How to Create a Self-Service Policy

A self-service policy enables a user or group to operate, and optionally create, their own virtual machines, which are deployed on hosts in a specified host group. The policy determines whether users can create and store virtual machines in addition to operating them, what actions they can take on their virtual machines, and which templates they can use to create the virtual machines. The self-service policy also can limit the number of virtual machines the users can deploy at one time by setting a virtual machine quota.

Use the following procedure to create a self-service policy for a host group.

To create a self-service policy

  1. From any view in the VMM Administrator Console, click New self-service policy in the Actions pane.

  2. In Policy Name, enter a name to identify the policy.

  3. In Group or User Name, type or select the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) user or group account to which the self-service policy will apply.

    To select an account:

    1. Click Select to open the Select User or Group dialog box.
    2. Type or select the user or group account, and then click OK.
      The dialog box contains a link to examples of acceptable formats. You can click Check Names to validate your entry.
      Though this dialog box accepts multiple accounts, only one account can be associated with a self-service policy. Thus, you are limited to a single account.
  4. To determine which hosts the users' virtual machines will be deployed on, in Host Group, navigate to the host group of choice. When a user creates a virtual machine, it is placed automatically on the most suitable host in the host group.

  5. If the self-service policy applies to a group, under Shared ownership, select the type of ownership to apply to the group:

    • Shared ownership—All group members can view and operate virtual machines owned by the group according to the virtual machine permissions set in the policy. If a quota is set, the quota limits the total number of virtual machines that the group can deploy at any one time.
    • Individual ownership—Enables you to use a group policy to assign a standard set of virtual machine permissions and other settings to self-service users while maintaining individual ownership of each user's virtual machines. Group members cannot see or operate the virtual machines owned by other group members. If you set a virtual machine quota for the policy, a separate quota is applied to each group member's virtual machines.

    Note

    You cannot change the type of virtual machine ownership after you create the self-service policy. Instead, you must create a new self-service policy.

  6. On the Virtual Machine Creation Settings wizard page, optionally allow the user or group to create their own virtual machines and assign templates for them to use. For details, see How to Enable Self-Service Users to Create Virtual Machines (SCVMM).

  7. On the Virtual Machine Management Settings wizard page, grant virtual machine permissions to determine which actions the users can take on their virtual machines. For details, see How to Grant Virtual Machine Management Permissions to Self-Service Users.

  8. On the Library Settings wizard page, optionally allow the users to store their virtual machines when the virtual machines are not in use. For details, see How to Allow Library Access for Self-Service Users.

  9. On the Summary page, review your settings, and then click Create to add the self-service policy.

    Note

    Use the View Script button to display the Windows PowerShell - Virtual Machine Manager cmdlets that will perform the operation. All administrative tasks in Virtual Machine Manager can be performed at the command line or scripted. For more information, see Using the Virtual Machine Manager Command Shell.

See Also

Concepts

About Self-Service Policies
About Virtual Machine Quotas
How to Modify a Self-Service Policy

Other Resources

How to Set Up Virtual Machine Self-Service