Manage Virtual Machine Clones and Templates

Objective 4.3 – Manage Virtual Machine Clones and Templates

For this objective I used the following resources:

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide
Configuration Maximums (vSphere 5)
Configuration Maximums (vSphere 4.1)

Knowledge

Identify the vCenter Server managed ESXi hosts and Virtual Machine maximums

Virtual Machine maximums

Item	vSphere 5.x	vSphere 4.1
Virtual CPUs per VM	32	8
RAM per VM	1TB	255GB

ESXi Host maximums

Item	vSphere 5.x	vSphere 4.1
VMs per Host	512	320
Virtual CPUs per Host	2048	512
RAM per Host	2TB	1TB

This is a brief list of the maximums that are now available for vSphere 5. For a full listing refer to the Configuration Maximums document for vSphere 5.

Identify Cloning and Template options

Regardless of which deployment option you select both allow for the changing/setting of the virtual machine name, inventory location, host and cluster placement, resource pool, datastore, disk format, and finally guest OS customizations.

Clone an existing virtual machine

Right-click the virtual machine and select Clone
Enter a virtual machine name, select a location, and click Next
Select a host or cluster on which to run the new virtual machine
Select a resource pool in which to run the virtual machine and click Next
Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files
Select the format for the virtual machine’s disks and click Next
Select a guest operating system customization option
Review your selections and select whether to power on the virtual machine or edit virtual machine settings

For further information read pages 46 thru 47 of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide

Create a template from an existing virtual machine

Right-click the virtual machine and select Template -> Convert to Template

Deploy a virtual machine from a template

Right-click the template, and select Deploy Virtual Machine from this Template
Enter a virtual machine name, select a location, and click Next
Select a host or cluster on which to run the new virtual machine
Select a resource pool in which to run the virtual machine and click Next
Select the datastore location where you want to store the virtual machine files
Select the format for the virtual machine’s disks and click Next
Select a guest operating system customization option
Review your selections and select whether to power on the virtual machine or edit virtual machine settings

For the complete details, refer to pages 50 thru 52 of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration document.

Update existing virtual machine templates

From the vSphere Client switch to the VMs and Templates view
Select the Template you wish to update and right click and choose Convert to Virtual Machine
Make the needed changes
Power the VM down and convert back to a template (see steps above)

Deploy virtual appliances and/or vApps from an OVF template

In the vSphere Client, select File -> Deploy OVF Template
Specify the source location and click Next
View the OVF Template Details page and click Next
If license agreements are packaged with the OVF template, the End User License Agreement page appears. Agree to accept the terms of the licenses and click Next
(Optional) Edit the name and select the folder location within the inventory where the vApp will reside, and click Next
Select the deployment configuration from the drop-down menu and click Next
Select the host or cluster on which you want to deploy the OVF tempate and click Next
Select the host on which you want to run the deployed OVF tempate, and click Next
Navigate to, and select the resource pool where you want to run the OVF template and click Next
(Optional) Apply a virtual machine storage profile from the VM Storage Profile drop-down menu
Select a datastore to store the deployed OVF template, and click Next
Select the disk format to store the virtual machined virtual disks, and click Next
If the appliance that you are deploying has one or mover vService dependencids, select a binding service provider
For each network specified in the OVF template, select a network by right-clicking the Destination Network column in your infrastructure to set up the network mapping and click Next
On the IP Allocation page, configure how IP addresses are allocated for the virtual appliance and click Next
Set the user-configurable properties and click Next
Review your settings and click Finish

For further information read pages 68 thru 69 of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide

Import and /or Export an OVF template

Select the virtual machine or vApp and select File -> Export -> Export OVF Template
In the Export OVF Template dialog, type the Name of the template
Enter the Directory location where the exported virtual machine template is saved, or click “…” to browse for the location
In the Formatfield, determine how you want to store the files
- Select Folder of Files (OVF) to store the OVF tempate as a set of files. This format is optimal if you plan to publish the OVF files on a web server or miage library. The package can be imported , for example, into the vSPhere cleint by publishing the URL to the .ovf file
- Select Single file (OVA) to package the OVF template into a single .ova file. This might be convenient to distribute the OVF package as a single file if it needs to be explicitly downloaded from a web site or moved around using a USB key.
In Description, type a description for the virtual machine
Select the checkbox if you want to include image files attached to floppy and CD/DVD devices in the OVF package
Click OK

For further information read pages 69 thru 71 of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide.

Determine the appropriate deployment method for a given virtual machine application

Create as needed virtual machines
Create a virtual machine template to quickly deploy standardized virtual machines
Clone an existing virtual machine to get an exact copy (or many copies) of a virtual machine
Use OVF (Open Virtual Machine Format) to deploy virtual machines,vApps, and virtual appliances

Tools

vSphere Virtual Machine Administation guide
VMware vSphere Examples and Secnarios guide
OVF Tool User guide

Vmware Training and Certification in Coimbatore

Saturday, April 14, 2018