about_VMM_2012

Updated: January 15, 2013

Applies To: System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager

about_VMM_2012

TOPIC
    about_VMM_2012

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    Provides an overview of new features included in Virtual Machine Manager 
    (VMM) for System Center 2012 and the VMM command-line interface.

LONG DESCRIPTION
    VMM is a management solution for the virtualized datacenter, enabling you 
    to configure and manage your virtual machine hosts, networking, and 
    storage resources to create and deploy virtual machines and services to 
    private clouds or host groups that you have created.

    Many enhancements have been made to the VMM command line interface in VMM
    for System Center 2012, such as the addition of nearly 300 cmdlets. Also, a
    persistent connection can be made to the VMM management server, eliminating
    the need to connect to the VMM management server with each new VMM command
    shell session.

    The VMM for System Center 2012 cmdlets are delivered in a module. You can
    open the VMM command shell from the Start menu, or you can open a Windows
    PowerShell session and import the VMM module. To add the VMM module to a 
    Windows PowerShell session, type:

        Import-Module -Name "virtualmachinemanager"
 
  Using the VMM Command Shell
  
      Because all tasks in VMM are performed by cmdlets, any task that you can 
      perform by using the VMM console can also be performed by using the VMM 
      command shell or by creating a Windows PowerShell script.

      All cmdlets have new names for this version. Each cmdlet noun is 
      preceded with an "SC". This includes cmdlets that were in previous 
      versions of VMM. For example, in VMM 2008, you would have used the cmdlet
      Get-VMHost to retrieve a VMM host object. In VMM for System Center 2012, 
      this cmdlet is now named Get-SCVMHost. In addition, several parameters 
      that existed in previous versions of VMM have been renamed.

      For more information about cmdlet and parameter renaming, see 
      about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_and_Parameter_Name_Mapping.
      
      To preserve a high level of backward compatibility functionality with
      the new naming convention, aliases have been added so that when you call 
      a cmdlet by its previous name, the new version of the cmdlet runs.
      However, we strongly recommend that you review all cmdlets in order to
      discover any enhanced functionality introduced with expanded parameter
      sets. Additionally, some parameters have been deprecated in this release.

      For more information about backward compatibility, see
      about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_Backward_Compatibility. 

  Writing Scripts for VMM

      In previous versions of VMM, a View Script button was included on the
      Summary page of each wizard in the VMM console. In VMM for System Center
      2012, this has been expanded so that a View Script button is now also
      included on property pages. 

      When you click View Script, Notepad opens and displays the commands 
      that will run when you complete the wizard or update the properties on
      an object. You can modify the commands as necessary, such as replace a
      an ID with a name, or a where clause to find a like name, and then save 
      the file with a .ps1 extension. You can save and run your script from 
      a local drive, or you can save your script to and run it from the VMM
      library. For more information about saving and running scripts from 
      the VMM library, see about_VMM_2012_Library.

      After you write and save a script, you can run the script from the 
      following locations:

      - From the VMM command shell, navigate to the directory in which the 
        script resides, and then type .\VMMscript.ps1, where VMMscript is the 
        name of the script that you want to run. For more information about 
        how to write and run Windows PowerShell scripts from the command line, 
        in the VMM command shell, type: "Get-Help about_Scripts".

      - From the VMM console, navigate to the Library workspace, select the 
        script, and then on the PowerShell tab, in the Actions group, click 
        Run.

      Before you run a script, use the Set-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet to ensure 
      that you have enabled scripts to run.

      For more information about using the VMM command shell and writing
      scripts for VMM, see "Scripting in VMM for System Center 2012" in the 
      TechNet Library at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=212247.

  Host Platforms

      VMM has added support for Citrix XenServer in addition to Hyper-V and
      VMware ESX. Individual cmdlets that take actions on hosts include 
      information about how the functionality or parameter input differs for
      each platform. 

      For more information about host platforms, see 
      about_VMM_2012_Host_Platforms.

  Library

      You can add, configure, and manage library servers, library shares,
      and library resources (such as virtual hard disks, templates, and
      profiles) from the VMM command shell. In VMM for System Center 2012,
      you can also manage and configure update baselines.      

      For more information about the VMM library, see about_VMM_2012_Library.

  Role-Based Security

      VMM grants users permissions to perform actions on a scoped set of 
      objects based on user roles. VMM for System Center 2012 provides three 
      user role profiles:

      - Delegated Administrator
      - Read-Only Administrator
      - Self-Service User

      You can create and modify user roles by using the VMM command shell.
      For more information about role-based security, see 
      about_VMM_2012_Role_Based_Security.

  Run As Accounts

      VMM for System Center 2012 adds support for Run As accounts. A Run As 
      account is a named set of stored credentials that you can provide 
      instead of manually entering a user name and password in order to run 
      a process. You can get a Run As account from the command line or 
      within a script and provide the Run As account to a cmdlet that
      accepts Run As accounts for credentials. 

      For more information about Run As accounts,
      see about_VMM_2012_Run_As_Accounts.

  Connecting to the VMM management server

      You can connect to a VMM management server in the VMM command shell
      by using the Get-SCVMMServer cmdlet. Additionally, you can set a 
      persistent connection to a VMM management server so that there is no
      need to connect to a VMM management server from each new VMM command
      shell session. 

      For more information about connecting to the VMM management server, 
      see about_VMM_2012_Connecting_to_the_VMM_Server.

  Virtual Networking

      VMM for System Center 2012 introduces several enhancements that enable
      administrators to efficiently provision network resources for a 
      virtualized environment. Cmdlets have been added to VMM that allow
      administrators to do the following:

      - Create and define logical networks
      - Create static IP address pools and MAC address pools
      - Assign static IP addresses and MAC addresses
      - Integrate load balancers

      For more information about the network enhancements in VMM for System
      Center 2012, see about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking

SEE ALSO
    about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_and_Parameter_Name_Mapping
    about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_Backward_Compatibility
    about_VMM_2012_Connecting_to_the_VMM_Server
    about_VMM_2012_Host_Platforms
    about_VMM_2012_Library
    about_VMM_2012_Role_Based_Security
    about_VMM_2012_Run_As_Accounts
    about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking