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vSphere Virtual Machine
Administration
Update 1
ESXi 6.0
vCenter Server 6.0

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-001887-03

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:
docfeedback@vmware.com

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

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Contents

About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Updated Information 9

1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 11

What Is a Virtual Machine? 11
Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure 12
Virtual Machine Lifecycle 13
Virtual Machine Components 13
Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines
Virtual Machine Options and Resources 15
vSphere Web Client 16
Introduction to VMware Tools 17
Where to Go From Here 17

2 Deploying Virtual Machines 19

About Provisioning Virtual Machines 19
Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone 20
Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template 26
Clone a Virtual Machine 32
Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client
Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client 42
Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine 45
Customizing Guest Operating Systems 47

3 Deploying OVF Templates 63

OVF File Format and OVF Templates 63
Deploy an OVF Template in the vSphere Web Client 64
Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 67
Export an OVF Template 68

4 Using Content Libraries 71

Create a Library 73
Synchronize a Subscribed Library 74
Edit the Settings of a Local Library 74
Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library 75
Delete a Content Library 76
Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries 76
Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries 78
Populating Libraries with Content 78
Working with Items in a Library 81

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content Library

5 Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool 87

Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site 87
Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD 88

6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware 89

Virtual Machine Compatibility 89
Virtual CPU Configuration 95
Virtual Memory Configuration 101
Network Virtual Machine Configuration 103
Parallel and Serial Port Configuration 107
Virtual Disk Configuration 115
SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility 125
Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration 130
Reduce Memory Overhead for Virtual machines with 3D graphics Option 139
USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine 139
USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine 146
Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines 152

7 Configuring Virtual Machine Options 153

Virtual Machine Option Overview 153
Change the Virtual Machine Name 154
View the Virtual Machine Configuration and Working File Location 155
Change the Configured Guest Operating System 155
Configuring User Mappings on Guest Operating Systems 155
Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users 157
Configure the Virtual Machine Power States 157
Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools 158
Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine 159
Delay the Boot Sequence 160
Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration 160
Enable Virtual Machine Logging 160
Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics 161
Change the Swap File Location 161
Edit Configuration File Parameters 162
Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings 162

8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp 165

Create a vApp 165
Create a Virtual Machine, Resource Pool, or Child vApp Inside a vApp 167
Add Virtual Machine or Child vApp to a vApp 167
Edit vApp Settings 167
Clone a vApp 172
Perform vApp Power Operations 173
Edit vApp Notes 174
Add a Network Protocol Profile 174
Virtual Machine vApp Options 178

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Contents

9 Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager 183
View Solutions and vServices 183
Monitoring Agents 184
Monitoring vServices 184

10 Managing Virtual Machines 185

Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings 185
Install the Client Integration Plug-In 187
Using a Virtual Machine Remote Console 187
Open the HTML 5 Remote Console 188
Install the VMware Remote Console Application 188
Using the VMware Remote Console Application 189
Adding and Removing Virtual Machines 189
Change the Template Name 191
Deleting Templates 191
Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines 192

11 VMware Tools Components, Configuration Options, and Security
Requirements

203

Components of VMware Tools 203
Repairing, Changing, and Uninstalling VMware Tools Components 207
Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools 209
Using vmwtool to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine
Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility 213

212

12 Upgrading Virtual Machines 225

Upgrading VMware Tools 226
Installing VMware Tools 227
Planning Downtime for Virtual Machines 229
Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines 229
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine 230
Automate VMware Tools Installation for Multiple Windows Virtual Machines 232
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine 236
Operating System Specific Packages for Linux Guest Operating Systems 238
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Mac OS X Virtual Machine 239
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Solaris Virtual Machine 240
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine 241
Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a FreeBSD Virtual Machine 243
Upgrade VMware Tools 244
Perform an Automatic Upgrade of VMware Tools 245
Upgrade the Compatibility for Virtual Machines 246
Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for Virtual Machines 247

13 Required Privileges for Common Tasks 249
Index

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253

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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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.
n

Creating and deploying virtual machines, templates, and clones

Deploying OVF templates

Configuring virtual machine hardware and options

Managing multitiered applications with VMware vSphere vApp

Monitoring solutions with the vCenter Solution Manager

Managing virtual machines, including using snapshots

Configuring and installing VMware tools

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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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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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

EN-001887-03

Added information about the guest Introspection drivers. See “VMware Tools Device Drivers,”
on page 204 and “Names of VMware Tools Components Used in Silent Installations,” on page 234.

EN-001887-02

n
n
n

EN-001887-01

n
n
n

EN-001887-00

VMware, Inc.

Added a new topic about the HTML 5 Remote console to a virtual machine. See “Open the HTML 5
Remote Console,” on page 188.
Updated information about the virtual machine remote consoles. See “Using a Virtual Machine
Remote Console,” on page 187.
Updated requirements for upgrading the virtual machine compatibility. See “Upgrade the
Compatibility for Virtual Machines,” on page 246.
Removed Datastore.Allocate space privilege from privileges required to take a virtual machine
snapshot. See Chapter 13, “Required Privileges for Common Tasks,” on page 249.
Updated procedure for using the VMware Remote Console. See “Using the VMware Remote Console
Application,” on page 189.
Enhanced the topic about using content libraries to reflect that a published and a subscribed library
do not necessarily need to belong to vCenter Server instances that are in the same vCenter SingleSign On domain. See Chapter 4, “Using Content Libraries,” on page 71.

Initial release.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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Introduction to VMware vSphere
Virtual Machines

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:
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 Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines,” on page 13

“Virtual Machine Options and Resources,” on page 15

“vSphere Web Client,” on page 16

“Introduction to VMware Tools,” on page 17

“Where to Go From Here,” on page 17

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 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.
Table 1‑1. Virtual Machine Files
File

Usage

Description

.vmx

vmname.vmx

Virtual machine configuration file

.vmxf

vmname.vmxf

Additional virtual machine configuration files

.vmdk

vmname.vmdk

Virtual disk characteristics

-flat.vmdk

vmname-flat.vmdk

Virtual machine data disk

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Table 1‑1. Virtual Machine Files (Continued)
File

Usage

Description

.nvram

vmname.nvram or nvram

Virtual machine BIOS or EFI configuration

.vmsd

vmname.vmsd

Virtual machine snapshots

.vmsn

vmname.vmsn

Virtual machine snapshot data file

.vswp

vmname.vswp

Virtual machine swap file

.vmss

vmname.vmss

Virtual machine suspend file

.log

vmware.log

Current virtual machine log file

-#.log

vmware-#.log (where # is a number
starting with 1)

Old virtual machine log files

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.
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.

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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 New Virtual Machine wizard and Virtual Machine Properties editor 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 Web 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.
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,” on page 13.
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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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:
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

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.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines

Table 1‑2. Virtual Machine Hardware and Descriptions (Continued)
Hardware Device

Description

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.

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

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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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, 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. Nport 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.
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.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines

Introduction to VMware Tools
VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that you install in the operating system of a virtual machine.
VMware Tools enhances the performance of a virtual machine and makes possible many of the ease-of-use
features in VMware products. For example, the following features are just some of the features that are
available only if VMware Tools is installed:
n

Significantly faster graphics performance and Windows Aero on operating systems that support Aero

The Unity feature, which enables an application in a virtual machine to appear on the host desktop like
any other application window

Shared folders between host and guest file systems

Copying and pasting text, graphics, and files between the virtual machine and the host or client desktop

Improved mouse performance

Synchronization of the clock in the virtual machine with the clock on the host or client desktop

Scripting that helps automate guest operating system operations

Runs pre-freeze and post-thaw quiescing scripts

Enables capturing quiesced snapshots of guest operating systems

Periodically collects network, disk, and memory usage information from the guest operating system
and sends it to ESXi hosts.

Sends a heartbeat to each virtual machine every second and collects guest heartbeat information from
guest operating systems. VMware HA uses the heartbeat information to determine virtual machine
availability.

Transports the OVF environment to guest operating systems using the guest OS environment variable
guestinfo.ovfEnv that contains the XML document.

Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, many VMware features are not
available until you install VMware Tools. For example, if you do not have VMware Tools installed in your
virtual machine, you cannot get heartbeat information from guest operating systems or cannot use the
shutdown or restart options from the toolbar. You can only use the power options and you have to shut
down your guest operating systems from each virtual machine console. You cannot use VMware Tools for
connecting and disconnecting virtual devices, and shrinking virtual disks.
VMware highly recommends that you always run the latest version of VMware Tools. You can configure
your virtual machines to automatically check for and apply VMware Tools upgrades each time you power
on your virtual machines. For information about enabling automatic upgrade of VMware Tools on your
virtual machines, see the “Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools,”
on page 158 topic.
The installation procedure varies, depending on the operating system. For information about installing or
upgrading VMware Tools on your guest operating systems, see the Upgrading Virtual Machines chapter. For
general instructions about installing VMware Tools, see the VMware Knowledge base article at
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014294.

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).

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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

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:
n

“About Provisioning Virtual Machines,” on page 19

“Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone,” on page 20

“Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template,” on page 26

“Clone a Virtual Machine,” on page 32

“Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 38

“Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 42

“Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine,” on page 45

“Customizing Guest Operating Systems,” on page 47

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,” on page 20.
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 Templates,” on page 63.
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,” on page 26.
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,” on page 32.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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 other virtual machines in your environment have the
requirements you are looking for, such as 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:
n

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.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.

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 on page 21
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.

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Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 22
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.

Select a Resource on page 22
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.

Select a Datastore on page 22
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.

Select the Virtual Machine Compatibility on page 23
You can accept the default ESXi host version for this virtual machine or select a different version,
depending on the hosts in your environment.

Select a Guest Operating System on page 23
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.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware on page 24
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option 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.

Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 24
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Installing a Guest Operating System on page 24
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 datacenter,
folder, cluster, resource pool, or host, and select New Virtual Machine.

Select Create a new virtual machine and click Next.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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.

Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the virtual machine.

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.

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.
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.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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.

Select a datastore and click Next.

Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.

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.

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 datacenter. You can select a different
compatibility from the default.
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,” on page 89.
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.

Select a guest operating system version from the Guest OS Version drop-down menu.

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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Click Next.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option 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,” on page 117.
For help configuring other virtual machine hardware, see Chapter 6, “Configuring Virtual Machine
Hardware,” on page 89.
Procedure
1

(Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the New device drop-down
menu and click Add.

(Optional) Expand any device to view and configure the device settings.

To remove a device, move your cursor over the device and click the Remove icon.
This icon appears only for virtual hardware that you can safely remove.

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.

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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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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,” on page 160.
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.

Verify that you have the installation instructions that the operating system vendor provides.

Procedure
1

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

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.
Select Datastore ISO File from the CD/DVD drop-down menu, and
browse for the ISO image for your guest operating system.

Right-click the virtual machine and select 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.

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 12, “Upgrading Virtual Machines,” on
page 225 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
n

Verify that the Client Integration Plug-In is installed. See “Install the Client Integration Plug-In,” on
page 187. The installation process requires you to close any open browsers.

Required privileges:
n

VMware, Inc.

Datastore.Browse datastore on the datastore.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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.

Click the Navigate to the datastore file browser icon (

(Optional) Click the Create a new folder icon.

Select the folder that you created or select an existing folder, and click the Upload a File icon (

If the Client Integration Access Control dialog box appears, click Allow to allow the plug-in to access
your operating system and proceed with the file upload.

On the local computer, find the file and upload it.

ISO upload times vary, depending on file size and network upload speed.
7

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 datacenter or virtual machine folder.

Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk on the datacenter or virtual machine folder. Required
only if you customize the original hardware by adding a new virtual disk.

Virtual machine.Provisioning.Deploy template on the source template.

Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool.

Datastore.Allocate space on the destination datastore.

Network.Assign network on the network to which the virtual machine will be assigned. Required only
if you customize the original hardware by adding a new network card.

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

Start the Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template Task on page 28
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, or directly from the template. The wizard provides several options for creating and
deploying virtual machines and templates.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Select a Template on page 28
After you select the template from which to deploy the virtual machine, you can optionally select 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, which helps
prevent conflicts that can result if 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 reconfigure the virtual
machines' hardware, such as storage or networking, before you deploy the virtual machine.

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 29
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.

Select a Resource on page 29
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.

Select a Datastore on page 29
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.

Select Clone Options on page 30
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.

Customize the Guest Operating System on page 31
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.

Enter Additional Customization Parameters for the Guest Operating System on page 31
In the User Settings screen, you can enter the NetBIOS name and configure the network settings of the
virtual machine.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware on page 32
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option 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.

Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 32
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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, or 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.
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

Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual Machine.
Select Deploy from template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.

Open the Deploy From Template
wizard from a template

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 can optionally select 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, which helps prevent
conflicts that can result if 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 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 a 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

Search for or browse to 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 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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 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.
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.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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.

(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.

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.

Select Store with the virtual machine from the Location drop-down
menu.

Store the disk in a separate
datastore location.

Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu, and select a datastore
for the disk.

Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.

a
b

Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu and select a
datastore cluster for the disk.
(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.

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

Select Customize the Operating System.

Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware.

Select Power on virtual machine after creation.

Click Next.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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,” on page 47.
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

a
b

Select a customization specification from the list.
Click the Create a spec from an existing spec icon, and complete the
steps in the wizard.

Click Next.

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.
The User Settings screen appears when you apply a customization specification for which at least one of the
following conditions is true.
n

The option Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy wizard was selected during the creation of the
customization specification.

The option Prompt the user for an address when the specification is used was selected for IPv4 and
IPv6 during the creation of the customization specification.

See “Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment,” on page 49 and “Customize Linux During
Cloning or Deployment,” on page 52.
Procedure
1

Enter a NetBIOS name for the computer.

Enter Network Adapter Settings for each network interface.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

(Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the New device drop-down
menu and click Add.

(Optional) Expand any device to view and configure the device settings.

To remove a device, move your cursor over the device and click the Remove icon.
This icon appears only for virtual hardware that you can safely remove.

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.

Click Finish.

The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Web Client inventory.

Clone a Virtual Machine
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.
NOTE When heavily loaded applications, such as load generators, are running in the guest operating system
during a clone operation, the virtual machine quiesce operation can fail and VMware Tools might be denied
CPU resources and time out. It is recommended that you quiesce the virtual machines running lower I/O
disk operation.
Prerequisites
If a load generator is running in the virtual machine, stop it before you perform the clone operation.
You must have the following privileges to clone a virtual machine:

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.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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

Start the Clone an Existing Virtual Machine Task on page 34
To make an original copy of a virtual machine, you can clone an existing 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. You can also open the wizard directly from the virtual machine that you are going
to clone.

Select a Virtual Machine to Clone on page 34
You select a virtual machine to clone, and you can optionally select 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, which helps prevent conflicts that can
result if 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 reconfigure the virtual machines' hardware, such as
storage or networking, before you deploy the virtual machine.

Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder on page 35
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.

Select a Resource on page 35
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.

Select a Datastore on page 35
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.

Select Clone Options on page 36
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.

Customize the Guest Operating System on page 37
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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Enter Additional Customization Parameters for the Guest Operating System on page 37
In the User Settings screen, you can enter the NetBIOS name and configure the network settings of the
virtual machine.

Customize Virtual Machine Hardware on page 38
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option 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.

Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 38
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Start the Clone an Existing Virtual Machine Task
To make an original copy of a virtual machine, you can clone an existing 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. You can also open the wizard directly from the virtual machine that you are going to clone.
If you open the wizard from a virtual machine, the Select a creation type page does not appear.
Procedure
u

Select to clone a virtual machine.
Option

Description

Open the New Virtual Machine
wizard from any object in the
inventory

Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual machine > New Virtual Machine....
Select Clone an existing virtual machine and click Next.
The Select a virtual machine page opens.

Open the Clone Existing Virtual
Machine wizard from a virtual
machine

Right-click the virtual machine and select Clone > Clone to Virtual
Machine.
The Select a name and folder page opens.

Select a Virtual Machine to Clone
You select a virtual machine to clone, and you can optionally select 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, which helps prevent conflicts that can result if 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 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 a 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

Search for or browse to the virtual machine, and select it.

(Optional) Select Customize the operating system to customize the guest operating system of the
virtual machine.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

(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.

Type a name for the virtual machine.

Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the virtual machine.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

(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.

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.

Select Store with the virtual machine from the Location drop-down
menu.

Store the disk in a separate
datastore location.

Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu, and select a datastore
for the disk.

Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.

a
b

Click Next.

Select Customize the Operating System.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Select Customize this virtual machine's hardware.

Select Power on virtual machine after creation.

Click Next.

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

a
b

Select a customization specification from the list.
Click the Create a spec from an existing spec icon, and complete the
steps in the wizard.

Click Next.

The option Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy wizard was selected during the creation of the
customization specification.

The option Prompt the user for an address when the specification is used was selected for IPv4 and
IPv6 during the creation of the customization specification.

See “Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment,” on page 49 and “Customize Linux During
Cloning or Deployment,” on page 52.
Procedure
1

Enter a NetBIOS name for the computer.

Enter Network Adapter Settings for each network interface.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

(Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the New device drop-down
menu and click Add.

(Optional) Expand any device to view and configure the device settings.

To remove a device, move your cursor over the device and click the Remove icon.
This icon appears only for virtual hardware that you can safely remove.

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.

Click Finish.

The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Web Client inventory.

Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client
After you create a virtual machine, you can clone it to a template. Templates are master copies of virtual
machines that let you create ready-for-use virtual machines. You can make changes to the template, such as
installing additional software in the guest operating system, while preserving the original virtual machine.
You cannot modify templates after you create them. To alter an existing template, you must convert it to a
virtual machine, make the required changes, and convert the virtual machine back to a template. To
preserve the original state of a template, clone the template to a template.
Prerequisites
If a load generator is running in the virtual machine, stop it before you perform the clone operation.
Verify that you have the following privileges:

Virtual machine.Provisioning.Create template from virtual machine on the source virtual machine.

Virtual machine .Inventory.Create from existing on virtual machine folder where the template is
created.

Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the destination host, cluster, or resource pool.

Datastore.Allocate space on all datastores where the template is created.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Procedure
1

Start the Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template Task on page 39
To make a master copy of a virtual machine, you can clone the virtual machine to a 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, or directly from the template. The wizard provides several options for creating and
deploying virtual machines and templates.

Select a Virtual Machine to Clone to a Template on page 40
To clone a virtual machine to a template, you must select an existing virtual machine to clone. You
cannot modify a template after you create it. To change the template, you must convert it back to a
virtual machine.

Select a Name and Location for the Template on page 40
When you deploy a template to the vCenter Server inventory, you provide a unique name for it. The
unique name distinguishes it from existing templates 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 template,
depending on your organizational needs.

Select a Resource for a Virtual Machine Template on page 40
When you deploy a virtual machine template, select a host or cluster resource for the template. The
template must be registered with an ESXi host. The host handles all requests for the template and must
be running when you create a virtual machine from the template.

Select a Datastore for the Virtual Machine Template on page 41
Each virtual machine or virtual machine template requires a folder or directory for its virtual disks
and files. When you create a virtual machine or template to deploy to the vCenter Server inventory,
select a datastore or datastore cluster for the virtual machine's configuration and other files and all of
the virtual disks. Each datastore can have a different size, speed, availability, and other properties.

Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation on page 42
Before you deploy the template, you can review the template settings.

Start the Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template Task
To make a master copy of a virtual machine, you can clone the virtual machine to a 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, or 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.
Procedure
u

Select an option to clone a virtual machine to a template.
Option

Description

Open the New Virtual Machine
wizard from any object in the
inventory

Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual Machine.
Select Clone Virtual Machine to Template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.

Open the Clone Virtual Machine to
Template wizard from a template

VMware, Inc.

Right-click the virtual machine and select Clone > Clone to Template .
The Select a name and folder page opens.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select a Virtual Machine to Clone to a Template
To clone a virtual machine to a template, you must select an existing virtual machine to clone. You cannot
modify a template after you create it. To change the template, you must convert it back to a virtual machine.
This page appears only if you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object other than
a virtual machine, such as a host or cluster. If you opened the wizard from a virtual machine, this page does
not appear.
Procedure
1

Browse or search for the virtual machine and select it.

Click Next.

Select a Name and Location for the Template
When you deploy a template to the vCenter Server inventory, you provide a unique name for it. The unique
name distinguishes it from existing templates 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 template, depending on
your organizational needs.
Folders provide a way to store virtual machines and templates for different groups in an organization and
you can set permissions on them. If you prefer a flatter hierarchy, you can put all virtual machines and
templates in a datacenter and organize them a different way.
The template name determines the name of the files and folder on the disk. For example, if you name the
template win8tmp, the template files are named win8tmp.vmdk, win8tmp.nvram, and so on. If you change
the template name, the names of the files on the datastore do not change.
Procedure
1

Type a name for the template.

Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the template.

Click Next.

Select a Resource for a Virtual Machine Template
When you deploy a virtual machine template, select a host or cluster resource for the template. The template
must be registered with an ESXi host. The host handles all requests for the template and must be running
when you create a virtual machine from the template.
Procedure
1

Search or browse for the host or cluster and select it.
Any Compatibility problems appear at the bottom of the window.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Select a Datastore for the Virtual Machine Template
Each virtual machine or virtual machine template requires a folder or directory for its virtual disks and files.
When you create a virtual machine or template to deploy to the vCenter Server inventory, select a datastore
or datastore cluster for the virtual machine's configuration and other files and all of the virtual disks. Each
datastore can have a different size, speed, availability, and other properties.
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

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

(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.

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.

Select Store with the virtual machine from the Location drop-down
menu.

Store the disk in a separate
datastore location.

Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu, and select a datastore
for the disk.

Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.

a
b

VMware, Inc.

Click Next.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation
Before you deploy the template, you can review the template settings.
Procedure
1

Review the template settings and make any necessary changes by clicking Back to go back to the
relevant page.

Click Finish.

The progress of the clone task appears in the Recent Tasks pane. When the task completes, the template
appears in the inventory.

Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client
After you create a template, you can clone it to a template. Templates are master copies of virtual machines
that let you create ready-for-use virtual machines. You can make changes to the template, such as installing
additional software in the guest operating system, while preserving the state of the original template.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
n

Virtual machine.Provisioning.Clone template on the source template.

Virtual machine .Inventory.Create from existing on the folder where the template is created.

Datastore.Allocate space on all datastores where the template is created.

Procedure
1

Start the Clone a Template to a Template Task on page 43
To make changes to a template and preserve the state of the original template, you clone the template
to a template.

Select a Template to Clone in the vSphere Web Client on page 43
If you started the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object other than a template, you
select a template to clone.

Select a Name and Location for the Template on page 43
When you deploy a template to the vCenter Server inventory, you provide a unique name for it. The
unique name distinguishes it from existing templates 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 template,
depending on your organizational needs.

Select a Resource for a Virtual Machine Template on page 44
When you deploy a virtual machine template, select a host or cluster resource for the template. The
template must be registered with an ESXi host. The host handles all requests for the template and must
be running when you create a virtual machine from the template.

Select a Datastore for the Virtual Machine Template on page 44
Each virtual machine or virtual machine template requires a folder or directory for its virtual disks
and files. When you create a virtual machine or template to deploy to the vCenter Server inventory,
select a datastore or datastore cluster for the virtual machine's configuration and other files and all of
the virtual disks. Each datastore can have a different size, speed, availability, and other properties.

Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation on page 45
Before you deploy the template, you can review the template settings.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Start the Clone a Template to a Template Task
To make changes to a template and preserve the state of the original template, you clone the template to a
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, or 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.
Procedure
u

Select to clone a template to a template.
Option

Description

Open the New Virtual Machine
wizard from any object in the
inventory

Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual Machine.
Select Clone Template to Template and click Next.
The Select a name and folder page opens.

Open the Clone Template to
Template wizard from a template

a
b

Search or browse for a template.
Right-click the template and select Clone.
The Select a name and folder page opens.

Select a Template to Clone in the vSphere Web Client
If you started the New Virtual Machine wizard from an inventory object other than a template, you select a
template to clone.
This page appears only if you opened the wizard from a nontemplate inventory object, such as a host or
cluster. If you opened the Convert Template to Virtual Machine wizard from a template, this page does not
appear.
Procedure
1

Accept the default template, the template from which you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard, or
select a different template.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Procedure
1

Type a name for the template.

Select or search for the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the template.

Click Next.

Search or browse for the host or cluster and select it.
Any Compatibility problems appear at the bottom of the window.

Click Next.

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

Thick Provision Eager Zeroed

Thin Provision

(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.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

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.

Select Store with the virtual machine from the Location drop-down
menu.

Store the disk in a separate
datastore location.

Select Browse from the Location drop-down menu, and select a datastore
for the disk.

Store all virtual machine files in the
same datastore cluster.

a
b

Click Next.

Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation
Before you deploy the template, you can review the template settings.
Procedure
1

Review the template settings and make any necessary changes by clicking Back to go back to the
relevant page.

Click Finish.

The progress of the clone task appears in the Recent Tasks pane. When the task completes, the template
appears in the inventory.

Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine
Converting a template to a virtual machine changes the template. This action does not make a copy. You
convert a template to a virtual machine to edit the template. You might also convert a template to a virtual
machine if you do not need to preserve it as a master image for deploying virtual machines.
Prerequisites
Verity that you have the following privileges:
n

Virtual machine.Provisioning.Mark as virtual machine on the source template.

Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool on the resource pool where the virtual machine will
run.

Procedure
1

Start the Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine Task on page 46
To reconfigure a template with new or updated hardware or applications, you must convert the
template to a virtual machine and clone the virtual machine back to a template. In some cases, you
might convert a template to a virtual machine because you no longer need the template.

Select a Template from Which to Deploy the Virtual Machine on page 46
On the Select a template page of the wizard, you select a template to deploy from the list.

Select a Resource on page 46
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.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Finish Virtual Machine Creation on page 47
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.

Start the Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine Task
To reconfigure a template with new or updated hardware or applications, you must convert the template to
a virtual machine and clone the virtual machine back to a template. In some cases, you might convert a
template to a virtual machine because you no longer need the 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, or 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.
This task provides steps to convert a template to a virtual machine. To clone a virtual machine back to a
template, see Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client.
Procedure
u

Select how to convert a template to a virtual machine.
Option

Description

Open the New Virtual Machine
wizard from any object in the
inventory

Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual
machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host,
and select New Virtual Machine.
Select Convert template to virtual machine and click Next.
The Select a resource page opens.

Open the Convert Template to
Virtual Machine wizard from a
template

a
b

Search or browse for a template.
Right-click the template and select Convert to Virtual Machine.
The Select a resource page opens.

Select a Template from Which to Deploy the Virtual Machine
On the Select a template page of the wizard, you select a template to deploy from the list.
This page appears only if you opened the New Virtual Machine wizard from a nontemplate inventory
object, such as a host or cluster. If you opened the Convert Template to Virtual Machine wizard from a
template, this page does not appear.
Procedure
1

Browse or search to locate a template.

Select the template.

Click Next.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Procedure
1

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.

Click Finish.

The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Web Client inventory.

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 launching 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 latest version of VMware Tools must be installed on the virtual machine or template to customize the
guest operating system during cloning or deployment. For information about VMware Tools support
matrix, see the VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php.

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

VMware, Inc.

Microsoft Sysprep tools must be installed on the vCenter Server system. See Chapter 5, “Installing the
Microsoft Sysprep Tool,” on page 87.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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 http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. 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.

Create a vCenter Server Application to Generate Computer Names and IP
Addresses
As an alternative to entering computer names and IP addresses for virtual NICs when you customize guest
operating systems, you can create a custom application and configure it so that vCenter Server can generate
the names and 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 an application and make it
available to vCenter Server, each time you initiate a guest operating system customization for a virtual
machine, vCenter Server executes the application.
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

Create the application and save it on the vCenter Server system's local disk.

Select a vCenter Server instance in the inventory.

Click the Manage tab, click Settings, and click Advanced Settings.

Click Edit and enter the configuration parameters for the script.

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 click Add.

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 guest
operating system customization.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment
You can customize Windows guest operating systems for the virtual machine when you deploy a new
virtual machine from a template or clone an existing virtual machine. Customizing the guest helps prevent
conflicts that can result if virtual machines with identical settings are deployed, such as duplicate computer
names.
You can prevent Windows from assigning new virtual machines or templates with the same Security IDs
(SIDs) as the original virtual machine. 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.
IMPORTANT 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
starts the first time after customization.
Prerequisites
Verify that all requirements for customization are met. See “Guest Operating System Customization
Requirements,” on page 47.
To perform this procedure, start the Guest Customization wizard when you clone a virtual machine or
deploy one from a template.
Procedure
1

On the Select clone options page of the Clone Existing Virtual Machine wizard, select Customize the
operating system and click Next.

Type the virtual machine owner’s name and organization and click Next.

Enter the guest operating system's computer name.
The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the
host name.

VMware, Inc.

Option

Action

Enter a name

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 not case-sensitive.
(Optional) To ensure that the name is unique, select Append a
numeric value to ensure uniqueness. This action appends a hyphen
followed by a numeric value to the virtual machine name. The name is
truncated if it exceeds 63 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 63 characters, it is truncated.

Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy
wizard

The vSphere Web Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or
deployment is complete.

Generate a name using the custom
application configured with vCenter
Server

Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Provide licensing information for the Windows operating system and click Next.
Option

Action

For non-server operating systems

Type the Windows product key for the new guest operating system.

For server operating systems

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.
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.

(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.

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 information about RunOnce commands.

Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option

Action

Typical settings

Select Typical settings and click Next.
vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server
using default settings.

Custom settings

a
b
c
d

Select Custom settings and click Next.
For each network interface in the virtual machine, click the ellipsis
button (...) .
Enter IP address and other network settings and click OK.
When all network interfaces are configured, click Next.

To specify IPv4 related settings, select IPv4 and enter IP address and other network settings.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Select IPv6 to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.
Note that the virtual machine can retain the IP address allocated from the network as well as IPv6
addresses. Microsoft supports IPv6 for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or
later, and Windows CE .NET 4.1 or later. However, these operating systems have limited IPv6 support
for built-in applications, system services, and are not recommended for IPv6 deployment.
a

Select Prompt user for an address when the specification is used. Selecting this option prompts
you to enter either IPv4 or IPv6 address.

Select Use the following IPv6 addresses to choose an IPv6 address from the list.
n

Click the pencil icon to enter additional IPv6 addresses. You can specify the full address or
shorten it by using zero compression and zero suppression. You should specify at least one
IPv6 address. You can edit an existing address, but should not duplicate existing IPv6
addresses.

Enter subnet mask prefix. The prefix length should be between 1 to 128 where the default
value is 64. Gateway is enabled by default, except when you choose Do not use IPv6.

Select DNS and specify DNS server address and click OK.

Select WINS and specify primary and secondary WINS information.

Select how the virtual machine will participate in the network and click Next.

Option

Action

Workgroup

Type a workgroup name. For example, MSHOME.

Windows Server Domain

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.

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.

Save the customized options as an .xml file.
a

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 to the Clone Virtual Machine wizard. The customization is finished
after you complete the Deploy Template or the Clone Virtual Machine wizard.
When the new virtual machine starts for the first time, the guest operating system runs finalization scripts to
complete the customization process. The virtual machine might restart several times during this process.
If the guest operating system pauses when the new virtual machine starts, it might be waiting for you to
correct errors, such as an incorrect product key or an invalid user name. Open the virtual machine’s 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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

If the new virtual machine encounters customization errors while it is starting, 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 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 47.
To perform this procedure, start the Customization wizard when you clone a virtual machine or deploy one
from a template.
Procedure
1

On the Select clone options page of the Clone Existing Virtual Machine wizard, select Customize the
operating system and click Next.

Enter the guest operating system's computer name.
The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the
host name.

Option

Action

Enter a name

Type a name.

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 63 characters, it is truncated.

Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy
wizard

The vSphere Web Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or
deployment is complete.

Generate a name using the custom
application configured with vCenter
Server

Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

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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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option

Action

Typical settings

Select Typical settings and click Next.
vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server
using default settings.

Custom settings

a
b
c
d

To specify IPv4 related settings, select IPv4 and enter IP address and other network settings.

To specify IPv6 related settings, select IPv6 to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.
Note that the virtual machine can retain the IP address allocated from the network as well as IPv6
addresses.
a

Select Prompt user for an address when the specification is used. Selecting this option prompt
you to enter IPv6 address.

Select Use the following IPv6 addresses to choose an IPv6 address from the list.
n

Enter subnet mask prefix. The prefix length should be between 1 to 128 where the default
value is 64. Gateway is enabled by default, except when you choose Do not use IPv6.

Enter DNS and domain settings information. The Primary DNS, Secondary DNS, and Tertiary DNS
fields accept both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

Save the customized options as an .xml file.

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 to the Clone Virtual Machine wizard. The customization is finished
after you complete the Deploy Template or the Clone Virtual Machine wizard.
When the new virtual machine starts for the first time, the guest operating system runs finalization scripts to
complete the customization process. The virtual machine might restart several times during this process.
If the guest operating system pauses when the new virtual machine starts, it might be waiting for you to
correct errors, such as an incorrect product key or an invalid user name. Open the virtual machine’s 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 starting, the errors are reported using
the guest’s system logging mechanism. View the errors by opening /var/log/vmwareimc/toolsDeployPkg.log.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Apply a Customization Specification to a Virtual Machine
You can add guest OS specification to an existing virtual machine. 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.
When you clone an existing virtual machine, or deploy a virtual machine from a VM template in a folder,
you can customize the guest operating system of the resulting virtual machine during the clone or the
deployment tasks.
When you deploy a virtual machine from a template in a content library, you can customize the guest
operating system only after the deployment task is complete.
Prerequisites
n

Verify the guest operating system is running.

Verify that VMware Tools is installed and running.

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the vSphere inventory, and select Guest OS > Customize Guest OS.
The Customize Guest OS wizard opens.

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

a
b

Select a customization specification from the list.
Click the Create a new specification from existing one icon, and
complete the steps in the wizard.

Click Finish.

What to do next
Power on the virtual machine.

Creating and Managing Customization Specifications
You can create and manage customization specifications for Windows and Linux guest operating systems.
Customization specifications are XML files that contain guest operating system settings for virtual
machines. When you apply a specification to the guest operating system during virtual machine cloning or
deployment, you prevent conflicts that might result if you deploy virtual machines with identical settings,
such as duplicate computer names.
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, if you reinstall vCenter Server or attach a new instance of the server to the database,
the encrypted passwords become invalid. You must reenter the passwords before you can use them.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Create a Customization Specification for Linux
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 47.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Click the Create a New specification icon.

Select Linux from the Target VM Operating System drop-down menu, and enter a name and
description for the specification.

Enter the guest operating system's computer name.
The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the
host name.
Option

Action

Enter a name

Type a name.

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 63 characters, it is truncated.

Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy
wizard

The vSphere Web Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or
deployment is complete.

Generate a name using the custom
application configured with vCenter
Server

Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

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.

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Option

Action

Standard settings

Select Use standard network settings and click Next.
vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server
using default settings.

Custom settings

a
b

Select Manually select custom settings.
For each network interface in the virtual machine, click the pencil icon.

To specify IPv4 related settings, select IPv4 and enter IP address and other network settings.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

To specify IPv6 related settings, select IPv6 to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.
a

Select Prompt user for an address when the specification is used. Selecting this option prompts
you to enter IPv6 address.

Select Use the following IPv6 addresses to choose an IPv6 address from the list.
n

Enter subnet mask prefix. The prefix length should be between 1 to 128 where the default
value is 64. Gateway is enabled by default, except when you choose Do not use IPv6.

Enter DNS and domain settings information. The Primary DNS, Secondary DNS, and Tertiary DNS
fields accept both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification that you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager. You
can use the specification to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

Create a Customization Specification for Windows
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 starts the first
time after customization.
Prerequisites
Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See “Guest Operating System Customization
Requirements,” on page 47.
Procedure

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Click the Create a new specification icon to open the New VM Guest Customization Spec wizard.

Select Windows from the Target VM Operating System drop-down menu, and enter a name and
optional description for the specification and click Next.

On the Set Registration Information page, type the virtual machine owner’s name and organization and
click Next.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Enter the guest operating system's computer name.
The operating system uses this name to identify itself on the network. On Linux systems, it is called the
host name.

Option

Action

Enter a name

Type a name.

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 63 characters, it is truncated.

Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy
wizard

The vSphere Web Client prompts you to enter a name after the cloning or
deployment is complete.

Generate a name using the custom
application configured with vCenter
Server

Enter a parameter that can be passed to the custom application.

Provide licensing information for the Windows operating system and click Next.
Option

Action

For nonserver operating systems

Type the Windows product key for the new guest operating system.

For server operating systems

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.
If you select 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

(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.

Select the time zone for the virtual machine and click Next.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option

Action

Standard settings

Select Use standard network settings and click Next.
vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server
using default settings.

Custom settings

a
b

Select Manually select custom settings.
For each network interface in the virtual machine, click the pencil icon.

To specify IPv4 related settings, select IPv4 and enter IP address and other network settings.

To specify IPv6 related settings, select IPv6 to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.
a

Select Prompt user for an address when the specification is used. Selecting this option prompts
you to enter IPv6 address.

Select Use the following IPv6 addresses to choose an IPv6 address from the list.
n

Enter subnet mask prefix. The prefix length should be between 1 to 128 where the default
value is 64. Gateway is enabled by default, except when you select Do not use IPv6.

Select DNS and specify DNS server address and click OK.

Select WINS and specify primary and secondary WINS information.

Select how the virtual machine will participate in the network and click Next.

Option

Action

Workgroup

Type a workgroup name. For example, MSHOME.

Windows Server Domain

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.

(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.

Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification that you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager. You
can use the specification to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Create a Customization Specification for Windows Using a Custom Sysprep
Answer File in the vSphere Web 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 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.
You can prevent Windows from assigning new virtual machines or templates with the same Security IDs
(SIDs) as the original virtual machine. 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.
Prerequisites
Ensure that all requirements for customization are met. See “Guest Operating System Customization
Requirements,” on page 47.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Click the Create New Specification icon.

In the Guest Customization wizard, select Windows from the Target Virtual Machine OS menu.

(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

Description

Import a Sysprep answer file

Click Browse and browse to the file.

Create a Sysprep answer file

Type the contents of the file in the text box.

Select the type of network settings to apply to the guest operating system.
Option

Action

Typical settings

Select Typical settings and click Next.
vCenter Server configures all network interfaces from a DHCP server
using default settings.

Custom settings

a
b
c
d

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To specify IPv4 related settings, select IPv4 and enter IP address and other network settings.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

To specify IPv6 related settings, select IPv6 to configure the virtual machine to use IPv6 network.
a

Select Prompt user for an address when the specification is used. Selecting this option prompts
you to enter IPv4 or IPv6 address.

Select Use the following IPv6 addresses to choose an IPv6 address from the list.
n

Enter subnet mask prefix. The prefix length should be between 1 to 128 where the default
value is 64. Gateway is enabled by default, except when you choose Do not use IPv6.

Select DNS and specify DNS server address and OK.

Select WINS and specify primary and secondary WINS information.

Click Finish to save your changes.

The customization specification that you created is listed in the Customization Specification Manager. You
can use the specification to customize virtual machine guest operating systems.

Edit a Customization Specification
You can edit existing specifications using the Customization Specification Manager.
Prerequisites
You must have at least one customization specification.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Right-click a specification and select Edit.

Proceed through the Guest Customization wizard to change specification settings.

Remove a Customization Specification in the vSphere Web Client
You can remove customization specifications from the Customization Specification Manager.
Prerequisites
You must have at least one customization specification.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Right-click a specification and select Remove.

In the confirmation dialog box, select Yes.

The specification is deleted from the disk.

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Chapter 2 Deploying Virtual Machines

Copy a Customization Specification in the vSphere Web Client
If you need a customization specification that is only slightly different from an existing specification, you
can use the Customization Specification Manager to create a copy of the existing specification and modify it.
For example, you might need to change the IP address or the administrator password.
Prerequisites
You must have at least one customization specification.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Right-click a specification and select Duplicate.

A new specification is created. If the specification does not appear in the Name column, refresh the
vSphere Web Client.

Export a Customization Specification in the vSphere Web 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

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Right-click a specification and select Export.

Select a location for the file and click Save.

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

Import a Customization Specification
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 Web Client.
Procedure
1

From the vSphere Web Client Home inventory page, select Policies and Profiles > Customization
Specification Manager.

Click the Import specification from a file icon.

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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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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Deploying OVF Templates

You can export virtual machines, virtual appliances, and vApps in Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF).
You can then deploy the OVF template in the same environment or in a different environment.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“OVF File Format and OVF Templates,” on page 63

“Deploy an OVF Template in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 64

“Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace,” on page 67

“Export an OVF Template,” on page 68

OVF File Format and OVF Templates
OVF is a file format that supports exchange of virtual appliances across products and platforms.
The OVF format offers the following advantages:
n

OVF files are compressed, allowing for faster downloads.

The vSphere Web 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.

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 to distributing
template virtual machines to users. You can make the OVF file available to users who cannot access your
vCenter Server inventory.
Deploying an OVF template allows you to add pre-configured virtual machines or vApps 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 Web Client, 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.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Deploy an OVF Template in the vSphere Web Client
You can deploy an OVF template from a local file system accessible to the vSphere Web Client, or from a
URL.
Prerequisites
Install the Client Integration plug-in before you deploy an OVF template. This plug-in enables OVF
deployment from your local filesystem. See “Install the Client Integration Plug-In,” on page 187.
NOTE Depending on the security settings of your browser, you might have to explicitly approve the plug-in
when you use it the first time.
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.

Select Actions > Deploy OVF Template.

Select the OVF Source Location
Specify the location where the source of OVF template resides.
Procedure
1

Specify the source location.
Option

Action

URL

Type a URL to an OVF template located on the Internet. Supported URL
sources are HTTP and FTP.
Example: http://vmware.com/VMTN/appliance.ovf.

Local file

Click Browse and select an OVF or OVA template from the local file
system.

Click Next.

Review the OVF Details
The OVF template details display available information about the file.
Procedure
1

Review the OVF template details and
Option

Description

Product

Product name, as specified in the OVF template file.

Version

Version, if the version is specified in the OVF template file.

Vendor

Version, if the vendor is specified in the OVF template file.

Publisher

Publisher of the OVF template, if a certificate included in the OVF template
file specifies a publisher.

Download size

Size of the OVF file.

Size on disk

Size on disk after you deploy the OVF template.

Description

Description, as provided by the distributor of the OVF template.

Click Next.

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Chapter 3 Deploying OVF Templates

Accept the OVF License Agreements
This page appears only if license agreements are packaged with the OVF template.
Procedure
u

Agree to accept the terms of the end user license agreements, and click Next.

Select OVF Name and Location
When you deploy an OVF template, you provide a unique name for the virtual machine or vApp. The name
can contain up to 80 characters. You can select a datacenter or folder location for the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

(Optional) Specify the name that the virtual machine or vApp will have when it is deployed at the
target location.
The name must be unique within each vCenter Server virtual machine folder.

Select or search for a datacenter or folder for the virtual machine or vApp.

Click Next.

Select OVF Deployment Configuration
The deployment configuration typically controls the memory settings, number of CPUs and reservations,
and application-level configuration parameters.
This page appears only if the OVF template contains deployment options.
Procedure
u

Select the deployment configuration from the drop-down menu and click Next.

Select a Resource for the OVF Template
When you deploy an OVF template, you select the host, cluster, or resource pool. The virtual machine or
vApp will have access to the resources of the selected object.
For example, a virtual appliance has access to the memory and CPU resources of the host on which it
resides.
If you start the wizard from a resource such as a host, this wizard screen does not appear. But if you start
the wizard from a container such as a datacenter of folder, the wizard screen appears.
Procedure
1

Search or browse for the host, cluster, vApp, or resource pool on which you want to deploy the OVF
template.
If deploying the OVF template to the selected location might cause compatibility problems, the
problems appear at the bottom of the window.

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Click Next.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Select Storage for OVF Template
Select the location to store the files for the deployed template.
Procedure
1

Select the disk format to store the virtual machine virtual disks.
Format

Description

Thick Provisioned 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.

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 o disks.

Thin Provision

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.

(Optional) Select a VM Storage Policy.
This option is available only if storage policies are enabled on the destination resource.

Select a datastore to store the deployed OVF template.
The configuration file and virtual disk files are stored on the datastore. Select a datastore large enough
to accommodate the virtual machine or vApp and all associated virtual disk files.

(Optional) Disable Storage DRS if you do not want to use it for this virtual machine or vApp.

Click Next.

Configure Networks for OVF Template
Set up and configure the networks the deployed OVF templates use.
The Setup networks wizard screen allows you to map source networks to target networks, and to specify
settings for those networks.
For each network, you can perform the mapping and optional customizations explained in the procedure.
Procedure
1

Select a Source network in the table and map it to a Destination network.
The Source column lists all networks that are defined in the OVF template. The Destination column
allows you to select a target network.

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Chapter 3 Deploying OVF Templates

If the OVF template is set up to allow network customization, you can select the IP protocol, the IP
allocation, or both.
Option

Description

Static - Manual

You will be prompted to enter the IP addresses in the Appliance Properties
page.

Transient - IP Pool

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.
If you select this option, and no IP pool exists, a Network Protocol Profile
that contains an IP pool is automatically created and associated with the
destination networks.

DHCP

A DHCP server is used to allocate the IP addresses. Select this option only
if a DHCP server is available in your environment.

Static - IP Pool

IP addresses are automatically allocated from the managed IP network
range of vCenter Server at power-on, and remain allocated at power-off.
If you select this option, and no IP pool exists, a Network Protocol Profile
that contains an IP pool is automatically created and associated with the
destination networks.

Specify network protocol information.
This option appears only if the OVF template that you deploy contains network properties. The
network protocol settings might be for the DNS servers, gateway, netmask, or subnet. You can type IP
addresses that match the chosen IP protocol (IPv4 or IPv6). For DNS servers, you can type a commaseparated list of addresses.

Click Next.

Customize the OVF Template
Customize the deployment properties of the template.
Procedure
1

Customize the deployment properties.
All required properties must have a valid value before you can continue.

Click Next.

Configure vService Dependency
Select a binding service for the template's vService dependency.
This page appears if the appliance you are deploying has one or more vService dependency.
Procedure
1

Select a binding service provider.

Click Next.

Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace
The Virtual Appliance Marketplace contains a variety of virtual appliances packaged in OVF format that
you can download and deploy in your vSphere environment.
Procedure
1

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Go to the Virtual Appliance Marketplace, which is part of the VMware Solution Exchange.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Search the Marketplace to find a prepackaged application. download it.

Deploy the appliance in your vSphere environment.

Export an OVF Template
An OVF template 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
Prerequisites
Power off the virtual machine or vApp.
Procedure
1

From the Actions menu in the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a virtual machine or vApp and select
Export OVF Template .

In the Name field, type the name of the template.
For example, type MyVm.
NOTE When you export an OVF template with a name that contains asterisk (*) characters, those
characters turn into underscore (_) characters.

Click Choose to browse to the folder location where you want to save the template.

Click Overwrite existing files to overwrite files with the same name in that folder.

In the Format field, determine how you want to store the files.
n

Select Folder of files (OVF) to store the OVF template as a set of files (.ovf, .vmdk, and .mf). Use
this format if you plan to publish the OVF files on a Web server or image library. You can import
the package, for example into the vSphere Web Client by specifying the URL to the OVF file.

Select Single file (OVA) to package the OVF template into a single .ova file. Use this format if the
OVF template will be downloaded from a Web site or moved around using a USB key.

(Optional) In the Annotation field, type a description.

Select the Enable advanced options checkbox if you want to include BIOS UUID, MAC address, or
extra configuration information in the exported template.
These options limit portability.

Click OK.

Example: Folder Locations for OVF and OVA Files
If you type OvfLib for a new OVF folder, the following files might be created:
n

C:\OvfLib\MyVm\MyVm.ovfI

C:\OvfLib\MyVm.mf

C:\OvfLib\MyVm-disk1.vmdk

If you type C:\NewFolder\OvfLib for a new OVF folder, the following files might be created:

C:\NewFolder\OvfLib\MyVm\MyVm.ovfI

C:\NewFolder\OvfLib\MyVm.mf

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Chapter 3 Deploying OVF Templates

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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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

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Using Content Libraries

Content libraries are container objects for VM templates, vApp templates, and other types of files. vSphere
administrators can use the templates in the library to deploy virtual machines and vApps in the vSphere
inventory. Sharing templates and files across multiple vCenter Server instances in same or different
locations brings out consistency, compliance, efficiency, and automation in deploying workloads at scale.
You create and manage a content library from a single vCenter Server instance, but you can share the library
items to other vCenter Server instances if HTTP(S) traffic is allowed between them.
If a published and a subscribed library belong to vCenter Server systems that are in the same vCenter Single
Sign-On domain, and both the libraries use datastores as backing storage, you can take advantage of
optimized transfer speed for synchronization between these libraries. The transfer speed optimization is
made possible if the libraries can store their contents to datastores managed by ESXi hosts that are directly
connected to each other. Therefore the synchronization between the libraries is handled by a direct ESXi
host to ESXi host transfer. If the datastores have VMware vSphere Storage APIs - Array Integration (VAAI)
enabled, the library content synchronization between the published and the subscribed library is further
optimized. In this case the contents are synchronized by a direct datastore to datastore transfer.
Each VM template, vApp template, or another type of file in a library is a library item. An item can contain a
single file or multiple files. In the case of VM and vApp templates, each item contains multiple files. For
example, because an OVF template is a set of multiple files, when you upload an OVF template to the
library, you actually upload all the files associated with the template (.ovf, .vmdk, and .mf), but in the
vSphere Web Client you see listing only of the .ovf file in the content library.
You can create two types of libraries: local or subscribed library.

Local Libraries
You use a local library to store items in a single vCenter Server instance. You can publish the local library so
that users from other vCenter Server systems can subscribe to it. When you publish a content library
externally, you can configure a password for authentication.
VM templates and vApps templates are stored as OVF file formats in the content library. You can also
upload other file types, such as ISO images, text files, and so on, in a content library.

Subscribed Libraries
You subscribe to a published library by creating a subscribed library. You can create the subscribed library
in the same vCenter Server instance where the published library is, or in a different vCenter Server system.
In the Create Library wizard you have the option to download all the contents of the published library
immediately after the subscribed library is created, or to download only metadata for the items from the
published library and later to download the full content of only the items you intend to use.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

To ensure the contents of a subscribed library are up-to-date, the subscribed library automatically
synchronizes to the source published library on regular intervals. You can also manually synchronize
subscribed libraries.
You can use the option to download content from the source published library immediately or only when
needed to manage your storage space.
Synchronization of a subscribed library that is set with the option to download all the contents of the
published library immediately, synchronizes both the item metadata and the item contents. During the
synchronisation the library items that are new for the subscribed library are fully downloaded to the storage
location of the subscribed library.
Synchronization of a subscribed library that is set with the option to download contents only when needed
synchronizes only the metadata for the library items from the published library, and does not download the
contents of the items. This saves storage space. If you need to use a library item you need to synchronize
that item. After you are done using the item, you can delete the item contents to free space on the storage.
For subscribed libraries that are set with the option to download contents only when needed, synchronizing
the subscribed library downloads only the metadata of all the items in the source published library, while
synchronizing a library item downloads the full content of that item to your storage.
If you use a subscribed library, you can only utilize the content, but cannot contribute with content. Only the
administrator of the published library can manage the templates and files.
Table 4‑1. Source Objects to Which You Can Subscribe By Creating a Subscribed Library in The
vSphere Web Client .
Create a subscribed library in the
vSphere Web Client by using the
option to Download all library
content immediately

Create a subscribed library in the
vSphere Web Client by using the
option to Download library content
only when needed

A library running in a vCenter Server
6.0 instance.

Supported

A catalog running in a vCloud
Director 5.5 instance.

Supported

Not supported

A third-party library.

Supported for third-party libraries
that require authentication, if the
username of the third-party library is
vcsp. If the username of the source
third-party library is different than
vcsp, you can subscribe to it by using
VMware vCloud Suite API.

Supported for third-party libraries that
require authentication, if the username
of the third-party library is vcsp. If the
username of the source third-party
library is different than vcsp, you can
subscribe to it by using VMware
vCloud Suite API.

Source Object

Libraries store content on a file system or a datastore. To ensure optimal performance, use file systems for
libraries that are published, and use datastores for local and subscribed libraries.
This chapter includes the following topics:

“Create a Library,” on page 73

“Synchronize a Subscribed Library,” on page 74

“Edit the Settings of a Local Library,” on page 74

“Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library,” on page 75

“Delete a Content Library,” on page 76

“Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries,” on page 76

“Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries,” on page 78

“Populating Libraries with Content,” on page 78

“Working with Items in a Library,” on page 81

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

“Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content Library,” on page 84

Create a Library
You can create a content library in the vSphere Web Client, and populate it with templates, which you can
use to deploy virtual machines or vApps in your virtual environment.
Prerequisites
Required privileges: Content library. Create local library or Content library. Create subscribed library on
the vCenter Server instance where you want to create the library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Click the Objects tab.

Click the Create a New Library icon (

Enter a name for the content library, and in the Notes text box, enter a description for the library, and
click Next.

Select the type of content library you want to create.

Option

Description

Local content library

Creates a content library that is accessible only in the vCenter Server
instance where you create it.
To make the contents of the library available for other users, publish the
library. If you want users to use a password when accessing the library,
enable authentication for the library, and enter a password.

Subscribed content library

Creates a content library, which is subscribed to a published content
library. You can only sync the subscribed library with the published
library to see up-to-date content, but you cannot add or remove content
from the subscribed library. Only an administrator of the published library
can add, modify, and remove contents from the published library.
Provide the following settings to subscribe to a library:
a In the Subscription URL text box, enter the URL address of the
published library.
b If authentication is enabled on the published library, enter the
publisher password.
c Select a download method for the contents of the subscribed library.
n If you want to download a local copy of all the templates and files
in the published library immediately after subscribing to it, select
Download all library content immediately.
n If you want to save storage space, select Download library
content only when needed. You download only the metadata for
the templates and files in the published library.

When you need to use a particular template, synchronize the item
to download a full copy.
When prompted, accept the SSL certificate thumbprint.
The SSL certificate thumbprint is stored on your system until you
delete the subscribed content library from the inventory.

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Click Next.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Enter the path to a storage location where to keep the contents of this library.
Option

Description

Enter a local file system path or an
NFS URL

Enter the path to the local file system of the Windows machine where
vCenter Server runs, or enter a path to an NFS storage if you are using
vCenter Server Appliance.
If you use a vCenter Server instance that runs on a Windows system, you
can store your templates on the local storage or the mapped shared storage
on the Windows machine.
If you use vCenter Server Appliance, you can store your templates on an
NFS storage that is mounted to the appliance. After the operation to create
a new library is complete, the vCenter Server Appliance automatically
mounts the shared storage to the host OS.

Select a datastore

Select a datastore from your vSphere inventory.

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

Synchronize a Subscribed Library
To ensure that your subscribed library displays the latest content of the published library, you can manually
initiate a synchronization task.
You can also have subscribed libraries automatically synchronize with the content of the published library.
To enable automatic synchronization of the subscribed library, select the option to Enable automatic
synchronization with the external library in the subscribed library settings. Take into account that the
automatic synchronization requires a lot of storage space, because you download full copies of all the items
in the published library.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Content library. Sync subscribed library on the library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Right-click a subscribed library from the list and select Synchronize Library.

A new task for synchronizing the subscribed library appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is
complete, you can see the updated list with library items in the Related Objects tab under Templates and
Other Types.

Edit the Settings of a Local Library
You can change the settings of a content library.
As an administrator of a content library, you can publish a local library from your vCenter Server instance
to share its contents across multiple vCenter Server systems. From the Edit Setting dialog box, you can
obtain the URL of your library and send it to other users to subscribe. If the library is already published, you
can change its password for authentication. Users who are subscribed to your library must update the
password to keep access to the published library.
Prerequisites
Required privileges: Content library. Update library and Content library. Update local library on the
library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

Right-click a content library and select Edit Settings.

Edit the settings for the library.

Type of Content Library

Action

Content library that is local

You can publish a local library to share its contents with other users.
a Select the Publish this library externally check box.
b Select whether to set a password for authentication to the library. If
you password protect the library, you must provide both the URL and
the password to users who want to subscribe to your library.

Content library that is published

You can change the following settings of a library that is published:
n You can unpublish the library by deselecting the Publish this library
externally check box. Users who are currently subscribed to this
library can no longer use the library contents.
n You can enable or disable authentication for the library, and change
the password for authentication.
n You can copy the subscription URL to your library and send it to other
users to subscribe.

Click OK.

Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library
You can edit the settings of a subscribed library to optimize storage space and network bandwidth by
switching between the options to download content from the published library. You might also need to
update the password for authentication to the library if the administrator of the published library changes
the password.
Prerequisites
Required privileges: Content library. Update subscribed library and Content library. Probe subscription
information on the subscribed library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Right-click a subscribed library and select Edit Settings.

Edit the settings of the subscribed library.
n

Enable or disable the automatic synchronization with the published library.

Update the password for authentication to the published library.

Select a download method. You can either download all library content immediately or download
library content only when needed.
If you switch from the option to download content only when needed to the option to immediately
download all library content, after confirming the dialog a synchronization task starts and content
starts to download. The number and size of items in the published library determine the amount of
time and network bandwidth that the task requires.

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Click OK.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Delete a Content Library
You can delete a content library that you no longer want to use.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Content library. Delete subscribed library or Content library. Delete local library on
the type of library you want to delete.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Right-click a content library from the list and select Delete.

In the Delete library confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

The content library and all its contents are deleted.

Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries
vSphere objects inherit permissions from a parent object in the hierarchy. Content libraries work in the
context of a single vCenter Server instance. However, content libraries are not direct children of a
vCenter Server system from an inventory perspective.
The direct parent for content libraries is the global root. This means that if you set a permission at a
vCenter Server level and propagate it to the children objects, the permission applies to data centers, folders,
clusters, hosts, virtual machines, and so on, but does not apply to the content libraries that you see and
operate with in this vCenter Server instance. To assign a permission on a content library, an Administrator
must grant the permission to the user as a global permission. Global permissions support assigning
privileges across solutions from a global root object.
The figure illustrates the inventory hierarchy and the paths by which permissions can propagate.

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

Figure 4‑1. vSphere Inventory Hierarchy
root object
(global permissions level)

content library

vCenter Server
(vCenter Server instance level)

tag category

library item

data center
folder

tag

data center

VM folder

host folder

template

host

virtual
machine

vApp

network
folder

standard
switch

resource
pool

cluster

virtual
machine

resource
pool

datastore
folder

VDS

distributed
port group

datastore

datastore
cluster

vApp
vApp

virtual
machine

resource
pool

virtual
machine

To let a user manage a content library and its items, an Administrator can assign the Content Library
Administrator role to that user as a global permission. The Content Library Administrator role is a sample
role in the vSphere Web Client.
Users who are Administrators can also manage libraries and their contents. If a user is an Administrator at a
vCenter Server level, they have sufficient privileges to manage the libraries that belong to this
vCenter Server instance, but cannot see the libraries unless they have a Read-Only role as a global
permission.
For example, a user has an Administrator role that is defined at a vCenter Server level. When the
Administrator navigates to Content Libraries in the object navigator, he sees 0 libraries despite there are
existing libraries in the vSphere inventory of that vCenter Server instance. To see the libraries, the
Administrator needs a Read-Only role assigned as a global permission.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Administrators whose role is defined as a global permissions can see and manage the libraries in all
vCenter Server instances that belong to the global root.
Because content libraries and their children items inherit permissions only from the global root object, when
you navigate to a library or a library item and click Manage tab, you can see there is no Permissions tab. An
Administrator cannot assign individual permissions on different libraries or different items within a library.

Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries
vSphere Web Client provides a sample role that lets you be an administrator of content libraries. You can
modify the role or use it as an example to create custom roles for specific tasks you want to allow other users
to perform.
Content Library Administrator
Content Library Administrator role is a predefined role that gives a user privileges to monitor and manage a
library and its contents.
A user who has this role can perform the following tasks:
n

Create, edit, and delete local or subscribed libraries.

Synchronize a subscribed library and synchronize items in a subscribed library.

View the item types supported by the library.

Configure the global settings for the library.

Import items to a library.

Export library items.

Populating Libraries with Content
You can populate a content library with OVF templates that you can use to provision new virtual machines.
You can also add other files to a content library such as ISO images, scripts, and text files.
There are multiple ways to populate a library with items.
n

Importing Items to a Content Library on page 79
You can import items such as VM templates and vApps to a content library from your local machine
or from a Web server, and use them to create virtual machines and vApps. You can also import ISO
images, certificates, and other files, which you want to keep in the library and share with other users
across multiple vCenter Server systems.

Clone a vApp to a Template in Content Library on page 80
You can clone existing vApps to vApp templates in a content library. You can use the vApp templates
later to provision new vApps on a cluster or a host in your vSphere inventory. The vApp is exported
to a content library in the OVF format.

Clone a Virtual Machine or a VM Template to a Template in Content Library on page 80
You can clone existing virtual machines or VM templates to templates in the content library, and use
them later to provision virtual machines on a cluster or a host.

Clone Library Items from One Library to Another Library on page 81
You can clone a template from one content library to another in the same vCenter Server instance. The
cloned template is an exact copy of the original template.

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

Importing Items to a Content Library
You can import items such as VM templates and vApps to a content library from your local machine or from
a Web server, and use them to create virtual machines and vApps. You can also import ISO images,
certificates, and other files, which you want to keep in the library and share with other users across multiple
vCenter Server systems.

Import Items to a Library from a URL
You can add an item that resides on a Web server to a content library.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Content library. Add library item and Content library. Update files on the library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Right-click a content library and select Import Item.
The Import Library Item dialog box opens.

Under Source section, select the option to import an item from a URL, and enter the path to a Webserver where the item is.

Under Destination section, enter a name and a description for the item, and click OK.

In the Recent Tasks pane you see two tasks, one about creating a new item in the library, and the second
about uploading the contents of the item to the library. After the task is complete, the item appears on the
Related Objects tab under Templates or Other Types.

Import Items to a Library from a Local File on Your System
You can add items to a content library by importing files from your local system. You can import an OVF
package to use as a template for deploying virtual machines and vApps. You can also import other types of
files, such as scripts, ISO files, and so on, that you want to use in your vCenter Server instance, or you want
to share across multiple vCenter Server systems.
Prerequisites
n

Verify you have the vCenter Client Integration Plug-in installed on the system. See “Install the Client
Integration Plug-In,” on page 187.

Required privilege: Content library. Add library item and Content library. Update files on the library.

Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Right-click a content library and select Import Item.
The Import Library Item dialog box opens.

Under Source section, select the option to import an item from a local file, and click Browse to navigate
to the file that you want to import from your local system.
You can use theFiles of Type drop-down menu to filter files in your local system.

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Under Destination section, enter a name and description for the item, and click OK.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Clone a vApp to a Template in Content Library
You can clone existing vApps to vApp templates in a content library. You can use the vApp templates later
to provision new vApps on a cluster or a host in your vSphere inventory. The vApp is exported to a content
library in the OVF format.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, click vCenter Inventory Lists > vApps.

Right-click a vApp and select Clone > Clone to Template in Library

Type a name and description for the template.

From the list of available libraries, select the content library to which you want to add the template.

(Optional) Include or exclude vApp related configurations in the template you are cloning.
You can select to preserve the MAC-addresses on the network adapters and include extra configuration.

Click OK.

A new task for exporting an OVF package appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is complete, the
vApp template appears on the Templates tab under Related Objects tab for the content library.
What to do next
Use the template to provision vApps on a host or a cluster in your vSphere inventory. See “Create New
vApp on a Host or a Cluster from a Template in a Content Library,” on page 84

Clone a Virtual Machine or a VM Template to a Template in Content Library
You can clone existing virtual machines or VM templates to templates in the content library, and use them
later to provision virtual machines on a cluster or a host.
Templates are master copies of virtual machines that let you create ready-for-use virtual machines. You can
make changes to the template, such as installing additional software in the guest operating system, while
preserving the state of the original template. For more information, see “VM Templates and vApp
Templates in Content Libraries,” on page 82
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the object you want to clone, and start the cloning task.
Option

Action

Clone a virtual machine to a
template in a library

a
b

Select vCenter Inventory Lists > Virtual Machines.
Right-click a virtual machine and select Clone > Clone to Template in
Library.

Clone a VM Template to a template
in a library

a
b

Select vCenter Inventory Lists > VM Templates in Folders.
Right-click a VM Template and select Clone to Library.

The Clone to Template in Library dialog box opens.

Enter a name and description for the template.

From the list with content libraries, select the library in which you want to add the template.

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

(Optional) Select configuration data that you want to include in the template.
You can select to preserve the MAC-addresses on the network adapters and include extra configuration.

Click OK.

A new task for exporting an OVF package appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is complete, the
template appears in the Templates tab of the Related Objects tab for the content library.
What to do next
Use the template to create virtual machines on hosts or clusters in the vSphere inventory.

Clone Library Items from One Library to Another Library
You can clone a template from one content library to another in the same vCenter Server instance. The
cloned template is an exact copy of the original template.
When cloning a template between libraries, in the clone wizard you can select the source library to also be a
destination library.
A subscribed library can be the source of an item you want to clone, but you cannot clone items to a
subscribed library. The subscribed libraries are filtered out from the list with destination libraries in the
Clone Library Item dialog box. When the source library of an item you want to clone is a subscribed library
with the setting to download items only when needed, the item is first downloaded to the source subscribed
library and then cloned to the destination library.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a content library and click the Related Objects tab.

Right-click a library item and select Clone Item.

(Optional) Change the name and notes for the item you clone.

From the list of content libraries, select the library in which you want to clone the template.
You can select the destination library to be the same as the source library if you want to have identical
copy of the template in the same library.

Click OK.

A new task for cloning the template appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is complete, a clone of
the template appears on the Templates tab under the Related objects tab of the destination content library.
What to do next
Deploy a virtual machine from template on a host or a cluster in your vSphere inventory.

Working with Items in a Library
You can perform various tasks with the items in a content library. You can synchronize an item from a
subscribed library to download all its contents and use the item to deploy a virtual machine for example.
You can delete items you no longer need to use, and so on.
Each VM template, vApp template, or another type of file in a library is a library item. An item can contain a
single file or multiple files. In the case of VM and vApp templates, each item contains multiple files. For
example, because an OVF template is a set of multiple files, when you upload an OVF template to the
library, you actually upload all the files associated with the template (.ovf, .vmdk, and .mf), but in the
vSphere Web Client you see listing only of the .ovf file in the content library.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

VM Templates and vApp Templates in Content Libraries
In a content library you can store VM and vApp templates. You can use the VM and vApp templates to
deploy virtual machines and vApps in the vSphere inventory.
A VM template is a template of a virtual machine. The VM templates that exist in a VM template folder
differentiate from the VM templates that exist in a content library. A VM template that resides in a content
library is in OVF format and if you export it to your local system it is saved as an .ovf file. The VM
templates that exist in a VM template folder are not in OVF format but if you clone them to content library,
the resulting template is in an OVF format.
A vApp template is a template of a vApp, which can contain multiple virtual machines or multiple vApps.
A vApp template that resides in a content library is in OVF format, and if you export the template to your
local system it is saved as an .ovf file. vApp templates are inventory objects that exist only in content
libraries.
You can use VM templates and vApp templates to deploy virtual machines and vApps to a destination
object such as a host or a cluster.

Synchronize a Library Item in a Subscribed Library
To update or download the content of a library item you can synchronize it.
When creating the subscribed library, if you selected the option to download library content only when
needed, only metadata for the library contents is downloaded to the associated storage. When you need to
use the item, you synchronize it to download its content to your local storage. When you no longer need the
item, to free space on your storage you can delete the content of the item. You continue to see the item in
your subscribed library, but it no longer takes up space on your storage because only the items metadata
remains on the storage.
Prerequisites
n

Required privilege: Content library. Sync library item on the library item.

Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a subscribed library from the list, and click the Related Objects tab.

Synchronize the item you need to use.
n

On the Templates tab, right-click a VM or a vApp template, and select Synchronize Item.

On the Other Types tab, right-click an item, and select Synchronize Item.

After synchronization completes, the item content and metadata are downloaded to the backing storage of
the subscribed library, and in the Related Objects tab the value for the item in the Stored Content Locally
column changes to Yes.

Export Item from a Content Library to Your Local Computer
You might need to export an item from a content library to your local system.
Prerequisites

Required privilege: Content library. Download files on the library.

Verify you have the Client Integration Plug-in installed on the system.

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Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a content library and click the Related Objects tab.

Select the type of file you want to export.
n

From the Templates tab, right-click a template from the library, and select Export Item.

From the Other Types tab, right-click a file from the library that is not a template, and select Export
Item.

The Export Library Item dialog box opens.
4

Browse to a destination folder where you want to save the item, and click OK.

A folder with the same name as the item is created in the destination folder on your local computer to store
the item contents.

Delete the Contents of a Library Item
If a subscribed library is created with the option to download library content only when needed, only
metadata for the library items is stored in the associated with the library storage. For example, when you
want to use a VM template to deploy a virtual machine, you have to synchronize the item so the entire
content is downloaded to the associated storage. After you are done using the template, you can delete the
item contents to free space on the storage. The template remains visible in the subscribed library because the
metadata for it remains on the storage that is associated with the library. This also applies for vApp
templates, and other file that exist in the subscribed library.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Content library. Evict library item
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a subscribed library from the list, and click the Related Objects tab.

On the Related Objects tab, right-click an item from the list, and select Delete Item Content.

The content of the item is deleted to free space on the storage. Only the item metadata remains on the
storage.

Delete Library Item
You can delete an item you no longer need to use.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Content library. Delete library item on the library item.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a subscribed library from the list, and click the Related Objects tab.

Right-click an item from the Templates or Other Types lists in the Related Objects tab, and select
Delete.

In the dialog box, confirm that you want to delete the item.

The content and the metadata of the library item are deleted.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content
Library
From VM or from vApp templates stored in a content library, you can deploy virtual machines and vApps
on hosts or clusters in your vSphere inventory.
The library can be a local library to the vCenter Server instance where you want to deploy the VM or the
vApp template, or can be a subscribed library to that vCenter Server instance.
The use of templates brings about consistency, compliance, and efficiency when deploying virtual machines
and vApps in your vCenter Server instance.

Deploy Virtual Machine on a Host or a Cluster from a VM Template in the
Content Library
You can use a VM template from a content library to deploy a virtual machine to a host or a cluster in your
vSphere inventory.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a content library, click the Related Objects tab, and click Templates.

Right-click a VM Template and select New VM from This Template.
The New Virtual Machine from Content Library into Host or Cluster wizard opens.

Enter a name, select a location for the virtual machine, and click Next.

On the Select a resource page, select a host, a cluster, a resource pool, or a vApp where to deploy the
VM template.

On the Review details page, verify the template details and click Next.

On the Select Storage page, select the location to store the files of the VM template, and click Next.

Select a network for each network adapter in the template, and click Next.

Review the page and click Finish.

A new task for creating the virtual machine appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is complete, the
new virtual machine is created on the selected resource.
What to do next
Customize the guest operating system of the virtual machine. For more information, see “Apply a
Customization Specification to a Virtual Machine,” on page 54.

Create New vApp on a Host or a Cluster from a Template in a Content Library
You can use a vApp template from a content library to create new vApp on a host or a cluster in your
vSphere inventory.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client navigator, select vCenter Inventory Lists > Content Libraries.

Select a content library, click the Related Objects tab, and click Templates.

Right-click a vApp template and select New vApp from This Template.
The New vApp from Content Library into Host or Cluster wizard opens.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 4 Using Content Libraries

Enter a name and select a location for the vApp, and click Next.

On the Select a resource page, select a host, a cluster, a resource pool, or a vApp to deploy the vApp to.

On the Review details page, verify the template details and click Next.

Select disk format and a storage resource for the vApp.

On the Customize template page, you can customize the deployment properties for the vApp.

On the Ready to Complete page, review the configurations you made for the vApp, and click Finish.

A new task for creating the vApp appears in the Recent Tasks pane. After the task is complete, the new
vApp is created.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

VMware, Inc.

Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tool

Install the Microsoft Sysprep tool so that you can customize Windows guest operating systems 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 meets the following requirements before you customize your virtual
machine’s Windows guest operating systems:
n

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 into the Windows
Vista and Windows 2008 operating systems.

The correct versions of the Sysprep tool is installed for each guest operating system that you want to
customize.

The password for the local administrator account on the virtual machines is set to blank ("").

NOTE Customization operations will fail if the correct version of the Sysprep tool is not found.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from a Microsoft Web Site,” on page 87

“Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tool from the Windows Operating System CD,” on page 88

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 vCenter Server installer creates a Sysprep directory in ALLUSERSPROFILE. The ALLUSERSPROFILE location is
usually \Documents And Settings\All Users\. The vpxd.cfg file is also in this location. On Windows 2008,
the file location is C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\.
Procedure
1

Download the Sysprep files from the Microsoft Download Center and save them to your local system.

Open and expand the .cab file.
The contents of the .cab file vary, depending on the operating system.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Extract the files to the appropriate directory for your guest operating system.
The following Sysprep support directories are created during the vCenter Server installation:
C:\ALLUSERSPROFILE\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep
...\1.1\
...\2k\
...\xp\
...\svr2003\
...\xp-64\
...\svr2003-64\

Select the subdirectory that corresponds to your operating system.

Click OK to expand the files.

What to do next
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 vCenter Server installer creates a Sysprep directory in ALLUSERSPROFILE. The ALLUSERSPROFILE
location is usually \Documents and Settings\All Users\. The vpxd.cfg file is also in this location. On
Windows 2008, the file location is C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\.
Procedure
1

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.
The contents of the .cab file vary, depending on the operating system.

Extract the files to the directory appropriate for your guest operating system.
The following Sysprep support directories are created during the vCenter Server installation:
C:\ALLUSERSPROFILE\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep
...\1.1\
...\2k\
...\xp\
...\svr2003\
...\xp-64\
...\svr2003-64\

Select the subdirectory that corresponds to your operating system.

Click OK to expand the files.

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
Customize a new virtual machine with a supported Windows guest operating system when you clone an
existing virtual machine.

VMware, Inc.

Configuring Virtual Machine
Hardware

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 the virtual machine hardware and can change nearly every characteristic that you selected
when you created the virtual machine. You can view the existing hardware configuration and add or
remove hardware. You can configure CPUs, CPU hyperthreading resources, memory, and disks.
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.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Virtual Machine Compatibility,” on page 89

“Virtual CPU Configuration,” on page 95

“Virtual Memory Configuration,” on page 101

“Network Virtual Machine Configuration,” on page 103

“Parallel and Serial Port Configuration,” on page 107

“Virtual Disk Configuration,” on page 115

“SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125

“Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration,” on page 130

“Reduce Memory Overhead for Virtual machines with 3D graphics Option,” on page 139

“USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine,” on page 139

“USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine,” on page 146

“Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines,” on page 152

Virtual Machine Compatibility
When you create a virtual machine or upgrade an existing virtual machine, you use the virtual machine
compatibility setting to select the ESXi host versions that the virtual machine can run on.
The compatibility setting determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine, which
corresponds to the physical hardware available on the host. Virtual hardware includes BIOS and EFI,
available virtual PCI slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other
characteristics. New virtual hardware capabilities are typically released once a year with major or minor
releases of vSphere.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Each virtual machine compatibility level supports at least five major or minor vSphere releases. For
example, a virtual machine with ESXi 3.5 and later compatibility can run on ESXi 3.5, ESXi 4.0, ESXi 4.1,
ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, and ESXi 6.0.
Table 6‑1. Virtual Machine Compatibility Options
Compatibility

Description

ESXi 6.0 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 11) is compatible with ESXi 6.0.

ESXi 5.5 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 10) is compatible with ESXi 5.5 and 6.0.

ESXi 5.1 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 9) is compatible with ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, and
ESXi 6.0.

ESXi 5.0 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 8) is compatible with ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi
5.5, and ESXi 6.0.

ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 7) is compatible with ESX/ ESXi 4.0, ESX/ ESXi
4.1, ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, and ESXi 6.0.

ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 4) is compatible with ESX/ESXi 3.5, ESX/ ESXi
4.0, ESX/ ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, and ESXi 6.0. It is also compatible with VMware
Server 1.0 and later. ESXi 5.0 does not allow creation of virtual machines with ESX/ESXi
3.5 and later compatibility, but you can run such virtual machines if they were created
on a host with different compatibility.

ESX Server 2.x and later

This virtual machine (hardware version 3) is compatible with ESX Server 2.x, ESX/ESXi
3.5, ESX/ESXi 4.x, and ESXi 5.0. You cannot create, edit, turn on, clone, or migrate virtual
machines with ESX Server 2.x compatibility. You can only register or upgrade them.

The compatibility setting that appears in the Compatible with drop-down menu is the default for the
virtual machine that you are creating. The following factors determine the default virtual machine
compatibility:
n

The ESXi host version on which the virtual machine is created.

The inventory object that the default virtual machine compatibility is set on, including a host, cluster, or
datacenter.

You can accept the default compatibility or select a different setting. It is not always necessary to select the
latest ESXi host version. Selecting an earlier version can provide greater flexibility and is useful in the
following situations:
n

To standardize testing and deployment in your virtual environment.

If you do not need the capabilities of the latest host version.

To maintain compatibility with older hosts.

When you create a virtual machine, consider the environment that the virtual machine will run in and
weigh the benefits of different compatibility strategies. Consider your options for these scenarios, which
demonstrate the flexibility inherent with each virtual machine compatibility selection.

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Chapter 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware

Objects in Environment

Compatibility

Results

Cluster with ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5,
and ESXi 6.0 hosts

ESXi 5.1 and later

Preserves the ability of the virtual machine to run on other hosts in
the cluster, such as ESXi 5.0.
You might not have access to the latest virtual hardware features.

Cluster with ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5,
and ESXi 6.0 hosts

ESXi 5.5 and later

Gives you access to virtual hardware features that are not available
with ESXi 5.1.
n You cannot migrate this virtual machine to an ESXi 5.1 host.
n This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available
to virtual machines that run on ESXi 6.0, for example, you
cannot configure a virtual machine to use 128 virtual CPUs.

Cluster with ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5,
and ESXi 6.0 hosts

ESXi 6.0 and later

Provides access to the latest virtual hardware features, but but
cannot run on ESXi 5.1 or ESXi 5.5.

Set the Default Compatibility for Virtual Machine Creation
You can set the default compatibility for virtual machine creation on the host, cluster, or data center. These
options ensure that when virtual machines are added to an existing vSphere environment, they will be
compatible with the host versions that reside there.
The following conditions apply:
n

To set the default compatibility on the cluster, the cluster must contain hosts that are connected and not
in maintenance mode.

A default compatibility setting on the host overrides a default cluster or datacenter setting.

A default compatibility setting on the cluster overrides a default datacenter setting.

Prerequisites
Required privileges:
n

On the host or cluster: Host.Inventory.Modify cluster

On the datacenter: Datacenter.Reconfigure datacenter

Procedure
u

Select a host, cluster, or data center in the inventory.
Option

Action

Host

a
b

Click the Manage tab, and click Settings.
In the Virtual Machines section, select Default VM Compatibility and
click Edit.
c Select the compatibility from the drop-down menu and click OK.
NOTE You can set the compatibility only on hosts that are not part of a
cluster.

Cluster

a
b

Datacenter

a
b

Click the Manage tab and click Settings.
In the Configuration section, select General and click the Edit button
next to Default VM Compatibility.
c Select the compatibility from the drop-down menu and click OK.
When you change the compatibility for a cluster, the compatibility for all
hosts in the cluster changes as well.
Right-click the datacenter and select Edit Default VM Compatibility.
Select the compatibility from the drop-down menu and click OK.

When you create a virtual machine on one of these objects, the default compatibility setting is used.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for a Single Virtual Machine
The compatibility level determines the virtual hardware available to a virtual machine, which corresponds
to the physical hardware available on the host machine. You can upgrade the compatibility to make the
virtual machine compatible with the latest version of the host.
To schedule an upgrade for multiple virtual machines, see “Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for Virtual
Machines,” on page 247.
Prerequisites
n

Create a backup or snapshot of the virtual machines.

Upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. On Microsoft Windows virtual machines, if you
upgrade the compatibility level before you upgrade VMware Tools, the virtual machine might lose its
network settings.

Verify that all .vmdk files are available to the ESX/ESXi host on a VMFS-3, VMFS-5, or NFS datastore.

Verify that the virtual machine is stored on VMFS-3, VMFS-5 or NFS datastores.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Upgrade and select Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade.

Select the compatibility from the drop-down menu.
The virtual machine compatibility is upgraded the next time you restart the virtual machine.

(Optional) To upgrade the compatibility when you do regularly scheduled guest maintenance, select
Only upgrade after normal guest OS shutdown.

The virtual machine compatibility is upgraded and the new version appears on the virtual machine
Summary tab.

Determine the Default Virtual Machine Compatibility Setting in the
vSphere Web Client
The compatibility setting for a virtual machine provides information about the hosts, clusters, or data center
that the virtual machine is compatible with.
The virtual machine Summary tab displays the compatibility for the virtual machine. You can set and view
the default compatibility that is used for virtual machine creation at the host, cluster, or datacenter level.
Procedure
u

Select an inventory object and display the virtual machine compatibility.
Option

Action

Virtual machine

Select a virtual machine and click Actions > Compatibility. You can select
Upgrade VM Compatibility or Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade.

Host, Cluster, Datacenter

Right-click the object and select Actions > Edit Default VM Compatibility.
If a host is in a cluster, it has the virtual machine compatibility set on the
cluster, and the menu item is grayed out.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware

Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings
The virtual machine compatibility setting determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine,
which corresponds to the physical hardware available on the host. You can review and compare the
hardware available for different compatibility levels to help you determine whether to upgrade the virtual
machines in your environment.
Table 6‑2. Supported Features for Virtual Machine Compatibility
ESXi 5.0
and later

ESX/ESXi
4.x and
later

ESX/ESXi
3.5 and
later

Feature

ESXi 6.0 and later

ESXi 5.5 and later

ESXi 5.1 and
later

Hardware
version

Maximum
memory (GB)

4080

1011

255

Maximum
number of
logical
processors

128

Maximum
number of
cores (virtual
CPUs) per
socket

128

Maximum
SCSI
adapters

Bus Logic
adapters

LSI Logic
adapters

LSI Logic
SAS adapters

VMware
Paravirtual
controllers

SATA
controllers

Virtual SCSI
disk

SCSI
passthrough

SCSI hot plug
support

IDE nodes

Virtual IDE
disk

Virtual IDE
CD-ROMs

IDE hot plug
support

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Table 6‑2. Supported Features for Virtual Machine Compatibility (Continued)

ESXi 5.0
and later

ESX/ESXi
4.x and
later

ESX/ESXi
3.5 and
later

Feature

ESXi 6.0 and later

ESXi 5.5 and later

ESXi 5.1 and
later

Maximum
NICs

PCNet32

VMXNet

VMXNet2

VMXNet3

E1000

E1000e

USB 1.x and
2.0

USB 3.0

Maximum
video
memory
(MB)

2 GB

512

128

SVGA
displays

SVGA 3D
hardware
acceleration

VMCI

PCI
passthrough

PCI Hot plug
support

Nested HV
support

vPMC
support

Serial ports

Parallel ports

Floppy
devices

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware

Virtual CPU Configuration
You can add, change, or configure CPU resources to improve virtual machine performance. You can set
most of the CPU parameters when you create virtual machines or after the guest operating system is
installed. Some actions require that you power off the virtual machine before you change 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.

CPU Socket

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 Web Client computes
the total number of virtual sockets from the number of cores and the cores
per socket that you select.

Core

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.

Corelet

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 and 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.

Thread

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.

Resource sharing

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.

Resource allocation

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.

vSphere Virtual
Symmetric
Multiprocessing (Virtual
SMP)

Feature that enables a single virtual machine to have multiple processors.

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vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Virtual CPU Limitations
The maximum number of virtual CPUs that you can assign to a virtual machine is 128. The number of
virtual CPUs depends on the number of logical CPUs on the host, and the type of guest operating system
that is installed on the virtual machine.
Be aware of the following limitations:
n

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 guest operating systems that support this
functionality might support fewer processors than are available on the host. For information about
Virtual SMP support, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

Hyperthreaded hosts might affect virtual machine performance, depending on the workload. The best
practice is to test your workload to determine whether to enable or disable hyperthreading on your
hosts.

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.
You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host 6.0 and later to have up to 128 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 means the number of physical processor cores or two times that number if
hyperthreading is enabled. For example, if a host has 128 logical CPUs, you can configure the virtual
machine for 128 virtual CPUs.
You configure how the virtual CPUs are assigned in terms of cores and cores per socket. Determine how
many CPU cores you want in the virtual machine, then select the number of cores you want in each socket,
depending on whether you want a single core CPU, dual-core CPU, tri-core CPU, and so on. Your selection
determines the number of sockets that the virtual machine has.
For more information about multicore CPUs, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation.

Change CPU Hot Plug Settings
By default, you cannot add CPU resources to a virtual machine when the virtual machine is turned on. The
CPU hot plug option lets you add CPU resources to a running virtual machine.
The following conditions apply:

For best results, use virtual machines that are compatible with ESXi 5.0 or later.

Hot-adding multicore virtual CPUs is supported only with virtual machines that are compatible with
ESXi 5.0 or later.

Not all guest operating systems support CPU hot add. You can disable these settings if the guest is not
supported.

VMware, Inc.

Chapter 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware

To use the CPU hot plug feature with virtual machines that are compatible with ESXi 4.x and later, 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 that are connected to that virtual machine.

Prerequisites
Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Settings
Verify that the virtual machine is running and is configured as follows.
n

Latest version of VMware Tools installed.

Guest operating system that supports CPU hot plug.

Virtual machine compatibility is ESX/ESXi 4.x or later.

Virtual machine is turned off.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and select Enable CPU Hot Add.

Click OK.

You can now add CPUs even if the virtual machine is turned on.

Change the Number of Virtual CPUs
You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host 6.0 and later to have up to 128 virtual CPUs.
You can change the number of virtual CPUs while your virtual machine is powered off. If virtual CPU
hotplug is enabled, you can increase the number of virtual CPUs while the virtual machine is running.
Virtual CPU hot add is supported for virtual machines with multicore CPU support and ESXi 5.0 and later
compatibility. When the virtual machine is turned 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.
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

If CPU hot add is not enabled, turn off the virtual machine before adding CPUs.

To hot add multicore CPUs, verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.0 and later.

Required privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Change CPU Count on the virtual machine

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Expand CPU, and select the number of cores from the CPU drop-down menu.

Select the number of cores per socket from the Cores Per Socket drop-down menu.

Click OK.

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Allocate CPU Resources
To manage workload demands, 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 or GHz.

Reservation

Specifies the guaranteed minimum allocation for a virtual machine. The
reservation is expressed in MHz or GHz.

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.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and allocate the CPU capacity for the virtual machine.

Option

Description

Reservation

Guaranteed CPU allocation for this virtual machine.

Limit

Upper limit for this virtual machine’s CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to
specify no upper limit.

CPU shares for this virtual machine in relation to the parent’s 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.

Configure Processor Scheduling Affinity
The Scheduling Affinity option gives you detailed control over how virtual machine CPUs are distributed
across the host's physical cores. The option supports hyperthreading if hyperthreading is enabled. ESXi
generally manages processor scheduling well, even when hyperthreading is enabled. These settings are
useful only for fine-tuning critical virtual machines.
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.
This setting does not appear for virtual machines in a DRS cluster or when the host has only one processor
core and no hyperthreading.
For potential issues with CPU affinity, see the vSphere Resource Management documentation.
Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.

Verify that the virtual machine does not reside in a DRS cluster.

Verify that the host has more than one physical processor core.

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Privileges: Virtual machine.Configuration.Change resource

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and enter a comma-separated list of hyphenated processor
ranges in the Scheduling Affinity text box.
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.

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.
CAUTION Changing the CPU compatibility masks can result in an unsupported configuration. Do not
manually change the CPU compatibility masks unless instructed to do so by VMware Support or a VMware
Knowledge base article.
Prerequisites
Turn off the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and in the CPUID Mask drop-down menu, select an NX/XD
option.
Option

Description

Hide the NX/XD flag from guest

Increases vMotion compatibility.
Hiding the NX/XD flag increases vMotion compatibility between hosts, but
might disable certain CPU security features.

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Expose the NX/XD flag to guest

Keeps all CPU security features enabled.

Keep current Advanced setting
values for the NX/XD flag

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.

Click OK.

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Expose VMware Hardware Assisted Virtualization
You can expose full CPU virtualization to the guest operating system so that applications that require
hardware virtualization can run on virtual machines without binary translation or paravirtualization.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.1 and later.

Intel Nehalem Generation (Xeon Core i7) or later processors or AMD Opteron Generation 3
(Greyhound) or later processors.

Verify that Intel VT-x or AMD-V is enabled in the BIOS so that hardware assisted virtualization is
possible.

Required Privileges: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings set on the vCenter Server system.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and select Expose hardware-assisted virtualization to
guest OS.

Click OK.
The Manage tab refreshes, and the Nested Hypervisor CPU option shows Enabled.

Enable Virtual CPU Performance Counters
You can use performance tuning tools in the guest operating system for software profiling. You can identify
and improve processor performance problems. This capability is useful for software developers who
optimize or debug software that runs in the virtual machine.
The following conditions apply:
n

If virtual CPU performance counters are enabled, you can migrate the virtual machine only to hosts that
have compatible CPU performance counters.

If an ESXi host's BIOS uses a performance counter or if Fault Tolerance is enabled, some virtual
performance counters might not be available for the virtual machine to use.

NOTE If a virtual machine resides on an ESXi host in an EVC cluster, CPU counters are not supported for
virtual machine creation or editing. You must disable CPU performance counters.
For a list of virtualized Model-Specific Registers (MSRs), see the VMware knowledge base article at
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2030221.
Prerequisites

100

Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.1 and later.

Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.

Verify that Intel Nehalem Generation (Xeon Core i7) or later processors or AMD Opteron Generation 3
("Greyhound") or later processors are installed.

Verify that Intel VT-x or AMD-V is enabled in the BIOS so that hardware-assisted virtualization is
possible.

Required Privileges: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings is set on the vCenter Server system.

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Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU and enable virtualized CPU performance counters.

Click OK.

Change CPU/MMU Virtualization Settings
ESXi can determine whether a virtual machine should use hardware support for virtualization. ESXi makes
this determination based on the processor type and the virtual machine. Overriding the automatic selection
can provide better performance for some use cases.
You can use software MMU when your virtual machine runs heavy workloads, such as, Translation
Lookaside Buffers (TLBs) intensive workloads that has significant impact on the overall system
performance. However, software MMU has a higher overhead memory requirement than hardware MMU.
Hence, in order to support software MMU, the maximum overhead supported for virtual machine limit in
the VMkernel needs to be increased. You can configure your virtual machine with up to 128 CPUs, if your
virtual machine host has ESXi 6.0 and later compatibility (hardware version 11).
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CPU, and select an instruction set from the CPU/MMU
Virtualization drop-down menu.

Click OK.

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.
The memory resource settings for a virtual machine determine how much of the host's memory is allocated
to the virtual machine. The virtual hardware memory size determines how much memory is available to
applications that run in the virtual machine. A virtual machine cannot benefit from more memory resources
than its configured virtual hardware memory size. ESXi hosts limit the memory resource use to the
maximum amount useful for the virtual machine, so that you can accept the default of Unlimited memory
resources.

Change the Memory Configuration
You can reconfigure the amount of memory allocated to a virtual machine to enhance performance.
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 compatibility setting.
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 maximum for best performance represents the threshold
above which the host’s 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.
The memory size must be a multiple of 4MB.

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Table 6‑3. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory
Introduced in Host Version

Virtual Machine Compatibility

Maximum Memory Size

ESXi 6.0

ESXi 6.0 and later

4080GB

ESXi 5.5

ESXi 5.5 and later

1011GB

ESXi 5.1

ESXi 5.1 and later

1011GB

ESXi 5.0

ESXi 5.0 and later

1011GB

ESX/ESXi 4.x

ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later

255GB

ESX/ESXi 3.x

ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later

65532MB

The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the
memory size of a virtual machine with ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later compatibility running on ESXi 5.0 is restricted
to 65,532MB.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Memory privilege on the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Memory.

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.

Allocate Memory Resources
You can change the amount of memory resources allocated to a virtual machine by using the shares,
reservations, and limits settings. The host determines the appropriate amount of physical RAM to allocate to
virtual machines based on these settings. You can assign a high or low shares value to a virtual machine,
depending on its load and status.
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.

Reservation

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 turn 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.

You cannot assign a reservation to a virtual machine that is larger than its configured memory. If you give a
virtual machine a large reservation and reduce its configured memory size, the reservation is reduced to
match the new configured memory size.
Prerequisites
Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.

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Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Memory, and allocate the memory capacity for the virtual
machine.

Option

Description

Reservation

Guaranteed memory allocation for this virtual machine.

Limit

Upper limit for this virtual machine’s 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.

Change Memory Hot Add Settings
Memory hot add lets you add memory resources for a virtual machine while that virtual machine is turned
on.
Enabling memory hot add produces some extra memory overhead on the ESXi host for the virtual machine.
Prerequisites
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 compatibility is ESXi 4.x and later.

Ensure that VMware Tools is installed.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Memory, and select Enable to enable adding memory to the
virtual machine while it is turned on.

Click OK.

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

The virtual machine compatibility, which depends on the host that created or most recently updated it.

Whether the virtual machine compatibility has been updated to the latest version for the current host.

The guest operating system.

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The following NIC types are supported:
E1000E

Emulated version of the Intel 82574 Gigabit Ethernet NIC. E1000E is the
default adapter for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

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.

Flexible

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.

Vlance

Emulated version of the AMD 79C970 PCnet32 LANCE NIC, an older 10
Mbps NIC with drivers available in 32-bit legacy guest operating systems. A
virtual machine configured with this network adapter can use its network
immediately.

VMXNET

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.

VMXNET 2 (Enhanced)

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.

VMXNET 3

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.

SR-IOV passthrough

Representation of a virtual function (VF) on a physical NIC with SR-IOV
support. The virtual machine and the physical adapter exchange data
without using the VMkernel as an intermediary. This adapter type is suitable
for virtual machines where latency might cause failure or that require more
CPU resources.
SR-IOV passthrough is available in ESXi 5.5 and later for guest operating
systems Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and later, and Windows Server 2008 R2
with SP2. An operating system release might contain a default VF driver for
certain NICs, while for others you must download and install it from a
location provided by the vendor of the NIC or of the host.
For information about assigning an SR-IOV passthrough network adapter to
a virtual machine, see the vSphere Networking documentation.

For network adapter compatibility considerations, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

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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 at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

Change the Virtual Machine Network Adapter Configuration
To change the way the virtual machine communicates with the host or other virtual machines over the
network, 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.
For information about configuring the networking for virtual machine network adapters, see the vSphere
Networking documentation.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Network.Assign network on a network if you are changing the network the virtual
machine connects to.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Network adapter, and select the port group to connect to from
the drop-down menu.
The menu lists all standard and distributed port groups that are available for virtual machine use on the
host.
If you want to provision bandwidth to the network adapter from a reserved quota by using vSphere
Network I/O Control version 3, select a port group that is associated with the network resource pool
that provides the quota.
If the virtual machine runs on a Cisco UCS server, the drop-down menu also shows the port profiles
that are available on the Cisco UCS Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX) distributed switch.

VMware, Inc.

(Optional) Change the Status settings.
Option

Description

Connected

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 turned off.

Connect at power on

Select this option for the virtual network adapter to connect to the network
when the virtual machine turns on. If you do not check this option, you
must manually connect the adapter in order for the virtual machine to
access the network.

Select the network adapter type to use from the Adapter Type drop-down menu.

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(Optional) Select how to assign the MAC address from the drop-down menu.
n

Select Automatic to automatically assign a MAC address.

Select Manual to manually enter the MAC address that you want.

If the network adapter is connected to a distributed port group of a distributed switch that has vSphere
Network I/O Control version 3 enabled, allocate bandwidth to the adapter.
NOTE You cannot allocate bandwidth to SR-IOV passthrough network adapters.
a

From the Shares drop-down menu, set the relative priority of the traffic from this virtual machine
as shares from the capacity of the connected physical adapter.

In the Reservation text box, reserve a minimum bandwidth that must be available to the VM
network adapter when the virtual machine is powered on.

In the Limit text box, set a limit on the bandwidth that the VM network adapter can consume.

If the virtual machine is connected to a port profile on a Cisco UCS Virtual Machine Fabric Extender
(VM-FEX) distributed switch, to enable vSphere DirectPath I/O with vMotion, under DirectPath I/O
click Enable.

Click OK.

Add a Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine
You can add a network adapter (NIC) to a virtual machine to connect to a network, to enhance
communications, or to replace an older adapter. When you add a NIC to a virtual machine, you select the
adapter type, network connection, whether the device should connect when the virtual machine is turned
on, and the bandwidth allocation.
For information about configuring the networking for virtual machine network adapters, see the vSphere
Networking documentation
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Network.Assign network on a network.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

From the New device drop-down menu, select Network and click Add.
The new network adapter appears at the bottom of the device list.

106

(Optional) Expand New Network, and change the Status settings.
Option

Description

Connected

Select 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 turned off.

Connect at power on

Select the network adapter type to use from the Adapter Type drop-down menu.

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(Optional) Select how to assign the MAC address from the drop-down menu.
n

Select Automatic to automatically assign a MAC address.

Select Manual to manually enter the MAC address that you want.

From the drop-down menu next to the New Network label, select the standard or distributed port
group to connect to.
The menu lists all standard and distributed port groups that are available for virtual machine use on the
host.
If you want to provision bandwidth to the network adapter from a reserved quota by using vSphere
Network I/O Control version 3, select a port group that is associated with the network resource pool
that provides the quota.
If the virtual machine runs on a Cisco UCS server, the drop-down menu also shows the port profiles
that are available on the Cisco UCS Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX) distributed switch.

From the Shares drop-down menu, set the relative priority of the traffic from this virtual machine
as shares from the capacity of the connected physical adapter.

In the Reservation text box, reserve a minimum bandwidth that must be available to the VM
network adapter when the virtual machine is powered on.

In the Limit text box, set a limit on the bandwidth that the VM network adapter can consume.

Click OK.

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 port 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

Sets the virtual machine to use a physical serial port on the host computer.
This method lets you use an external modem or a hand-held device in a
virtual machine.

Output to file

Sends output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. This
method lets you capture the data that a program running in the virtual
machine sends to the virtual serial port.

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Connect to a named
pipe

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, use this option for remote debugging of a virtual
machine.

Connect over the
network

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.

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 lets you 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
lets the virtual machine connect to the logging server when the virtual machine starts and to disconnect
when it stops.

Supported Serial Ports
When you use a physical serial port for serial port passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine,
serial ports that are integrated into the motherboard are supported. A virtual machine can use up to 32 serial
ports.

Unsupported Serial Ports
When you use a physical serial port for serial port passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine, the
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 139.
In addition, you cannot use Migration with VMotion when you use a physical serial port for serial
passthrough.

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:
n

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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.

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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 allowing access to an ESXi service through the firewall, see the vSphere Security
documentation.

Configure Virtual Machine Communication Interface Firewall
You can configure the virtual machine Communication Interface firewall (VMCI) to restrict virtual machines
accessing the hypervisor based services and VMCI based services.
You can restrict VMCI usage to a subset of VMCI-based services on each virtual machine. For example, you
can allow certain virtual machines to access VMCI services and deny access to others for security reasons.
Currently, VMCI devices support guest to host communication. A virtual machine can communicate with
VMCI services through the following means:
n

ESXi hypervisor

Services installed on the host operating system in the form of a vmkernel module

Applications installed by a verified vSphere Installation Bundle

Change the Serial Port Configuration
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. You can add up to 32 serial ports to a virtual machine.
Virtual machines can be in a powered-on state during configuration.
Prerequisites
n

Check that you know 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 107.

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 108.

To use authentication parameters with network serial port connections, see “Authentication Parameters
for Virtual Serial Port Network Connections,” on page 111.

Required privileges:
n

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

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Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

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On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Serial port, and select a connection type.
Option

Action

Use physical serial port

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.

Use output file

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.

Use named pipe

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.

Connect over the network

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.

Printer

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.

Select Printer to connect to a remote printer.

(Optional) Select Yield on CPU 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.

Select Connect at power on to connect the serial port when the virtual machine powers on.

Click OK.

Example: Establishing Serial Port Network Connections to a Client or Server
Without Authentication Parameters
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.

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Authentication Parameters for Virtual Serial Port Network Connections
When you establish serial port connections over the network, you can use authentication parameters to
secure the network. These parameters can support an encrypted connection with a remote system using SSL
over Telnet or Telnets, or an encrypted connection with a concentrator using SSL over Telnet or Telnets.

URI Forms
If you do not use virtual serial port network connection (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. You use one of the following formats:
n

Telnet over TCP.
telnet://host:port

The virtual machine and remote system can negotiate and use SSL if the remote system supports the
Telnet authentication option. If not, the connection uses unencrypted text (plain text).
n

Telnets over SSL over TCP.
telnets://host:port

SSL negotiation begins immediately, and you cannot use the Telnet authentication option.

Authentication Parameters
For an encrypted connection, the URI includes a set of authentication parameters. Enter the parameters as
key words or key/value pairs. You can enter authentication parameters for secure Telnet (telnets), or for
Telnet (telnet) as shown in the following syntax:
telnet://host:port #key[=value] [&key[=value] ...]

The first parameter must have a number sign (#) prefix. Additional parameters must have an ampersand (&)
prefix. The following parameters are supported.
thumbprint=value

Specifies a certificate thumbprint against which the peer certificate
thumbprint is compared. When you specify a thumbprint, certificate
verification is enabled.

peerName=value

Specifies the peer name that is used to validate the peer certificate. When you
specify a peer name, certificate verification is enabled.

verify

Forces certificate verification. The virtual machine will verify that the peer
certificate subject matches the specified peerName and that it was signed by
a certificate authority known to the ESXi host. Verification is enabled if you
specify a thumbprint or peerName

cipherList=value

Specifies a list of SSL ciphers. The ciphers are specified as a list separated by
colons, spaces, or commas.

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

To connect to a virtual machine's serial port from a Linux or Windows
operating system if you do not use vSPC, configure the virtual machine with
a serial port connected as a server with a telnet://:12345 URI. To access a
virtual serial port from a client, use telnet yourESXiServerIPAddress 12345.

Secure Server
Connection

To enforce an encrypted connection to the virtual machine's serial port from
a Linux operating system, you can configure Telnet to enforce encryption by
configuring the virtual machine with a serial port connected as a server with
a telnet://:12345#verify URI.
To access a virtual serial port from a client, use telnet-ssl
yourESXServerName 12345. This connection will fail if the Telnet program you

are using does not support SSL encryption.
Simple Client
Connection

If you are running a Telnet server on your system and you want the virtual
machine to automatically connect to it, you can configure the virtual machine
as a client using telnet://yourLinuxBox:23.
The Virtual machine keeps initiating the Telnet connection to port 23 on
yourLinuxBox.

Secure Client
Connection

Additional URI options allow you to enforce a specific server certificate and
restrict the ciphers being used. Virtual machines with a serial port configured
as a client with telnet://ipOfYourLinuxBox:23#cipherList=DHE-RSA-AES256SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA&peerName=myLinuxBoxName.withDomain will
connect to ipOfYourLinuxBox only if the system supports one of two listed
ciphers, and if it presents a trusted certificate issued to
myLinuxBoxName.withDomain. Replace .withDomain with the full domain
name, for example, example.org.

Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine
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. A virtual machine can use up to 32 serial ports.
Prerequisites
n

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 107.

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 108.

To use authentication parameter with network serial port connections, see “Authentication Parameters
for Virtual Serial Port Network Connections,” on page 111.

Required privilege: Virtual Machine .Configuration.Add or Remove Device

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Serial Port from the New device drop-down menu, and click Add.
The serial port appears at the bottom of the virtual device list.

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Expand New Serial Port.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Serial port, and select a connection type.
Option

Action

Use physical serial port

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.

Use output file

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.

Use named pipe

Connect over the network

Printer

Select Printer to connect to a remote printer.

(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.

Select Connect at power on to connect the serial port when the virtual machine powers on.

Click OK.

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.

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Change the Parallel Port Configuration
You can change the output file for peripheral device output and schedule the parallel port to connect when
the virtual machine powers on.
NOTE If you are changing the parallel port on a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi 4.1 or earlier host, you
can send output to a physical parallel port on the host or to an output file on the host. This option is not
available with ESXi 5.0 and later.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
n

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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Parallel port.

For virtual machines running on ESXi 4.1 and earlier hosts, select the type of media for the parallel port
to access.

Click Browse to navigate to the file location.

Type a name for the file in the Save As text box and click OK.
The file path appears in the Connection text box.

Select whether to connect 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.

Click OK.

Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine
To connect peripheral devices to virtual machines, such as printers or scanners, you can use a parallel port.
You send the output of such devices to a file on the host computer.
NOTE If you are adding a parallel port to a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi 4.1 or earlier host, you can
also select to send output to a physical parallel port on the host. This option is not available with ESXi 5.0
and later host versions.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that the virtual machine is turned off. You cannot add or remove parallel ports if the virtual
machine is turned on.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Parallel Port from the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add.
The parallel port appears at the bottom of the virtual device list.

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Expand New Parallel port, and click Browse to locate a folder to create the file in.

Type a name for the file in the Save As text box and click OK.
The file path appears in the Connection text box.

(Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on.

Click OK.

Output from the attached peripheral device is read to the newly created file.

Virtual Disk Configuration
You can add large-capacity virtual disks to virtual machines 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.
To accelerate virtual machine performance, you can configure virtual machines to use vSphere Flash Read
Cache™. For details about Flash Read Cache behavior, see the vSphere Storage documentation.
When you map a LUN to a VMFS volume, vCenter Server or the ESXi host creates a raw device mapping
(RDM) file that points to the raw LUN. Encapsulating disk information in a file allows vCenter Server or the
ESXi host 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.
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.

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.

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You can use Storage vMotion or cross-host 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 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. Virtual machines do not read
stale data from the physical device.

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 thick provision lazy zeroed format, the data remaining on the
physical device is zeroed out when the virtual disk is created. It might take
longer to create virtual disks in this format than to create other types of
disks.

Thin Provision

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 virtual 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.
If the thin disk needs more space later, it can grow to its maximum capacity
and occupy the entire datastore space provisioned to it.
Thin provisioning is the fastest method to create a virtual disk because it
creates a disk with just the header information. It does not allocate or zero
out storage blocks. Storage blocks are allocated and zeroed out when they
are first accessed.
NOTE If a virtual disk supports clustering solutions such as Fault Tolerance,
do not make the disk thin.
You can manually inflate the thin disk, so that it occupies the entire
provisioned space. If physical storage space is exhausted and the thin
provisioned disk cannot grow, the virtual machine becomes unusable.

Large Capacity Virtual Disk Conditions and Limitations
Virtual machines with large capacity virtual hard disks, or disks greater than 2TB, must meet resource and
configuration requirements for optimal virtual machine performance.
The maximum value for large capacity hard disks is 62TB. When you add or configure virtual disks, always
leave a small amount of overhead. Some virtual machine tasks can quickly consume large amounts of disk
space, which can prevent successful completion of the task if the maximum disk space is assigned to the
disk. Such events might include taking snapshots or using linked clones. These operations cannot finish
when the maximum amount of disk space is allocated. Also, operations such as snapshot quiesce, cloning,
Storage vMotion, or vMotion in environments without shared storage, can take significantly longer to finish.
Virtual machines with large capacity disks have the following conditions and limitations:

116

The guest operating system must support large capacity virtual hard disks.

You can move or clone disks that are greater than 2TB to ESXi 5.5 or later hosts or to clusters that have
such hosts available.

The datastore format must be VMFS5 or later or an NFS volume on a Network Attached Storage (NAS)
server.

Virtual Flash Read Cache supports a maximum hard disk size of 16TBs.

VMFS3 volumes are not supported. You cannot move disks greater than 2TB from a VMFS5 datastore
to a VMFS3 datastore.

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You cannot hot-extend virtual SATA disks, or any virtual disk if the capacity after extension is equal to
or greater than 2TB.

Fault Tolerance is not supported.

Virtual SAN is not supported.

BusLogic Parallel controllers are not supported.

Change the Virtual Disk Configuration
If you run out of disk space, you can increase the size of the disk. You can change the virtual device node
and the persistence mode for virtual disk configuration for a virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
n

Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings on the virtual machine.

Virtual machine.Configuration.Extend virtual disk on the virtual machine.

Datastore.Allocate space on the datastore.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Hard disk to view 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) To change the way that disks are affected by snapshots, select a disk mode option.

Option

Description

Dependent

Dependent disks are included in snapshots.

Independent - Persistent

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.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you turn 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 turn off or reset the virtual machine.

Click OK.

Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine
When you create a virtual machine, a default virtual hard disk is added. You can add another hard disk if
you run out of disk space, if you want to add a boot disk, or for other file management purposes. When you
add a hard disk to a virtual machine, you can create a virtual disk, add an existing virtual disk, or add a
mapped SAN LUN.
You can add a virtual hard disk to a virtual machine before or after you add a SCSI or SATA storage
controller. The new disk is assigned to the first available virtual device node on the default controller, for
example (0:1). Only device nodes for the default controller are available unless you add additional
controllers.

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The following ways to add disks can help you plan your disk configuration. These approaches show how
you can optimize controller and virtual device nodes for different disks. For storage controller limitations,
maximums, and virtual device node behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions,
Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
Add an existing hard
disk that is configured
as a boot disk during
virtual machine
creation.

To ensure that the virtual machine can boot, remove the existing disk before
you add the boot disk. After you add a new hard disk to the virtual machine,
you might need to go into the BIOS setup to ensure that the disk you were
using to boot the virtual machine is still selected as the boot disk. You can
avoid this problem by not mixing adapter types, and by using device node 0
on the first adapter as the boot disk.

Keep the default boot
disk and add a new disk
during virtual machine
creation.

The new disk is assigned to the next available virtual device node, for
example (0:1) You can add a new controller and assign the disk to a virtual
device node on that controller, for example (1:0) or (1:1).

Add multiple hard disks
to an existing virtual
machine.

If you add multiple hard disks to a virtual machine, you can assign them to
several SCSI or SATA controllers to improve performance. The controller
must be available before you can select a virtual device node. For example, if
you add controllers 1, 2, and 3, and add four hard disks, you might assign
the fourth disk to virtual device node (3:1).

Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 118
You can add a virtual hard disk to an existing virtual machine, or you can add a hard disk when you
customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process. For example,
you might need to provide additional disk space for an existing virtual machine with a heavy work
load. During virtual machine creation, you might want to add a hard disk that is preconfigured as a
boot disk.

Add an Existing Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 120
You can add an existing virtual hard disk to a virtual machine when you customize the virtual
machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process or after the virtual machine is created.
For example, you might want to add an existing hard disk that is preconfigured as a boot disk.

Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 121
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. You can add an RDM disk to an existing virtual machine, or
you can add the disk when you customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine
creation process.

Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine
You can add a virtual hard disk to an existing virtual machine, or you can add a hard disk when you
customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process. For example, you
might need to provide additional disk space for an existing virtual machine with a heavy work load. During
virtual machine creation, you might want to add a hard disk that is preconfigured as a boot disk.
During virtual machine creation, a hard disk and a SCSI or SATA controller are added to the virtual
machine by default, based on the guest operating system that you select. If this disk does not meet your
needs, you can remove it and add a new hard disk at the end of the creation process.
If you add multiple hard disks to a virtual machine, you can assign them to several controllers to improve
performance. For controller and bus node behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions,
Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.

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Prerequisites
n

Ensure that you are familiar with configuration options and caveats for adding virtual hard disks. See
“Virtual Disk Configuration,” on page 115.

Before you add disks greater than 2TB to a virtual machine, see “Large Capacity Virtual Disk
Conditions and Limitations,” on page 116.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add new disk privilege on the destination
folder or datastore.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

(Optional) To delete the existing hard disk, move your cursor over the disk and click the Remove icon.
The disk is removed from the virtual machine. If other virtual machines share the disk, the disk files are
not deleted.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select New Hard Disk from the New device drop-down menu and click
Add.
The hard disk appears in the Virtual Hardware devices list.

Expand New hard disk.

(Optional) Type a value for the hard disk and select the units from the drop-down menu.

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.

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

b
c

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

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b
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(Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage policy for the virtual
machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM storage policy
drop-down menu.
The list shows which datastores are compatible and which are
incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage policy.
Select a datastore and click Next.
(Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage policy for the virtual
machine home files and the virtual disks from the VM storage policy
drop-down menu.
The list 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 policy from the VM
storage profile drop-down menu.
The list shows which datastores are compatible and which are
incompatible with the selected virtual machine storage policy.
(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.

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Select the format for the virtual machine's disks and click Next.
Option

Action

Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed

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 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.

Thin Provision

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.

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 and click OK.
Option

Description

Dependent

Dependent disks are included in snapshots.

Independent - Persistent

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.

Independent - Nonpersistent

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.

Add an Existing Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine
You can add an existing virtual hard disk to a virtual machine when you customize the virtual machine
hardware during the virtual machine creation process or after the virtual machine is created. For example,
you might want to add an existing hard disk that is preconfigured as a boot disk.
During virtual machine creation, a hard disk and a SCSI or SATA controller are added to the virtual
machine by default, based on the guest operating system that you select. If this disk does not meet your
needs, you can remove it and add an existing hard disk at the end of the creation process.

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Prerequisites
n

Make sure that you are familiar with controller and virtual device node behavior for different virtual
hard disk configurations. See “Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine,” on page 117.

Before you add disks greater than 2TB to a virtual machine, see “Large Capacity Virtual Disk
Conditions and Limitations,” on page 116.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add existing disk privilege on the destination
folder or datastore.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Existing Hard Disk from the New device drop-down menu and
click Add.

In the Datastores column, expand a datastore, select a virtual machine folder, and select the disk to add.
The disk file appears in the Contents column. The File Type drop-down menu shows the compatibility
file types for this disk.

Click OK.

What to do next
n

(Optional) Change the virtual disk configuration. See “Change the Virtual Disk Configuration,” on
page 117.

(Optional) Use disk shares to prioritize virtual machine access to this disk. See “Use Disk Shares to
Prioritize Virtual Machines,” on page 123.

Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine
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. You can add an RDM disk to an existing virtual machine, or you can add the
disk when you customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process.
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.
During virtual machine creation, a hard disk and a SCSI or SATA controller are added to the virtual
machine by default, based on the guest operating system that you select. If this disk does not meet your
needs, you can remove it and add an RDM disk at the end of the creation process.
Prerequisites
n

Ensure that you are familiar with SCSI controller and virtual device node behavior for different virtual
hard disk configurations. See “Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine,” on page 117.

Before you add disks greater than 2TB to a virtual machine, see “Large Capacity Virtual Disk
Conditions and Limitations,” on page 116.

Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device

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Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select RDM Disk from the New device drop-down menu and click Add.

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.
n

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.

Select a compatibility mode.
Option

Description

Physical

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.

Virtual

Allows the RDM to behave as if it were a virtual disk, so that 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.

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.

(Optional) If you selected virtual compatibility mode, select a disk mode to change the way that disks
are affected by snapshots.
Disk modes are not available for RDM disks using physical compatibility mode.

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Option

Description

Dependent

Dependent disks are included in snapshots.

Independent - Persistent

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.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

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Use Disk Shares to Prioritize Virtual Machines
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
host-centric 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 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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Hard disk to view 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.

Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine
You can configure Flash Read Cache for a virtual machine compatible with ESXi 5.5 or later.
Enabling Flash Read Cache lets you specify block size and cache size reservation.
Block size is the minimum number of contiguous bytes that can be stored in the cache. This block size can be
larger than the nominal disk block size of 512 bytes, between 4KB and 1024KB. If a guest operating system
writes a single 512 byte disk block, the surrounding cache block size bytes will be cached. Do not confuse
cache block size with disk block size.
Reservation is a reservation size for cache blocks. There is a minimum number of 256 cache blocks. If the
cache block size is 1MB, then the minimum cache size is 256MB. If the cache block size is 4K, then the
minimum cache size is 1MB.
For more information about sizing guidelines, search for the Performance of vSphere Flash Read Cache in
VMware vSphere white paper on the VMware web site.
Prerequisites
n

Set up virtual flash resource.

Verify that the virtual machine is compatible with ESXi 5.5 or later.

Procedure
1

To locate a virtual machine, select a data center, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.

Click the Related Objects tab and click Virtual Machines.

Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.

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On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Hard disk to view the disk options.

To enable Flash Read Cache for the virtual machine, enter a value in the Virtual Flash Read Cache text
box.

Click Advanced to specify the following parameters.
Option

Description

Reservation

Select a cache size reservation.

Block Size

Select a block size.

Click OK.

Converting Virtual Disks from Thin to Thick
You can determine whether a 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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Hard disk.
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 Web Client.

Convert a Virtual Disk from Thin to Thick in the vSphere Web Client
When the disk space is exhausted and a thin-provisioned disk cannot expand, the virtual machine cannot
boot. 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 you convert the disk, it grows to its full capacity and occupies the entire datastore space
provisioned to it during the disk’s creation.
Procedure
1

Locate the virtual machine.
a

Select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.

Click the Related Objects tab and click Virtual Machines.

Double-click the virtual machine, click the Related Objects tab and click Datastores.
The datastore that stores the virtual machine files is listed.

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Click the datastore link to open the datastore management panel.

Click the Manage tab and click Files.

Open the virtual machine folder and browse to the virtual disk file that you want to convert.
The file has the .vmdk extension.

Right-click the virtual disk file and select Inflate.

The inflated virtual disk occupies the entire datastore space originally provisioned to it.

SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and
Compatibility
To access virtual disks, CD/DVD-ROM, and SCSI devices, a virtual machine uses storage controllers, which
are added by default when you create the virtual machine. You can add additional controllers or change the
controller type after virtual machine creation. You can make these changes while you are in the creation
wizard. If you know about node behavior, controller limitations, and compatibility of different types of
controllers before you change or add a controller, you can avoid potential boot problems.

How Storage Controller Technology Works
Storage controllers appear to a virtual machine as different types of SCSI controllers, including BusLogic
Parallel, LSI Logic Parallel, LSI Logic SAS, and VMware Paravirtual SCSI. AHCI SATA controllers are also
available.
When you create a virtual machine, the default controller is optimized for best performance. The controller
type depends on the guest operating system, the device type, and in some cases, the virtual machine's
compatibility. For example, when you create virtual machines with Apple Mac OS X guests and ESXi 5.5
and later compatibility, the default controller type for both the hard disk and the CD/DVD drive is SATA.
When you create virtual machines with Windows Vista and later guests, a SCSI controller is the default for
the hard disk and a SATA controller is the default for the CD/DVD drive.
Each virtual machine can have a maximum of four SCSI controllers and four SATA controllers. The default
SCSI or SATA controller is 0. When you create a virtual machine, the default hard disk is assigned to the
default controller 0 at bus node (0:0).
When you add storage controllers, they are numbered sequentially 1, 2, and 3. If you add a hard disk, SCSI,
or CD/DVD-ROM device to a virtual machine after virtual machine creation, the device is assigned to the
first available virtual device node on the default controller, for example (0:1).
If you add a SCSI controller, you can reassign an existing or new hard disk or device to that controller. For
example, you can assign the device to (1:z ), where 1 is SCSI controller 1 and z is a virtual device node from 0
to 15. For SCSI controllers, z cannot be 7. By default, the virtual SCSI controller is assigned to virtual device
node (z:7), so that device node is unavailable for hard disks or other devices.
If you add a SATA controller, you can reassign an existing or new hard disk or device to that controller. For
example, you can assign the device to (1:z ), where 1 is SATA controller 1 and z is a virtual device node from
0 to 29. For SATA controllers, you can use device nodes 0 through 29, including 0:7.

Storage Controller Limitations
Storage controllers have the following requirements and limitations:
n

LSI Logic SAS and VMware Paravirtual SCSI are available for virtual machines with ESXi 4.x and later
compatibility.

AHCI SATA is available only for virtual machines with ESXi 5.5 and later compatibility.

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BusLogic Parallel controllers do not support virtual machines with disks larger than 2TB.

CAUTION Changing the controller type after the guest operating system is installed will make the disk and
any other devices connected to the adapter inaccessible. Before you change the controller type or add a new
controller, make sure that the guest operating system installation media contains the necessary drivers. On
Windows guest operating systems, the driver must be installed and configured as the boot driver.

Storage Controller Compatibility
Adding different types of storage controllers to virtual machines that use BIOS firmware can cause
operating system boot problems. In the following cases, the virtual machine might fail to boot correctly and
you might have to enter the BIOS setup and select the correct boot device:
n

If the virtual machine boots from LSI Logic SAS or VMware Paravirtual SCSI, and you add a disk that
uses BusLogic, LSI Logic, or AHCI SATA controllers.

If the virtual machine boots from AHCI SATA, and you add BusLogic Parallel or LSI Logic controllers.

Adding additional disks to virtual machines that use EFI firmware does not cause boot problems.
Table 6‑4. VMware Storage Controller Compatibility
Existing
Controller

Added Controller

LSI Logic

LSI Logic
SAS

VMware
Paravirtual
SCSI

AHCI SATA

IDE

Yes

LSI Logic

Yes

LSI Logic SAS

Requires BIOS
setup

Usually
Works

Requires BIOS
setup

Yes

VMware
Paravirtual
SCSI

Requires BIOS
setup

Usually
Works

Requires BIOS
setup

Yes

AHCI SATA

Requires BIOS
setup

Yes

IDE

Yes

N/A

BusLogic
Parallel
BusLogic
Parallel

Add a SATA Controller
If a virtual machine has multiple hard disks or CD/DVD-ROM devices, you can add up to three additional
SATA controllers to assign the devices to. When you spread the devices among several controllers, you can
improve performance and avoid data traffic congestion. You can also add additional controllers if you
exceed the thirty-device limit for a single controller.
You can boot virtual machines from SATA controllers and use them for large-capacity virtual hard disks.
Not all guest operating systems support AHCI SATA controllers. Typically, when you create virtual
machines with ESXi 5.5 and later compatibility and Mac OS X guest operating systems, a SATA controller is
added by default for the virtual hard disk and CD/DVD-ROM devices. Most guest operating systems,
including Windows Vista and later have a default SATA controller for CD/DVD-ROM devices. To verify
support, see the VMware Compatibility Guides at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
Prerequisites
n

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Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.5 and later.

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Verify that you are familiar with storage controller behavior and limitations. See “SCSI and SATA
Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the Virtual Hardware tab, and select SATA Controller from the New device drop-down menu.

Click Add.
The controller appears in the Virtual Hardware devices list.

Click OK.

What to do next
You can add a hard disk or CD/DVD drive to the virtual machine and assign it to the new controller.

Add a SCSI Controller in the vSphere Web Client
Many virtual machines have a SCSI controller by default, depending on the guest operating system. If you
have a heavily loaded virtual machine with multiple hard disks, you can add up to three additional SCSI
controllers to assign the disks to. When you spread the disks among several controllers, you can improve
performance and avoid data traffic congestion. You can also add additional controllers if you exceed the 15device limit for a single controller.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.

Verify that you are familiar with storage controller behavior and limitations. See “SCSI and SATA
Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select SCSI Controller from the New device drop-down menu and click
Add.
The controller appears in the Virtual Hardware devices list.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand New SCSI Controller, and select the type of sharing in the SCSI
Bus Sharing drop-down menu.
Option

Description

None

Virtual disks cannot be shared by other virtual machines.

Virtual

Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on the same ESXi host.
Select Thick provision eager zeroed when you create the disk.

Physical

Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on any ESXi host. Select
Thick provision eager zeroed when you create the disk.

Select the controller type from the drop-down menu.
Do not select a BusLogic Parallel controller for virtual machines with disks larger than 2TB. This
controller does not support large capacity hard disks.

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Click OK.

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What to do next
You can add a hard disk or other SCSI device to the virtual machine and assign it to the new SCSI controller.

Change the SCSI Bus Sharing Configuration in the vSphere Web 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 if the
virtual machines reside on the same ESXi host or on a different host.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand SCSI controller, and select the type of sharing in the SCSI Bus
Sharing drop-down menu.
Option

Description

None

Virtual disks cannot be shared by other virtual machines.

Virtual

Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on the same ESXi host.

Physical

Virtual disks can be shared by virtual machines on any ESXi host.

For virtual or physical bus sharing, select Thick provision eager zeroed when you create the disk.
3

Click OK.

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.
CAUTION Changing the SCSI controller type might result in a virtual machine boot failure.

Prerequisites
n

Verify that you are familiar with the limitations and conditions for configuring SCSI controllers. See
“SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings privilege on the
virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand SCSI controller, and 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.
n

Click Change Type to change the controller type.

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

Do not select a BusLogic Parallel controller for virtual machines with disks larger than 2TB. This
controller does not support large capacity hard disks.

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Click OK.

About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers
VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers are high performance storage controllers that can result in greater
throughput and lower CPU use. These controllers are best suited for high performance storage
environments.
VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers are available for virtual machines with ESXi 4.x and later
compatibility. Disks on such controllers might not experience optimal performance gains if they have
snapshots or if memory on the ESXi host is over committed. This behavior does not mitigate the overall
performance gain of using VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers as compared to other SCSI controller
options.
If you have virtual machines with VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers, those virtual machines cannot be
part of an MSCS cluster.
For platform support for VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

Add a Paravirtualized SCSI Adapter in the vSphere Web Client
You can add a VMware Paravirtual SCSI high performance storage controller to a virtual machine to
provide greater throughput and lower CPU use.
VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers are best suited for environments, especially SAN environments,
running I/O-intensive applications.
For information about SCSI controller maximums and virtual device assignments, see “SCSI and SATA
Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that the virtual machine has a guest operating system with VMware Tools installed.

Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 4.x and later.

Ensure that you are familiar with VMware Paravirtual SCSI limitations. See “About VMware
Paravirtual SCSI Controllers,” on page 129.

To access boot disk devices attached to a VMware Paravirtual SCSI 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, create a virtual machine with an LSI
Logic controller, install VMware Tools, and then change to paravirtual mode.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select SCSI Controller from the New device drop-down menu and click
Add.
The controller appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.

Expand SCSI controller and select VMware Paravirtual from the Change Type drop-down menu.

Click OK.

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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 in the vSphere Web Client
You can configure DVD or CD devices to connect to client devices, host devices, or Datastore ISO files.
n

Configure a Datastore ISO File for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 130
To install a guest operating system and its applications on a new virtual machine, you can connect the
CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host.

Configure a Host Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 131
You can configure the virtual machine’s CD/DVD drive to connect to a physical CD or DVD device on
the host so that you can install a guest operating system, VMware Tools, or other applications.

Configure a Client Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 131
To install a guest operating system and its applications or other media on a virtual machine, 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

Configure a Datastore ISO File for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
To install a guest operating system and its applications on a new virtual machine, you can connect the
CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host.
If an ISO image is not available on a local or shared datastore, upload the file to a datastore from your local
system by using the datastore file browser. See “Upload ISO Image Installation Media for a Guest Operating
System,” on page 25.
To avoid performance issues and possible conflicts between virtual machines that might try to
simultaneously access the ISO image, unmount and disconnect the ISO file when the installation finishes.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
n

Virtual machine.Interaction.Configure CD media on the virtual machine.

Datastore.Browse datastore on the datastore to which you upload the installation media ISO image.

Datastore.Low level file operations on the datastore to which you upload the installation media ISO
image.

Procedure

130

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Expand CD/DVD drive, and select Datastore ISO File from the drop-down menu.

Browse to select the file and click OK.

In the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the node that the drive uses in the virtual
machine.

(Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on.

Click OK.

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Turn on the virtual machine.

Click Edit and select Connected next to the datastore ISO file to connect the device.

Click OK.

Configure a Host Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
You can configure the virtual machine’s CD/DVD drive to connect to a physical CD or DVD device on the
host so that you can install a guest operating system, VMware Tools, or other applications.
When you create a virtual machine, a controller is added by default and the CD/DVD drive is attached to
that controller. The controller and driver type depend on the guest operating system. Typically, virtual
machines with newer guest operating systems have a SATA controller and CD/DVD drive. Other guests use
an IDE controller and CD/DVD drive.
If you connect to media that does not require you to turn off the virtual machine, you can select the media to
connect to from the CD/DVD drive connection icon on the virtual machine Summary tab.
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
n

Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.

Verify that the host is turned off before you add USB CD/DVD devices.

You cannot use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the
physical CD drive on the host. Disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Interaction.Configure CD media privilege on the virtual
machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand CD/DVD and select Host Device from the drop-down menu.

(Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on.

If more than one type of CD/DVD media is available on the host, select the media.

In the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the node the drive uses in the virtual machine.
The first available node is selected by default. You do not typically need to change the default.

Click OK.

Turn the virtual machine on and click the Summary tab.

The connected CD/DVD device appears in the VM Hardware list.

Configure a Client Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
To install a guest operating system and its applications or other media on a virtual machine, 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
By default, passthrough IDE mode is used for remote client device access. You can write or burn a remote
CD only through passthrough mode access.
Prerequisites
n

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Verify that the virtual machine is turned on.

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Verify that the Client Integration Plug-In is installed.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and click the Summary tab.

In the VM Hardware pane, click the CD/DVD drive connection icon, select an available drive to
connect to, and browse for the CD/DVD media.
An Access Control dialog box opens. Click allow to proceed. To change your selection, click the
connection icon, select Disconnect, and select a different option.

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. CD/DVD drives are necessary for installing a guest operating system and VMware Tools.
The following conditions exist:
n

If 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.

You must disconnect virtual machines that have CD drives that are backed by the physical CD drive on
the host, before you migrate the virtual machine.

You access the host CD-ROM device through emulation mode. Passthrough mode is not functional for
local host CD-ROM access. You can write or burn a remote CD only through passthrough mode access,
but in emulation mode you can only read a CD-ROM from a host CD-ROM device.

Prerequisites
n

Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.

To connect to a client device, verify that Client Integration Plug-in is installed.

If an ISO image file is not available on a local or shared datastore, upload an ISO image to a datastore
from your local system by using the datastore file browser. See “Upload ISO Image Installation Media
for a Guest Operating System,” on page 25.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

From the New device drop-down menu, select CD/DVD Drive and click Add .
The new drive appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware list.

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Expand New CD/DVD Drive and select the device type.
Option

Action

Client Device

a
b

Host Device

a
b
c

Datastore ISO File

a
b

Select to connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device
on the system from which you access the vSphere Web Client.
From the Device Mode drop-down menu, select Passthrough IDE.
Select to connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device
on the host.
From the CD/DVD Media drop-down menu, select the media to
connect to .
From the Device Mode drop-down menu, select Emulate IDE.
Select to connect the CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a
datastore accessible to the host.
Browse to the file containing the ISO image to connect to and click OK.

When you turn on the virtual machine, you select the media to connect to from the VM Hardware
panel on the virtual machine Summary tab.
4

(Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine turns on.

(Optional) To change the device node from the default, select a new mode from the Virtual Device
Node drop-down menu.

Click OK.

What to do next
Turn on the virtual machine, select the media to connect to, and install the guest operating system or other
applications.

Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web 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.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Interaction.Configure floppy media privilege on the virtual
machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Floppy drive.

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Select the device type to use for this virtual device.
Option

Action

Client Device

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.

Use existing floppy image

Create new floppy image

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.

(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 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.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Floppy Drive from the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add.

Expand New Floppy drive and select the device type to use for this virtual device.
Option

Description

Client Device

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.

Use existing floppy image

a
b

Create new floppy image

a
b
c

134

(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.

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Click OK.

Change the SCSI Device Configuration in the vSphere Web Client
You can change the physical device and configure the virtual device node. This is useful if you no longer
need an existing device and want to connect to another device.
To prevent data congestion, you can assign a SCSI device to a SCSI controller and virtual device node other
than the default. The new device is assigned to the first available virtual device node on the default SCSI
controller, for example (0:1). Only device nodes for the default SCSI controller are available unless you add
additional controllers.
For SCSI controller and virtual device node behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions,
Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
Prerequisites
n

Power off the virtual machine.

Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand SCSI device.

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 Web Client
To use peripheral SCSI devices, such as printers or storage devices, you must add the device to the virtual
machine. When you add a SCSI device to a virtual machine, you select the physical device to connect to and
the virtual device node.
The SCSI device is assigned to the first available virtual device node on the default SCSI controller, for
example (0:1). To avoid data congestion, you can add another SCSI controller and assign the SCSI device to a
virtual device node on that controller. Only device nodes for the default SCSI controller are available unless
you add additional controllers. If the virtual machine does not have a SCSI controller, a controller is added
when you add the SCSI device.
For SCSI controller and virtual device node assignments and behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage
Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
Prerequisites
Required privileges: Virtual machine.Configuration.Raw device
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select SCSI Device from the New device drop-down menu and click
Add.
The SCSI device appears in the Virtual Hardware devices list.

Expand New SCSI device to change the device options.

(Optional) From the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the virtual device node.

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Click OK.

The virtual machine can access the device.

Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Web 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. This action gives you direct access to devices such as highperformance graphics or sound cards. You can connect each virtual machine to up to six PCI devices.
You configure PCI devices on the host to make them available for passthrough to a virtual machine. See the
vSphere Networking documentation. However, PCI passthroughs should not be enabled for ESXi hosts that
are configured to boot from USB devices.
When PCI vSphere DirectPath I/O devices are available to a virtual machine, you cannot suspend, migrate
with vMotion, or take or restore Snapshots of such virtual machines.
Prerequisites
n

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.

Verify that the PCI devices are connected to the host and marked as available for passthrough.
However, if your ESXi host is configured to boot from a USB device, you should disable the USB
controller for passthrough. VMware does not support USB controller passthrough for ESXi hosts that
boot from USB devices or SD cards connected through USB channels. For more information, see
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2068645.

Verify that the virtual machine is compatible with ESXi 4.x and later.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select PCI Device from the New Device drop-down menu, and click
Add.

Expand New PCI device and select the passthrough device to connect to the virtual machine from the
drop-down list and click Next.

Click OK.

Configuring 3D Graphics
When you create or edit a virtual machine, you can configure 3D graphics to take advantage of Windows
AERO, CAD, Google Earth, and other 3D design, modeling, and multimedia applications. Before you enable
3D graphics, become familiar with the available options and requirements.
You can enable 3D on virtual machines that have Windows desktop or Linux guest operating systems. Not
all guests support 3D graphics. To verify 3D support for a guest operating system, see the VMware
Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

Prerequisites
VMware supports AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. See the vendor Web site for supported cards. To use
the graphics card or GPU hardware, download the appropriate VMware graphics driver from the vendor
Web site.

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Go to the NVIDIA Web site for information about the VMware graphics driver for your NVIDIA
graphics card.

Go to the AMD Web site for information about the VMware graphics driver for your AMD graphics
card.

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Linux distributions must have a 3.2 or later kernel. If 3D is not available on a Linux guest, verify that the
driver is available in the Linux kernel. If it is not available, upgrade to a more recent Linux distribution. The
location of the kernel depends on whether the distribution is based on deb or rpm.
Table 6‑5. Linux Driver Location
VMware Linux Guest Kernel
Drivers

Debian Format

RPM Format

vmwgfx.ko

dpkg -S vmwgfx.ko

rpm -qf vmwgfx.ko

vmwgfx_dri.so

dpkg -S vmwgfx_dri

rpm -qf vmwgfx_dri

vmware_drv.so

dpkg -S vmware_drv

rpm -qf vmware_drv

libxatracker.so.1

dpkg -S libxatracker

rpm -qf libxatracker

3D Rendering Options
You can select the 3D rendering options for each virtual machine to be Hardware, Software, or Automatic.
Table 6‑6. 3D Rendering Options
Rendering Option

Description

Hardware

The virtual machine must have access to a physical GPU. If
the GPU is not available, the virtual machine cannot power
on.

Software

The virtual machine's virtual device uses a software
renderer and will not attempt to use a GPU, even if one if
present.

Automatic

The default setting. The virtual device selects whether to
use a physical GPU or software-based rendering. If a GPU
is available on the system and has the resources required
by the virtual machine, the virtual machine uses the GPU.
Otherwise software rendering is used.

How Enabling 3D Graphics Affects the Virtual Machine
You can use vMotion to migrate virtual machines that have 3D graphics enabled. If the 3D Renderer is set to
Automatic, virtual machines use either the GPU on the destination host or a software renderer, depending
on GPU availability. To migrate virtual machines with the 3D Renderer set to Hardware, the destination
host must have a GPU.
You can set a group of virtual machines to use only Hardware rendering. For example, if you have virtual
machines that run CAD applications or have other complex engineering capabilities, you might require that
those virtual machines have persistent high-quality 3D capability present. When you migrate such virtual
machines, the destination host must also have GPU capability. If the host does not have GPU, the migration
cannot proceed. To migrate such virtual machines, you must turn them off and change the renderer setting
to Automatic.

Configure 3D Graphics and Video Cards
When you enable 3D graphics, you can select a hardware or software graphics renderer and optimize the
graphics memory allocated to the virtual machine. You can increase the number of displays in multimonitor configurations and change the video card settings to meet your graphics requirements.
The default setting for total video RAM is adequate for minimal desktop resolution. For more complex
situations, you can change the default memory. Typically, 3D applications require a video memory of 64–
512MB.
Fault Tolerance and HA are not supported for virtual machines that have 3D graphics enabled.

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Prerequisites
n

Verify that the virtual machine is powered off.

Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.0 and later.

To enable 3D graphics in virtual machines with Windows 8 guest operating systems, the virtual
machine compatibility must be ESXi 5.1 or later.

To use a Hardware 3D renderer, ensure that graphics hardware is available. See “Configuring 3D
Graphics,” on page 136.

If you update the virtual machine compatibility from ESXi 5.1 and later to ESXi 5.5 and later, reinstall
VMware Tools to get the latest SVGA virtual graphics driver and Windows Display Driver Model
driver.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings privilege on the
virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Video Card.

Select custom or automatic settings for your displays from the drop-down menu.

Option

Description

Auto-detect settings

Applies common video settings to the guest operating system.

Specify custom settings

Lets you select the number of displays and the total video memory.

Select the number of displays from the drop-down menu.
You can set the number of displays and extend the screen across them.

Enter the required video memory.

(Optional) Click Video Memory Calculator to calculate the required video memory based on the
maximum number of displays and resolution that the guest operating system must support, and click
OK.

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

(Optional) Select a 3D Renderer.
Option

Description

Automatic

Selects the appropriate option (software or hardware) for this virtual
machine.

Software

Uses normal CPU processing for 3D calculations.

Hardware

Requires graphics hardware (GPU) for faster 3D calculations.
NOTE The virtual machine will not power on if graphics hardware is not
available.

Click OK.

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

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Reduce Memory Overhead for Virtual machines with 3D graphics
Option
Virtual machines with the 3D graphics option enabled can have higher memory consumption than other
virtual machines. You can reduce the memory overhead by editing the configuration file (.vmx file) of your
virtual machines and disabling certain memory related settings. Reducing the memory overhead of virtual
machines can help you increase the number of virtual machines per host.
Prerequisites
Verify that your virtual machines are using hardware version 10 or later.
Procedure
1

Shut down the virtual machine on which the 3D graphics option is enabled.

Disable the Accelerate 3D Graphics option.

Upgrade your ESXi host to use the features available in hardware version 10 or later.

Set the maximum size of your display to the size you need.

Locate the configuration file (.vmx) of your virtual machine.

Open the virtual machine configuration file in a text editor and add the line, vga.vgaOnly=TRUE.
This option removes all graphics and SVGA functionality from your SVGA device, but does not remove
the settings that allow BIOS to enter VGA mode.

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Power on your virtual machine and check the display console.

Verify the memory reservation settings in the vmware.log file.

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.

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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.

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 controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and USB 1.1
devices must exist on the host. Eight 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. You can add USB 3.0 devices to Mac
OSX guest operating system for VMware Fusion.

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:
n

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.

A new virtual USB device is added

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.

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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.

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 6‑7. vSphere Features Available for USB Passthrough from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine
Feature

Supported with USB Device Passthrough

vSphere Distributed Power Management (DPM)

vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)

Yes

vSphere Fault Tolerance

vSphere vMotion

Yes

For details about migration with vMotion, see “Configuring USB Devices for vMotion,” on page 141.
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:
n

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.

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Remote USB devices require that the hosts be able to communicate over the management network
following migration with vMotion, so the source and destination management network IP address
families must match. You cannot migrate a virtual machine from a host that is registered to vCenter
Server with an IPv4 address to a host that is registered with an IPv6 address.

Avoiding Data Loss with USB Devices
When a virtual machine connects to a physical UBS device on an ESXi host, virtual machine functions can
affect USB device behavior and connections.
n

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 141.

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 restart 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:
n

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.

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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.

Add 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
n

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 142.

Verify that the ESXi host is powered off before you add USB CD/DVD-ROM devices.

Verify that the current version of your ESXi host is 6.0 or later for adding eight virtual xHCI controller
to the ESXi host.

Procedure
u

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

What to do next
You can now add the device to the virtual machine. See “Add USB Devices from an ESXi Host to a Virtual
Machine,” on page 145.

Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine
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 one virtual xHCI controller, one virtual EHCI controller, and one virtual UHCI controller per
virtual machine. With Hardware Version 11, the supported number of root hub ports per xHCI controller is
eight (four logical USB 3.0 ports and four logical USB 2.0 ports).

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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 6‑8. USB Controller Support
Controller type

Supported USB Device
Version

Supported for Passthrough
from ESXi Host to VM

Supported for Passthrough from
Client Computer to VM

EHCI+UHCI

2.0 and 1.1

Yes

xHCI

3.0, 2.0, and 1.1

Yes (USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1
devices only)

Yes (Linux, Windows 8 and later, and
Windows Server 2012 and later
guests)

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
n

ESXi hosts must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 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

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select USB Controller from the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add .
The new USB controller appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.

Expand New USB Controller to change the USB controller type.
If compatibility errors appear, fix them before you can add the controller.

Click OK.

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
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
n

Verify that the virtual machine is compatible with ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later.

Verify that a USB controller is present. See “Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine,” on page 143.

To use vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with multiple USB devices, enable all attached USB
devices for vMotion. You cannot migrate individual USB devices. For vMotion limitations, see
“Configuring USB Devices for vMotion,” on page 141.

When you add a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, 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 139.

Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.HostUSBDevice

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Host USB Device from the New device drop-down menu, and
click Add.
The new USB device appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.

Expand New USB Device, and 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 action reduces migration complexity, which results in better performance and stability.

Click OK.

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
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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

Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system.

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

To remove the device, move your cursor over the device and click the Remove icon.

Click OK to save your changes.

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.
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
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.
NOTE If you connect to a USB device on a Mac OS X client computer, you can add only one device to the
virtual machine at a time.

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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:
n

The virtual machine that you connect the USB 3.0 device to must be configured with an xHCI controller
and have a Windows 8 or later, Windows Server 2012 and later, or a Linux guest operating system with
a 2.6.35 or later kernel.

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.

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 Web 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.

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:
n

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.

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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.

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. See “USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine,” on page 146.
Procedure
u

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

The USB device appears in the toolbar menu.
What to do next
You can now add the USB device to the virtual machine. See “Add USB Devices from a Client Computer to
a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 149.

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Table 6‑9. USB Controller Support
Controller type

Supported USB Device
Version

Supported for Passthrough
from ESXi Host to VM

Supported for Passthrough from
Client Computer to VM

EHCI+UHCI

2.0 and 1.1

Yes

xHCI

3.0, 2.0, and 1.1

Yes (USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1
devices only)

Yes (Linux, Windows 8 and later, and
Windows Server 2012 and later
guests)

ESXi hosts must have USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 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

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, select USB Controller from the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add .
The new USB controller appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.

Expand New USB Controller to change the USB controller type.
If compatibility errors appear, fix them before you can add the 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 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.
NOTE If you connect to a USB device on a Mac OS X client computer, you can add only one device to the
virtual machine at a time.

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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, a message on the client computer
states that the device is disconnected. The device remains disconnected from the client computer until you
disconnect it from the virtual machine.
Fault Tolerance is not supported with USB passthrough from a client computer to a virtual machine.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that the Client Integration Plug-in is installed.

Verify that a USB device is connected to the client computer.

Verify that the virtual machine is powered on.

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.Configuration.Add or remove device

Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a virtual machine.

Launch the VMware Remote Console application.
NOTE You cannot connect a USB device to a virtual machine if you use the HTML5 console in the
vSphere Web Client.

In the VMware Remote Console toolbar, click VMRC > Removable Devices and find the USB device.

Click Connect (Disconnect from menu).

The USB device is connected to the virtual machine.

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.Configuration.Add or remove device

Procedure

150

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.

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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

Verify that all USB devices are disconnected from the virtual machine.

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

Procedure
1

Navigate to a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp, and click the Related Options tab
and click Virtual Machines.

Select a virtual machine, click it again, and click the Summary tab.

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.

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.

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Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines
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,” on page 146.
Prerequisites
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.Configuration.Add or remove device

Procedure
1

Navigate to a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp, and click the Related Options tab
and click Virtual Machines.

Select a virtual machine, click it again, 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 Shared the 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 Web Client
inventory.

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Configuring Virtual Machine Options

You can set or change virtual machine options to run VMware Tools scripts, control user access to the
remote console, configure startup behavior, and more. 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.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Virtual Machine Option Overview,” on page 153

“Change the Virtual Machine Name,” on page 154

“View the Virtual Machine Configuration and Working File Location,” on page 155

“Change the Configured Guest Operating System,” on page 155

“Configuring User Mappings on Guest Operating Systems,” on page 155

“Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users,” on page 157

“Configure the Virtual Machine Power States,” on page 157

“Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools,” on page 158

“Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine,” on page 159

“Delay the Boot Sequence,” on page 160

“Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration,” on page 160

“Enable Virtual Machine Logging,” on page 160

“Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics,” on page 161

“Change the Swap File Location,” on page 161

“Edit Configuration File Parameters,” on page 162

“Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings,” on page 162

Virtual Machine Option Overview
You can view or change virtual machine settings from the vSphere Web Client. Not all options are available
to every virtual machine and some options rarely need to change from their defaults.
The host that the virtual machine runs on and the guest operating system must support any configurations
that you make.
When you select Edit Settings from a virtual machine right-button menu and click VM Options, you can
select one of the following options.

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Table 7‑1. Virtual Machine Options
Options

Description

General Options

Virtual machine name and location of the virtual machine configuration file and virtual
machine working location. View or change the type and version of the guest operating
system.

VMware Remote Console
Options

Locking behavior and settings for simultaneous connections,

VMware Tools

Power Controls behavior, VMware Tools scripts, automatic upgrades, and time
synchronization between the guest and host.

Power Management

Virtual machine Suspend behavior and wake on LAN.

Boot Options

Virtual machine boot options. Add a delay before booting, force entry into the BIOS or
EFI setup screen, or set reboot options.

Advanced

Advanced virtual machine options. See the table below.

Fibre Channel NPIV

Virtual node and port World Wide Names (WWNs).

When you select Edit Settings from a virtual machine right-button menu, click VM Options, and click
Advanced, you can select one of the following options.
Table 7‑2. Advanced Virtual Machine Options
Advanced Options

Description

Settings

Specify acceleration and logging settings.

Debugging and statistic

Specify the level of debugging information that is being collected.

Swap file location

Specify the swap file location.

Configuration Parameters

View, modify, or add configuration parameters.

Latency Sensitivity

Set a value for latency sensitivity.

Change the Virtual Machine Name
If you move a virtual machine to a different datastore folder or move the virtual machine to a host that has
an existing virtual machine of the same name, you can change the virtual machine's name to keep it unique.
When you change the name of a virtual machine, you change the name used to identify the virtual machine
in the vCenter Server inventory. This action does not change the name used as the computer name by the
guest operating system.
The virtual machine name also 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.
NOTE Migration with Storage vMotion changes the virtual machine file names on the destination datastore
to match the inventory name of the virtual machine. The migration renames all virtual disk, configuration,
snapshot, and .nvram files. If the new names exceed the maximum filename length, the migration does not
succeed.
Procedure

154

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand General Options.

Delete the existing name and type a new name for the virtual machine in the VM Name text box.

Click OK.

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View the Virtual Machine Configuration and Working File Location
You can view the location of the virtual machine configuration and working files. You can use this
information when you configure backup systems.
Prerequisites
Verify that the virtual machine is powered off.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click VM Options tab and expand General Options.
The path to the location of the virtual machine configuration file appears in the VM Config File text
box. The path to the virtual machine working location appears in the VM Working Location text box.

Change the Configured Guest Operating System
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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand General Options.

Select the guest operating system family from the Guest OS drop-down menu.

Select the guest operating system version.

If you select Other for 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.

Click OK.

Configuring User Mappings on Guest Operating Systems
As a vSphere administrator, you can enable guest OS access on certain SSO accounts.
Enabling SSO accounts to login to guest OS provides users with additional capabilities to perform
administrative tasks on guest virtual machines, such as, installing or upgrading the VMware Tools or
configuring apps.
Functionality to allow vSphere administrators to configure a guest operating system to use vgauth
authentication. The vSphere administrator will need to know the guest administrator password for the
enrollment process.

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In order to enroll SSO users to guest user account, you should enroll SSO users to accounts in guest
operating systems. The enrollment process will map a vSphere user to a particular account in the guest
through the use of SSO certificates. Subsequent guest management requests can then use a SSO SAML token
to log into the guest
You should configure VMs to accept X.509 certificates so that vSphere administrators in your data center can
use SAM tokens issued by single sign-on service to access guest OSs.

View Existing SSO User Mappings
You can view the existing guest user mappings for guest operating systems on the selected virtual machine.
You need to authenticate your credentials to view guest mappings.
Procedure
1

Select the virtual machine where you want to view the list of user mappings.

Click Manage > Settings > Guest User Mappings.

Specify your user name and password.

Click OK.
The existing in-guest user mappings are displayed.

Add SSO users to Guest Operating Systems
You can map a new SSO user to a guest user account by creating a new user map. Mapping can be
established for any type of SSO users, such as solution as well as regular users.
Prerequisites
Power on the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

In the View Guest User Mappings window, click Add new user mappings.

Select the SSO user from the list that you want to map.

Specify a guest OS user name.

Click OK.
The SSO user is mapped to a guest user account. A new guest user account is added to the list of Guest
User Mappings.

Remove SSO Users from Guest Operating Systems
You can remove an existing SSO account from guest user mappings.
Prerequisites
Power on your virtual machine.
Procedure
1

In the View Guest User Mappings window, select the SSO user from the list that you want to remove.

Click remove user mappings.

Click Yes to confirm.
The mapping between the selected SSO user account and guest OS account has been removed.

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Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users
To control access to the virtual machine, 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
n

Verify that VMware Tools is installed and running.

To use the Guest OS lock option, verify that you have a Windows XP or later guest operating system.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab, and expand VMware Remote Console Options.

(Optional) Select Guest OS lock to lock the guest operating system when the last remote user
disconnects.

(Optional) Select Maximum number of sessions to limit the number of simultaneous connections to
this virtual machine, and enter a number.

Click OK.

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 virtual machine power controls, or you can configure the controls to interact
with the guest operating system. For example, you can configure the Power off control 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.
You cannot configure A Power on (
) action. This action 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. If VMware Tools is not installed, it resumes the virtual machine and does
not run a script.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that you have privileges to perform the intended power operation on the virtual machine.

To set optional power functions, install VMware Tools in the virtual machine.

Power off the virtual machine before editing the VMware Tools options.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand VMware Tools.

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Select an option for the virtual machine Power Off (

) control from the drop-down menu.

Option

Description

Shut Down Guest

Uses VMware Tools to initiate an orderly system shut down of the virtual
machine. Soft power operations are possible only if the tools are installed
in the guest operating system.

Power Off

Immediately stops the virtual machine. A Power Off action shuts down the
guest operating system or powers off the virtual machine. A message
indicates that the guest operating system might not shut down properly.
Use this power off option only when necessary.

Default

Follows system settings. The current value of the system settings appears
in parentheses.

Select an option for the Suspend (

) control from the drop-down menu.

Option

Description

Suspend

Pauses all virtual machine activity. When VMware Tools is installed and
available, a suspend action runs a script and suspends the virtual machine.
If VMware Tools is not installed, a Suspend action suspends the virtual
machine without running a script.

System Default

Follows system settings. The current value of the system setting appears in
parentheses.

Select an option for the Reset (

) control from the drop-down menu.

Option

Description

Restart Guest

Uses VMware Tools to initiate an orderly restart. Soft power operations are
possible only if the tools are installed in the guest operating system.

Reset

Shuts down and restarts the guest operating system without powering off
the virtual machine. If VMWare Tools is not installed, a Reset action resets
the virtual machine.

System Default

Follows system settings. The current value of the system setting appears in
parentheses.

Click OK to save your changes.

Configure Virtual Machines to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools
You can configure virtual machines to automatically update VMware Tools before you start the virtual
machines. This action helps to eliminate unnecessary shut downs by taking advantage of other updates or
activities that require you to restart the virtual machine.
NOTE Automatic VMware Tools upgrade is supported for virtual machines running Windows and Linux
guest operating systems. For information about upgrading VMware Tools, see the VMware Tools User Guide
documentation.
Procedure

158

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.

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

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Click the Options tab and select VMware Tools.

Select Check and upgrade Tools during power cycling in the Advanced pane.

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

Select Check and upgrade Tools during power cycling in the Advanced pane.

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).

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 if the guest
operating system is placed on standby. Some desktop-based guests, such as Windows 7, have standby
enabled by default, so that the guest goes into standby after a predetermined time.
The following conditions apply:
n

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.

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.

NICs that support Wake on LAN include Flexible (VMware Tools required), vmxnet, Enhanced
vmxnet, and vmxnet 3.

NOTE To avoid having the guest operating system go into standby mode unintentionally, verify the settings
before you deploy the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Power Management.

Select a power option.

Option

Description

Suspend the virtual machine

Stops all processes, which saves resources, and copies the contents of the
virtual machine's memory to the virtual machine's .vmss file. Writing the
memory to the .vmss file is useful if you need to copy the file to help with
a troubleshooting scenario.

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

All processes stop running, but virtual devices remain connected.

(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.

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Click OK to save your changes.

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Delay the Boot Sequence
Delaying the boot operation is useful when you change 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
n

Verify that vSphere Web 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 edit boot options for the virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click VM Options tab and expand Boot 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.

Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration
You might find that when you install or run software in a virtual machine, the virtual machine appears to
stop responding. The problem occurs early in the program’s execution. You can get past the problem by
temporarily disabling acceleration in the virtual machine.
This setting slows down virtual machine performance, so use it only for getting past the problem with
running the program. After the program stops encountering problems, deselect Disable acceleration. You
might be able to run the program with acceleration.
You can enable and disable acceleration when the virtual machine is running.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Advanced.

Click VM Options and expand Advanced.

Select Disable acceleration.

Click OK.

You should be able to install or run the software successfully.

Enable Virtual Machine Logging
You can enable logging to collect log files to help troubleshoot problems with your virtual machine.
ESXi hosts store virtual machine log files in the same directory as the virtual machine's configuration files.
By default, the log file name is vmware.log. Archived log files are stored as vmware-n.log, where n is a
number in sequential order beginning with 1.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Settings

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Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Advanced.

In the Settings row, select Enable logging and click OK.

You can view and compare log files in the same storage location as the virtual machine configuration files.

Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics
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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Advanced.

Select a debugging and statistics option from the drop-down menu.
n

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.
4

Click OK.

Change the Swap File Location
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.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Advanced.

Select a swap file location option.

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Option

Description

Default

Stores the virtual machine swap file at the default location defined by the
host or cluster swap file settings.

Always store with the virtual
machine

Stores the virtual machine swap file in the same folder as the virtual
machine configuration file.

Store in the host's swapfile
datastore

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.

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Click OK.

Edit Configuration File Parameters
You can change or add virtual machine configuration parameters when instructed by a VMware technical
support representative, or if you see VMware documentation that instructs you to add or change a
parameter to fix a problem with your system.
IMPORTANT Changing or adding parameters when a system does not have problems might lead to
decreased system performance and instability.
The following conditions apply:
n

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.

You cannot delete a configuration parameter entry.

CAUTION You must assign a value to configuration parameter keywords. If you do not 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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the VM Options tab and expand Advanced.

Click Edit Configuration.

(Optional) To add a parameter, click Add Row and type 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.

Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings
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.
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 host’s 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 host’s physical HBAs
for LUN access.

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Chapter 7 Configuring Virtual Machine Options

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
n

To edit the virtual machine’s 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

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click VM Options tab and expand Fibre Channel NPIV.

(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.

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Managing Multi-Tiered Applications
with vSphere vApp

A vSphere vApp allows packaging of multiple interoperating virtual machines and software applications
that you can manage as a unit and distribute in OVF format.
A vApp can contain one or more virtual machines, but any operation carried out on the vApp, such as clone
or power off, affects all virtual machines in the vApp container,
From the vSphere Web Client, you can access the vApp summary page with the current status of the vApp,
and you can manage the vApp.
NOTE Because the vApp metadata resides in the vCenter Server database, 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. Back up your vApps to an OVF package to
avoid losing metadata.
vApp metadata for virtual machines within a vApp do not follow the snapshots 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 prior
snapshots.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Create a vApp,” on page 165

“Create a Virtual Machine, Resource Pool, or Child vApp Inside a vApp,” on page 167

“Add Virtual Machine or Child vApp to a vApp,” on page 167

“Edit vApp Settings,” on page 167

“Clone a vApp,” on page 172

“Perform vApp Power Operations,” on page 173

“Edit vApp Notes,” on page 174

“Add a Network Protocol Profile,” on page 174

“Virtual Machine vApp Options,” on page 178

Create a vApp
A vApp allows you to perform resource management and certain other management activities such as
power operations for multiple virtual machines at the same time. You can think of the vApp as the container
for the virtual machines, and you can perform the operations on the container.
When you create a vApp, you can add it to a folder, standalone host, resource pool, cluster enabled for DRS,
or another vApp.

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Prerequisites
Verify that one of those objects is available in your datacenter.
n

A standalone host that is running ESX 4.0 or greater.

A cluster that is enabled for DRS.

Procedure
1

Navigate to an object that supports vApp creation and select the Create New vApp icon (

Select Create a new vApp and click Next.

In the vApp Name text box, type a name for the vApp.

Select the location or resource and click Next.

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If you start the action from a folder or vApp, you are prompted for a host, cluster, or resource pool.

If you start the action from a resource pool, host, or cluster, you are prompted for a folder or data
center.

In the Deployment section, click CPU resources to allocate CPU resources to this vApp.
Option

Description

CPU shares for this vApp with respect to the parent’s 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.

Reservation

Guaranteed CPU allocation for this vApp.

Reservation Type

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.

Limit

Upper limit for this vApp's CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no
upper limit.

In the Deployment section, click Memory resources to allocate memory resources to this vApp.
Option

Description

Memory shares for this vApp with respect to the parent’s 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.

Reservation

Guaranteed memory allocation for this vApp.

Reservation Type

Limit

Upper limit for this vApp's memory allocation. Select Unlimited to specify
no upper limit.

Click Next.

Review the vApp settings and click Finish.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Create a Virtual Machine, Resource Pool, or Child vApp Inside a vApp
You can create a virtual machine, resource pool, or child vApp within a vApp.
Procedure
1

Navigate to the vApp in which you want to create the object.

Click the vApp and select Actions.

Select an action from the submenu.
You can create a virtual machine, a resource pool, or a child vApp. You can also deploy an OVF
template to add the corresponding virtual machine or vApp to the selected vApp.

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

Add Virtual Machine or Child vApp to a vApp
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

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.

Release the mouse button.

Edit vApp Settings
You can edit and configure several vApp settings, including startup order, resources, and custom
properties.
Procedure
1

Configure vApp Properties on page 168
If you define a property in the Authoring section of the Edit vApp Settings dialog, you can assign a
value to that property when you edit the vApp settings the next time. If you deployed the vApp from
an OVF, and properties were predefined in that OVF, you might be able to edit those properties as
well.

Configure vApp CPU and Memory Resources on page 169
You can configure the CPU and memory resource allocation for the vApp.

View Unrecognized OVF Sections on page 169
If your vApp is based on an OVF file that was not created in the vSphere Web Client, it might include
some configuration information that is not recognized by vCenter Server. You can view the
information in the Edit vApp Settings dialog.

Configure vApp IP Allocation Policy on page 170
If your vApp is set up to allow it, and if you have the required privileges, you can edit how IP
addresses are allocated for the vApp.

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Configure vApp Startup and Shutdown Options on page 170
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.

Configure vApp Product Properties on page 171
You can configure product and vendor information for a vApp.

View vApp License Agreement on page 172
You can view the license agreement for the vApp that you are editing.

Procedure
u

Navigate to a vApp and click Edit vApp Settings.
Expand the areas of the vApp configuration that you want to edit.
Area

Description

Application Properties

Displays non-editable product informaion such as name, vendor, and
version, and allows specifying values for vApp custom properties.

Deployment

Allows you to specify CPU and memory resources and configure IP
allocation. The available allocation schemes and protocols depend on the
vApp configuration. You can modify the configuration in the Authoring
section.

Authoring

Allows you to specify the vApp product information and controls the
configurable options that are available in the Deployment and Application
Properties sections. You can modify the supported IP allocation schemes
and protocols, set the VM start order, and add or reconfigure custom
properties.

Configure vApp Properties
If you define a property in the Authoring section of the Edit vApp Settings dialog, you can assign a value to
that property when you edit the vApp settings the next time. If you deployed the vApp from an OVF, and
properties were predefined in that OVF, you might be able to edit those properties as well.
In the Application properties section you can view product information and assign values to custom
properties.
n

View information that was specified in the Authoring section's Product field of the current vApp or in
the OVF package from which the vApp was deployed, you can view that information in the
Application properties section.

Assign values to a custom property that was defined in the Authoring section's Properties field of the
current vApp or in an OVF from which the vApp was deployed, you can assign values to those
properties.

Section 9.5 of the OVF 1.1 specification explains which product metadata can be contained in an
OVF.vCenter Server supports those metadata.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp.
Procedure

168

Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

If application properties are predefined for your vApp, click the Application Properties triangle to
expand the vApp properties.

Edit the vApp properties.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Click OK.

Configure vApp CPU and Memory Resources
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 if those objects are powered on.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp resource configuration on the vApp.
Procedure
1

Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

In the Deployment section, click CPU resources to allocate CPU resources to this vApp.

Option

Description

Reservation

Guaranteed CPU allocation for this vApp.

Reservation Type

Limit

Upper limit for this vApp's CPU allocation. Select Unlimited to specify no
upper limit.

In the Deployment section, click Memory resources to allocate memory resources to this vApp.
Option

Description

Reservation

Guaranteed memory allocation for this vApp.

Reservation Type

Limit

Upper limit for this vApp's memory allocation. Select Unlimited to specify
no upper limit.

Click OK.

View Unrecognized OVF Sections
If your vApp is based on an OVF file that was not created in the vSphere Web Client, it might include some
configuration information that is not recognized by vCenter Server. You can view the information in the
Edit vApp Settings dialog.
Procedure
1

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Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

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Click Unrecognized OVF Sections in the Deployment section.

Click OK.

Configure vApp IP Allocation Policy
If your vApp is set up to allow it, and if you have the required privileges, you can edit how IP addresses are
allocated for the vApp.
By default, you cannot edit the IP application policy in the Deployment section when you create a vApp in
the vSphere Web Client. Change the IP allocation scheme to the protocol of your choice before you
configure the IP allocation policy. If deployed an OVF template to create the vApp, IP allocation policy
might be editable.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp instance configuration
Procedure
1

Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

Click the IP Allocation triangle to expand the IP allocation options.

Select an IP allocation option.
Option

Description

Static - Manual

IP addresses are manually configured. No automatic allocation is
performed.

Transient - IP Pool

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.

DHCP

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.

Static - IP Pool

IP addresses are automatically allocated from the managed IP network
range of vCenter Server at power-on, and remain allocated at power-off.

Static - IP Pool and Transient - IP Pool have in common that IP allocation is done through the range
managed by the vSphere platform as specified by the IP pool range in a network protocol profile. The
difference is that for a static IP Pool, the IP addresses are allocated at first power-on and remain
allocated, while for a transient IP Pool, the IP addresses are allocated when needed, typically at poweron, but released during power-off.
4

Click OK.

Configure 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.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp.
Procedure

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Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

Click the Start Order triangle to expand the start order options.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Select a virtual machine and click the up or down arrow to move the virtual machine in the startup
order; the reverse order is used for shutdown.
Virtual machines and vApps in the same group are started before the objects in the next group.

(Optional) For each virtual machine, select the startup action for the virtual machine.
The default is Power On. Select None to power on the virtual machine manually.

(Optional) Specify when the startup action is to happen
n

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.

(Optional) For each virtual machine, select the shutdown action for the virtual machine.
The default is Power Off. You can also select Guest Shutdown to shut down the guest and leave the
virtual machine running, Suspend, or None.

(Optional) Enter a time delay in seconds for the shutdown action.

Click OK.

Configure vApp Product Properties
You can configure product and vendor information for a vApp.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp.
Procedure
1

Navigate to a vApp in the inventory and click Edit vApp Settings.

In the Authoring section, 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

Description

Product Name

Product Name.

Version

vApp version.

Full Version

Full version of the vApp.

Product URL

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.

Vendor URL

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.

Application URL

The vApp Summary page you can view in the vSphere Client includes a
Status pane that includes information about vApp status, for example
Running or Stopped. If you enter a valid application URL, the virtual
machine Status pane displays Available instead of Running. The
Available text is also a link to the application URL.

if you configure the virtual machine to use the property called webserver_ip and the virtual machine has
a web server at the address represented by the property, you can enter http://${webserver_ip}/ as the
Application URL.
4

(Optional) Click View to test the Product URL and Vendor URL.

Click OK.

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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 from an OVF that includes a license
agreement.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.vApp application configuration on the vApp.
Procedure
1

On the Summary page of the vApp, click Edit Settings.

Click View License Agreement in the Options list.

Click OK.

Clone a vApp
Cloning a vApp is similar to cloning a virtual machine. When you clone a vApp, you clone all virtual
machines and vApps in the vApp.
Prerequisites
When you clone a vApp, you can add the clone to a folder, standalone host, resource pool, cluster enabled
for DRS, or another vApp.
Verify that one of those objects is available in your datacenter.
n

A standalone host that is running ESX 3.0 or greater.

A cluster enabled for DRS is selected.

Procedure

172

Navigate to a DRS-enabled cluster and click the Create a new vApp icon (

Select Clone an existing vApp.

Expand the inventory, select an existing vApp to clone, and click Next.

Select a valid host, vApp, or resource pool in which to run the vApp, and click Next

In the vApp Name text box, type a name for the vApp.

Select the datacenter or folder in which to deploy the vApp and click Next.

Select the virtual disk format and the target datastore and click Next.

Select the network for the cloned vApp and click Next.

Review the vApp settings and click Finish.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Perform vApp Power Operations
One of the advantages of a vApp is that you can perform power operations on all virtual machines it
contains at the same time.

Power on a vApp
You can power on a vApp to power on all its virtual machines and child vApps. Virtual machines are
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
1

Navigate to the vApp you want to power on.

Right-click the vApp and select Power On.
If a delay is set in the startup settings of a virtual machine in the vApp, the vApp waits for the set
length of time before powering on that virtual machine.

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

Power Off a vApp
You can power off a vApp to power off all its virtual machines and child vApps. Virtual machines are
powered off in reverse startup order.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.Power Off on the vApp.
Procedure
1

Navigate to the vApp you want to power off.

Right-click the vApp and select Power Off.
If a delay is set in the shutdown settings of a virtual machine in the vApp, the vApp waits for the set
length of time before powering off that virtual machine.

Suspend a vApp
You can suspend a vApp to suspend all its virtual machines and child vApps. Virtual machines are
suspended in the reverse order of the specified startup order.
All virtual machines are suspended regardless of the Suspend behavior you specified in the Power
Management VM Option for the virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: vApp.Suspend on the vApp.

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Procedure
1

Navigate to the vApp you want to suspend.

Right-click the vApp and select Suspend.

Resume a vApp
You can resume a vApp to resume all its virtual machines and child vApps. Virtual machines are resumed
according to their startup order configuration.
Procedure
1

Navigate to the vApp you want to resume.

Right-click the virtual machine and select Power On.

Edit vApp Notes
You can add or edit notes for a particular vApp.
Procedure
1

Select the vApp in the inventory.

Select All Actions > Edit Notes.

Type your comments in the Edit Notes window.

Click OK.

Your comments appear in the Summary tab for the vApp.

Add a Network Protocol Profile
A network protocol profile contains a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. vCenter Server assigns those
resources to vApps or to virtual machines with vApp functionality that are connected to port groups
associated with the profile.
Network protocol profiles also contain settings for the IP subnet, DNS, and HTTP proxy server.
NOTE If you move a vApp or a virtual machine that retrieves its network settings from a protocol profile to
another data center, to power on the vApp or virtual machine you must assign a protocol profile to the
connected port group on the destination data center.
Procedure
1

Select the Network Protocol Profile Name and Network on page 175
Name the network protocol profile and select the network that should use it.

Specify Network Protocol Profile IPv4 Configuration on page 175
A network protocol profile contains a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for use by vApps. When you
create a network protocol profile, you set up its IPv4 configuration.

Specify Network Protocol Profile IPv6 Configuration on page 176
A network protocol profile contains a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for use by vApps. When you
create a network protocol profile, you set up its IPv6 configuration.

Specify Network Protocol Profile DNS and Other Configuration on page 176
When you create a network protocol profile, you can specify the DNS domain, DNS search path, a
host prefix, and HTTP proxy.

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Complete the Network Protocol Profile Creation on page 177

Associate a Port Group with a Network Protocol Profile on page 177
To apply the range of IP addresses from a network protocol profile to a virtual machine that is a part
of a vApp or has vApp functionality enabled, associate the profile with a port group that controls the
networking of the virtual machine.

Configure a Virtual Machine or vApp to Use a Network Protocol Profile on page 177
After you associate a protocol profile to a port group of a standard switch or a distributed switch,
enable the usage of profile on a virtual machine that is connected to the port group and is associated
with a vApp or has the vApp options enabled.

Procedure
1

Navigate to a data center that is associated with the vApp and click the Manage tab.

Click Network Protocol Profiles
Existing network protocol profiles are listed.

Click the Add icon ( ) to add a new network protocol profile.

Select the Network Protocol Profile Name and Network
Name the network protocol profile and select the network that should use it.
Procedure
1

Type the name of the network protocol profile.

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

Click Next.

Specify Network Protocol Profile IPv4 Configuration
A network protocol profile contains a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for use by vApps. When you create a
network protocol profile, you set up its IPv4 configuration.
You can configure network protocol profile ranges for IPv4, IPv6, or both. 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

Enter the IP Subnet and Gateway in their respective fields.

Select DHCP Present to indicate that the DHCP server is available on this network.

Enter the DNS server information.
Specify the servers by IP addresses separated by a comma, semicolon, or space.

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Select the Enable IP Pool check box to specify an IP pool range.

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If you enable IP Pools, enter a comma-separated list of host address ranges in the IP pool range 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. The ranges that you enter in the IP pool range
field cannot include 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 10.20.60.13 and 10.20.61.0 to 10.20.61.1.

Click Next.

Specify Network Protocol Profile IPv6 Configuration
A network protocol profile contains a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for use by vApps. When you create a
network protocol profile, you set up its IPv6 configuration.
You can configure network protocol profile ranges for IPv4, IPv6, or both.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

Enter the IP Subnet and Gateway in their respective fields.

Select DHCP Present to indicate that the DHCP server is available on this network.

Enter the DNS server information.
Specify the servers by IP addresses separated by a comma, semicolon, or space.

Select the Enable IP Pool check box to specify an IP pool range.

If you enable IP Pools, enter a comma-separated list of host address ranges in the IP pool range field.
A range consists of an IP address, a pound sign (#), and a number indicating the length of the range. For
example. assume that you specify the following IP pool range:
fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5a:2b#10,fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5f:b1#2
Then the addresses are in this range:
fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5a:2b - fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5a:34
and
fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5f:b1 - fe80:0:0:0:2bff:fe59:5f:b2
The gateway and the ranges must be within the subnet. The ranges that you enter in the IP pool range
field cannot include the gateway address.

Click Next.

Specify Network Protocol Profile DNS and Other Configuration
When you create a network protocol profile, you can specify the DNS domain, DNS search path, a host
prefix, and HTTP proxy.
Procedure
1

Enter the DNS domain.

Enter the host prefix.

Enter the DNS search path.
The search paths are specified as a list of DNS domains separated by commas, semi-colons, or spaces.

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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.

Click Next.

Complete the Network Protocol Profile Creation
Procedure
u

Review the settings and click Finish to complete adding the network protocol profile.

Associate a Port Group with a Network Protocol Profile
To apply the range of IP addresses from a network protocol profile to a virtual machine that is a part of a
vApp or has vApp functionality enabled, associate the profile with a port group that controls the
networking of the virtual machine.
You can associate a port group of a standard switch or a distributed port group of a distributed switch with
a network protocol profile by using the settings of the group.
Procedure
1

Navigate to a distributed port group of a vSphere Distributed Switch or to a port group of a vSphere
Standard Switch in the Networking view of the vSphere Web Client.
The port groups of standard switches are under the data center. The vSphere Web Client displays
distributed port groups under the parent distributed switch object.

On the Manage tab, click Network Protocol Profiles.

Click Associate a network protocol profile with the selected network.

On the Set association type page of the Associate Network Protocol Profile wizard, select Use an
existing network protocol profile and click Next.
If the existing network protocol profiles do not contain settings suitable for the vApp virtual machines
in the port group, you must create a new profile.

Select the network protocol profile and click Next.

Examine the association and settings of the network protocol profile, and click Finish.

Configure a Virtual Machine or vApp to Use a Network Protocol Profile
After you associate a protocol profile to a port group of a standard switch or a distributed switch, enable the
usage of profile on a virtual machine that is connected to the port group and is associated with a vApp or
has the vApp options enabled.
Prerequisites
Verify that the virtual machine is connected to a port group that is associated with the network protocol
profile.
Procedure
1

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In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the virtual machine or the vApp.

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Open the settings of the vApp or the vApp Options tab of the virtual machine.
n

Right-click a vApp and select Edit settings.

Right-click a virtual machine, select Edit settings, and in the Edit Settings dialog box, click the
vApp Options tab.

Click Enable vApp options.

Under Authoring, expand IP allocation and set the IP allocation scheme to OVF environment.

Under Deployment, expand IP allocation and set IP allocation to Transient - IP Pool or Static - IP
Pool.
Both the Static - IP Pool and Transient - IP Pool options allocate an IP address from the range in the
network protocol profile that is associated with the port group. If you select Static - IP Pool, the IP
address is assigned the first time the virtual machine or vApp is powered on and the address persists
across restarts. If you select Transient - IP Pool, an IP address is assigned every time the virtual
machine or vApp is powered on.

Click OK.

When the virtual machine is powered on, the adapters connected to the port group receive IP addresses
from the range in the protocol profile. When the virtual machine is powered off, the IP addresses are
released.

Virtual Machine vApp Options
When you edit the settings for a virtual machine, you can enable vApp options. When vApp options are
enabled, you can configure OVF properties, use the OVF environment, and specify IP allocation and
product information for the virtual machine.

Enable Virtual Machine vApp Options
You can configure vApp options in a virtual machine. Those options are saved when you export the virtual
machine as an OVF template, and used when the OVF is deployed.
If you enable vApp options and export a virtual machine to OVF, the virtual machine receives an OVF
Environment XML descriptor at boot time. The OVF descriptor might include values for custom properties
including network configuration and IP addresses.
The OVF environment can be transported to the guest in two ways:
n

As a CD-ROM that contains the XML document. The CD-ROM is mounted on the CD-ROM drive.

Through VMware Tools. The guest OS environment variable guestinfo.ovfEnv contains the XML
document.

Procedure

178

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

Select Enable vApp options.

Click OK.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Edit Application Properties and OVF Deployment Options for a Virtual Machine
If a virtual machine is a deployed OVF, you can view application properties and OVF Deployment options
that are defined in the OVF. Deployment options include unrecognized OVF section and the IP allocation
policy
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

If the OVF template included editable application properties, make changes if necessary.

If the OFV template includes information that vCenter Server cannot process, you can view that
information under Unrecognized OVF Sections.

If the OVF template included editable IP allocation options, make changes if necessary.
Option

Description

Static - Manual

IP addresses are manually configured. No automatic allocation is
performed.

Transient - IP Pool

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.

DHCP

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.

Static - IP Pool

IP addresses are automatically allocated from the managed IP network
range of vCenter Server at power-on, and remain allocated at power-off.

Edit OVF Authoring Options for a Virtual Machine
You can use the OVF Authoring options that are included in a virtual machine's vApp options to specify
custom information that is included when you export the virtual machine as an OVF template.
vApp properties are a central concept of vApp deployment and self configuration; they can turn a general
OVF package into a running vApp instance with a custom configuration.
The set of properties associated to a running vApp is determined by the OVF package from which the vApp
was deployed.
n

When an OVF package is created the author adds the set of properties necessary for the vApp to
function in an unknown environment. This could for instance be properties containing network
configuration, a property containing the email address of the system administrator or a property
containing the number of expected users of the vApp.

Some property values are entered by the user when the vApp is deployed, while other property values
are configured by vCenter Server when the vApp is powered on. How this is handled depends on the
property type and vCenter Server configuration.

When vCenter Server powers on a vApp, it creates an XML document that contains all properties and their
values. This document is made available to each virtual machine in the vApp, and allows the virtual
machines to apply the properties to their own environment.

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Edit vApp Product Information for a Virtual Machine on page 180
If you want to export a virtual machine as an OVF, you can prespecify product properties. Those
properties become available when you deploy the OVF as a virtual machine.

Manage vApp Custom Properties for a Virtual Machine on page 181
You can manage and define custom properties that are stored in the OVF template when you export a
virtual machine or vApp and are used by vCenter Server when you deploy the OVF template. OVF
templates support static properties, which are often configured by the user, and dynamic properties,
which are always set by vCenter Server.

Edit vApp IP Allocation Policy for a Virtual Machine on page 181
You can edit the IP allocation policy through the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box.

Edit OVF Settings for a Virtual Machine on page 182
A virtual machine's OVF settings allow you to customize the OVF environment, OVF transport, and
boot behavior after OVF deployment. You can edit and configure settings that affect the OVF
environment in the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box.

Edit vApp Product Information for a Virtual Machine
If you want to export a virtual machine as an OVF, you can prespecify product properties. Those properties
become available when you deploy the OVF as a virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

In the Authoring section select Product.

Set and configure the settings that appear on the summary page of the virtual machine.
vApp Setting

Description

Product Name

Product Name.

Version

vApp version.

Full Version

Full version of the vApp.

Product URL

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.

Vendor URL

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.

Application URL

180

Click OK.

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Chapter 8 Managing Multi-Tiered Applications with vSphere vApp

Manage vApp Custom Properties for a Virtual Machine
You can manage and define custom properties that are stored in the OVF template when you export a
virtual machine or vApp and are used by vCenter Server when you deploy the OVF template. OVF
templates support static properties, which are often configured by the user, and dynamic properties, which
are always set by vCenter Server.
Perform these tasks to customize your virtual machine or vApp with properties:
1

Define the OVF properties, for example a DNS address or gateway, in the virtual machine or vApp.

If you or planning to export to OVF:
a

Set up the OVF environment transport to carry the settings into the virtual machine. See “Edit OVF
Settings for a Virtual Machine,” on page 182.

Write some glue code to access and apply the information to the virtual machine.

See the VMware vApp Developer blog topic Self-Configuration and the OVF Environment for a discussion,
sample code, and a video.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

In the Authoring section, click Properties.
You can select and edit or delete an existing property, or create a new custom property.

To create a property, click New.

Specify property fields.

Click OK.

Edit vApp IP Allocation Policy for a Virtual Machine
You can edit the IP allocation policy through the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

In the Authoring section, select IP allocation.
The information you specify will be used if you export the virtual machine to OVF and deploy the OVF.

Select a network configuration scheme.
Option

Description

OVF environment

Determined by the environment in which you deploy the OVF template.

DHCP

The IP addresses are allocated using DHCP when the virtual machine is
powered on.

Choose the IP protocol that this vApp supports: IPv4, IPv6, or both.

Click OK.

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Edit OVF Settings for a Virtual Machine
A virtual machine's OVF settings allow you to customize the OVF environment, OVF transport, and boot
behavior after OVF deployment. You can edit and configure settings that affect the OVF environment in the
Virtual Machine Properties dialog box.
Prerequisites
vApp options must be enabled in order to access these options.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

Click the vApp Options tab.

In the Authoring section, click OVF Settings.

View and specify the settings.
Option

Description

OVF environment

Click View to display the OVF environment settings in XML format. The
settings are not available when the virtual machine is powered off.

OVF environment transport

If you select ISO image, an ISO image that contains the OVF template
information is mounted in the CD-ROM drive.

If you select VMware Tools, the VMware Tools guestInfo.ovfEnv
variable is initialized with the OVF environment document.

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182

If you click Enable, the virtual machine is reboots after OVF deployment
completes. You can select the amount of time before the virtual machine
starts the reboot operation.

Click OK.

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Monitoring Solutions with the
vCenter Solutions Manager

In the vSphere Web Client, you can view an inventory of installed solutions, view detailed information
about the solutions, and monitor the solution health status. A solution is an extension of vCenter Server that
adds new functions to a vCenter Server instance.
VMware products that integrate with vCenter Server are also considered solutions. For example, vSphere
ESX Agent Manager is a solution provided by VMware to let you manage host agents that add new
capabilities to ESX/ESXi hosts.
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 the vSphere Web Client. You can integrate solutions into the vCenter Solutions Manager, which
provides a view in the vSphere Web Client that lists all solutions.
If a virtual machine or vApp is running a solution, a custom icon represents it in the inventory of the
vSphere Web Client. 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, or 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 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 Solutions Manager. 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:
n

“View Solutions and vServices,” on page 183

“Monitoring Agents,” on page 184

“Monitoring vServices,” on page 184

View Solutions and vServices
In the vSphere Web Client, you can view information about solutions and vService providers. A vService is
a service that a solution provides to specific applications that run inside virtual machines and vApps.
Procedure
1

Navigate to the vCenter Server system in the object navigator.

Double-click the vCenter Server object.

Click Extensions.

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Select a solution.
The Summary tab displays more information about the solution.

To view vService provider information, click Monitor, and click vServices.

Monitoring Agents
The vCenter Solutions Manager displays the vSphere ESX Agent Manager agents that you use to deploy and
manage related agents on ESX/ESXi hosts.
You can use the Solutions Manager to keep track of whether the agents of a solution are working as
expected. Outstanding issues are reflected by the solution's ESX Agent Manager status and a list of issues.
When the status of a solution changes, the Solutions Manager updates the ESX Agent Manager summary
status and state. Administrators use this status to track whether the goal state is reached.
The agent health status is indicated by a specific color.
Table 9‑1. ESX Agent Manager health status
Status

Description

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,
and 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 have reached the goal state.

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:
n

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.

The vServices 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 can manage individual virtual machines or a group of virtual machines that belongs to a host or cluster.
You can install the Client Integration Plug-in to access the virtual machine's console. From the console, you
can change the guest operating system settings, use applications, browse the file system, monitor system
performance, and so on. Use snapshots to capture the state of the virtual machine at the time you take the
snapshot.
To migrate virtual machines using cold or hot migration, including vMotion, vMotion in environments
without shared storage, and Storage vMotion, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings,” on page 185

“Install the Client Integration Plug-In,” on page 187

“Using a Virtual Machine Remote Console,” on page 187

“Open the HTML 5 Remote Console,” on page 188

“Install the VMware Remote Console Application,” on page 188

“Using the VMware Remote Console Application,” on page 189

“Adding and Removing Virtual Machines,” on page 189

“Change the Template Name,” on page 191

“Deleting Templates,” on page 191

“Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines,” on page 192

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 or
after a delay. You can also set the default timing and startup order for virtual machines. This way, the
operating system has enough time to save data when the host enters maintenance mode or is being powered
off for another reason.
The Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown (automatic startup) setting is disabled for all virtual machines
residing on hosts that are in a vSphere HA cluster. Automatic startup is not supported with vSphere HA.
NOTE You can also create a scheduled task to change the power settings for a virtual machine. See vCenter
Server and Host Management.
Procedure
1

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In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the host where the virtual machine is located.

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Select Manage > Settings.

Under Virtual Machines, select VM Startup/Shutdown and click Edit.
The Edit VM Startup and Shutdown dialog box opens.

Select Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system.

(Optional) In the Default VM Settings pane, configure the default startup and shutdown behavior for all
virtual machines on the host.

Setting

Description

Startup Delay

After you start the ESXi host, it starts powering on the virtual machines
that are configured for automatic startup. After the ESXi host powers on
the first virtual machine, the host waits for the specified delay time and
then powers on the next virtual machine. The virtual machines are
powered on in the startup order specified in the Per-VM Overrides pane.

Continue immediately if VMware
Tools starts

Shortens the startup delay of the virtual machine. If VMware Tools starts
before the specified delay time passes, the ESXi host powers on the next
virtual machine without waiting for the delay time to pass.

Shutdown Delay

When you power off the ESXi host, it starts powering off the virtual
machines that run on it. The order in which virtual machines are powered
off is the reverse of their startup order. After the ESXi host powers off the
first virtual machine, the host waits for the specified shutdown delay time
and then powers off the next virtual machine. The ESXi host shuts down
only after all virtual machines are powered off.

Shutdown Action

Select a shutdown action that is applicable to the virtual machines on the
host when the host shuts down.
n Power Off
n Suspend
n Guest Shutdown

(Optional) In the Per-VM Overrides pane, configure the startup order and behavior for individual
virtual machines.
Use this option when you need the delay of the virtual machine to be different than the default delay
for all machines. The settings that you configure for individual virtual machines override the default
settings for all machines.
a

To change the startup order of virtual machines, select one from the Manual Startup category and
use the up arrow to move it up to Automatic Startup or Any Order.
Use the up and down arrows to change the startup order for virtual machines in the Automatic
Startup category. During shutdown, the virtual machines shut down in the reverse order.

Click Startup Behavior, select Custom, and configure the startup delay before the next virtual
machine in the sequence is powered on.

Click VMware Tools, and select whether the ESXi host waits for the delay to pass when VMware
Tools is already installed on the virtual machine.
If you select the Continue if VMware Tools is installed the ESXi host powers on the next virtual
machine without waiting for the delay to pass. If you select the Do not continue if VMware Tools
is installed the ESXi host waits for the delay to pass.

d
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Click Shutdown Behavior, select Custom, and configure the shutdown action and delay.

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

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Chapter 10 Managing Virtual Machines

Install the Client Integration Plug-In
The Client Integration Plug-in provides access to a virtual machine's console in the vSphere Web Client, and
provides access to other vSphere infrastructure features. The Client Integration Plug-in also lets you log in to
the vSphere Web Client by using Windows session credentials.
You use the Client Integration Plug-in to deploy OVF or OVA templates and transfer files with the datastore
browser. You can also use the Client Integration Plug-in to connect virtual devices that reside on a client
computer to a virtual machine.
Install the Client Integration Plug-in only once to enable all the functionality the plug-in delivers. You must
close the Web browser before installing the plug-in.
If you install the Client Integration Plug-in from an Internet Explorer browser, you must first disable
Protected Mode and enable pop-up windows on your Web browser. Internet Explorer identifies the Client
Integration Plug-in as being on the Internet instead of on the local intranet. In such cases, the plug-in is not
installed correctly because Protected Mode is enabled for the Internet.
For information about supported browsers and operating systems, see the vSphere Installation and Setup
documentation.
Watch the video "Installing the Client Integration Plug-In" for information about the Client Integration PlugIn:
Installing the Client Integration Plug-In
(http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2296383276001?bctid=ref:video_client_plug_in)
Prerequisites
If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, disable Protected Mode.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a link to download the Client Integration Plug-in.
Option

Description

vSphere Web Client login page

a
b

Open a Web browser and type the URL for the vSphere Web Client.
At the bottom of the vSphere Web Client login page, click Download
Client Integration Plug-in.
NOTE If the Client Integration Plug-In is already installed on your
system, you will not see the link to download the plug-in. If you
uninstall the Client Integration Plug-In, the link to download it will
display on the vSphere Web Client login page.

OVF deployment wizard

Select a host in the inventory and select Actions > Deploy OVF
Template.
Click Download Client Integration Plug-in.

If the browser blocks the installation either by issuing certificate errors or by running a pop-up blocker,
follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.

Using a Virtual Machine Remote Console
With the vSphere Web Client, you can access a virtual machine's desktop by launching a remote console to
the virtual machine.
From the virtual machine remote console, you can perform tasks in the virtual machine such as installing an
operating system, configuring the operating system settings, running applications, monitoring performance,
and so on. In the vSphere Web Client there are two different virtual machine remote consoles.

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The VMware Remote Console (VMRC) standalone application for Windows that opens in a separate
window. The VMware Remote Console standalone application has extended functionality that enables you
to connect to client devices and launch virtual machine consoles on remote hosts.
The HTML 5 remote console opens in a browser tab. Some functions might not be available when you use
the HTML 5 remote console.

Open the HTML 5 Remote Console
With the vSphere Web Client, you can access a virtual machine's desktop by launching the HTML 5 remote
console to the virtual machine. From the HTML 5 remote console, you can perform tasks in the virtual
machine such as installing an operating system, configuring the operating system settings, running
applications, monitoring performance, and so on.
Prerequisites
n

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, verify that the Client Integration Plug-in is installed.
For more information, see “Install the Client Integration Plug-In,” on page 187.

Verify that the virtual machine has a guest operating system and that VMware Tools is installed.

Verify that the virtual machine is powered on.

Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a virtual machine in the inventory.

Right-click the virtual machine and select Open Console.
The HTML 5 remote console opens in a new tab of the Web browser.

Click anywhere inside the console window to start using your mouse, keyboard, and other input
devices in the console.

(Optional) Click Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete to send the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keystroke combination to the guest
operating system.

(Optional) Press Ctrl+Alt to release the cursor from the console window and work outside the console
window
This keystroke combination is only available if the Client Integration Plug-in is installed for your Web
browser.

(Optional) Click Full Screen to view the console in full screen mode.
This button is only available if the Client Integration Plug-in is installed for your Web browser.

(Optional) Press Ctrl+Alt+Enter to enter or exit full screen mode.
This keystroke combination is only available if the Client Integration Plug-in is installed for your Web
browser.

Install the VMware Remote Console Application
The VMware Remote Console (VMRC) is a standalone console application for Windows that enables you to
connect to client devices and launch virtual machine consoles on remote hosts.
Procedure

188

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a virtual machine in the inventory.

Click the Summary tab, and click Download Remote Console link.

Download the VMRC installer from the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/go/download-vmrc.

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Chapter 10 Managing Virtual Machines

Using the VMware Remote Console Application
You can use the standalone VMRC to connect to client devices.
With VMRC, you can access the mouse and keyboard connected to remote virtual machines. To perform
administrative tasks, make sure that you log in to the VMRC as an administrator.
Prerequisites
Verify that the VMRC is installed on your local system. You can download the VMRC installer for Windows
from the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/go/download-vmrc.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a virtual machine in the inventory.

Click the Summary tab, and click the Launch Remote Console link.

Click Allow to confirm.
The VMRC opens as a standalone application for the selected virtual machine. You can also launch
more than one console to access several remote virtual machines at the same time.

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 host’s 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 Web 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
When you remove a virtual machine from the inventory, you unregister it from the host and vCenter Server,
but you do not delete it from the datastore. Virtual machine files remain at the same storage location and
you can re-registered the virtual machine by using the datastore browser at a later time. This capability is
useful if you need to unregister a virtual machine to edit the virtual machine's configuration file. The ability
to remove a virtual machine and maintain its files is useful when you have reached the maximum number
of virtual machines that your license or hardware allows.
Prerequisites
Verify that the virtual machine is turned off.
Procedure
1

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.

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Remove Virtual Machines from the Datastore
If you no longer need a virtual machine and want to free up space on the datastore, you can remove the
virtual machine from vCenter Server and delete all virtual machine files from the datastore, including the
configuration file and virtual disk files.
Prerequisites
n

Power off the virtual machine.

Ensure that another virtual machine is not sharing the disk. If two virtual machines are sharing the
same disk, the disk files are not deleted.

Procedure
1

Right-click the virtual machine and select All vCenter Actions > Delete from Disk.

Click OK.

vCenter Server deletes the virtual machine from its datastore. Disks that are shared with other virtual
machines are not deleted.

Register a Virtual Machine with vCenter Server
If you removed a virtual machine from vCenter Server but did not remove it from the managed host's
datastore, you can return it to the vCenter Server inventory by registering it with the vCenter Server.
Procedure
1

In the vSphere Web Client inventory, right-click the datastore on which the virtual machine
configuration file is stored and select All vCenter Actions > Register VM.

Browse to and select the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file and click OK.

Use the existing virtual machine name or type a new name, and select a datacenter or folder location for
the virtual machine.

Click Next.

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

Action

Run the virtual machine on a
standalone host.

Select the host and click Next.

Run the virtual machine in a cluster
with DRS automatic placement.

Select the cluster and click Next.

Run the virtual machine in a cluster
without DRS automatic placement.

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.

Review your selections and click Finish.

The virtual machine is added to the vCenter Server inventory.

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Change the Template Name
If you move a template to another host or datacenter folder, you can change the template name to make it
unique in that folder.
Procedure
1

Right-click the template and select Rename.

Enter a new name and click OK.

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.

Remove Templates from the Inventory
If a template has become outdated and you no longer use it in your environment, you can remove it from
the inventory. Removing a template unregisters it from the vCenter Server inventory, but it is not removed
from the datastore. The template remains at the same storage location, and you can use the datastore
browser to re-registered the template at a later time. You can later decide to update the template rather than
create one.
Procedure
1

Click the template and select Remove from Inventory.

Click Yes 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
If you no longer need a template or need to free up disk space, you can remove it from the disk. Templates
that you delete are permanently removed from the system.
You cannot recover a template that you delete from the disk.
Procedure
1

Right-click the template and select Delete from Disk.

Click Yes to confirm removing the template from the datastore.

Reregister Templates
Templates can become unregistered from vCenter Server if they are removed from the inventory or if the
hosts with which they are associated are removed from vCenter Server and then readded.
Procedure
1

Browse to or search for the datastore that contains the template.

Click the Manage tab and click Files.

Browse to locate the template and click it to display the template files.
The hard disk and configuration and other files appear in the Name column.

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Click the template to display the template files.

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Locate and right-click the .vmtx file and select Register VM.
The Register Virtual Machine wizard appears.

Maintain the original template name or enter a new name in the Name text box.

Select a location for the template and click Next.

Select a host or cluster on which to store the template and click Next.

Review your selections and click Finish.

To verify that the template is reregistered, check the host or cluster inventory.
Inventory

Description

Host

Browse to the host. Click the Related Objects tab, and click VM
Templates.

Cluster

Browse to the cluster. In the inventory view, select VM Templates to
display the list of templates.

The template is registered to the host. Click the Related Objects tab, and click VM Templates to view the
template. You can view the template from the host’s Related Objects tab by clicking VM Templates .

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 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 base .vmdk file.
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, -delta.vmdk, .vmsd, and .vmsn files. By default, the first and all delta disks are stored with the
base .vmdk file. The .vmsd and .vmsn files are stored in the virtual machine directory.
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 childparent relationship information, and a corresponding file that contains the
raw data.
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 base disk. The flat
disk contains the raw data for the base disk. This file does not appear as a
separate file in the Datastore Browser.

Database file

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.

Memory file

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.

A Take Snapshot operation creates .vmdk, -delta.vmdk, vmsd, and vmsn files.

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File

Description

vmname-number.vmdk and vmnamenumber-delta.vmdk

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.vmdk where 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.

vmname.vmsd

Database of the virtual machine's snapshot information and the primary source of
information for the Snapshot Manager.

vmname.Snapshotnumber.vmsn

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.

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.
n

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.

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.

If a virtual machine has virtual hard disks larger than 2TBs, snapshot operations can take significantly
longer to finish.

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 Latest Snapshot command from the virtual machine’s
right-click menu to restore that snapshot at any time. If you have a series of snapshots, you can use the
Revert 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

Displays all snapshots for the virtual machine.

You are here icon

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. Revert to, Delete, and Delete all are disabled for the You are here
state.

Revert to, Delete, and
Delete All

Snapshot options.

Details

Shows the snapshot name and description, the date you created the
snapshot, and the disk space. The Console shows the power state of the
virtual machine when a snapshot was taken. The Name, Description, and
Created text boxes are blank if you do not select a snapshot.

Navigation

Contains buttons for navigating out of the dialog box.
n

Close the Snapshot Manager.

The question mark icon opens the help system.

Taking Snapshots of a Virtual Machine
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 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. Depending on the task that you are performing, you can
create a memory snapshot or you can quiesce the file system in the virtual machine.
Memory Snapshots

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The default selection for taking snapshots. When you capture the virtual
machine's memory state, the snapshot retains the live state of the virtual
machine. Memory snapshots create a snapshot at a precise time, for example,
to upgrade software that is still working. If you take a memory snapshot and
the upgrade does not complete as expected, or the software does not meet
your expectations, you can revert the virtual machine to its previous state.

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When you capture the memory state, the virtual machine's files do 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.
Quiesced 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. Quiesced snapshots are
appropriate for automated or periodic backups. For example, if you are
unaware of the virtual machine's activity, but want several recent backups to
revert to, you can quiesce the files.
If the virtual machine is powered off or VMware Tools is not available, the
Quiesce parameter is not available. You cannot quiesce virtual machines that
have large capacity disks.

IMPORTANT Do not use snapshots as your only backup solution or as a long-term backup solution.

Change Disk Mode to Exclude Virtual Disks from Snapshots
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:
n

Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Remove Snapshot

Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings

Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.

On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Hard disk, and select an independent disk mode option.

Option

Description

Independent - Persistent

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.

Independent - Nonpersistent

Click OK.

Taking a Snapshot
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.

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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.
Application-consistent quiescing is not supported for virtual machines with IDE or SATA disks.
NOTE If you take a snapshot of a Dynamic Disk (Microsoft specific disk type), the snapshot technology
preserves the quiesce state of the file system, but does not preserve the quiesce state of the application.
Prerequisites
n

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.

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Snapshot management. Create snapshot privilege on the
virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click the virtual machine the inventory and select Take Snapshot.
a

To locate a virtual machine, select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.

Click the Related Objects tab and click Virtual Machines.

Type a name for the snapshot.

(Optional) Type a description for the snapshot.

(Optional) Select the Snapshot the virtual machine’s memory check box to capture the memory of the
virtual machine.

(Optional) Deselect Snapshot the virtual machine's memory and 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.
Quiesce the virtual machine files only when the virtual machine is powered on and you do not want to
capture the virtual machine's memory.

Click OK.

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.

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You can restore snapshots in the following ways:
Revert to Latest
Snapshot

Restores the parent snapshot, one level up in the hierarchy from the You are
Here position. Revert to Latest Snapshot activates the parent snapshot of the
current state of the virtual machine.

Revert To

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:
n

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 10‑1. Virtual Machine Power State After Restoring a Snapshot
Virtual Machine State When Parent Snapshot Is
Taken

Virtual Machine State After Restoration

Powered on (includes memory)

Reverts to the parent snapshot, and the virtual machine is
powered on and running.

Powered on (does not include memory)

Reverts to the parent snapshot and the virtual machine is
powered off.

Powered off (does not include memory)

Reverts to the parent snapshot and the virtual machine is
powered off.

Virtual machines running certain kinds of workloads can take several minutes to resume responsiveness
after reverting from a snapshot.
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 the Latest Snapshot
When you revert to the latest snapshot, you immediately restore the parent snapshot 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.
Independent disks are also removed when you revert to a snapshot that was taken before the disk was
added. If the latest snapshot includes an independent disk, its contents do not change when you revert to
that snapshot.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Revert to snapshot privilege on the
virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory, and select Revert to Latest Snapshot.

When prompted, click Yes.

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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.

Revert to a Snapshot
Revert to a snapshot to restore the virtual machine to the state of that snapshot.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Revert to snapshot privilege on the
virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Right-click the virtual machine and select Manage Snapshots.

In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it.

Click Revert to to restore the virtual machine to the snapshot.
The Revert to command lets you restore the state of any snapshot.

Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.

Click Close to exit the Snapshot Manager.

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,” on page 201.
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

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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.

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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.
Prerequisites
n

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 200.

Required Privilege: Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Remove Snapshot on the virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Right-click the virtual machine and select Manage Snapshots.
a

To locate a virtual machine, select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.

Click the Related Objects tab and click Virtual Machines.

In the Snapshot Manager, click a snapshot to select it.

Select whether to delete a single snapshot or all snapshots.
Option

Description

Delete

Consolidates the snapshot data to the parent snapshot and removes the
selected snapshot from the Snapshot Manager and virtual machine.

Delete All

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 in the confirmation dialog box.

Click Close to exit the Snapshot Manager.

Consolidate Snapshots
The presence of redundant delta disks can adversely affect virtual machine performance. You can combine
such disks without violating a 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 compress after a Delete or Delete all operation.
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 Web Client shows the virtual machines to consolidate.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Remove Snapshot

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Procedure
1

Show the Needs Consolidation column.
a

Select a vCenter Server instance, a host, or a cluster and click the Related Objects tab and click
Virtual Machines.

Right-click the menu bar for any virtual machine column and select Show/Hide Columns > Needs
Consolidation.

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

To consolidate the files, right-click the virtual machine and select Snapshots > Consolidate.

Check the Needs Consolidation column to verify that the task succeeded.
If the task succeeded, a Not Required value appears in the Needs Consolidation column.

If the task failed, check the event log for failed conditions, such as running out of disk space.

Correct the error, and retry the consolidation task.
The configuration problem is resolved, and the Needs Consolidation value is Not Required.

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VMware Tools Components,
Configuration Options, and Security
Requirements

VMware Tools provides drivers and services that enhance the performance of virtual machines and make
possible many of the ease-of-use features in vSphere. When VMware Tools is installed, you can configure
many of these utilities and change their characteristics. In addition, to harden a virtual machine and reduce
security risks as much as possible, disable the VMware Tools features that might be vulnerable to security
threats.
You can use one of the following methods to configure VMware Tools.
n

The command-line configuration utility in the guest operating system. You can modify VMware Tools
settings, shrink virtual disks, and connect and disconnect virtual devices.

Custom scripts.

For NetWare virtual machines, you use the system console to configure virtual machine options.

Menu commands and dialog boxes.

For more information about using VMware Tools, see the following documents:
n

Instructions about installing and upgrading VMware Tools in vSphere, see Chapter 12, “Upgrading
Virtual Machines,” on page 225.

Information about VMware Tools in hosts that are provisioned with vSphere Auto Deploy, see VMware
Knowledge Base article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2004018.

Information about installing and configuring VMware Tools in other VMware products, see the
documentation for your product.

This chapter includes the following topics:
n

“Components of VMware Tools,” on page 203

“Repairing, Changing, and Uninstalling VMware Tools Components,” on page 207

“Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools,” on page 209

“Using vmwtool to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine,” on page 212

“Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility,” on page 213

Components of VMware Tools
VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of a virtual machine. Although a guest
operating system can run without VMware Tools, but you should always run the latest version of VMware
Tools on your guest operating systems to access the latest VMware Tools features and updates that are not
available until you install the suite.

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VMware Tools Service
The VMware Tools service starts when the guest operating system starts. The service passes information
between host and guest operating systems.
This program, which runs in the background, is called vmtoolsd.exe in Windows guest operating systems,
vmware-tools-daemon in Mac OS X guest operating systems, and vmtoolsd in Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris
guest operating systems. The VMware Tools service performs the following tasks:
n

Passes messages from the host to the guest operating system.

Provides support for customization of guest operating systems as a part of the vCenter Server and other
VMware products.

Provides support for guest operating system-bound calls created with the VMware VIX API, except in
Mac OS X guest operating systems.

Runs scripts that help automate guest operating system operations. The scripts run when the power
state of the virtual machine changes.

Synchronizes the time in the guest operating system with the time on the host.

In Windows guest operating systems, allows the pointer to move freely between the guest and the
vSphere Web Client.
On Linux guest operating systems that run Xorg 1.8 and later, this functionality is available as a
standard feature.

In Windows and Mac OS X guest operating systems, fits the screen display resolution of the guest to the
screen resolution of the vSphere Web Client, if running in full screen mode. If running in windowed
mode, fits the screen resolution of the guest to the size of the window on the client or host.

In Windows and Linux guest operating systems, helps create the quiesced snapshots used by certain
backup applications.

In Windows, Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, runs custom power-on script in the
virtual machine when you shut down or restart the guest operating system.

Is one of the processes that sends a heartbeat to the VMware product to indicate that the guest
operating system is running. When the virtual machine runs under ESXi or vCenter Server, a gauge for
this heartbeat appears in the management interface.

Provides support for guest operating on Windows and Linux created using the VMware VIX API,
except in Mac OS X guest operating systems. For information VIX API, see the vSphere API Reference
documentation.

VMware Tools Device Drivers
Device drivers optimize mouse operations and improve sound, graphics, and networking performance. If
you do a custom VMware Tools installation or reinstallation, you can choose which drivers to install.
Which drivers are installed when you install VMware Tools also depends on the guest operating system and
the VMware product. For detailed information about the features or functionality that these drivers enable,
including configuration requirements, best practices, and performance, see the documentation for your
VMware product. The following device drivers can be included with VMware Tools.
SVGA driver

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This virtual driver enables 32-bit displays, high display resolution, and
significantly faster graphics performance. When you install VMware Tools, a
virtual SVGA driver replaces the default VGA driver, which allows for only
640 X 480 resolution and 16-color graphics.

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On Windows guest operating systems whose operating system is Windows
Vista or later, the VMware SVGA 3D (Microsoft - WDDM) driver is installed.
This driver provides the same base functionality as the SVGA driver, and it
adds Windows Aero support.
SCSI driver

A VMware Paravirtual SCSI driver is included for use with paravirtual SCSI
devices. Drivers for other storage adapters are either bundled with the
operating system, or they are available from third-party vendors.
For example, Windows Server 2008 defaults to LSI Logic SAS, which
provides the best performance for that operating system. In this case, the LSI
Logic SAS driver provided by the operating system is used.

Paravirtual SCSI driver

This driver for VMware Paravirtual SCSI adapters enhances the performance
of some virtualized applications.

VMXNet NIC drivers

The vmxnet and vmxnet3 networking drivers improve network
performance. Which driver is used depends on how you configure device
settings for the virtual machine. Search the VMware Knowledge Base for
information on which guest operating systems support these drivers.
When you install VMware Tools, a VMXNet NIC driver replaces the default
vlance driver.

Mouse driver

The virtual mouse driver improves mouse performance. This driver is
required if you use some third-party tools such as Microsoft Terminal
Services.

Audio driver

This sound driver is required for all 64-bit Windows guest operating systems
and 32-bit Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista
guest operating systems.

Guest Introspection
drivers

The two Guest Introspection drivers are the NSX File Introspection driver
and the Network Introspection driver. The NSX File Introspection driver
uses the hypervisor to perform antivirus scans without a bulky agent. This
strategy avoids resource bottlenecks and optimizes memory use. The NSX
Network Introspection driver supports NSX for vSphere Activity
Monitoring. You can install the two drivers separately. When you install
VMware Tools, by default, the Guest Introspection drivers are not installed.

Memory control driver

This driver is required for memory ballooning and is recommended if you
use VMware vSphere. Excluding this driver hinders the memory
management capabilities of the virtual machine in a vSphere deployment.

Modules and drivers
that support making
automatic backups of
virtual machines

If the guest operating system is Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or
other newer Windows operating systems, a Volume Shadow Copy Services
(VSS) module is installed. For other, older Windows operating systems, the
Filesystem Sync driver is installed. These modules allow external third-party
backup software that is integrated with vSphere to create applicationconsistent snapshots. During the snapshotting process, certain processes are
paused and virtual machine disks are quiesced.

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VMCI and VMCI Sockets
drivers

The Virtual Machine Communication Interface driver allows fast and
efficient communication between virtual machines and the hosts they run on.
Developers can write client-server applications to the VMCI Sock (vsock)
interface to make use of the VMCI virtual device.

VMware drivers for
Linux

The drivers for Linux are automatically installed during your operating
system installation, eliminating the need to separately install drivers after OS
installation. VMware actively maintains the source code for VMware
paravirtual drivers and kernel modules, and any Linux distributions creating
new OS releases will automatically include the latest VMware drivers.
VMware does not recommend deleting or replacing existing inbox drivers
for Linux that are distributed by your OS vendors. Deleting or replacing
these drivers could cause conflict with future updates to the drivers. Contact
your OS vendor or OS community for availability of specific updates to
drivers.
See http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2073804 for information about availability,
maintenance, and support policy for inbox drivers for Linux.

VMware User Process
With the VMware user process, you can use such features as copy and paste, drag and drop with VMware
products that support these features.
In Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, VMware Tools uses the VMware User process
executable file that implements fit-guest-to-window and Unity mode features.
The user process process starts automatically when you log in to a Windows guest operating system or, on
Linux, when you start a Desktop Environment session, but you can also start it manually.
The program file for this process is called vmtoolsd.exe on Windows guest operating systems and vmusr on
Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems. This process supports the following tasks:

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Allows you to copy and paste text between guest operating system and the vSphere Web Client or the
Workstation, Fusion, or Player host operating system. For virtual machines that are used with
Workstation or Fusion, you can copy and paste files between the host operating system and Windows,
Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems.

Allows you to copy and paste text between guest operating system and the vSphere Web Client.

On Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, grabs and releases the pointer when the SVGA
driver is not installed.

On Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, fits the screen display resolution of the guest
to the screen resolution of the vSphere Web Client or the Workstation, Fusion, or Player host operating
system, if running in full screen mode. If running in windowed mode, fits the screen resolution of the
guest to the size of the window on the client or host.

On Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, fits the screen display resolution of the guest
to the screen resolution of the vSphere Web Client, if running in full screen mode. If running in
windowed mode, fits the screen resolution of the guest to the size of the window on the client or host.

For virtual machines used with Workstation or Fusion, allows you to drag files between the host
operating system and Windows, Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems.

For VMware products that support the Unity feature, allows you to open an application window in a
Windows or Linux guest operating system, enter Unity mode, and have that window appear on your
Workstation, Fusion, or Player host desktop like any other host application window.

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Repairing, Changing, and Uninstalling VMware Tools Components
Usually when you upgrade VMware Tools, the modules are upgraded and new features are added. If some
features do not work correctly after an upgrade, you must change or repair modules. On operating systems
other than Windows and Linux, you must manually start the VMware User process after an upgrade.

Repair or Change Modules in Windows Virtual Machines
If you have problems with enhanced graphics display or mouse actions or with features that depend on
VMware Tools, you might need to repair or modify installed modules.
Occasionally, some new modules are not installed during a VMware Tools upgrade. You can manually
install new modules by modifying installed modules.
IMPORTANT Do not use the guest operating system’s Add/Remove Programs item in the Windows Control
Panel to repair or modify VMware Tools.
Prerequisites
n

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure
1

Mount the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system.
VMware Product

Action

vSphere Client

Inventory > Virtual Machine > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware

vSphere Web Client

Right-click the virtual machine and select Guest OS > Install/Upgrade
VMware Tools.

Fusion

Virtual Machine > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools

Workstation Pro

VM > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools

Workstation Player

Player > Manage > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools

Mount the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system.
VMware Product

Action

vSphere Client

Inventory > Virtual Machine > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools

vSphere Web Client

Right-click the virtual machine and select All vCenter Actions > Guest OS
> Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.
a To locate a virtual machine, select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource
pool, host, or vApp.
b Click the Related Objects tab and click Virtual Machines.

If you are performing an upgrade or reinstallation, in the Install/Upgrade VMware Tools dialog box,
select Interactive Tools Installation or Interactive Tools Upgrade and click OK.
The process starts by mounting the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system.

If autorun is not enabled for the CD-ROM drive, to manually launch the VMware Tools installation
wizard, click Start > Run and enter D:\setup.exe, where D: is your first virtual CD-ROM drive.

On the Welcome page of the wizard, click Next.

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Specify whether to repair or modify the modules.
n

Click Repair to repair the files, registry settings, and so on of components that are already installed.

Click Modify to specify which modules are installed.

Follow the on-screen instructions.

What to do next
If features still do not work, uninstall VMware Tools and reinstall.

Uninstall VMware Tools
If the upgrade process of VMware Tools is incomplete, you can uninstall and then reinstall the VMware
Tools.
In a vSphere and open-vm-tools deployment, if you decide to use packages specific to Linux operating
systems to manage VMware Tools, and if you already used vSphere to install VMware Tools, you must
uninstall the existing VMware Tools. For more information about Linux OSPs for VMware Tools, see
“Operating System Specific Packages for Linux Guest Operating Systems,” on page 238.
Prerequisites
n

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure
u

Select a method to uninstall VMware Tools.
Operating System

Action

Windows 7, 8, 8.1

In the guest operating system, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Windows Vista and Windows Server
2008

In the guest operating system, select Programs and Features > Uninstall a
program.

Windows XP and earlier

In the guest operating system, select Add/Remove Programs.

Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetWare

Mac OS X Server

Use the Uninstall VMware Tools application, found
in /Library/Application Support/VMware Tools.

What to do next
Reinstall VMware Tools.

Start the VMware User Process Manually If You Do Not Use a Session Manager
VMware Tools in Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems uses the VMware User process
executable file. This program implements the fit-guest-to-window feature and Unity mode, among other
features.
Normally, this process starts after you configure VMware Tools, log out of the desktop environment, and
log back in. The vmware-user program is located in the directory in which you selected to install binary
programs, which defaults to /usr/bin. The startup script that you need to modify depends on your system.
You must start the process manually in the following environments:

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If you run an X session without a session manager. For example, if you use startx to start a desktop
session and do not use xdm, kdm, or gdm.

If you are using an older version of GNOME without gdm or xdm.

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If you are using a session manager or environment that does not support the Desktop Application
Autostart Specification, available from http://standards.freedesktop.org.

If you upgrade VMware Tools.

Procedure
u

Start the VMware User process.
Option

Action

Start the VMware User process
when you start an X session.

Add vmware-user to the appropriate X startup script, such as
the .xsession or .xinitrc file.

Start the process after a VMware
Tools software upgrade, or if
certain features are not working.

Open a terminal window and type the vmware-user command.

Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools
Some VMware Tools settings might expose security risks. For example, VMware Tools enables you to
connect virtual devices such as serial and parallel ports to virtual machines. A connected device could be a
potential channel of attack. To harden a virtual machine and reduce security risks as much as possible,
disable the VMware Tools features that might be vulnerable to security threats.
For complete information about securely deploying VMware vSphere in a production environment,
including security recommendations for hosts, virtual machines, management components, and a
networking infrastructure, see the vSphere Hardening Guide. VMware Tools settings relate only to the virtual
machine aspect of a deployment.
Virtual machines are encapsulated in a small number of files. One of the important files is the configuration
file (.vmx file). This file governs the performance of the virtual hardware and other settings. You can use
several methods to see and modify the configuration settings:
n

Open the .vmx file directly in a text editor.

Use the vSphere Web Client to edit virtual machine settings. In the vSphere Web Client, editing these
configuration parameters is an advanced option in the virtual machine Edit Settings dialog box.

Use the vSphere Client to edit virtual machine settings. In the vSphere Client, editing these
configuration parameters is an advanced option in the virtual machine Edit Settings dialog box.

Use a vSphere API-based tool, such as Power CLI, to view and modify .vmx parameters.

After you edit a setting, the change does not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.
Review the following list of potential security threats and the corresponding VMware Tools parameters to
set in the virtual machine's .vmx file. The defaults for many of these parameters are already set to protect
virtual machines from these threats.

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Threats Associated with Unprivileged User Accounts
Disk shrinking feature

Shrinking a virtual disk reclaims unused disk space. Users and processes
without root or administrator privileges can invoke this procedure. Because
the disk-shrinking process can take considerable time to complete, invoking
the disk-shrinking procedure repeatedly can cause a denial of service. The
virtual disk is unavailable during the shrinking process. Use the
following .vmx settings to disable disk shrinking:
isolation.tools.diskWiper.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.diskShrink.disable = "TRUE"

Copy and paste feature

By default, the ability to copy and paste text, graphics, and files is disabled,
as is the ability to drag and drop files. When this feature is enabled, you can
copy and paste rich text and, depending on the VMware product, graphics
and files from your clipboard to the guest operating system in a virtual
machine. That is, as soon as the console window of a virtual machine gains
focus, nonprivileged users and processes running in the virtual machine can
access the clipboard on the computer where the console window is running.
To avoid risks associated with this feature, retain the following .vmx settings,
which disable copying and pasting:
isolation.tools.copy.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.paste.disable = "TRUE"

Threats Associated with Virtual Devices
Connecting and
modifying devices

By default, the ability to connect and disconnect devices is disabled. When
this feature is enabled, users and processes without root or administrator
privileges can connect devices such as network adapters and CD-ROM
drives, and they can modify device settings. That is, a user can connect a
disconnected CD-ROM drive and access sensitive information on the media
left in the drive. A user can also disconnect a network adapter to isolate the
virtual machine from its network, which is a denial of service. To avoid risks
associated with this feature, retain the following .vmx settings, which disable
the ability to connect and disconnect devices or to modify device settings:
isolation.device.connectable.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.device.edit.disable = "TRUE"

Threats Associated with Virtual Machine Information Flow
Configuring virtual
machine log number

Depending on your log settings, new log files might be created each time the
old file is larger than 100KB. Uncontrolled logging can lead to denial of
service if the datastore runs out of disk space. VMware recommends saving
10 log files. By default, the maximum size for log files is 100KB, and you
cannot change that value at the virtual machine level. Use the following .vmx
setting to set number of log files:
vmx.log.keepOld = "10"

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You can limit the number of log files for all virtual machines on a host by
editing the /etc/vmware/config file. If the vmx.log.keepOld property is not
defined in the file, you can add it. For example, to keep ten log files for each
virtual machine, add the following to /etc/vmware/config:
vmx.log.keepOld = "10"

You can also use a PowerCLI script to change this property on all the virtual
machines on a host.
A more extreme strategy is to disable logging altogether for the virtual
machine. Disabling logging makes troubleshooting challenging and support
difficult. Do not consider disabling logging unless the log file rotation
approach proves insufficient. Use the following .vmx setting to disable
logging altogether:
logging = "FALSE"

VMX file size

By default the configuration file is limited to a size of 1MB because
uncontrolled size for the file can lead to a denial of service if the datastore
runs out of disk space. Informational messages are sometimes sent from the
virtual machine to the .vmx file. These setinfo messages define virtual
machine characteristics or identifiers by writing name-value pairs to the file.
You might need to increase the size of the file if large amounts of custom
information must be stored in the file. The property name is
tools.setInfo.sizeLimit, and you specify the value in kilobytes. Retain the
following .vmx setting:
tools.setInfo.sizeLimit = "1048576"

Sending performance
counters into PerfMon

You can integrate virtual machine performance counters for CPU and
memory into PerfMon for Linux and Microsoft Windows guest operating
systems. This feature makes detailed information about the physical host
available to the guest operating system. An adversary could potentially use
this information to inform further attacks on the host. By default this feature
is disabled. Retain the following .vmx setting to prevent host information
from being sent to the virtual machine:
tools.guestlib.enableHostInfo = "FALSE"

This setting blocks some but not all metrics. If you set this property to
FALSE, the following metrics are blocked:

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GUESTLIB_HOST_CPU_NUM_CORES

GUESTLIB_HOST_CPU_USED_MS

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_SWAPPED_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_SHARED_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_USED_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_PHYS_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_PHYS_FREE_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_KERN_OVHD_MB

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_MAPPED_MB

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Features not exposed in
vSphere that could
cause vulnerabilities

GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_UNMAPPED_MB

Because VMware virtual machines run in many VMware products in
addition to vSphere, some virtual machine parameters do not apply in a
vSphere environment. Although these features do not appear in vSphere
user interfaces, disabling them reduces the number of vectors through which
a guest operating system could access a host. Use the following .vmx setting
to disable these features:
isolation.tools.unity.push.update.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.ghi.launchmenu.change = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.ghi.autologon.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.hgfsServerSet.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.memSchedFakeSampleStats.disable = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.getCreds.disable = "TRUE"

Using vmwtool to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual
Machine
In a NetWare virtual machine, using the system console, you can configure virtual machine options such as
time synchronization, CPU idling, and device configuration with VMware Tools. The VMware Tools
command-line program is called vmwtool.
Although you cannot use the VMware Tools configuration utility in a NetWare virtual machine, you can use
the vmwtool command to achieve some of the same functionality. This command has the following syntax:
vmwtool command

Table 11‑1. vmwtool Commands

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vmwtool Command

Description

help

Displays a summary of VMware Tools commands and options in a
NetWare guest operating system.

partitonlist

Displays a list of all disk partitions in the virtual disk and whether or not a
partition can be shrunk.

shrink [partition]

Shrinks the listed partitions. If no partitions are specified, all partitions in
the virtual disk are shrunk.
The status of the shrink process appears at the bottom of the system
console.

devicelist

Lists each removable device in the virtual machine, its device ID, and
whether the device is enabled or disabled. Removable devices include the
virtual network adapter, CD-ROM, and floppy drives. By default, floppy
drive is not connected when the virtual machine powers on.

disabledevice [device_name]

Disables the specified device or devices in the virtual machine. If no device
is specified, all removable devices in the virtual machine are disabled.

enabledevice [device_name]

Enables the specified device or devices in the virtual machine. If no device
is specified, all removable devices in the virtual machine are enabled.

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Table 11‑1. vmwtool Commands (Continued)
vmwtool Command

Description

synctime [on|off]

Lets you turn on or off synchronization of time in the guest operating
system with time on the host operating system. By default, time
synchronization is turned off.
Use this command without any options to view the current time
synchronization status.

idle [on|off]

Lets you turn the CPU idler on or off. By default, the idler is turned on. The
CPU idler program is included in VMware Tools for NetWare guest
operating systems.
The idler program is needed because NetWare servers do not idle the CPU
when the operating system is idle. As a result, a virtual machine takes CPU
time from the host regardless of whether the NetWare server software is
idle or busy.

Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility
The VMware Tools configuration utility is a command-line interface that you can use in the guest operating
system to modify VMware Tools settings, shrink virtual disks, and connect and disconnect virtual devices.
The VMware Tools configuration utility provides a command-line interface for functionality that was
previously available only in the VMware Tools control panel. The name of this program depends on the
guest operating system.
Table 11‑2. VMware Tools Configuration Utilities for Guest Operating Systems
Guest Operating System

Utility

Windows

VMwareToolboxCmd.exe

Mac OS X

vmware-tools-cli
Because the VMware Tools installer does not modify any
PATH environment variables on Mac OS X operating
systems, you must type ./ before the command.

Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris

vmware-toolbox-cmd

Use the utility's help command to display complete usage information and syntax.
The VMware Tools configuration utility is included in the following VMware products:
n

VMware vSphere 4.1 and later

VMware Workstation 7.0 and later

VMware Fusion 3.0 and later

VMware Player 3.0 and later

VMware ACE 2.6 and later

Configure Time Synchronization Between Guest and Host Operating Systems
When you turn on periodic time synchronization, VMware Tools sets the time of the guest operating system
to be the same as the time of the host.
After time synchronization occurs, VMware Tools checks once every minute to determine whether the
clocks on the guest and host operating systems still match. If not, the clock on the guest operating system is
synchronized to match the clock on the host.

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If the clock on the guest operating system falls behind the clock on the host, VMware Tools moves the clock
on the guest forward to match the clock on the host. If the clock on the guest operating system is ahead of
the clock on the host, VMware Tools causes the clock on the guest to run more slowly until the clocks are
synchronized.
Native time synchronization software, such as Network Time Protocol (NTP) for Linux and the Mac OS X,
or Microsoft Windows Time Service (Win32Time) for Windows, is typically more accurate than VMware
Tools periodic time synchronization and is therefore preferred.
IMPORTANT Use only one form of periodic time synchronization in your guests. If you are using native time
synchronization software, turn off VMware Tools periodic time synchronization.
Regardless of whether you turn on VMware Tools periodic time synchronization, time synchronization
occurs after certain operations:
n

When the VMware Tools daemon is started, such as during a reboot or power on operation

When resuming a virtual machine from a suspend operation

After reverting to a snapshot

After shrinking a disk

When the operating system starts or reboots, and when you first turn on periodic time synchronization,
synchronization can be either forward or backward in time. For other events, synchronization is forward in
time.
To disable time synchronization completely, you must edit the configuration file (.vmx file) of the virtual
machine and set several synchronization properties to FALSE.
Prerequisites
n

Disable other periodic time synchronization mechanisms. For example, some guests might have NTP or
Win32Time clock synchronization turned on by default.

If you plan to script the commands used in this procedure and need to know what the exit codes are,
see “Exit Codes for the VMware Tools Configuration Utility,” on page 223.

NOTE Mac OS X guests use NTP and do not become out of sync with the host. For Mac OS X guests, you do
not need to turn on VMware Tools time synchronization.
Procedure

214

Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system.

Change to the VMware Tools installation directory.
Operating System

Default Path

Windows

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools

Linux and Solaris

/usr/sbin

FreeBSD

/usr/local/sbin

Mac OS X

/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools

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Type the command to determine whether time synchronization is enabled.
utility-name timesync status

For utility-name use the guest-specific program name.

Operating System

Program Name

Windows

VMwareToolboxCmd.exe

Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD

vmware-toolbox-cmd

Type the command to enable or disable periodic time synchronization.
utility-name timesync subcommand

For subcommand, use enable or disable.
The VMware Tools service enables or disables periodic time synchronization, as you specified. Disabling
periodic time synchronization does not disable all VMware Tools time synchronization.
What to do next
If you need to keep a fictitious time in a virtual machine, so that the clock in the guest operating system is
never synchronized with that on the host, disable time synchronization completely.

Disable Time Synchronization Completely
A virtual machine occasionally synchronizes time with the host even if you do not turn on periodic time
synchronization. To completely disable time synchronization, you must set some properties in the virtual
machine configuration file.
Prerequisites
Power off the virtual machine.
Procedure
1

Open the configuration (.vmx) file of the virtual machine with a text editor.

Add lines for the time synchronization properties and set the properties to FALSE.
tools.syncTime = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.continue = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.restore = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.resume.disk = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.shrink = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.tools.startup = "FALSE"

Save and close the file.

What to do next
Power on the virtual machine.

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Connect or Disconnect a Virtual Device
You can connect and disconnect removable devices such as floppy drives, DVD/CD-ROM drives, ISO
images, USB devices, sound adapters, and network adapters.
IMPORTANT Some restrictions exist for connecting devices:
n

Some devices cannot be shared between the host and guest operating systems or between two guest
operating systems. For example, only one virtual machine or the host can access the floppy drive at any
one time.

The controls for connecting and disconnecting devices might not be available, depending on whether
your system administrator has enabled them.

You can run the configuration utility to connect and disconnect virtual devices. For security reasons, this
ability is disabled by default. To connect or disconnect devices, you must first change the settings in the
configuration file.
Prerequisites
If you plan to script commands to connect or disconnect a virtual device, and need to know what the exit
codes are, see “Exit Codes for the VMware Tools Configuration Utility,” on page 223.
Procedure
1

Configure the virtual machine to allow connecting and disconnecting devices.
a

Open the configuration (.vmx) file of the virtual machine with a text editor.

If the following properties are not listed in the file, add them and set them to FALSE.
isolation.device.connectable.disable = "FALSE"
isolation.device.edit.disable = "FALSE"

Save and close the file.

Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system.

Change to the VMware Tools installation directory.

Operating System

Default Path

Windows

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools

Linux and Solaris

/usr/sbin

FreeBSD

/usr/local/sbin

Mac OS X

/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools

Type utility-name device list to list available devices.
For utility-name, use the guest-specific program name.

Operating System

Utility Name

Windows

VMwareToolboxCmd.exe

Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD

vmware-toolbox-cmd

Mac OS X

vmware-tools-cli

(Optional) Type the command to determine whether a device is connected.
utility-name device status device-name

For device-name, use one of the names displayed when you used the list subcommand.

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Type the command to connect or disconnect the device.
utility-name device device-name subcommand
Option

Action

device-name

Use one of the names displayed when you used the list subcommand.

subcommand

Use enable or disable.

The device is connected or disconnected, as you specified.

Shrink a Virtual Disk
Shrinking a virtual disk reclaims unused space in the virtual disk and reduces the amount of space that the
virtual disk occupies on the host.
Shrinking disks is not allowed under the following circumstances:
n

The virtual machine is hosted on an ESX/ESXi host. ESX/ESXi can shrink the size of a virtual disk only
when a virtual machine is exported. The space occupied by the virtual disk on the server, however,
does not change.

The virtual machine has a Mac OS X guest operating system.

You preallocated all the disk space to the virtual disk when you created it.

The virtual machine contains a snapshot.
The exception is if the virtual machine is used in VMware Fusion 4 and has a Windows guest operating
system. In this case, you can use the Clean Up Virtual Machine feature in Fusion to shrink disks.

The virtual machine is a linked clone or the parent of a linked clone.

The virtual disk is an independent disk in nonpersistent mode.

The file system is a journaling file system, such as an ext4, xfs, or jfs file system.

Shrinking a disk is a two-step process. In the preparation step, VMware Tools reclaims all unused portions
of disk partitions, such as deleted files, and prepares them for shrinking. This phase takes place in the guest
operating system. During this phase, you can still interact with the virtual machine.
In the shrink step, the VMware application reduces the size of the disk based on the disk space reclaimed
during the preparation step. If the disk has empty space, this process reduces the amount of space the
virtual disk occupies on the host drive. The shrink step takes place outside the virtual machine and takes
considerable time, depending on the size of the disk. The virtual machine stops responding while VMware
Tools shrinks the disks.
Newer versions of some VMware products might include a button or menu item that performs the same
function as the shrink-disk command. For example, Workstation includes a Compact menu item that you
can use when the virtual machine is powered off. VMware Fusion 4 includes a Clean Up Virtual Machine
button that can shrink disks even if you have snapshots.
Under some conditions, the ability to use a shrink-disk command might be considered a security risk. To
configure a setting that disables the ability to shrink disk, see “Threats Associated with Unprivileged User
Accounts,” on page 210.
Prerequisites
n

On Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, log in as root. If you shrink the virtual disk as
a nonroot user, you cannot prepare to shrink the parts of the virtual disk that require root-level
permissions.

On Windows guests, log in as an administrator.

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Verify that the host has free disk space equal to the size of the virtual disk that you plan to shrink.

Procedure
1

Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system.

Change to the VMware Tools installation directory.

Operating System

Default Path

Windows

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools

Linux and Solaris

/usr/sbin

FreeBSD

/usr/local/sbin

Mac OS X

/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools

Type the command to list available mount points.
utility-name disk list

For utility-name use the guest-specific program name.

Operating System

Utility Name

Windows

VMwareToolboxCmd.exe

Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD

vmware-toolbox-cmd

Type the command to shrink the disk at a specified mount point.
utility-name disk shrink mount-point

For mount-point, use one of the mount points displayed when you used the list subcommand.

Using Custom VMware Tools Scripts
You can associate custom scripts with power operations.
When VMware Tools is installed, one or more default scripts run on the guest whenever you change the
power state of the virtual machine. You change the power state by using menu commands or by clicking the
Suspend, Resume, Power On, and Power Off buttons. For example, when you power off a virtual machine,
by default the poweroff-vm-default script runs.

Use Custom VMware Tools Scripts in Windows Guests
On Windows guest operating systems, you can write scripts to automate guest operating system operations
when you change the power state of a virtual machine.
For Windows guest operating systems, you can write new scripts or modify default scripts, save them with
new names, and configure VMware Tools to use your custom script instead of the default script.
The VMware Tools service, or daemon (vmtoolsd), runs scripts. Because vmtoolsd runs as root on Linux,
Mac, Solaris, and FreeBSD, and as System on Windows, the scripts run in a separate session from the session
of the logged-in user. The VMware Tools daemon does not detect desktop sessions, which means that it
cannot display graphical applications. Do not attempt to use custom scripts to display graphical
applications.
IMPORTANT You cannot run scripts on Windows NT, Me, Windows 98, and Windows 95 guest operating
systems.
Prerequisites
n

218

Familiarize yourself with the default VMware Tools scripts. See “Default VMware Tools Scripts,” on
page 220.

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Chapter 11 VMware Tools Components, Configuration Options, and Security Requirements

If you plan to script commands and need to know what the exit codes are, see “Exit Codes for the
VMware Tools Configuration Utility,” on page 223.

Procedure
1

Write a new script or modify default scripts and save them as .bat files with new names.
The default scripts for power-on and power-off operations are placeholders only. These scripts are
located in the Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools directory.
The scripts for suspend and resume operations contain a line that releases or renews the IP address for
the virtual machine. You must add this line first when you write custom scripts for these operations.
Default Script

Required IP Address Line

suspend

@%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\ipconfig /release

resume

@%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\ipconfig /renew

Open a command prompt in the guest operating system.

Change directories to the VMware Tools installation directory.
The default installation directory is C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools.

Type the command to enable the script.
VMwareToolboxCmd.exe script script-name enable

Type the command to use the custom script that you created.
VMwareToolboxCmd.exe script script-name set script-path

For script-path, use the full path to the file, such as, C:\Temp\poweron-my-vm.bat.
6

Type the command to verify that the custom script that you specified is now being used.
VMwareToolboxCmd.exe script script-name current

The VMware Tools service runs the script whenever the specified power operation occurs.

Use Custom Scripts in Operating Systems Other Than Windows
On Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, you can write scripts to automate guest
operating system operations when you change the power state of a virtual machine.
For Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guests, you can write scripts and place them in a certain
directory, and then VMware Tools runs your scripts in addition to the default scripts. For power-on and
resume operations, the default scripts run before the custom scripts. For suspend and power-off, the default
scripts run after the custom scripts. This way, VMware Tools stops services only after the custom scripts
finish their work and, conversely, restores the same services before the custom scripts attempt to use the
services.
The VMware Tools service, or daemon (vmtoolsd), runs scripts. Because vmtoolsd runs as root on Linux,
Mac, Solaris, and FreeBSD, and as System on Windows, the scripts run in a separate session from the session
of the logged-in user. The VMware Tools daemon does not detect desktop sessions, which means that it
cannot display graphical applications. Do not attempt to use custom scripts to display graphical
applications.
Prerequisites
n

Familiarize yourself with the default VMware Tools scripts. See “Default VMware Tools Scripts,” on
page 220.

On Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, to test, edit, or disable the running
of a script, log in as root.

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On Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, to edit a script, make sure xterm
and vi are installed in the guest operating system and are in your PATH, or specify which editor to use
by setting the EDITOR environment variable.

If you plan to script commands and need to know what the exit codes are, see “Exit Codes for the
VMware Tools Configuration Utility,” on page 223.

Procedure
1

Write the custom scripts and place them in the correct directory, as instructed by the comments in the
default script files for each power operation.
Guest Operating System

Vmware VSphere Virtual Machine Administration ESXi 6.0 V Center Server 6.0.1 Sphere Vcenter 601 Vmag En

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