Setting Up Virtual Machine Self-Service

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Applies To: Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1

Use virtual machine self-service to allow users to create, operate, and manage their own virtual machines independently within a controlled environment. Self-service users manage their virtual machines through the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal.

The following procedure provides an overview of the tasks necessary to set up virtual machine self-service.

To set up virtual machine self-service

  1. Install the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal on a Web server. For more information, see Installing the VMM Self-Service Portal (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=162932).

  2. Create a host group to use for virtual machine self-service, and move hosts into the host group. For information, see How to Create a Host Group.

  3. Add default virtual machine paths to the hosts on which self-service users will place virtual machines. You should add a default virtual machine path on each volume on which you want self-service users to store virtual machine files. For more information, see the following topics:

    Important

    A default virtual machine path must be configured on the volume that VMM selects during automatic placement, or the virtual machine placement will fail. For more information about default virtual machine paths on hosts, see How to Set Placement Options for a Host.

  4. Create virtual machine templates for self-service users to use to create their virtual machines. For information, see Working with Virtual Machine Templates (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163002).

  5. Create self-service user roles to grant users permissions to perform tasks on virtual machines and allow them to create virtual machines using templates. For information, see How to Create a Self-Service User Role.

  6. Specify the e-mail address of the administrator who will support self-service users. The Self-Service Portal includes a link for contacting the administrator. For information, see How to Specify the Administrative Contact for Self-Service Users.

  7. If self-service users will use virtual machines that you have created, create the virtual machines, configure them for virtual machine self-service, and deploy the virtual machines on a host in the host group that you use for self-service. For information, see How to Configure a Virtual Machine for Self-Service.

  8. Provide users with the Self-Service Portal Web address. For information, see About the VMM Self-Service Portal.

See Also

Concepts

About Virtual Machine Self-Service
About the VMM Self-Service Portal