When you create a new virtual machine, the result is a set of files that represent a new computer, complete with a blank, unformatted hard disk—the virtual disk—onto which you install the guest operating system. The virtual disk by default has all its disk space preallocated at the time it is created.
The virtual machines you create are located on the host to which you are currently logged on, even if the console you are using is running on a remote client.
NOTE Before you create the virtual machine, check the installation notes for the guest operating system you intend to install. You can find this information in the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide available from the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html.
To create a new virtual machine 1 Launch the VMware Server Console.
Windows hosts: See “Connecting to a Virtual Machine from a Windows Host or Client” on page 82.
Linux hosts: See “Connecting to a Virtual Machine from a Linux Host or Client”
on page 84.
2 Start the New Virtual Machine Wizard. Choose File > New > Virtual Machine or click the New Virtual Machine icon on the console Home tab.
3 Select the method to use for configuring your virtual machine.
If you select Typical, you can specify or accept defaults only for:
! The guest operating system.
! The virtual machine name and the location of the virtual machine’s files.
! The network connection type.
! The size of the virtual disk.
! Allocating all the disk space for the virtual disk at the time you create it.
! Splitting the virtual disk into 2GB files.
Select Custom to:
! Set the number of processors, which is required to enable two‐way Virtual SMP (experimental support).
! Allocate an amount of memory different from the default.
! Choose between the LSI Logic and BusLogic types of SCSI adapters. (An ATAPI IDE adapter is always installed.)
! Let other users access this virtual machine.
! Have the virtual machine automatically power on or off when the VMware Server Windows host starts up or shuts down.
! Specify the user account the virtual machine uses when running.
! Use an existing virtual disk or use a physical disk rather than a virtual disk (for advanced users).
! Use an IDE virtual disk for a guest operating system that would otherwise have a SCSI virtual disk created by default and vice versa.
! Create a virtual disk as a single disk file. If the virtual disk is larger than 8GB, the host file system must support files larger than 8GB.
! Store your virtual disk files in a particular location.
! Specify a particular virtual device node for the virtual disk.
! Use independent disk mode (if you don’t plan to use snapshots with this virtual machine; see “Independent Disks” on page 121).
NOTE If you follow the custom path, you still specify the options under the typical path.
4 Under Guest operating system, select the operating system family. Select the specific operating system from the Version list.
NOTE VMware Server supports 64‐bit guests. The Wizard includes options for installing 64‐bit versions of certain operating systems.
VMware Server performs an internal check. If the host CPU is not a supported 64‐bit processor, VMware Server displays an error message that indicates the hardware on your host machine is incompatible with 64‐bit guest operating systems. You can, however, continue to power on the virtual machine.
VMware Server provides a standalone utility to use without VMware Server that performs the same check and determines whether your CPU is supported for VMware Server virtual machines with 64‐bit guest operating systems. You can download the 64‐bit processor check utility from the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/download.
In this example, the remaining steps assume you plan to install a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise guest operating system. You can find detailed installation notes for this and other guest operating systems in the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware Web site at
www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html.
If the operating system you are using is not listed, select Other as both the guest operating system and version.
The New Virtual Machine Wizard uses this information to select appropriate default values, such as the amount of memory needed. The Wizard also uses this information when naming associated virtual machine files.
NOTE VMware Server supports 64‐bit guests. The Wizard includes options for installing 64‐bit versions of certain operating systems.
5 Select a name and directory for the virtual machine.
Windows hosts: The virtual machine directory and its files are stored in the default location <installdrive>:\Virtual Machines.
Linux hosts: The virtual machine directory and its files are stored in the default location /var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines.
If you selected Typical as your configuration path, go to step 10.
If you selected Custom as your configuration path, continue with the steps for customizing your virtual machine configuration.
6 Specify whether this virtual machine should be private.
By default, a virtual machine is private, so only you have access to it.
7 Choose the user account for running the virtual machine (for virtual machines on Windows hosts only) and the host startup and shutdown options.
Windows hosts: Under Virtual machine account, choose which user account the virtual machine uses when it runs. This account is used for actions like network access from within the virtual machine and access to virtual machine resources that are on the network.
! User that powers on the virtual machine — The virtual machine runs as the account of the user who powered on the virtual machine until the virtual machine is powered off. Other users can connect to the virtual machine but it still runs as the user who powered on the virtual machine.
! Local system account —The virtual machine runs as the local system account (administrator). You can enable this option only if you are logged on to the host operating system as an administrator.
NOTE This user can run virtual machines that are in local storage only.
! This user — The virtual machine runs as the user account specified here. The password is not validated until you power on the virtual machine. You can
specify a local user account, a local system administrator account or a fully‐qualified domain user account for this user.
All hosts: Under Startup/Shutdown Options, choose whether this virtual machine powers on automatically when the VMware Server host starts up and powers off when the host shuts down.
To enable the startup and shutdown options, you must configure the virtual machine to run as an administrator user. You can change these options whether the virtual machine is powered on or off.
8 Specify the number of processors for the virtual machine.
The following are considered to have two logical processors:
! A single‐processor host with hyperthreading enabled.
! A single‐processor host with a dual‐core CPU
! A multiprocessor host with two CPUs, neither of which are dual‐core or have hyperthreading enabled.
9 Use the default or change the amount of memory allocated to the virtual machine.
To change the amount of memory, move the slider to the appropriate location, use the spin controller next to the field, or type a new value in the field.
The New Virtual Machine Wizard provides a default value based on your guest operating system selection, as well as the recommended range and the total amount of memory all running virtual machines can use.
The Wizard also indicates the minimum amount of memory recommended by the manufacturer and the VMware Server recommended maximum value for best performance of your virtual machine on this server host.
CAUTION You cannot allocate more than 2000MB of memory to a virtual machine if it is stored on a file system that cannot support files larger than 2GB, such as FAT16. You will not be able to power on such a virtual machine. Further, you cannot allocate more than 2000MB of memory to a virtual machine if it is stored on a FAT32 file system, even though it does support files up to 4GB in size.
10 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 network adapter on a Linux host (as bridged networking on wireless network adapters is supported only on Windows hosts). It also 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 on the host using only the host‐only network adapter, select Use host‐only networking.
If you selected Typical as your configuration path, go to step 14.
If you selected Custom as your configuration path, continue with the steps for customizing your virtual machine configuration.
11 Choose the type of SCSI adapter to use with the virtual machine.
You cannot change the SCSI adapter type after you create the virtual machine.
12 Select the disk to use with the virtual machine.
To use a new, unformatted virtual disk, select Create a new virtual disk.
To use an existing virtual disk with this virtual machine, select Use an existing virtual disk. Browse to select the disk.
To install the guest operating system on a physical (also called raw) IDE disk, select Use a physical disk. To use a physical SCSI disk, add it to the virtual machine later with the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings). Booting from a physical SCSI disk is not supported.
To install your guest operating system directly on an existing IDE disk partition, read the reference note “Installing an Operating System onto a Physical Partition”
on page 146.
CAUTION VMware recommends that only advanced users use physical disks with virtual machines.
13 Select whether you want the virtual disk to be an IDE disk or a SCSI disk.
The Wizard recommends the best choice based on the guest operating system you selected.
14 Enter the size of the virtual disk that you want to create.
If this setting is larger than the space available on 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 or clear the Allocate all disk space now check box.
Your virtual disk can be as small as 0.1GB (100MB).
15 Specify the name and location of the virtual disk’s files.
To specify which virtual device node should be used by your virtual disk or to use independent disk mode, click Advanced.
CAUTION The independent disk option should be used only by advanced users who need it for special‐purpose configurations.
You have the following options for an independent disk:
! Persistent — changes are immediately and permanently written to the disk.
! Nonpersistent — changes to the disk are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine.
16 Click Finish. VMware Server creates the virtual machine.
Your new virtual machine is like a physical computer with a blank hard disk. Before you can use it, you need to partition and format the virtual disk and install an operating system. The operating system’s installation program might handle the partitioning and formatting steps for you.