VMware ESXI - 6.5.1 Administrator’s Guide
vSphere Virtual Machine
Administration
Update 1
Modified on 14 FEB 2018
VMware vSphere 6.5
VMware ESXi 6.5
vCenter Server 6.5
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:
https://docs.vmware.com/
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to
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Copyright © 2009–2018 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 6
Updated Information 7
Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 8
1
Virtual Machine Files 8
Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure 9
Virtual Machine Lifecycle 10
Virtual Machine Components 10
Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines 11
Virtual Machine Options and Resources 13
vSphere Web Client 14
vSphere Client 15
Where to Go From Here 15
Deploying Virtual Machines 16
2
About Provisioning Virtual Machines 16
Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone 17
Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template 24
Clone a Virtual Machine 32
Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client 39
Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client 44
Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine 48
Customizing Guest Operating Systems 50
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Deploying OVF and OVA Templates 67
3
OVF and OVA File Formats and Templates 67
Deploy an OVF or OVA Template 68
Deploy a VM from an OVF Template in a Content Library 70
Deploy a VM from a Client OVF or OVA Template 70
Export an OVF Template 71
Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 72
Using Content Libraries 73
4
Create a Library 75
Synchronize a Subscribed Library 77
Edit the Settings of a Local Library 77
Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library 78
3
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
Delete a Content Library 79
Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries 79
Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries 81
Populating Libraries with Content 81
Working with Items in a Library 85
Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content Library 89
Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware 91
5
Virtual Machine Compatibility 91
Virtual CPU Configuration 98
Virtual Memory Configuration 105
Network Virtual Machine Configuration 108
Parallel and Serial Port Configuration 113
Virtual Disk Configuration 122
SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility 135
Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration 142
Reduce Memory Overhead for Virtual Machines with 3D Graphics Option 154
USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine 154
USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine 163
Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines 169
Configuring Virtual Machine Options 171
6
Virtual Machine Option Overview 171
Change the Virtual Machine Name 172
View the Virtual Machine Configuration and Working File Location 173
Change the Configured Guest Operating System 173
Configuring User Mappings on Guest Operating Systems 174
Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users 175
Configure the Virtual Machine Power States 176
Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine 177
Enable or Disable UEFI Secure Boot for a Virtual Machine 178
Delay the Boot Sequence 180
Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration 180
Enable Virtual Machine Logging 181
Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics 181
Change the Swap File Location 182
Edit Configuration File Parameters 182
Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings 183
Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp 185
7
Create a vApp 186
Create a Virtual Machine, Resource Pool, or Child vApp Inside a vApp 187
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Add Virtual Machine or Child vApp to a vApp 187
Edit vApp Settings 188
Clone a vApp 194
Perform vApp Power Operations 194
Edit vApp Notes 196
Add a Network Protocol Profile 196
Virtual Machine vApp Options 201
Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager 206
8
View Solutions in the vSphere Web Client 206
Monitoring Agents 207
Managing Virtual Machines 209
9
Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings 209
Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in 212
Using a Virtual Machine Remote Console 213
Launch the Web Console 213
Install the VMware Remote Console Application 214
Using the VMware Remote Console Application 214
Answer Virtual Machine Questions 214
Adding and Removing Virtual Machines 215
Change the Template Name 217
Deleting Templates 217
Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines 218
Upgrading Virtual Machines 231
10
Planning Downtime for Virtual Machines 232
Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines 232
Upgrade the Compatibility for Virtual Machines 233
Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for Virtual Machines 234
Required Privileges for Common Tasks 236
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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 includes
the following information.
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Creating and deploying virtual machines, templates, and clones
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Deploying OVF templates
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Configuring virtual machine hardware and options
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Managing multitiered applications with VMware vSphere vApp
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Monitoring solutions with the vCenter Solution Manager
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Managing virtual machines, including using snapshots
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Upgrading virtual machines
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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Updated Information
This vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide is updated with each release of the product or when
necessary.
This table provides the update history of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide.
Revision Description
14 FEB 2018
03 OCT 2017
EN-002631-00 Initial release.
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Removing information about vServices in Chapter 8 Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager.
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Changed the description of .vmsd and .vmsn files in Virtual Machine Files.
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Fixed the broken URL in Install the VMware Remote Console Application.
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Added information about the consequences of a virtual hardware version upgrade in Chapter 10 Upgrading
Virtual Machines and Upgrade the Compatibility for Virtual Machines.
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Updated information about supported OVA-related workflows in Chapter 3 Deploying OVF and OVA
Templates.
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Updated procedure in Deploy an OVF or OVA Template.
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Introduction to VMware vSphere
Virtual Machines 1
Before you start creating and managing virtual machines, you benefit from some background information,
for example, the virtual machine lifecycle, components, and VMware Tools.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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Virtual Machine Files
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Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure
n
Virtual Machine Lifecycle
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Virtual Machine Components
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Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines
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Virtual Machine Options and Resources
n
vSphere Web Client
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vSphere Client
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Where to Go From Here
Virtual Machine Files
A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and
applications. The virtual machine consists 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 are more portable, more secure, and easier to manage.
A virtual machine consists of several files that are stored on a storage device. The key files are the
configuration file, virtual disk file, NVRAM setting file, and log file. You configure virtual machine settings
through the vSphere Web Client, one of the vSphere command-line interfaces (PowerCLI, vCLI) or the
vSphere Web Services SDK.
Caution Do not change, move, or delete virtual machine files without instructions from a VMware
Technical Support representative.
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Table 1‑1. Virtual Machine Files
File Usage Description
.vmx vmname.vmx
.vmxf vmname.vmxf
.vmdk vmname.vmdk
-flat.vmdk vmname-flat.vmdk
.nvram
.vmsd vmname.vmsd
.vmsn vmname.vmsn
.vswp vmname.vswp
.vmss vmname.vmss
.log vmware.log
-#.log
vmname.nvram or nvram Virtual machine BIOS or EFI configuration
vmware-#.log (where # is a number starting
with 1)
Virtual machine configuration file
Additional virtual machine configuration files
Virtual disk characteristics
Virtual machine data disk
Virtual machine snapshot descriptions
Virtual machine snapshot data file
Virtual machine swap file
Virtual machine suspend file
Current virtual machine log file
Old virtual machine log files
Additional files are created when you perform certain tasks with the virtual machine.
n
A .hlog file is a log file that is used by vCenter Server to keep track of virtual machine files that must
be removed after a certain operation completes.
n
A .vmtx file is created when you convert a virtual machine to a template. The .vmtx file replaces the
virtual machine configuration file (.vmx file).
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 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 is the interface to vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and virtual machines.
With the vSphere Web Client, you can connect remotely to vCenter Server. The vSphere Web Client is
the primary interface for managing all aspects of the vSphere environment. It also provides console
access to virtual machines.
Note For information about running virtual machines on an isolated ESXi host, see the vSphere Single
Host Management documentation.
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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
The vSphere Web Client presents 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 the monitored objects in vCenter Server.
In the vCenter Server hierarchy, a data center 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 data center. 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.
Virtual Machine Lifecycle
You create and deploy virtual machines into your data center in 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.
In the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client, you can use the New Virtual Machine wizards and the
Virtual Machine Properties editors to 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. But you can also choose to 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.
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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
In the vSphere Web Client, you assign each virtual machine to a compatible ESXi host version, cluster, or
datacenter by applying a compatibility setting. The compatibility setting determines which ESXi host
versions the virtual machine can run on and the hardware features available to the virtual machine.
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 Available to vSphere Virtual
Machines.
Access to a virtual machine is controlled by the vSphere administrator.
Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines
VMware provides devices, 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. To
verify support for a device in your environment, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility or the Guest Operating System Installation Guide at
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/home.html.
In some cases, the host might not have the required vSphere license for a resource 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 information about vSphere licensing, see the
vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.
The PCI and SIO virtual hardware devices are part of the virtual motherboard, but cannot be configured
or removed.
Table 1‑2. Virtual Machine Hardware and Descriptions
Hardware Device Description
CPU 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.
Chipset The motherboard uses VMware proprietary devices based on the following chips:
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Intel 440BX AGPset 82443BX Host Bridge/Controller
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Intel 82371AB (PIIX4) PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator
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National Semiconductor PC87338 ACPI 1.0 and PC98/99 Compliant SuperI/O
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Intel 82093AA I/O Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller
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Table 1‑2. Virtual Machine Hardware and Descriptions (Continued)
Hardware Device Description
DVD/CD-ROM Drive 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.
Floppy Drive 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.
Hard Disk 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.
IDE 0, IDE 1 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.
Keyboard Mirrors the keyboard that is connected to the virtual machine console when you first
connect to the console.
Memory 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.
Network Adapter 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.
Parallel port 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.
PCI controller 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.
PCI Device You can add up to 16 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.
Pointing device Mirrors the pointing device that is connected to the virtual machine console when you
first connect to the console.
Serial Port 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. You
can configure a virtual machine with up to 32 serial ports. You can add, remove, or
configure virtual serial ports.
SATA controller Provides access to virtual disks and DVD/CD-ROM devices. The SATA virtual
controller appears to a virtual machine as an AHCI SATA Controller.
SCSI controller Provides access to virtual disks. The SCSI virtual controller appears to a virtual
machine as different types of controllers, including 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.
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Table 1‑2. Virtual Machine Hardware and Descriptions (Continued)
Hardware Device Description
SCSI device 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.
SIO controller 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.
USB controller 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.
USB device 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.
VMCI Virtual Machine Communication Interface device. Provides a high-speed
communication channel between a virtual machine and the hypervisor. You cannot add
or remove VMCI devices.
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.
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.
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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware virtual machines have the following options:
General Options View or modify the virtual machine name, and check the location of the
configuration file and the working location of the virtual machine.
VMware Tools 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.
Advanced Options Disable acceleration and enable logging, configure debugging and
statistics, and change the swap file location. You can also change the
latency sensitivity and add configuration parameters.
Power Management Manage guest power options. Suspend the virtual machine or leave the
virtual machine powered on when you put the guest operating system into
standby.
CPUID Mask Hide or expose the NX/XD flag. Hiding the NX/XD flag increases vMotion
compatibility between hosts.
Memory/CPU Hotplug Enable or disable CPU and memory hotplug. 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, but to use the added memory, the guest operating
system must also support this feature. See the VMware Compatibility Guide
at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
Boot Options Set the boot delay when powering on virtual machines or to force BIOS
setup and configure failed boot recovery.
Fibre Channel NPIV 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 Enable or disable vApp functionality. When you select the checkbox, you
can view and edit vApp properties, vApp Deployment options, and vApp
Authoring options. For example, you can configure an IP allocation policy or
a network protocol profile for the vApp. A vApp option that is specified at
the level of a virtual machine overrides the settings specified at the level of
the vApp.
vSphere Web Client
All administrative functions are available through the vSphere Web Client.
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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
The vSphere Web Client is a cross platform application that can connect only to vCenter Server. It has a
full range of administrative functionality and an extensible plug-in-based architecture. Typical users are
virtual infrastructure administrators, help desk, network operations center operators, and virtual machine
owners.
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.
vSphere Client
Task instructions in this guide are based on the vSphere Web Client. You can also perform most of the
tasks in this guide by using the new vSphere Client. The new vSphere Client user interface terminology,
topology, and workflow are closely aligned with the same aspects and elements of the
vSphere Web Client user interface. You can apply the vSphere Web Client instructions to the new
vSphere Client unless otherwise instructed.
Note Not all functionality in the vSphere Web Client has been implemented for the vSphere Client in the
vSphere 6.5 release. For an up-to-date list of unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the
vSphere Client Guide at http://www.vmware.com/info?id=1413.
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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Deploying Virtual Machines 2
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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About Provisioning Virtual Machines
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Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone
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Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template
n
Clone a Virtual Machine
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Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client
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Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client
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Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine
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Customizing Guest Operating Systems
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
want 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, and then use that virtual machine as a template
from which to clone other virtual machines. See Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone.
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 virtual machine that typically has an
operating system and other software installed. You can deploy virtual machines from local file systems,
such as local disks (for example, C:), removable media (for example, CDs or USB keychain drives), and
shared network drives. See Chapter 3 Deploying OVF and OVA Templates.
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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. Use templates to save time. If you
have a virtual machine that you will clone frequently, make that virtual machine a template. See Deploy a
Virtual Machine from a Template.
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. You can clone it multiple times, rather
than creating and configuring each virtual machine individually. See Clone a Virtual Machine.
Cloning a virtual machine to a template preserves a master copy of the virtual machine so that you can
create additional templates. For example, you can create one template, modify the original virtual
machine by installing additional software in the guest operating system, and create another template. See
Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client.
Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone
You can create a single virtual machine if no virtual machines in your environment meet your needs, for
example of a particular operating system or hardware configuration. When you create a virtual machine
without a template or clone, you can configure the virtual hardware, including processors, hard disks, and
memory.
During the creation process, a default disk is configured for the virtual machine. You can remove this disk
and add a new hard disk, select an existing disk, or add an RDM disk on the Customize hardware page of
the wizard.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
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Virtual machine .Inventory.Create new on the destination folder or data center.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the destination folder or data center, if you are
adding a new disk.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Add existing disk on the destination folder or data center, if you are
adding an existing disk.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device on the destination folder or data center, if you are using
an RDM or SCSI pass-through device.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Host USB device on the destination folder or data center, if you are
attaching a virtual USB device backed by a host USB device.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Advanced on the destination folder or data center, if you are
configuring advanced virtual machine settings.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Swapfile placement on the destination folder or data center, if you
are configuring swap file placement.
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Virtual machine.Configuration.Disk change tracking on the destination folder or data center, if you
are enabling change tracking on the virtual machine's disks.
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Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource
pool.
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Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore or datastore folder.
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Network.Assign network on the network that the virtual machine will be assigned to.
To verify the privileges assigned to your role, see the Required Privileges for Common Tasks topic in the
vSphere Security documentation.
Procedure
1 Start the New Virtual Machine Creation Process
If you need a single virtual machine with a particular operating system and hardware configuration,
you create a new virtual machine. You can open the New Virtual Machine wizard from any object in
the inventory that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine.
2 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder
When you create a virtual machine, you provide a unique name for it. The unique name
distinguishes it from existing virtual machines in the virtual machine folder or datacenter. The name
can contain up to 80 characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the virtual
machine, depending on your organizational needs.
3 Select a Resource
When you deploy a virtual machine, you select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool for the
virtual machine to run in. The virtual machine will have access to the resources of the selected
object.
4 Select a Datastore
Select the datastore or datastore cluster in which to store the virtual machine configuration files and
all its virtual disks. Each datastore might have a different size, speed, availability, and other
properties. The available datastores are accessible from the destination resource that you selected.
5 Select the Virtual Machine Compatibility
You can accept the default ESXi host version for this virtual machine or select a different version,
depending on the hosts in your environment.
6 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. 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.
7 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you can choose to configure the virtual hardware. When
you create a virtual machine, the virtual disk is selected by default. You can use the New device
drop-down menu on the Customize Hardware page to add a new hard disk, select an existing disk,
or add an RDM disk.
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8 Finish Virtual Machine Creation
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.
9 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.
Start the New Virtual Machine Creation Process
If you need a single virtual machine with a particular operating system and hardware configuration, you
create a new virtual machine. You can open the New Virtual Machine wizard from any object in the
inventory that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine.
Procedure
1 Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine, such as a data
center, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host, and select New Virtual Machine.
2 Select Create a new virtual machine and click Next.
Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder
When you create a virtual machine, you provide a unique name for it. The unique name distinguishes it
from existing virtual machines in the virtual machine folder or datacenter. The name can contain up to 80
characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the virtual machine, depending on your
organizational needs.
Folders provide a way to store virtual machines for different groups in an organization, and you can set
permissions on them. For a flatter hierarchy, you can put all virtual machines and templates in a
datacenter and organize them a different way.
The virtual machine name determines the name of the virtual machine files and folder on the disk. For
example, if you name the virtual machine win8, the virtual machine files are named win8.vmx, win8.vmdk,
win8.nvram, and so on. If you change the virtual machine name, the names of the files on the datastore
do not change.
Procedure
1 Type a name for the virtual machine.
2 Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the virtual machine.
3 Click Next.
Select a Resource
When you deploy a virtual machine, you select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool for the virtual
machine to run in. The virtual machine will have access to the resources of the selected object.
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For example, a virtual machine has access to the memory and CPU resources of the host on which it
resides. If you select a cluster for the virtual machine, and the administrator has configured the cluster to
take advantage of HA and DRS, the virtual machine will have a greater level of availability.
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, the
problems appear at the bottom of the window.
2 Click Next.
Select a Datastore
Select the datastore or datastore cluster in which to store the virtual machine configuration files and all its
virtual disks. Each datastore might have a different size, speed, availability, and other properties. The
available datastores are accessible from the destination resource that you selected.
On the Customize hardware page, you can configure the storage. For example, you can add a new hard
disk, apply a virtual machine storage policy, or place the configuration and disk files on separate storage
devices.
The amount of free space in the datastore is always changing. Ensure that you leave sufficient space for
virtual machine creation and other virtual machine operations, such as growth of sparse files, snapshots,
and so on. To review space utilization for the datastore by file type, see the vSphere Monitoring and
Performance documentation.
Procedure
u
Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files.
Option Action
Store all virtual machine files in the
same location on a datastore.
Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.
Select a datastore and click Next.
a Select a datastore cluster.
b (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.
c Click Next.
Select the Virtual Machine Compatibility
You can accept the default ESXi host version for this virtual machine or select a different version,
depending on the hosts in your environment.
The default compatibility for this virtual machine is determined by the host on which the virtual machine is
created or by the default compatibility settings on the host, cluster, or data center. You can select a
different compatibility from the default.
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Only host versions that are in your environment appear in the Compatible with drop-down menu. For
information about choices and compatibility strategies, see Virtual Machine Compatibility.
Procedure
u
Select the compatibility from the drop-down menu and click Next.
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. 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.
For details, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
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 guest operating
system installer partitions the disk in a particular format, depending on which firmware the installer was
booted from. If you change the firmware, you will not be able to boot the guest.
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 Select the guest operating system family from the Guest OS Family drop-down menu.
2 Select a guest operating system version from the Guest OS Version drop-down menu.
3 If you selected Other as the guest operating system family, and Other (32-bit) or Other (64-bit) for
the version, type a name for the operating system in the text box.
4 Click Next.
Customize Virtual Machine Hardware
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you can choose to configure the virtual hardware. When you
create a virtual machine, the virtual disk is selected by default. You can use the New device drop-down
menu on the Customize Hardware page to add a new hard disk, select an existing disk, or add an RDM
disk.
For information about virtual disk configuration, including instructions for adding different types of disks,
see Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine.
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For help configuring other virtual machine hardware, see Chapter 5 Configuring Virtual Machine
Hardware.
Procedure
1 (Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the New device drop-down
menu and click Add.
2 (Optional) Expand any device to view and configure the device settings.
3 To remove a device, move the pointer over the device and click the Remove icon.
This icon appears only for virtual hardware that you can safely remove.
4 Click Next.
Finish Virtual Machine Creation
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.
Procedure
1 Review the virtual machine settings and make changes by clicking Back to go back to the relevant
page.
2 Click Finish.
The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Web Client inventory.
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 the Guest Operating
System Installation Guide at http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/home.html.
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:
n
Have a virtual disk without operating system software and with enough free disk space to store the
intended system software.
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n
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 machine’s 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.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that the installation ISO image is present on a VMFS datastore or network file system (NFS)
volume accessible to the ESXi host.
Alternatively, verify that an ISO image is present in a content library.
n
Verify that you have the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.
Procedure
1 Log in to the vCenter Server system or host on which the virtual machine resides.
2 Select an installation method.
Option Action
CD-ROM Insert the installation CD-ROM for your guest operating system into the CD-ROM
drive of your ESXi host.
ISO image a Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. The virtual machine
Edit Settings dialog box opens. If the Virtual Hardware tab is not
preselected, select it.
b Select Datastore ISO File from the CD/DVD drop-down menu, and browse
for the ISO image for your guest operating system.
ISO image from a Content Library a Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. The virtual machine
Edit Settings dialog box opens. If the Virtual Hardware tab is not
preselected, select it.
b Select Content Library ISO File from the CD/DVD drop-down menu, and
select an ISO image from the content library items.
3 Right-click the virtual machine and select Power On.
A green right arrow appears next to the virtual machine icon in the inventory list.
4 Follow the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.
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What to do next
Install VMware Tools. VMware highly recommends running the latest version of VMware Tools on your
guest operating systems. Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, you lose
important functionality and convenience without them. See Chapter 10 Upgrading Virtual Machines for
instructions on installing and upgrading VMware Tools.
Upload ISO Image Installation Media for a Guest Operating System
You can upload an ISO image file to a datastore from your local computer. You can do this when a virtual
machine, host, or cluster does not have access to a datastore or to a shared datastore that has the guest
operating system installation media that you require.
Prerequisites
Required privileges:
n
Datastore.Browse datastore on the datastore.
n
Datastore.Low level file operations on the datastore.
Procedure
1 In the inventory, click Datastores and on the Objects tab, select the datastore to which you will
upload the file.
2
Click the Navigate to the datastore file browser icon ( ).
3 (Optional) Click the Create a new folder icon.
4
Select the folder that you created or select an existing folder, and click the Upload a File icon (
).
5 On the local computer, find the file and upload it.
ISO upload times vary, depending on file size and network upload speed.
6 Refresh the datastore file browser to see the uploaded file in the list.
What to do next
After you upload the ISO image installation media, you can configure the virtual machine CD-ROM drive
to access the file.
Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template
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:
n
Virtual machine .Inventory.Create from existing on the data center or virtual machine folder.
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n
Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the data center or virtual machine folder. Required
only if you customize the original hardware by adding a new virtual disk.
n
Virtual machine .Provisioning.Deploy template on the source template.
n
Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource
pool.
n
Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore.
n
Network.Assign network on the network to which the virtual machine is assigned. Required only if
you customize the original hardware by adding a new network card.
n
Virtual machine .Provisioning.Customize on the template or template folder if you are customizing
the guest operating system.
n
Virtual machine .Provisioning.Read customization specifications on the root vCenter Server if
you are customizing the guest operating system.
Procedure
1 Start the Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template Task
To save time, you can create a virtual machine that is a copy of a configured template. You can open
the New Virtual Machine wizard from any object in the inventory that is a valid parent object of a
virtual machine. You can also open the wizard directly from the template. The wizard provides
several options for creating and deploying virtual machines and templates.
2 Select a Template
After you select the template from which to deploy the virtual machine, you might choose to
customize the guest operating system and the virtual machine hardware. You can also select to turn
on the virtual machine when you complete the creation procedure. You can change the properties of
the guest operating system, such as the computer name, and network and license settings.
Changing the guest OS properties helps prevent conflicts that can occur in case virtual machines
with identical settings are deployed. You can add a CD device, such as an ISO file, to install the
guest operating system, or to reconfigure the virtual machines' hardware, such as storage or
networking, before you deploy the virtual machine.
3 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder
When you create a virtual machine, you provide a unique name for it. The unique name
distinguishes it from existing virtual machines in the virtual machine folder or datacenter. The name
can contain up to 80 characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the virtual
machine, depending on your organizational needs.
4 Select a Resource
When you deploy a virtual machine, you select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool for the
virtual machine to run in. The virtual machine will have access to the resources of the selected
object.
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5 Select a Datastore
Select the datastore or datastore cluster in which to store the virtual machine configuration files and
all of the virtual disks. Each datastore might have a different size, speed, availability, and other
properties. The available datastores are accessible from the destination resource that you selected.
You can select a format for the virtual machine's disks and assign a storage policy.
6 Select Clone Options
You can optionally select to customize the guest operating system, customize the virtual machine's
hardware, and turn on the virtual machine when you complete the creation procedure. You can
customize the guest operating system to change properties, such as the computer name, and
network and license settings, which helps prevent conflicts that can result if you deploy virtual
machines with identical settings. You can add a CD device such as an ISO file to install the guest
operating system or you can reconfigure the virtual machine storage or networking, before you
deploy the virtual machine.
7 Customize the Guest Operating System
When you customize a guest operating system, you can prevent conflicts that might result if you
deploy virtual machines with identical settings, such as duplicate computer names. You can change
the computer name, network settings, and license settings. You can customize guest operating
systems when you clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template.
8 Enter Additional Customization Parameters for the Guest Operating System
In the User Settings screen, you can enter the NetBIOS name and configure the network settings of
the virtual machine.
9 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you can choose to configure the virtual hardware. When
you create a virtual machine, the virtual disk is selected by default. You can use the New device
drop-down menu on the Customize Hardware page to add a new hard disk, select an existing disk,
or add an RDM disk.
10 Finish Virtual Machine Creation
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.
Start the Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template Task
To save time, you can create a virtual machine that is a copy of a configured template. You can open the
New Virtual Machine wizard from any object in the inventory that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine. You can also open the wizard directly from the template. The wizard provides several options
for creating and deploying virtual machines and templates.
If you open the wizard from a template, the Select a creation type page does not appear.
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Procedure
u
Select to deploy a virtual machine from a template.
Option Description
Open the New Virtual Machine wizard
from any object in the inventory
Open the Deploy From Template wizard
from a template
a Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a data center, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host, and
select New Virtual Machine.
b Select Deploy from template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Right-click the template and select Deploy VM from this Template.
The Select a name and folder page opens.
Select a Template
After you select the template from which to deploy the virtual machine, you might choose to customize the
guest operating system and the virtual machine hardware. You can also select to turn on the virtual
machine when you complete the creation procedure. You can change the properties of the guest
operating system, such as the computer name, and network and license settings. Changing the guest OS
properties helps prevent conflicts that can occur in case virtual machines with identical settings are
deployed. You can add a CD device, such as an ISO file, to install the guest operating system, or to
reconfigure the virtual machines' hardware, such as storage or networking, before you deploy the virtual
machine.
This page appears only if you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object that is
not a template.
Note If you start the deploy operation from a template, you select the customization and power options
on a later page in the wizard.
Procedure
1 Search for or browse to the template.
2 (Optional) Select Customize the operating system to customize the guest operating system of the
virtual machine.
3 (Optional) Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware to configure the virtual machine's
hardware before deployment.
4 (Optional) Select Power On Virtual Machine after creation to power on the virtual machine after
creation is complete.
5 Click Next.
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Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder
When you create a virtual machine, you provide a unique name for it. The unique name distinguishes it
from existing virtual machines in the virtual machine folder or datacenter. The name can contain up to 80
characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the virtual machine, depending on your
organizational needs.
Folders provide a way to store virtual machines for different groups in an organization, and you can set
permissions on them. For a flatter hierarchy, you can put all virtual machines and templates in a
datacenter and organize them a different way.
The virtual machine name determines the name of the virtual machine files and folder on the disk. For
example, if you name the virtual machine win8, the virtual machine files are named win8.vmx, win8.vmdk,
win8.nvram, and so on. If you change the virtual machine name, the names of the files on the datastore
do not change.
Procedure
1 Type a name for the virtual machine.
2 Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the virtual machine.
3 Click Next.
Select a Resource
When you deploy a virtual machine, you select the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool for the virtual
machine to run in. The virtual machine will have access to the resources of the selected object.
For example, a virtual machine has access to the memory and CPU resources of the host on which it
resides. If you select a cluster for the virtual machine, and the administrator has configured the cluster to
take advantage of HA and DRS, the virtual machine will have a greater level of availability.
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, the
problems appear at the bottom of the window.
2 Click Next.
Select a Datastore
Select the datastore or datastore cluster in which to store the virtual machine configuration files and all of
the virtual disks. Each datastore might have a different size, speed, availability, and other properties. The
available datastores are accessible from the destination resource that you selected. You can select a
format for the virtual machine's disks and assign a storage policy.
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The amount of free space in the datastore is always changing. Ensure that you leave sufficient space for
virtual machine creation and other virtual machine operations, such as growth of sparse files, snapshots,
and so on. To review space utilization for the datastore by file type, see the vSphere Monitoring and
Performance documentation.
Thin provisioning lets you create sparse files with blocks that are allocated upon first access, which allows
the datastore to be over-provisioned. The sparse files can continue growing and fill the datastore. If the
datastore runs out of disk space while the virtual machine is running, it can cause the virtual machine to
stop functioning.
Procedure
1 Select the format for the virtual machine's disks.
Option Action
Same format as source Use the same format as the source virtual machine.
Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed 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.
Thick Provision Eager Zeroed 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
thick provision lazy zeroed format, the data remaining on the physical device is
zeroed out during creation. It might take longer to create disks in this format than
to create other types of disks.
Thin Provision 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.
2 (Optional) Select a storage policy from the VM Storage Policy drop-down menu.
Storage policies specify storage requirements for applications that run on the virtual machine.
3 Select a datastore location for the virtual disk.
Option Action
Store the virtual disk and virtual
machine configuration files in the
same location on a datastore.
Store the disk in a separate datastore
location.
Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.
Select Store with the virtual machine from the Location drop-down menu.
Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu, and select a datastore for
the disk.
a Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu and select a datastore
cluster for the disk.
b (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.
4 Click Next.
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Select Clone Options
You can optionally select to customize the guest operating system, customize the virtual machine's
hardware, and turn on the virtual machine when you complete the creation procedure. You can customize
the guest operating system to change properties, such as the computer name, and network and license
settings, which helps prevent conflicts that can result if you deploy virtual machines with identical settings.
You can add a CD device such as an ISO file to install the guest operating system or you can reconfigure
the virtual machine storage or networking, before you deploy the virtual machine.
Note If you opened the wizard from an object other than a virtual machine or template, the Select Clone
Options page does not appear. These options are available on a different page of the wizard.
Procedure
1 Select Customize the Operating System.
2 Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware.
3 Select Power on virtual machine after creation.
4 Click Next.
Customize the Guest Operating System
When you customize a guest operating system, you can prevent conflicts that might result if you deploy
virtual machines with identical settings, such as duplicate computer names. You can change the computer
name, network settings, and license settings. You can customize guest operating systems when you
clone a virtual machine or deploy a virtual machine from a template.
Prerequisites
To access customization options for Windows guest operating systems, Microsoft Sysprep tools must be
installed on the vCenter Server system. The Sysprep Tool is built into the Windows Vista and Windows
2008 and later operating systems. For details about this and other customization requirements, see Guest
Operating System Customization Requirements.
Procedure
1 Apply a customization specification to the virtual machine.
Option Description
Select an existing specification Select a customization specification from the list.
Create a specification Click the Create a new specification icon, and complete the steps in the wizard.
Create a specification from an existing
specification
2 Click Next.
a Select a customization specification from the list.
b Click the Create a spec from an existing spec icon, and complete the steps
in the wizard.
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