Creating a Virtual Machine with a Blank Virtual Hard Disk in VMM

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This topic describes how to create a virtual machine from a blank virtual hard disk. You can either install the operating system after creating the virtual machine or you can configure the virtual machine to start from an ISO image.

Considerations

When you create a virtual machine from a blank virtual hard disk:

  • You must configure the virtual machine so that you can install an operating system from a system CD, from an ISO image file in the library, or through a network service boot.
  • You need to install Virtual Machine Additions to maximize performance and provide a better user interface experience within the virtual machine.
  • The virtual machine must be deployed on a host or on a library server that has Virtual Server installed.

Procedure

To create a virtual machine from a blank virtual hard disk:

  1. In the Actions pane in the Virtual Machine Manager Administrator Console, click New virtual machine.
  2. Complete the New Virtual Machine Wizard.
Wizard Page Action

Select Source

Select the Create the new virtual machine with a blank hard disk option.

Virtual Machine Identity

Enter a virtual machine name and description for the virtual machine, and specify the owner. The owner must have a domain account in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). All VMM administrators will have access to the virtual machine.

Configure Hardware

Configure the blank virtual hard disk for the virtual machine.

  1. Select the new blank virtual hard disk under IDE Devices.
    In the right pane, under Attachment, use the Channel field to select the channel on the IDE device to attach the virtual hard disk to. An IDE bus supports as many as four devices, including virtual hard disks and a virtual DVD drive.
  2. Under Type, select the type of virtual hard disk to configure -- Dynamic or Fixed. For more information, see "Creating Virtual Hard Disks" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=104266).
  3. Under Size, specify, in megabytes (MB), either the size of a fixed virtual hard disk file or the maximum size to allow for a dynamically expanding virtual hard disk file.
  4. Under Destination file name, specify a file name for the virtual hard disk file.

To configure additional hardware for the virtual machine, use the following procedures:

  • CPU Requirements -- Specify the processor resources on a host that you want a virtual machine to use. This entry does not actually specify hardware. The CPU type is used in calculating resource requirements for host ratings.
  • Amount of Memory. -- Specify the amount of memory on a host that you want to allocate to any virtual machine created from the settings on this hardware profile.
  • Floppy Drive -- Specify the virtual floppy drive settings. The virtual floppy drive can read a physical floppy disk inserted into the physical floppy drive on the host or it can read a virtual floppy disk file.
  • DVD Drive or Virtual Hard Disk (IDE) -- Specify which IDE devices that you want to add and configure on a virtual machine.
  • Virtual Hard Disk (SCSI adapter) -- Specify one or more virtual SCSI adapters to a virtual machine. You can then attach a virtual hard disk to the SCSI adapter.
  • Network Adapters -- Configure one or more virtual network adapters to connect to virtual networks.
  • Virtual Machine Priority for Host CPU Resources -- Specify how CPU resources are allocated among virtual machines deployed on the same host.

Select Destination

Choose between two options:

  • Place the virtual machine on a host. The wizard will continue through all of the remaining wizard pages.
  • Store the virtual machine in the library. The wizard will continue with the Select Path wizard page.

Note

If you store the virtual machine on a library server, the library server must have Virtual Server installed.

Select Virtual Machine Host

(Host placement only)

Select a host to deploy the virtual machine on.

All hosts that are available for placement are given a rating of 0-5 stars based on their suitability to host the virtual machine. The host ratings are based on the virtual machine's hardware and resource requirements and anticipated resource usage. They are also based on placement settings that you can customize for VMM or for individual virtual machine deployments. The ratings are recommendations. You can select any host that has the required disk space and memory available.

  1. To see the placement settings that were used to rate the hosts, and optionally change those settings, click Customize Ratings to open the Customize Ratings dialog box.
    You can choose between two placement goals--either resource maximization on individual hosts or load balancing among hosts--and set the relative importance of the availability of CPU, memory, disk I/O capacity, and network capacity for the virtual machine. For more information, see "How Virtual Machine Manager Rates Hosts" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=102852). If you change settings, the host ratings will be repeated to apply the new settings. When you finish reviewing settings, close the dialog box.
  2. To view additional information about a host rating, select the host in the list. The tabs in the details pane beneath the list provide the following information:
    • Details -- Displays the status of the host and lists the virtual machines that are currently deployed on it.
    • Ratings Explanation -- If a host receives a zero rating, this tab lists the conditions that caused the rating.
    • SAN Explanation -- If a SAN transfer cannot be used to move the virtual machine's files to the host, this tab lists the conditions that prevent a SAN transfer.

Select Path

Select the path to the folder that will store the configuration files for the virtual machine:

  • If you chose Place the virtual machine on a host, specify the path on the host to which to save files associated with this virtual machine.

    Note

    If you want to store other virtual machines on this path, select the Add this path to the list of host default paths check box to add the path to the list of default paths during virtual machine creation.

  • If you chose Store the virtual machine in the library, specify the library server that will store the virtual machine, and then select the path on the available library shares to store the virtual machine's configuration files. The wizard will continue with the Summary page.

Additional Properties

(Host placement only)
  • Optionally specify actions to be taken on the virtual machine when the Virtual Server service starts and stops on the host.
    Start action -- You can choose to always turn on the virtual machine when Virtual Server starts, to turn the virtual machine on only if it was running when Virtual Server stopped, or to never turn on the virtual machine when Virtual Server starts. To enable a start action, you must specify the account that Virtual Server will run under. For account requirements, see " 'Run-as' Account Requirements for Virtual Server" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=102862).
  • If the processors on your host support hardware-assisted virtualization, and you want to use that feature with the new virtual machine, select the Use Hardware Assisted Virtualization check box.

Summary

Review the configuration settings. To change settings, click Previous. To begin creating the virtual machine, click Create.

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.

Install an Operating System on the Virtual Machine

This section tells how to configure the virtual machine so that you can install an operating system from a system CD, from an ISO image file in the library, or through a network service boot. For the first two methods, you must configure a virtual DVD drive to attach to a physical CD drive on the host or to the image file. For a network installation, you must configure a virtual network adapter.

Operating System Requirements for a Virtual Machine

The operating system on the virtual machine must meet the following requirements:

  • The operating system must be the Windows Server 2003 operating system, the Windows Server 2003 R2 operating system, or the Windows 2000 Server operating system.
  • The boot partition must be the Windows partition.

Procedures

To install from a physical CD, you simply need to map a virtual CD/DVD drive on the virtual machine to the physical CD drive on the host computer.

To prepare to install from a system CD

  1. In Virtual Machines view of the VMM Administrator Console, right-click the virtual machine in the results pane, and click Properties.

  2. On the Hardware Configuration tab, click DVD on the New toolbar to add a virtual DVD drive to the IDE bus.

  3. In the right pane, click Physical CD/DVD drive, and then select the DVD drive on the host.

If you will use an image file to install the operating system, you must add the image file to the Virtual Machine Manager library.

To prepare to install from an image file in the library

  1. Copy the image file to a share in the Virtual Machine Manager library. The file will be added to the library and will be available in wizards after the next library refresh.

    If you have not yet added library servers and shares, you can use the default library share, $MSSCMMLibrary, on the VMM server. The default path is <systemdrive>\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Virtual Machine Manager Library Files.

  2. To make the file available immediately, refresh the library share.

    1. In the VMM Administrator Console, click Library under the navigation pane to display Library view.
    2. In the navigation pane, right-click the share that you copied the image file to, and then click Refresh share.

  3. In the virtual machine properties, configure a virtual DVD drive to connect to the image file:

    1. In Virtual Machines view, right-click the virtual machine in the results pane, and click Properties.
    2. On the Hardware Configuration tab, click DVD on the New toolbar to add a virtual DVD drive to the IDE bus.
    3. In the right pane, Known image file, and then select the image file from the available library resources.

If the network adapter on the host computer supports network service boots, you can configure a virtual network adapter on the virtual machine to enable this.

To prepare to install from a network service boot

  1. In Virtual Machines view, right-click the virtual machine in the results pane, and click Properties.

  2. On the Hardware Configuration tab, configure a network connection:

    1. On the New toolbar, click DVD to add a virtual DVD drive to the IDE bus.

    2. In Connect to, select the external virtual network to use for the network service boot. The list contains all virtual networks that are configured on the host.
      If you just added a new host that did not have an existing Virtual Server installation, during Setup, Virtual Server will have configured an external virtual network for each physical network adapter on the host computer and named the network for the network adapter model.

      Note

      To support virtual machine migration, you should configure standard network names on all hosts so that virtual machines can be migrated from one host to another without losing their network connections. For more information, see "How to Configure Virtual Networks on a Host" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98838).

    3. Under Ethernet (MAC) address, specify a dynamic or static IP address for the virtual machine.

With the virtual machine configured to provide access to the installation medium of choice, you can connect to the virtual machine to install the operating system. Virtual Machine Manager uses Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) to connect to virtual machines from the VMM Administrator Console. By default, VMM uses port 5900 to connect to VMRC. No configuration is required unless a firewall is blocking the port.

To install the operating system on the virtual machine

  1. In Virtual Machines view, right-click the virtual machine in the results pane, and then click Connect to virtual machine. You will need to click Yes at the prompt to start the virtual machine.

    This opens the Virtual Machine Remote Control console.

  2. To connect to the virtual machine, on the Remote Control menu, click Special Keys, and then click Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

  3. Install the operating system on the virtual machine as you would on a physical computer. On a virtual machine, the boot disk partition must be the Windows partition.

  4. After completing the installation, end your session with the virtual machine and stop the virtual machine in VMM. (Use the Stop action in Virtual Machines view.)

    Note

    When you create a template from this virtual machine later in this tutorial, the virtual machine must have a blank local Administrator password.

Install Virtual Machine Additions on the Virtual Machine

Virtual Machine Additions is a collection of software drivers that maximize performance and provide a better user interface (UI) experience within virtual machines created by Virtual Server and Virtual PC. In VMM, Virtual Machine Additions is strongly recommended to improve the performance of virtual machines and is a requirement for virtual machine templates.

The image file for Virtual Machine Additions (VCMAdditions.iso) is downloaded to the host when Virtual Server is installed. To use the file in VMM, you must add it to the library, and then attach the file to a virtual DVD drive on the virtual machine.

To add Virtual Machine Additions to the VMM Library

  1. Copy the VMAdditions.iso file to a share in the Virtual Machine Manager library. The default location for the VMAdditions.iso is <C>:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Virtual Machine Additions.

    If you have not yet added library servers and shares, you can use the default library share, $MSSCMMLibrary, on the VMM server. The default path to the share is <systemdrive>\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Virtual Machine Manager Library Files.

  2. If you do not see the VMAdditions ISO file in Library view or when you browse for a known image file, manually refresh the library. For more information about refreshing library shares, see "How to Refresh a Library Share" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98839).

To install Virtual Machine Additions on a virtual machine

  1. Display Virtual Machines view.

  2. If the virtual machine is running, stop the virtual machine so that you can update the virtual machine's hardware configuration. To do this, right-click the virtual machine, and then click Stop.

  3. To edit the virtual machine's properties, right-click the virtual machine, and then click Properties.

  4. In the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box, display the Hardware Configuration tab.

  5. If there is no DVD drive, add a DVD drive to the IDE device by clicking DVD on the New toolbar.

  6. Click Known image file, click Browse to open the Select ISO dialog box, click the VMAdditions.iso file, and then click OK. Click OK again to close the dialog box.

  7. Start the virtual machine. Virtual Machine Additions will be installed automatically from within the running virtual machine.

Tutorial: Getting Started Creating Virtual Machines in VMM