You can create a new virtual machine template from a generalized
virtual hard disk stored in the Library.
Procedure
To create a virtual machine template from an existing
virtual hard disk:
- Prepare the source virtual hard disk, which has the operating
system installed, by removing computer identity information. With
Windows operating systems, for example, you can prepare the virtual
hard disk with the Sysprep tool.
- Add the source virtual hard disk file to the Library. For more
information, see the How to Add Files to the
Library.
- In Library view, in the Actions pane, click
New Template.
- Complete the New Template Wizard.
Wizard Page |
Action |
Select Source
|
- Click Use an existing template or virtual hard disk stored
in the library and then click Browse.
- In the Select Virtual Machine Source dialog box, select
the virtual machine that you want to use, and then click
OK.
|
Template Identity
|
Enter a template name and description, and specify the owner of
the template. The template owner must have an Active Directory
domain account. All VMM administrators and delegated administrators
who have access to the library server with the template will be
able to use the template. Templates are assigned to the scope of a
user role and all self-service users in that self-service user role
may use the assigned templates.
Note |
By default, virtual machines created from the template are
owned by the user who created them. Templates are assigned to
self-service policies through the user role properties, which does
not require the owner to be the same as the user. |
|
Configure Hardware
|
Customize the hardware settings, as needed.
- Startup Order—Select
the order of devices to start the operating system.
- CPU
Requirements—Specify the processor requirements of a virtual
machine on a new host.
- Memory—Specify the
amount of memory to allocate on a host for a new virtual
machine.
- Floppy
Drive—Configure the virtual floppy drive to read a physical
floppy disk on the host or to read a virtual floppy disk file
stored in the library.
- DVD or CD Drive—Add
a virtual DVD or CD drive to an IDE bus.
- Virtual Hard
Disk—Add a virtual hard disk to an IDE device or a SCSI
adapter.
- Network
Adapters—Configure one or more virtual network adapters for a
virtual machine.
- Priority and
Availability—Configure how CPU resources are allocated and
whether virtual machines are highly available.
|
Guest Operating System
|
Configure identity information, administrative credentials, and
user access to computers based on the template.
- General Settings: Enter the following
settings:
- Identity Information--Specify a
computer name. To randomly generate a computer name for virtual
machines based on the template, enter an asterisk in the
Computer name field.
- Admin Password: Specify the local
Administrator password for the virtual machine. If virtual machines
created with this template will not be in a domain, users must use
this password to gain access to the local computer.
Note |
To prompt for a password when the user creates a virtual
machine with the template, enter an asterisk (*) in the Admin
Password field. If you leave the field blank, virtual machine
creation will fail. |
- Product key: If you want the template
to provide a product key for virtual machines, enter a product key
in the Product key field. To require users to provide their
own product key when they create a virtual machine, leave the field
blank.
- Time Zone : Select the appropriate
option from the Time Zone drop-down list box, or accept the default
time zone.
- Operating System: Select the operating
system that will run on the virtual machine. This selection does
not install an operating system.
- Networking: Configure settings to
determine network access for virtual machines:
- Domain/Workgroup: If you want virtual
machines that are created from this template to be in a domain,
click Domain. Then specify a user account that will be used
to add the computer to the domain at first logon. If the virtual
machines that are created from this template will not be in a
domain, click Workgroup, and then enter the name of the
workgroup.
- Scripts: Use the options under
Scripts to provide additional settings for Sysprep:
- Answer File: You can attach a Sysprep
file (for Windows XP, Windows Server 2000, or Windows
Server 2003) or an Unattend.xml file (for Windows Vista or
Windows Server 2008) to the guest operating system profile.
The answer file script must be stored on a library share.
To select an answer file, click Browse to open the Select
answer file dialog box, and then select the file.
To add settings, in the Answer file field, specify the
SysPrep or Unattend file to run. The settings in the answer file
will be appended to those from the wizard.
- [GUIRunOnce] Commands: If you want to
specify one or more commands to run the first time a user logs on
to a virtual machine, type a command that you want to add in the
Command to add field, and then click Add. This action
adds the command to the [GuiRunOnce] section of the SysPrep file
and to the unattend.xml file.
|
Summary
|
Review your settings. To change the settings, click
Previous. To create the template, click Create.
|
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.