When you add a stand-alone Windows Server-based virtual machine host to Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), you can add one or more virtual machine default paths, which are paths to folders where VMM can store the files for virtual machines that are deployed on the hosts.

Important
Adding a default path on a host in the Add Host Wizard does not automatically create the folder on the host. You must manually create the folder at the specified path before you can use the path in VMM to store virtual machine files on the host.

For a host cluster, either Windows Server-based or VMware-based, the default path is a shared volume on the cluster that VMM automatically creates when you add the host cluster. When you are adding the host cluster, you cannot specify additional default paths in the Add Host Wizard. Also, after a host cluster has been added, you cannot specify additional default paths on the Placement tab of the host properties.

After you have added a stand-alone Windows Server-based host, you can add or remove default paths on the host. For more information, see How to Set Placement Options for a Host.

Important
It is a best practice to not add default paths that are on the same drive as the operating system files. If your operating system fails and needs to be reinstalled, you might lose virtual machine files.

In addition to default paths that you add, the virtualization software on the host creates its own default path, which appears on the Placement tab in the Host Properties dialog box. You cannot delete these paths by using VMM.

When you deploy or migrate a virtual machine by using the New Virtual Machine Wizard, Deploy Virtual Machine Wizard, or Migrate Virtual Machine Wizard, you can either select a default path for the virtual machine files or specify a different path.

When you deploy a virtual machine by dragging it to a host and dropping it, VMM employs automatic placement, which attempts to place the virtual machine on the most suitable volume based on the volume's available space.

See Also