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VMware ESX Server 1.5
Features | Documentation | Knowledge Base | Discussion Forums Each ESX Server virtual machine is automatically assigned a universally unique identifier (UUID), which is stored in the SMBIOS system information descriptor. It can be accessed by standard SMBIOS scanning software - for example SiSoftware Sandra or the IBM utility smbios2 - and used for systems management in the same ways you use the UUID of a physical computer. The UUID is a 128-bit integer. The 16 bytes of this value are separated by spaces except for a dash between the eighth and ninth hexadecimal pairs. So a sample UUID might look like this: 00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77-88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff The automatically generated UUID is based on the physical computer's identifier and the path to the virtual machine's configuration file. This UUID is generated when you power on or reset the virtual machine. The UUID that is generated remains the same so long as the virtual machine is not moved or copied. The automatically generated UUID is also written to the virtual machine's configuration file as the value of uuid.location. If you move or copy the virtual machine, a new UUID is generated when the virtual machine is powered on - based on the physical computer's identifier and path to the virtual machine's configuration file in its new location. If you suspend and resume a virtual machine, this does not trigger the process that generates a UUID. Thus, the UUID in use at the time the virtual machine was suspended remains in use when the virtual machine is resumed, even if it has been copied or moved. However, the next time the virtual machine is rebooted, the UUID is generated again. If the virtual machine has been copied or moved, the UUID is changed. In some circumstances - for example, if you are moving the virtual machine but want to keep the same UUID - you may want to assign a specific UUID to the virtual machine. In that case, you need to override the automatically generated UUID value. To do so, edit the virtual machine's configuration file as described in this section to set the value of the parameter uuid.bios. When a virtual machine is powered on, ESX Server generates a UUID as described above and compares it to the values for uuid.location and (if it exists) uuid.bios in the configuration file. If the automatically generated UUID matches the value of uuid.location, ESX Server checks for uuid.bios. If uuid.bios exists, its value is used as the virtual machine's UUID. If uuid.bios does not exist, the automatically generated value is used. If the automatically generated UUID does not match the value of uuid.location, the newly generated value is used as the virtual machine's UUID and is saved to the configuration file, replacing the previous value of uuid.location and (if it exists) uuid.bios. Note: Any changes to the UUID take effect only after the virtual machine is rebooted. To assign a specific UUID to a virtual machine that is not being moved, add one line to the configuration file. You may use the configuration file editor in the VMware Management Interface (point to the terminal icon for the virtual machine, then click Edit Configuration > Use Text Editor) or log in to the console operating system and use a text editor there. The format for the line is: uuid.bios = <uuidvalue> The UUID value must be surrounded by quotation marks. A sample configuration line might look like this: uuid.bios = "00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77-88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff" After adding this line to the configuration file, restart the virtual machine. The new UUID is used when the virtual machine restarts. If you plan to move a virtual machine and want it to have the same UUID it did before the move, you must note the UUID being used before the move and add that UUID to the configuration file after the move. Follow these steps:
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