vSphere Virtual Machine Administration VMware vSphere 6.5 VMware ESXi 6.5 vCenter Server 6.5 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-002356-03 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration You can ®nd the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: [email protected] Copyright © 2009–2017 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com 2 VMware, Inc. Contents About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 7 Updated Information 9 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 11 What Is a Virtual Machine? 11 Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure 12 Virtual Machine Lifecycle 13 Virtual Machine Components 13 Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines 13 Virtual Machine Options and Resources 15 vSphere Web Client 16 vSphere Client 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 38 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 and OVA Templates 63 OVF and OVA File Formats and Templates 63 Deploy an OVF or OVA Template in the vSphere Web Client 64 Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 67 Export an OVF Template 68 4 Using Content Libraries 69 Create a Library 71 Synchronize a Subscribed Library 72 Edit the Settings of a Local Library 73 Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library 74 Delete a Content Library 74 Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries 75 Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries 77 Populating Libraries with Content 77 Working with Items in a Library 81 VMware, Inc. 3 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content Library 84 5 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware 87 Virtual Machine Compatibility 87 Virtual CPU Configuration 93 Virtual Memory Configuration 99 Network Virtual Machine Configuration 102 Parallel and Serial Port Configuration 106 Virtual Disk Configuration 113 SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility 123 Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration 128 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 6 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 Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine 158 Enable or Disable UEFI Secure Boot for a Virtual Machine 159 Delay the Boot Sequence 160 Disable Virtual Machine Acceleration 161 Enable Virtual Machine Logging 161 Configure Virtual Machine Debugging and Statistics 161 Change the Swap File Location 162 Edit Configuration File Parameters 162 Configure Fibre Channel NPIV Settings 163 7 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 8 Monitoring Solutions with the vCenter Solutions Manager 183 Viewing Solutions 183 Monitoring Agents 184 4 VMware, Inc. Contents 9 Managing Virtual Machines 185 Edit Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Settings 185 Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication 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 188 Answer Virtual Machine Questions 189 Adding and Removing Virtual Machines 189 Change the Template Name 191 Deleting Templates 191 Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual Machines 192 10 Upgrading Virtual Machines 203 Planning Downtime for Virtual Machines 204 Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines 204 Upgrade the Compatibility for Virtual Machines 205 Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for Virtual Machines 206 11 Required Privileges for Common Tasks 207 Index 211 VMware, Inc. 5 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 6 VMware, Inc. About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration vSphere Virtual Machine Administration describes how to create, configure, and manage virtual machines in the VMware vSphere® environment. In addition, this information provides introductions to the tasks that you can do within the system as well as cross-references to the information that describes the tasks. This information focuses on managing virtual machines in the VMware vSphere Web Client and includes the following information. n Creating and deploying virtual machines, templates, and clones n Deploying OVF templates n Configuring virtual machine hardware and options n Managing multitiered applications with VMware vSphere vApp n Monitoring solutions with the vCenter Solution Manager n Managing virtual machines, including using snapshots n 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. VMware, Inc. 7 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 8 VMware, Inc. Updated Information This Updated Information is updated with each release of the product or when necessary. This table provides the update history of the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration. Revision Description EN-002356-03 n Updated NVMe Controller workflow “Add an NVMe Controller,” on page 126. n Updated prerequisites for adding a PCI device “Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Web Client,” on page 135 . EN-002356-02 n Removed references to VM-FEX in “Change the Virtual Machine Network Adapter Configuration,” on page 103 and “Add a Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine,” on page 104. EN-002356-01 n Added language to topic and subtopics to indicate that OVF processes also apply to OVA files “OVF and OVA File Formats and Templates,” on page 63. n The following limitation is no longer correct and has been removed from the “Large Capacity Virtual Disk Conditions and Limitations,” on page 114 topic: You cannot hot-extend virtual SATA disks, or any virtual disk if the capacity after extension is equal to or greater than 2TB. n Added reference to video in Chapter 3, “Deploying OVF and OVA Templates,” on page 63. n Added information about security certificates to “Export an OVF Template,” on page 68 and “Export Item from a Content Library to Your Local Computer,” on page 82. EN-002356-00 Initial release. VMware, Inc. 9 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 10 VMware, Inc. Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 1 Before you start creating and managing virtual machines, you benefit from some background information, for example, the virtual machine lifecycle, components, and VMware Tools. This chapter includes the following topics: n “What Is a Virtual Machine?,” on page 11 n “Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure,” on page 12 n “Virtual Machine Lifecycle,” on page 13 n “Virtual Machine Components,” on page 13 n “Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines,” on page 13 n “Virtual Machine Options and Resources,” on page 15 n “vSphere Web Client,” on page 16 n “vSphere Client,” on page 17 n “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 VMware, Inc. 11 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration