179 disk formats thick provisioned 126 thin provisioned 126 virtual machines 134 disks format 134, 135 independent 216 limits 132, 133 modes 131 shares 132, 133 thick 50 thin 50 think vs. thick 51 See also virtual disks DNS configuration, vApps 198 DVD drives adding 142 client devices 140 host devices 141 DVD/CD-ROM, adding 143

G
guest customization changing specifications 67 copying specifications 68 creating Linux specifications 63 creating Windows specifications 64, 66 exporting specifications 68 importing specifications 68 Linux customization during cloning or deployment 61 removing specifications 68 requirements 57 scripts 58 specifications 63 Windows customization during cloning or deployment 59 guest operating systems changing 90 configuring 91 customization requirements 57 customizing 22, 28 installing 43 selecting 25, 35

H
hard disks adding 128 adding to a virtual machine 130 hardware, virtual machine 81, 82 hardware version, virtual machines 86 hardware versions, virtual machines 24 host devices CD drives 141 DVD drives 141 hosts clustering 33 connecting virtual machines to 33 viable for migration 101, 102 hot add enablement 94, 107, 108 hyperthreaded core sharing 99, 100

E
editing, vApp properties 189, 190, 192, 193 EFI changing boot delay 178 settings 178 exporting OVF templates 71, 74 virtual machines 74 Extensible Firmware Interface, See EFI

I
image files, ISO 140, 142 independent disks 216 installing Client Integration Plug-in 208 guest operating systems from media 43

240

VMware, Inc.

Index

guest operating systems over PXE 43 Microsoft Sysprep tool 77 inventory folders 12 IP address configuration 197 IP addresses, generating with a script 58 IP pools 197 ISO image files 140, 142

L
legacy virtual machines, NICs 112 licensing, for resources, options, and hardware 12 Linux customizing during cloning or deployment 61 guest operating system customization 57 requirements for customization 57 logging, enabling 179 LUNs 41, 125, 131

M
MAC addresses, assigning 113 mask values 101, 102 memory affinity 109 allocation 107 calculating for video displays 151 hot adding 107, 108 virtual 36 memory resources, allocating 106 Microsoft Sysprep tool installing 77 installing from CD 78 installing from Web 77 migrating powered-off virtual machines 226, 227 powered-on virtual machines 229, 230 suspended virtual machines 226, 227 virtual machine disks 231, 232 virtual machines 225 virtual machines with Storage vMotion 231, 232 with vMotion 229, 230 migration, about 225 migration with vMotion, conditions for USB passthrough 155 multicore CPUs 93 multiple monitors, selecting 151

supported types 111 See also NICs network association settings 198 networks connecting 37 DHCP settings 197 IP address configuration 197 proxy server settings 198 New Virtual Machine wizard, opening 31 NIC, See network adapters NICs adding 113 assigning MAC addresses 113 configuring 112, 113 legacy virtual machines 112 Spanning Tree protocol 37 NUMA 109 NUMA nodes, memory allocation 108 NX flag 101, 102

O
Open Virtual Machine Format, See also OVF operating systems, guest 42 optical drives connecting to client device 140 connecting to host device 141 options, virtual machine 82 OVA, selecting, See also OVF OVF browsing virtual appliance marketplace 73 defining environment properties 196 deploying templates 71, 72 exporting templates 71, 74 folder location for files 74

P
parallel ports adding 123 changing 122 configuring 122 paravirtual SCSI controller 138 paravirtual SCSI controllers 138 PCI devices adding 148 snapshot support for 149 physical compatibility mode 41 ports adding parallel 123 changing parallel 122 changing serial 118 parallel 115 serial 115

N
name-ip-generator 58 names, virtual machines 87 network adapters adding 113 configuring 112

VMware, Inc.

241

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

power off vApps 200 virtual machines 176 power on vApps 199, 200 virtual machines 176 power states, virtual machine 176 preboot execution environment 43 preface 7 privileges, required for common tasks 235 processors, See CPUs provisioning, virtual machines 14 proxy server settings, networks 198 PVSCSI, See also paravirtual SCSI controller PXE 43

R
raw device mappings 38, 41, 125, 130, 131 RDMs, adding to a virtual machine 130 renaming, templates 55 required privileges, for common tasks 235 resetting virtual machines 176 resource pools, selecting 21, 24, 28, 34 resources, virtual machine 82 resources, virtual machine 13 restart settings, for virtual machines 176 resume vApps 201 virtual machines 176

S
SAN LUN 41 SAN LUNs 125, 131 scheduled tasks, clone virtual machine 48 scheduling affinity 100, 101 SCSI bus sharing 136 changing controller type 137 controller 136 devices, adding 147 devices, changing 148 paravirtual controllers 138 selecting controllers 38 supported controller types 137 VMware Paravirtual 38 SCSI controllers, changing type 137 SCSI devices, configuring 147, 148 selecting datastores 21, 24, 28 templates 20 selecting datastores 34 serial ports adding 119, 121 adding Firewall rule set 116

changing 118 conditions for network connections 116 conditions for physical connections 115 configuring 116 connection types 115 sharing, disks 40 shutdown, settings for virtual machines 176 shutdown, settings, for virtual machines 207 smart card reader adding to virtual machines 174, 175 shared 174, 175 snapshot, delta disks 213 snapshots about 211 avoiding use as virtual machine backups 214 behavior 211 bus-sharing limitation 214 child 211 consolidating 224 copy-on-write 213 Delete all option 222 Delete option 222 deleting 222, 223 delta disks 211 exclude virtual disks from 216 files 213 GO to command 221 hierarchy 211 limitations 214 manage 214 memory 215 memory files 213 parent 211 performance impact of 214 quiescing 217, 218 quiescing virtual machine files 215 restoring 219, 221 revert to parent 221 reverting to 219, 220 Snapshot Manager 214 sparse disks 213 taking 215, 217, 218 unsupported disk types 214 virtual machine activity 215 virtual machines with dynamic disks 218 solutions,viewing 203 standby settings, for virtual machines 176 startup settings, for virtual machines 207 statistics, virtual machines 180 storage 125, 131 Storage vMotion 225

242

VMware, Inc.

Index

storing, device nodes, using nondefault device notes 39 suspending vApps 200, 201 virtual machines 176 swap file location 110 swap files, virtual machines 110 Sysprep Answer Files custom 66 sysprep.inf 66 sysprep.xml 66 Sysprep tool installing 77 installing from CD 78 installing from Web 77

T
taking, snapshots 217 tasks, clone virtual machine 48 templates changing names 55 cloning 50, 51 converting to virtual machines 57 converting virtual machines to 49 creating 17, 49, 50 customizing guest operating systems 22, 28 deleting 55, 56 deploy virtual machines 52 deploying from 19 deploying virtual machines 20 editing 55 OVF 74 removing from inventory 56 renaming 55 returning to vCenter Server 211 returning to inventory 56 selecting 20 unregistering 55 thick provisioned disks 50, 51 thin provisioned disks 50, 51, 134 Thin Provisioning 39 troubleshooting debugging and statistics 181 virtual machine software installation 180

USB devices adding from client computer to VM in the vSphere Client 172 adding from client computer to VM in the vSphere Web Client 166 adding host device to virtual machine 161 adding to client computers 164, 170 adding to hosts 157 behavior with hot add operations 168 cascading hubs 156 compound 156 configuring for vMotion 155 connecting to a client computer 164, 169 ejecting from guest OS 162 removing client computer device from VM 167 removing from host 162 removing from remote client 168, 173 removing host device from virtual machine 162 removing remote client device from VM 172 setting up on host 156 supported devices for Mac OS X guest 168 USB passthrough arbitrator for 153 autoconnect feature 154 avoiding data loss 155, 163, 168 configuring from a client computer to a VM 163, 168 configuring from a host to a virtual machine 153 controllers for 153, 163, 168 devices, See also USB devices DRS requirements 155, 169 features supported with 155, 169 restarting the USB arbitrator 174 troubleshooting device connections 174 USB passthrough devices 160

V
vApps adding objects to 188, 189 advanced properties 195 allocating resources 185, 187 cloning 199 completing creation 185, 187 configuring DNS 198 configuring IP address 197 configuring networks 190, 193 creating 184, 186 creating objects inside 187, 188 defining OVF environment properties 196 editing advanced IP allocation properties 196 editing annotations 201

U
updated information for Virtual Machine Administration 9 upgrading virtual machine hardware 85 VMware Tools 91 USB controllers adding to virtual machine 157, 158, 165, 170 removing from virtual machine 162, 167, 173

VMware, Inc.

243

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

editing custom properties 196 editing properties 189, 190, 192, 193 editing resources 189, 192 IP pools 197 managing 183 naming 186 populating 187 power off settings 200 power on settings 199, 200 product properties 191 resuming 201 selecting destination for 187 selecting DHCP 197 selecting location 184 selecting name 184 selecting network associations 198 selecting proxy server for 198 shutdown options 191, 192 starting wizard 186 startup options 191, 192 suspending 200, 201 viewing license agreement 193 viewing OVF Sections 194 vCenter Converter client plug-in 72 vCenter Server 12 version, virtual machine 35 video cards configuring 150, 151 selecting number of displays 151 virtual compatibility mode 41 virtual device node 148 virtual devices adding USB controller 157, 158, 165, 170 CPU limitations 93 See also virtual hardware virtual disks clustering features 39 configuration 126, 127 configuring 125 creating 39 disk mode 215 flat format 39 formats 126 modes 39 requirements for guest operating system customization 57 sharing 40 thick format 134 thin format 39, 134 types 38 using nondefault device node 39, 40 virtual hard disks, adding 128

virtual hardware adding host USB devices to virtual machine 161 adding USB devices 166, 172 CPU advanced settings 99101 CPU hyperthreading 99, 100 CPU/MMU enablement 103, 104 CPUs 36 disks 38 hot add enablement 94 hot adding virtual CPUs 96 licenses for 12 memory 36 multicore CPUs 93 NICs 37 parallel ports 122, 123 SCSI controllers 38 SCSI devices 147, 148 serial ports 119, 121 video cards 150, 151 virtual infrastructure 12 virtual machine, memory 107 Virtual Machine Administration updated information 9 virtual machine communication interface 149 Virtual Machine Communication Interface, See VMCI, enabling virtual machine console, installing 208 virtual machine files 11 virtual machine hardware determining version 87 upgrading 85 virtual disks 126, 127 virtual machine hardware version 85 virtual machine options 82 virtual machine resources 82 virtual machine storage profile associate with virtual disks 136 associate with virtual machine 136 definition 135 virtual machines acceleration 180 add existing 210 adding 210 adding hard disks 128, 130 adding raw device mappings 130 boot sequence 178 CD drives 140 changing name 87 cloning 17, 26, 27, 46 completing 42 components 13

244

VMware, Inc.

Index

configuration file location 88 configuration files 88 configuration parameters 88 configuring 81 configuring devices 140 configuring guest operating systems 91 console options 90 converting templates to 57 converting to templates 49 CPU configuration 95, 96 CPU resources 92 creating 19, 22, 23, 31, 32 creating and deploying 13 creating templates 17 customizing hardware 22, 25, 29 debugging 181 debugging information 180 defined 11 deploy and export 17 deploy from templates 52 deploying 19 deploying from templates 19, 20 disk formats 134 DVD drives 140 enabling logging 179 exporting 74 files 11 finishing creation 22, 26, 29 floppy drives 144146 guest operating system 42, 90 hard disks 131 hardware 81, 82 hardware version 86, 87 hardware versions 13, 24, 85 hot add enablement 107, 108 introduction to 11 lifecycle 13 managing 207 memory 104, 105 memory allocation to NUMA nodes 108 memory resources 106 migrating 225227, 231, 232 migration 225 names 87 naming 21, 24, 27, 33 network adapter 114 network adapters 113 network configuration 111 NIC 114 opening console 209 optical drives 143

options and resources 13 parallel ports 122 power management settings 175 power states 176 provisioning 14, 17 remove from the datastore 210 remove from vCenter Server 210 removing 210 requirements for vMotion 225 resources 81 returning to vCenter Server 211 scheduled task to clone 48 selecting 27 selecting configuration option for creation 32 selecting folders 21, 24, 27 selecting guest operating systems 25, 35 serial ports 116 shutdown settings 207 snapshots 211 startup settings 207 statistics 180 swap file 110 swap files 110 templates, converting to 49 upgrading hardware version 85 versions 35 viewing consoles 209 virtual machine communication interface 149 Virtual SMP 36 See also templates, clones See also virtual hardware virtual memory allocation 104, 105 configuring 104 virtual processors, See CPUs Virtual Serial Port Concentrator 115, 119, 121 Virtual SMP 36 VMCI, enabling 150 VMFS volume 125 vMotion CD-ROM migration limitation 141 compatibility 101, 102 limitations for USB passthrough 155 migrating virtual machines with 229, 230 requirements 226 virtual machine requirements 225 VMware Compatibility Guide, accessing 57 VMware Tools defined 13 installing and configuring 43 requirement for customization 57 upgrading 91

VMware, Inc.

245

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

vService, add a dependency 152, 194 vService, edit a dependency 152, 195 vservices, configuring 152 vServices, remove dependency 153, 195 vServices,monitoring 205 vSPC 115, 119, 121 vSphere Client 12

W
web access, vSphere Client 15 Windows customizing during cloning or deployment 59 guest operating system customization 57 requirements for customization 57

246

VMware, Inc.

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