VMware GSX Server 2.5.2

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Creating a New Virtual Machine from the Management Interface

You can create new virtual machines from within the VMware Management Interface. The process sets up a new configuration for each virtual machine you create in this fashion. You do not need to use the New Virtual Machine Wizard or Configuration Wizard in order to do this, and you can create it remotely. The virtual machines you create are located on the host to which you are currently logged in.

By default, the new virtual machine includes a SCSI disk in persistent disk mode, unless the guest operating system you select is Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 98 or Windows 95, in which case the virtual disk defaults to IDE. The floppy and CD-ROM drives are enabled automatically, but you can disable them.

Note: You can only use ASCII characters in the entry fields when creating a virtual machine with the management interface. Thus, the virtual machine's display name and path cannot contain non-ASCII characters.

As with any other virtual machine, you can change any configuration settings in the Configuration Editor in the local or remote console (choose Settings > Configuration Editor).

On GSX Server for Linux hosts, before you begin configuring your virtual machine, check the following items and make any necessary adjustments to the configuration of your host operating system.

The real time clock function must be compiled into your Linux kernel.
The parallel port "PC-style hardware" option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) must be built and loaded as a kernel module (that is, it must be set to "m").

Creating a Virtual Machine

To create a virtual machine from the VMware Management Interface, complete the following steps.

On the Status Monitor page, click Add Virtual Machine. The Add Virtual Machine page appears.
In the Guest Operating System list, select the guest operating system for the new virtual machine. A display name for the operating system appears in the Display Name field, a default path to the configuration file appears in the Virtual Machine Directory field and the default amount of RAM for the operating system appears in the Memory (RAM) field.
You can find detailed installation notes for each guest operating system under Installing Guest Operating Systems.
If you want, you can change the display name for the new virtual machine. In the Display Name field, type a descriptive name of the new virtual machine. This name appears in the Display Name column in the management interface. Remember, you can only use ASCII characters in this field.
If you want, you can change the path to the new virtual machine. In the Virtual Machine Directory field, type the path to the new virtual machine's configuration file on the host machine. Remember, you can only use ASCII characters in this field.
Each virtual machine must have its own directory. All associated files, such as the configuration file and the disk files, are placed in this directory.
If you want, you can change the size of the new virtual disk. In the Virtual Disk Capacity list, select the size of the new virtual disk. 4GB is the suggested total capacity for the virtual disk, though the maximum total capacity is 128GB for an IDE virtual disk or 256GB for a SCSI virtual disk. When you specify the size of the virtual disk, that amount of disk space is not immediately occupied by the virtual disk files. The virtual disk files grow as needed when applications and files are added to them, until the virtual disk reaches the specified maximum capacity.
Note: If the size of the virtual disk is larger than the capacity of the host machine's hard disk, a warning message appears when you click Create Virtual Machine. You can ignore this message for now, since you can move this virtual machine to a different drive at a later date.
The virtual disk's size should be large enough to hold the guest operating system and all of the software that you intend to install in the virtual machine, with room for data and growth. You cannot change the virtual disk's maximum capacity later, although you can install additional virtual disks if you run out of space on this one. For example, you need about 750MB of actual free space on the file system containing the virtual disk to install Windows 2000 inside the virtual machine.
If you want, you can change the amount of memory allocated to the new virtual machine. In the Memory (RAM) field, type the amount of RAM for the new virtual machine. VMware recommends you do not allocate less than the default listed for the guest operating system. The amount of memory you specify must be a multiple of 4.
Let GSX Server detect the DVD/CD-ROM drive automatically, or enter the path to the host's CD-ROM drive.
If you want the DVD/CD-ROM drive to point to an ISO image, check Drive is an ISO image.
If you want the DVD/CD-ROM drive to be connected when the virtual machine starts, check Start connected.
Enter the path to the host's floppy drive if it is different than the default.
If you want the floppy drive to point to an ISO image, check Drive is a floppy image.
If you want the floppy drive to be connected when the virtual machine starts, check Start connected.
The Connect to the local network via the host network adapter check box is already selected, indicating that this virtual machine is going to use bridged networking and is going to connect to your network through the host machine's Ethernet card. Uncheck the check box if you do not want to use bridged networking with this virtual machine. For more details about GSX Server networking options, see Networking.
If you want, you can change the color depth of your display. A higher color depth setting slows down screen redraws and increases network load when you use a remote console to view a virtual machine across a network connection. However, with greater color depth, you get better color resolution and fidelity, which may be an issue, depending on the applications you intend to run on the virtual machine. In the Display Depth list, select one of the following:
- 8 - to minimize network bandwidth usage, but it is a pseudo-color or color map mode, not a true color setting.
- 15, 16, or 24 - for increasingly higher true color resolution, at the expense of network bandwidth. 8 is the default setting.
To create your new virtual machine, click Create Virtual Machine.
Note: If you do not want to create this virtual machine, click the Close link.
The Add Virtual Machine page displays a summary of the virtual machine you just created.

The new virtual machine appears on the Status Monitor page.

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