Manage VM templates
You can manage a VM template by performing the following tasks:
Deploy a VM—Create a VM by using a VM template. The VM has the same OS and applications as the template.
Distribute a VM template—Distribute the VM template to the storage pool of the destination host.
Download a VM template—The file must be in .tar.gz format.
Check the integrity and track the source of a VM template—Perform CRC for a VM template file to prevent tampering of the VM template during copy or transmission, and trace the source and author of VM templates for easy management.
Edit a VM template—Edit VM template information such as CPUs, CPU cores, memory size, and storage capacity. If VMs have been deployed using the template, the name and storage capacity of the template cannot be edited.
Delete VM templates—If VMs have been deployed using the template, the template file will not be deleted.
Import a VM template—Import VM templates in .tar.gz format.
Restrictions and guidelines
Before you clone or convert a Linux VM, delete the /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules file from the Linux OS. If you do not delete this file, VMs deployed using the cloned template cannot find the eth0 NIC.
To ensure successful OS configuration for a VM deployed through a VM template, do not use the /usr directory as an independent partition when cloning or converting a VM installed with a Linux OS to a template.
To prevent source VM static IP from being kept on the NIC of a VM deployed through the VM template, change the IP addressing mode to automatic before cloning or converting a VM to a template.
For a successful upload of a VM template, do not close the browser or the window for importing the VM template during the upload process.
To avoid template import failure because of login timeout, do not stay at the NIC configuration page for a long time.
If CAStools cannot be started on a VM deployed by using a VM template, re-install CAStools on the VM.
Deploy a VM
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Deploy VM icon
for a VM template.
Set the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click Finish.
Distribute a VM template
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Distribute VM Template icon
for a VM template.
Set the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click Finish.
Download a VM template
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Download VM Template icon
for a VM template.
Check the integrity and track the source of a VM template
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Integrity Check icon
for a VM template. The system automatically checks the integrity and trace the source of the VM template.
Edit a VM template
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Edit VM Template icon
for a VM template.
Edit the template parameters as described in "Parameters".
Click OK.
Delete VM templates
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click the Delete VM Template icon
for a VM template.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.
Import a VM template
On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM Templates from the navigation pane.
Click Import VM Template.
Select a template pool, upload a template file, and then select a port profile as required.
Click Finish.
Parameters
Deploy a VM
Basic Info
Quantity: Enter the number of VMs to create.
If you enter 1, you must specify the VM alias.
If you enter a value larger than 1, you must specify the VM alias, prefix, and the start number of the VMs. If you select Generate, the system automatically generates VMs based on the alias prefix and start number in turn. If you select Configure, you must manually specify or import a VM alias.
Fast Deployment: Select VM deployment based on the base image file of the VM template as needed. To shorten the VM creation time and save server storage space, select this option.
Start Now: Set whether to start the created VMs immediately after creation.
Configure OS: Set whether to initialize the OS of VMs. This option is displayed only when your VMs are Windows or Linux VMs.
Fast—Initializes the OS and network parameters of a VM by using CAStools and does not clear the SID of the OS. CAStools is required. This mode is applicable to Windows and Linux OSs that support CAStools.
Full—Initializes the OS and user account information about a VM and clears the SID of the OS. Sysprep is required. This mode is applicable to Windows operating systems.
Cluster
IP Address: IP address of the target host.
CPU Usage: CPU usage of the target host.
Memory Size: Memory size of the target host.
Memory Usage: Memory usage of the target host.
Storage Info
Target Storage File: Enter the name of the storage file. This parameter is required for a host.
Target Storage Pool: Select the storage pool for the created VMs.
Disk Format: Specify the disk format for the VMs. This parameter is available only when the Fast Deployment option is not selected.
Same Format—Same disk format as the VM template.
Qcow2—The disk format is qcow2.
Raw—The disk format is raw. This format has high I/O efficiency, but a VM using this disk format does not support internal snapshots.
Network Info
Manual: Manually configure a port profile and virtual firewall for the VM. This parameter is available only when VMs are deployed in bulk.
Import: Import a configuration file to configure VM system information and network parameters. You can create a file, or download a template. Txt and CSV files are supported. This parameter is available only when VMs are deployed in bulk.
Delimiter: Select a delimiter for separating items in the VM configuration file. Options include Comma (,), Semicolon (;), Tab Key, and Space. Make sure the delimiter is the same as the delimiter in the VM image file. This parameter is available only when VMs are deployed in bulk.
Start Line: Enter the start line of the data to import from the VM image file. This parameter is available only when VMs are deployed in bulk.
vSwitch: Select a vSwitch for the VM.
Port Profile/Port Group: Select a port profile/port group for the VM. A newly deployed VM uses the most recent port profile, the VLAN and QoS settings in which might be different from those in the VM template.
Network Parameters: Specify IP address assignment parameters for the VM. If you select the Manual option, manually configure the IPv4 or IPv6 address, subnet mask, default gateway, primary/secondary DNS server, and IP binding. IP binding allows you to bind an IPv4 or IPv6 address to the MAC address of the VM.
System Info
Computer Name: Enter the computer name.
Belong To: Select how the VM will participate in the network. Options include Domain and Work Group. This parameter is required only for a Windows VM.
Domain/Work Group: Enter a domain or work group name. This parameter is required only for a Windows VM.
Login Account: Enter the login account of the VM OS.
Login Password: Enter the login password of the VM OS.
Confirm Password: Confirm the password.
Local Group: Select the local group to which the login account belongs. Options include Administrators, Power Users, and Users. This parameter is required only for a Windows VM.
Activation Key: Enter the activation key of the VM OS. This parameter is required only when the VM uses a Windows OS and the initialization mode is full initialization. If you do not set this parameter, you must enter the activation key when the VM is booted.
Distribute a VM Template
Overwrite Storage Volumes with the Same Name: Select whether to overwrite the storage volumes with the same name on the target host.
Edit a VM Template
Name: If VMs have been deployed using this template, the name cannot be edited.
CPUs: Specify the number of CPU cores, which is the number of CPUs multiplied by the number of cores of each CPU.
Memory: Enter the memory of the VMs.
Storage Volume Name: Name of the storage volume on the VMs. It is the same as the VM template name and cannot be edited.