Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Solution
The Shut Down Guest command uses VMware Tools to initiate an orderly
shutdown of the guest OS. This ensures that the guest OS i le system is consistent and
that applications running in the guest OS are properly terminated. The Power Off com-
mand simply “yanks” the power from the VM, much like pulling the power cord out of
the back of a physical system.
Modify virtual machines.
vSphere offers a number of features to make it easy to modify
VMs after they have been created. Administrators can hot-add certain types of hardware,
like virtual hard disks and network adapters, and some guest OSes also support hot-adding
virtual CPUs or memory, although this feature must be enabled i rst.
Master It
Which method is preferred for modifying the coni guration of a VM: editing
the VMX i le or using the vSphere Web Client?
Solution
Although it is possible to edit the VMX i le to make changes, that method is
error prone and is not recommended. Using the vSphere Web Client is the recommended
method.
Master It
Name the types of hardware that cannot be added while a VM is running.
Solution
The following types of virtual hardware cannot be added while a VM is run-
ning: serial port, parallel port, l oppy drive, CD/DVD drive, and PCI device.
Chapter 10: Using Templates and vApps
Clone a VM.
The ability to clone a VM is a powerful feature that dramatically reduces
the amount of time to get a fully functional VM with a guest OS installed and running.
vCenter Server provides the ability to clone VMs and to customize VMs, ensuring that each
VM is unique. You can save the information to customize a VM as a customization specii -
cation and then reuse that information over and over again. vCenter Server can even clone
running VMs.
Master It
Where and when can customization specii cations be created in the vSphere
Web Client?
Solution
Administrators can create customization specii cations using the
Customization Specii cation Manager, available from the vSphere Web Client home
screen. Administrators can also create customization specii cations while cloning VMs or
deploying from templates by supplying answers to the Guest Customization Wizard and
saving those answers as a customization specii cation.
Master It
A fellow administrator comes to you and wants you to help streamline the
process of deploying Solaris x86 VMs in your VMware vSphere environment. What do
you tell him?
Solution
You can use cloning inside vCenter Server to help clone VMs that are running
Solaris x86, and that will help speed up the process of deploying new VMs. However,
the Solaris administrator(s) will be responsible for customizing the coni guration of the
cloned VMs because vCenter Server is unable to customize a Solaris guest OS installation
as part of the cloning process.
Create a VM template.
vCenter Server's templates feature is an excellent complement to the
cloning functionality. With options to clone or convert an existing VM to a template, vCenter
Server makes it easy to create templates. By creating templates, you ensure that your VM
