vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Update 1 Modified on 04 JUNE 2021 VMware vSphere 6.5 VMware ESXi 6.5 vCenter Server 6.5 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: https://docs.vmware.com/ VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com © Copyright 2009-2021 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc. 2 Contents About vSphere Virtual Machine Administration 10 Updated Information 11 1 Introduction to VMware vSphere Virtual Machines 13 Virtual Machine Files 13 Virtual Machines and the Virtual Infrastructure 14 Virtual Machine Lifecycle 15 Virtual Machine Components 16 Virtual Machine Hardware Available to vSphere Virtual Machines 16 Virtual Machine Options and Resources 19 vSphere Web Client 20 vSphere Client 20 Where to Go From Here 21 2 Deploying Virtual Machines 22 About Provisioning Virtual Machines 22 Create a Virtual Machine Without a Template or Clone 23 Start the New Virtual Machine Creation Process 25 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder 25 Select a Resource 26 Select a Datastore 26 Select the Virtual Machine Compatibility 27 Select a Guest Operating System 27 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware 28 Finish Virtual Machine Creation 28 Installing a Guest Operating System 29 Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template 31 Start the Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template Task 33 Select a Template 33 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder 34 Select a Resource 34 Select a Datastore 35 Select Clone Options 36 Customize the Guest Operating System 36 Enter Additional Customization Parameters for the Guest Operating System 37 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware 37 Finish Virtual Machine Creation 38 VMware, Inc. 3 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Clone a Virtual Machine 38 Start the Clone an Existing Virtual Machine Task 40 Select the Virtual Machine Name and Folder 41 Select a Resource 42 Select a Datastore 42 Select Clone Options 44 Customize the Guest Operating System 44 Enter Additional Customization Parameters for the Guest Operating System 45 Customize Virtual Machine Hardware 45 Finish Virtual Machine Creation 46 Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template in the vSphere Web Client 46 Start the Clone a Virtual Machine to a Template Task 47 Select a Virtual Machine to Clone to a Template 48 Select a Name and Location for the Template 48 Select a Resource for a Virtual Machine Template 48 Select a Datastore for the Virtual Machine Template 49 Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation 50 Clone a Template to a Template in the vSphere Web Client 50 Start the Clone a Template to a Template Task 51 Select a Template to Clone in the vSphere Web Client 52 Select a Name and Location for the Template 52 Select a Resource for a Virtual Machine Template 53 Select a Datastore for the Virtual Machine Template 53 Finish Virtual Machine Template Creation 54 Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine 55 Start the Convert a Template to a Virtual Machine Task 55 Select a Template from Which to Deploy the Virtual Machine 56 Select a Resource 56 Finish Virtual Machine Creation 57 Customizing Guest Operating Systems 57 Guest Operating System Customization Requirements 57 Create a vCenter Server Application to Generate Computer Names and IP Addresses 58 Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment 59 Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment 63 Apply a Customization Specification to a Virtual Machine 65 Creating and Managing Customization Specifications 66 3 Deploying OVF and OVA Templates 77 OVF and OVA File Formats and Templates 77 Deploy an OVF or OVA Template 78 Export an OVF Template 80 VMware, Inc. 4 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 80 4 Using Content Libraries 82 Create a Library 84 Synchronize a Subscribed Library 86 Edit the Settings of a Local Library 86 Edit the Settings of a Subscribed Library 87 Delete a Content Library 88 Hierarchical Inheritance of Permissions for Content Libraries 88 Sample User Role for Working with Content Libraries 90 Populating Libraries with Content 90 Importing Items to a Content Library 91 Clone a vApp to a Template in Content Library 92 Clone a Virtual Machine or a VM Template to a Template in a Content Library 93 Clone Library Items from One Library to Another Library 94 Working with Items in a Library 95 VM Templates and vApp Templates in Content Libraries 95 Synchronize a Library Item in a Subscribed Library 95 Export an Item from a Content Library to Your Local Computer 96 Update a Content Library Item 97 Delete the Contents of a Library Item 97 Delete Library Item 98 Creating Virtual Machines and vApps from Templates in a Content Library 98 Deploy a Virtual Machine From a VM Template in the Content Library in the vSphere Web Client 99 Create New vApp on a Host or a Cluster from a Template in a Content Library 101 5 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware 103 Virtual Machine Compatibility 103 Set the Default Compatibility for Virtual Machine Creation 105 Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for a Single Virtual Machine 106 Determine the Default Virtual Machine Compatibility Setting in the vSphere Web Client 107 Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings 107 Virtual CPU Configuration 110 Virtual CPU Limitations 112 Configuring Multicore Virtual CPUs 112 Change CPU Hot Plug Settings 113 Change the Number of Virtual CPUs 113 Allocate CPU Resources in the VMware Host Client 114 Configure Processor Scheduling Affinity 115 Change CPU Identification Mask Settings in the vSphere Web Client 116 Expose VMware Hardware Assisted Virtualization 117 VMware, Inc. 5 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Enable Virtual CPU Performance Counters 117 Change CPU/MMU Virtualization Settings 118 Virtual Memory Configuration 118 Change the Memory Configuration 119 Allocate Memory Resources to a Virtual Machine in the VMware Host Client 120 Change Memory Hot Add Settings 121 Network Virtual Machine Configuration 121 Network Adapter Types 122 Network Adapters and Legacy Virtual Machines 123 Change the Virtual Machine Network Adapter Configuration 124 Add a Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine 125 Parallel and Serial Port Configuration 126 Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines 126 Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections 128 Configure Virtual Machine Communication Interface Firewall 128 Change the Serial Port Configuration 128 Authentication Parameters for Virtual Serial Port Network Connections 130 Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 132 Change the Parallel Port Configuration 134 Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine vSphere Web Client 134 Virtual Disk Configuration 135 About Virtual Disk Provisioning Policies 136 Large Capacity Virtual Disk Conditions and Limitations 137 Change the Virtual Disk Configuration 137 Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine 138 Use Disk Shares to Prioritize Virtual Machines 145 Configure Flash Read Cache for a Virtual Machine 146 Converting Virtual Disks from Thin to Thick 146 SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions, Limitations, and Compatibility 148 Add a SATA Controller 150 Add a SCSI Controller in the vSphere Web Client 151 Add an NVMe Controller 152 Change the SCSI Bus Sharing Configuration in the vSphere Web Client 152 Change the SCSI Controller Type in the vSphere Web Client 153 About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers 154 Add a Paravirtualized SCSI Adapter in thevSphere Web Client 154 Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration 155 Change the CD/DVD Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web Client 155 Add a CD or DVD Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 158 Change the Floppy Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web Client 159 Add a Floppy Drive to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 160 VMware, Inc. 6 vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Change the SCSI Device Configuration in the vSphere Web Client 161 Add a SCSI Device to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 162 Add a PCI Device in the vSphere Web Client 162 Configuring 3D Graphics 163 Add an NVIDIA GRID vGPU to a Virtual Machine 166 Reduce Memory Overhead for Virtual Machines with 3D Graphics Option 167 USB Configuration from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine 168 USB Autoconnect Feature 169 vSphere Features Available with USB Passthrough 170 Configuring USB Devices for vMotion 170 Avoiding Data Loss with USB Devices 171 Connecting USB Devices to an ESXi Host 172 Add USB Devices to an ESXi Host 173 Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine 173 Add USB Devices from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine 175 Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through an ESXi Host 175 Remove USB Devices from an ESXi Host 176 USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine 176 Connecting USB Devices to a Client Computer 178 Connect USB Devices to a Client Computer 179 Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine 179 Add USB Devices from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 181 Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through a Client Computer in the vSphere Web Client 182 Remove a USB Controller from a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 182 Remove USB Devices from a Client Computer 183 Add a Shared Smart Card Reader to Virtual Machines 183 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Options 185 Virtual Machine Option Overview 185 Change the Virtual Machine Name 186 View the Virtual Machine Configuration and Working File Location 187 Change the Configured Guest Operating System 187 Configuring User Mappings on Guest Operating Systems 188 View Existing SSO User Mappings 188 Add SSO users to Guest Operating Systems 189 Remove SSO Users from Guest Operating Systems 189 Change the Virtual Machine Console Options for Remote Users 190 Configure the Virtual Machine Power States 190 Manage Power Management Settings for a Virtual Machine 191 Enable or Disable UEFI Secure Boot for a Virtual Machine 192 VMware, Inc.