By default, the new virtual machine uses an IDE disk in persistent mode for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 guests. The default for other guest operating systems is a SCSI disk in persistent mode.
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Open the local console. Choose Start > Programs > VMware > VMware GSX Server.
(Or, double-click the VMware GSX Server icon on your desktop.)
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If this is the first time you have launched GSX Server, you are prompted to enter your 20-character serial number. This number is included in the email message you received from VMware or the reseller from whom you purchased GSX Server. Enter your serial number and click OK.
The serial number you enter is saved and GSX Server does not ask you for it again. For your convenience, GSX Server automatically sends the serial number to the VMware Web site when you use certain Web links built into the product (for example, Help > VMware software on the Web > Register Now! and Help > VMware software on the Web > Request Support). This allows us to direct you to the correct Web page for registration and support for your product.
Note: If you are upgrading from an earlier version with the same major release number (for example, from 2.0 to 2.5), you do not need to enter a serial number.
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Start the New Virtual Machine Wizard. Click the New Virtual Machine icon.
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The New Virtual Machine Wizard presents you with a series of screens that you navigate using the Next and Back buttons at the bottom of each screen. At each screen, follow the instructions, then click Next to proceed to the next screen.
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Select the method you want to use for configuring your virtual machine.
If you select Typical, the wizard prompts you to specify or accept defaults for
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The guest operating system.
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The virtual machine name and the location of the virtual machine's files.
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The network connection type.
Select Custom if you want to
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Make a virtual disk larger or smaller than 4GB.
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Store your virtual disk's files in a particular location.
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Use an IDE virtual disk for a guest operating system that would otherwise have a SCSI virtual disk created by default or vice versa.
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Use an existing virtual disk.
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Create a plain disk for clustering or better performance.
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Use a physical disk rather than a virtual disk (for expert users).
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Change the amount of memory allocated.
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Select a guest operating system.
This screen asks which operating system you plan to install in the virtual machine. The New Virtual Machine Wizard uses this information to select appropriate default values, such as the amount of disk space needed. The wizard also uses this information when naming associated virtual machine files.
If the operating system you are using is not listed, select Other.
You can find detailed installation notes for guest operating systems in Installing Guest Operating Systems.
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Select a name and folder for the virtual machine.
The name specified here appears in the Virtual Machine Name list in the local console, the VMware Management Interface and the Connect to VMware Virtual Machine dialog box that appears when you connect to a virtual machine with the VMware Remote Console. It is also used as the name of the folder where the files associated with this virtual machine are stored.
Each virtual machine should have its own folder. All associated files, such as the configuration file and the disk file, are placed in this folder. On Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 hosts, the default folder is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Virtual Machines\<guestOS>, where <guestOS> is an abbreviation of the guest operating system you selected in the previous panel. On a Windows NT host, the default folder is C:\WINNT\Profiles\<username>\Personal\My Virtual Machines\<guestOS>. You can change the default in the local console; choose Settings > Preferences, then click the Workspace tab. Click Browse to select a new path.
Virtual machine performance may be slower if your virtual hard disk is on a network drive. For best performance, be sure the virtual machine's folder is on a local drive. However, if other users need to access this virtual machine, you should consider placing the virtual machine files in a location that is accessible to them. For more information, see Sharing Virtual Machines with Other Users.
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Specify the amount of memory for the virtual machine.
The New Virtual Machine Wizard provides a default value based on your guest operating system, along with the recommended range and the total amount of memory reserved for all running virtual machines.
To change the amount of memory to be allocated to the virtual machine, click the arrows next to the Guest size (MB) field or type a new value in the field.
If you selected a Typical installation, the wizard automatically allocates the default value for memory and this panel does not appear.
For more information about memory, see Understanding Memory.
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Configure the networking capabilities of the virtual machine.
If your host computer is on a network and you have a separate IP address for your virtual machine (or can get one automatically from a DHCP server), select Use bridged networking.
If you do not have a separate IP address for your virtual machine but you want to be able to connect to the Internet, select Use network address translation (NAT). NAT is useful if you have a wireless NIC on your host (as bridged networking is not supported on wireless NICs) and allows for the sharing of files between the virtual machine and the host operating system.
To enable your virtual machine to use a virtual network limited to the host and the virtual machines running on the host, select Use host-only networking.
For more details about GSX Server networking options, see Networking.
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If you selected Typical as your configuration path, click Finish and the wizard sets up the files needed for your virtual machine.
If you selected Custom as your configuration path, continue with the steps for configuring a disk for your virtual machine.
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Select the disk type.
Select Create a new virtual disk.
Virtual disks are the best choice for most virtual machines. They are quick and easy to set up and can be moved to new locations on the same host computer or to different host computers. Virtual disks start as small files on the host computer's hard drive, then expand as needed — up to the size you specify in the next step.
To use an existing virtual disk, select Use an existing virtual disk.
To use an existing operating system on a physical hard disk (a "raw" disk), read Configuring a Dual-Boot Computer for Use with a Virtual Machine.To install your guest operating system directly on an existing IDE disk partition, read the reference note.
Caution: If you are using a Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 host, see Do Not Use Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Dynamic Disks as Raw Disks.
To install the guest operating system on a raw IDE disk, select Use a physical disk. To use a raw SCSI disk, add it to the virtual machine later with the Configuration Editor. Booting from a raw SCSI disk is not supported. For a discussion of some of the issues involved in using a raw SCSI disk, see Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot SCSI Systems to Run with GSX Server for Linux.
Caution: Raw disk configurations are recommended only for expert users.
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Specify the size of the virtual disk.
Enter the size of the virtual disk that you wish to create. Use the default of 4GB or change the setting. The maximum size 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 maximum capacity you specify here.
Note: If this setting is larger than the capacity of the host machine's hard disk, a warning message appears. You can ignore this message for now, as you can move this virtual machine to a drive that can hold it at a later time.
If you want to improve virtual machine performance, you can choose to allocate all the full capacity of the virtual disk on the host at the time you create the disk. This type of virtual disk is called a plain disk. Be aware of how much available space you have on your host or wherever you choose to create the disk. Also note that plain disks take longer to create.
To allocate the disk space upon creation, check Allocate all disk space now. The virtual disk files do not have a .vmdk extension; instead, a file called <virtual machine>.pln is created that contains information about the virtual disk. The data for the virtual disk is stored in a set of files called <virtual machine><n>.dat, with one .dat file created for each 2GB of disk capacity.
Note: If this setting is larger than the capacity of the host machine's hard disk, a warning message appears, and specifies how much space you have on the host. If the disk will exceed the available space on the host, you must make the virtual disk smaller.
This type of virtual disk is useful for clustering virtual machines. For more information about clustering, see High-Availability Configurations with GSX Server.
Make the Virtual Disk Big Enough
The virtual disk should be large enough to hold the guest operating system and all of the software that you intend to install, with room for data and growth.
You cannot change the virtual disk's maximum capacity later.
You can install additional virtual disks using the Configuration Editor
For example, you need about 1GB of actual free space on the file system containing the virtual disk to install Windows 2000 and popular applications such as Microsoft Office inside the virtual machine. You can set up a single virtual disk to hold these files. Or you can split them up — installing the operating system on the first virtual disk and using a second virtual disk for applications or data files.
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Specify the location of the virtual disk's files.
If a SCSI virtual disk is selected and you want to use a virtual IDE disk instead, or if you want to specify which device node should be used by your SCSI or IDE virtual disk, click Advanced.
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Click Finish and the wizard sets up the files needed for your virtual machine.
