Creating a Virtual Machine With a VMware VM Lifecycle Policy

The Virtual Machines module allows you to create and customize your own virtual machine. In addition, you can make snapshots and restore files from backups of your virtual machine. You must use the CommCell Console that is associated with the Web Console to back up your virtual machine. Only you and your administrator can view the contents of your virtual machine.

Before You Begin

Obtain the Naming Pattern for naming virtual machines from your administrator. You will need this information as you proceed.

Procedure

1. Log into the Web Console. For instructions, see Accessing the Web Console.

2. Click Virtual Machines.

3. At the top-right of the page, click Create Virtual Machine.

4. From the Select Virtual Machine Pool list, select the name of an VMware machine pool, and then click Next.

   If there is only one virtual machine pool available to you, you will not see this screen. In this case, the Name screen appears first.

5. On the Name page, specify the name, description, expiration date, and number of your virtual machines.

   1. In the Name box, enter a name for the virtual machine. The name must follow the pattern displayed.

      If the pattern displayed is MyVM*, then your virtual machine name must consist of the characters, MyVM, followed by at least one additional character.

      For example: MyVMBob1

   2. In the Description box, type a description of the virtual machines.

   3. In the Expiration box, select the date on which the virtual machines will expire.

   4. In the Number of VMs to create box, type the number of virtual machines that you want to create.

      If you are creating more than one virtual machine, each virtual machine will be created with the name that you specified, with a number added to the end.

      For example, if you create three virtual machines named MyVMBob, the virtual machines will be named : MyVMBob1, MyVMBob2, and MyVMBob3.

   5. Click Next.

6. On the Template page, select a template from the list, and then click Next.

7. If you do not see a User Details page, then continue to the next step.

   If you see the User Details page, enter a password for the virtual machine, and then click Next.

   The user name is entered by default.

8. On the Resources page, define the memory size, number of CPUs, and number of NICs for the virtual machine.

   1. In the Memory box, enter the amount of memory for the virtual machine.

      You can also drag the customization bar to refine the memory amount.

   2. In the Number of CPUs box, enter the number of CPUs for the virtual machine.

   3. In the Number of NICs, enter the number of NICs for the virtual machine

   4. Click Next.

9. On the Disks page, in the Max Disk Size box, enter the amount of disk space for the virtual machine, and then click Next.

   You can also drag the customization bar to refine the disk size.

10. On the Summary page, click Finish.

    Once the virtual machine is created, it will appear in the My Virtual Machines list. The creation process may take several moments to complete.

    An email that confirms the creation of your virtual machine is automatically sent to you.

    Immediately after you create a new virtual machine, you cannot select it or run operations, such as Start and Stop, on it. If you log out of Web Console, and then log in again, the permissions are reset. You can then select and run operations on the newly created virtual machine.

What To Do Next

To further explore this feature's capabilities, read User Operations - VM Lifecycle Management.