When you add a VMware VirtualCenter server to the Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) server, all ESX Server hosts managed by the VirtualCenter server are also added to VMM. However, these hosts are added with a status of OK (Limited), which means that VMM supports only a limited set of actions for virtual machines on those hosts.
To change the status of the ESX Server host to OK so that you can fully manage virtual machines, you must provide credentials and, if secure mode is enabled on the host, upload a certificate and public key from the host to VMM. For more information, see How to Set Credentials for Communicating with a Host.
The following table compares the virtual machine actions that are available when an ESX Server host has OK (Limited) status with the actions that can be performed on a host that has OK status. Entries that are identified as “restricted” in the OK (Limited) Status column indicate that the action is available, but with restrictions. The second table describes these restrictions.
Supported Virtual Machine Actions for ESX Server Hosts by Host Status
Virtual Machine Action | OK (Limited) Status | OK Status |
---|---|---|
Start |
Yes |
Yes |
Stop |
Yes |
Yes |
Pause |
Yes |
Yes |
Save state |
No |
Yes |
Discard saved state |
No |
Yes |
Modify properties |
Yes (restricted) |
Yes |
New checkpoint |
Yes |
Yes |
Manage checkpoints |
Yes |
Yes |
Remove |
Yes |
Yes |
Migrate by using VMware VMotion |
Yes |
Yes |
Migrate across VirtualCenter server |
Yes |
Yes |
Store in the VMM library |
No |
Yes |
Clone within the same VirtualCenter |
Yes (restricted) |
Yes (restricted) |
Clone on the same ESX Server host |
Yes (restricted) |
Yes |
Convert virtual machine (V2V conversion) |
No |
Yes |
Create virtual machine from a VMM template |
No |
Yes |
Create virtual machine from a blank VMware virtual hard disk (.vmdk file) |
Yes (restricted) |
Yes |
The following table describes the restrictions that apply to the available virtual machine actions when an ESX Server host has OK (Limited) status.
Restricted Virtual Machine Actions for ESX Server Hosts with OK (Limited) Status
Virtual Machine Action | Restrictions in OK (Limited) Status |
---|---|
Modify properties |
|
Clone within the same VirtualCenter |
|
Clone on the same ESX Server host |
|
Create virtual machine from a blank VMware virtual hard disk (.vmdk file) |
|
See Also
For the most up-to-date Help information, go to the Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Help Online. To find additional Virtual Machine Manager 2008 documentation, go to the Virtual Machine Manager 2008 TechCenter Library.