Managing Lifecycles

This chapter contains the following sections:

Managing VM Power Settings
Managing VM Snapshots
Configuring the Lease Time for a Virtual Machine
Managing VM Actions
Applying a Tag to a VM

Managing VM Power Settings

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

To bring up virtual machine (VM) actions, choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose an action and the VM Task dialog box appears.

Name

Description

VM Name display-only field

The name of the VM that is the subject of the action.

Power Off display-only field

The task to power off the VM.

Power On display-only field

The task to power on the VM.

Suspend display-only field

The task to put the VM in a suspended state.

Shutdown Guest display-only field

The task to shut down the guest OS on the VM.

Standby display-only field

The task to move the VM into a standby state.

Note

Not supported in the RHEV KVM Connector.

Reset display-only field

The task to perform a hard reset of the VM.

Note

Not supported in the RHEV KVM Connector.

Reboot display-only field

The task to perform a soft reboot of the VM.

Note

Not supported in the RHEV KVM Connector.

Comments field

Enter any comments that help identify the VM.

Schedule Action radio button

The task to power on a VM now or later at a specific date and time.

Step 5

Click Proceed.

Managing VM Snapshots

This process includes the following tasks:

Create Snapshot—You can create a snapshot of all the VM’s resources in their current state.
Revert Snapshot—If the VM crashes or malfunctions (For example, if the OS becomes corrupt), you can revert to the most recent snapshot of the VM. Where there are multiple snapshots for a VM, you can revert to a specific snapshot.
Mark Golden Snapshot—You can mark a specific snapshot for a VM as a Golden Snapshot. This feature protects the snapshot from accidental deletion.
Delete a Snapshot—You can delete a snapshot, if necessary. A Golden Snapshot must be first unmarked before it can be deleted.
Delete All Snapshots—You can delete all snapshots for a VM. However, you cannot delete all snapshots if they include Golden Snapshots. You must first unmark any Golden Snapshot and then delete all snapshots.

Creating VM Snapshots
Reverting to a Snapshot
Marking a Golden Snapshot
Deleting a Snapshot
Deleting All Snapshots

Creating VM Snapshots

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose a cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow option displayed on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Create Snapshot.

Step 6

In the Create Virtual Machine Snapshot dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Snapshot Name field

The snapshot name.

Snapshot Description field

The snapshot description.

Snapshot Memory check box

Check the check box to include the VM memory in the snapshot.

Quiesce Guest File System check box

Check the check box to take the snapshot in quiesce mode.

Note

Quiescing a file system brings the on-disk data of a physical or virtual computer into a state that is suitable for backups. This process might include operations such as flushing buffers from the operating systems in-memory cache to disk, or other higher-level application-specific tasks. To use this option, VMware Tools must be installed on the VM.

Step 7

Click Proceed.

Reverting to a Snapshot

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Revert Snapshot.
Step 6	In the Revert Snapshot Task dialog box, choose a snapshot from the list by checking the check box that is next to the snapshot name.
Step 7	Click Proceed.

Marking a Golden Snapshot

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow option displayed on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Mark Golden Snapshot.
Step 6	In the Mark Golden Snapshot Task dialog box, check the check box next to the name of the desired snapshot.
Step 7	Check the Mark as Golden Snapshot check box.
Step 8	Click Proceed.

Deleting a Snapshot

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow option displayed on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Delete Snapshot.
Step 6	In the Delete Snapshot Task dialog box, check the check box next to the name of the desired snapshot.
Step 7	Check the Delete Children check box to delete child snapshots of the selected snapshot.
Step 8	Click Proceed.

Deleting All Snapshots

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow option displayed on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Delete All Snapshots.
Step 6	In the VM Snapshot Task dialog box, enter an optional comment.
Step 7	Click Proceed.

Configuring the Lease Time for a Virtual Machine

A user can configure a lease expiration time for a selected virtual machine (VM). Once the lease time expires, the VM is powered down. The lease time end is a calendar selection.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM.

Step 5

On the toolbar, click the Configure Lease Time button.

Step 6

In the Configure Lease Time dialog box, check the Set Lease Time check box. Complete the following fields:

Name

Description

VM Name field

The name specified while creating the VM.

Once entered, you cannot edit the name of the VM.

Lease Date/Time calendar, drop-down lists, radio buttons

The lease date and time for the VM. There are calendars for the Date, drop-down lists for the Time (hour and minute), and radio buttons for AM or PM.

Step 7

Click Submit.

Managing VM Actions

After creating a VM, you can perform additional tasks on it, by using menus available in the user interface. You can access these menus in one of the following ways:

Right clicking on a VM to view a list of limited options,
Choosing a VM and clicking the down arrow option on the toolbar for a complete list of options.

Following are the other VM actions:

View VM Details—You can access individual VMs to view details, such as summary reports, vNICs, disks, and snapshots.
Stack View—You can view stacks of information about a particular VM including, OS, hypervisor, and infrastructure information.
Delete a VM—You can delete a VM from the list. Only a powered-off VM can be deleted.
Create a VM Disk—You can add an additional disk with a custom size to a VM.
Delete a VM Disk—You can delete a disk.
Add vNICs—You can add multiple vNICs to a VM. You also have the option to add or replace a vNIC in a VM. The options for vNICs depend on the network policy mapped to the VDC associated with the VM.
Launch VM Client—You can set up either web access, remote desktop, or VNC console preferences for a VM.
Assign VM—You can assign a VM to a group or VDC and modify the category of the VM. You can set the provisioning time, termination time, and label for a VM.
Access VM Credentials—You can access a VM’s login credentials when it is set up for web or remote desktop access, but only if the administrator provides the privileges in the catalog from which the VM is provisioned.
Inventory Collection Request for VM—You can choose a VM and request on-demand inventory collection.
Test VNC—You can test VNC connectivity, for troubleshooting purposes.
Clone—You can clone or make a copy of an existing VM to make a new VM with the same or similar qualities.
Move a VM to VDC—You can move a VM to a VDC so that the rules of the VDC system policy are followed in the VM.
VM Resync—You can choose to set the number of minutes to have a VM resynchronize its time periodically with Cisco UCS Director.

Viewing VM Details
Resizing VMs
Using the Stack View Option
Creating a VM Disk
Resizing a VM Disk
Locking VMs in Cisco UCS Director
Adding vNICs
Replacing a vNIC
Launching the VM Client
Enabling the VNC Console on a VM
Accessing VM Console using VNC Client
Configuring ESX/ESXi Server for VNC Access to VM Console
Assigning a VM
VM Credentials
Initiating Inventory Collection for a VM
Testing VNC Connectivity
Cloning a VM
Moving a VM to VDC
Resynchronizing a VM

Viewing VM Details

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM from the list.
Step 5	On the toolbar, click the View Details button.

Resizing VMs

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button displayed on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Resize VM.

Step 6

In the Resize VM dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
VM Name field	The name of the selected VM.
Current Allocated CPU field	The number of allocated CPUs being used by the VM.
Current Allocated Memory (GB) field	The amount of memory allocated to the VM.
New CPU Count drop-down list	Choose the CPU required.
New Memory drop-down list	Choose the amount of memory.
Current CPU Cost (Currency: USD) field	Displays the current CPU cost per-hour. This value is calculated based on the currently allocated CPU for the VM.
Current Memory Cost (Currency: USD) field	Displays the current memory cost per-hour. This value is calculated based on the currently allocated memory for the VM.
New CPU Cost (Currency: USD) field	Displays the CPU cost per-hour based on the CPU count specified for the VM.
New Memory Cost (Currency: USD)	Displays the memory cost per-hour based on the memory specified for the VM.

Step 7

Click Resize.

Using the Stack View Option

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	On the toolbar, click the Stack View button.

Creating a VM Disk

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

In the navigation pane, choose a cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

Click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar, and choose Create VM Disk from the drop-down list.

Step 6

In the Create VM Disk dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

VM Name field

The name of the VM.

Once entered, the VM name cannot be edited.

New Disk Size (GB) field

The disk size for the VM, in GB.

Select Disk Type drop-down list

Choose the disk type. It can be one of the following:

System
Swap
Data
Database
Log

Select Datastore/Datastore Cluster drop-down list

Specify if the VM disk should be created from a datastore or a datastore cluster.

Select Datastore field

Click Select and choose which datastore you want to use to create the VM disk.

Note

The available datastores depend upon the storage policy associated with the VDC. Only datastores that meet the criteria specified in the storage policy are available for the VM disk.

This field is only available if you specify that the VM disk should be created from a datastore.

Select Datastore Cluster field

Click Select and choose which datastore cluster you want to use to create the VM disk.

Note

The available datastore clusters depend upon the storage policy associated with the VDC. Only datastore clusters that meet the criteria specified in the storage policy are available for the VM disk.

This field is only available if you specify that the VM disk should be created from a datastore cluster.

Thin Provision check box

Check the check box to add a thin provisioned disk to the VM.

Note

Thin provisioning enables dynamic allocation of the physical storage capacity to increase VM storage utilization.

Compute New Disk Cost field

This option calculates and displays the disk cost, per hour, based on the new disk size and the datastore you have specified for the VM disk.

Step 7

Click Create.

Resizing a VM Disk

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Resize VM Disk.

Step 6

In the Resize VM Disk dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
VM Name field	The name of the VM. This name cannot be edited.
Select Disk drop-down list	Select the VM disk from the drop-down list.
Total Provisioned (GB) field	Displays the total provisioned space on the VM.
New Size (GB) field	The new size for the VM. The new disk size should be greater than the total provisioned size.
Current Disk Cost (Currency: USD) field	Displays the current disk cost per hour.
Compute New Disk Cost field	This option calculates the disk cost, per hour, based on the new disk size you specified.
New Disk Cost (Currency: USD) field	Displays the disk cost per hour for the new disk size specified for the VM.

Step 7

Click Resize.

Locking VMs in Cisco UCS Director

As an administrator in Cisco UCS Director, you can create a list of VMs that you would like locked. Locking VMs implies preventing actions from running on the specified VMs. These actions could be shutting down, resetting, or powering off VMs.

Step 1	Create an XML file titled VMControls.xml which is similar to the following: <VMControlList> --<VMControl> <ControlType>`lock`</ControlType> <MatchType>`VM-IPAddress`</MatchType> <MatchValue>`19.19.19.19`</MatchValue> <IsRegex>`false`</IsRegex> <ContactEmail>`admin@admin.com`</ContactEmail> --<Label> `Do not shutdown or delete my machine.` --</Label> --</VMControl> --<VMControl> <ControlType>`lock`</ControlType> <MatchType>`VM-IPAddress`</MatchType> <MatchValue>`19.29.29.29*`</MatchValue> <IsRegex>`true`</IsRegex> <ContactEmail>`admin@admin.com`</ContactEmail> --<Label> `Do not shutdown or delete this machine.` --</Label> --</VMControl> </VMControlList>
Step 2	Host this file on a server that is accessible from the system that is running Cisco UCS Director.
Step 3	On the menu bar, choose Administration > System.
Step 4	Choose the System Parameters tab.
Step 5	In the Download VM Locking Controls From URL field, enter the URL of the XML file. The URL will look similar to this: <ip_address>:8000/VMControls.xml.
Step 6	Click Save.
Step 7	Choose the System Tasks tab.
Step 8	Search for and select the VM Control List Poller Task.
Step 9	Click Run Now. This system task downloads the VMControls.xml file and saves it in the inventory database. After this system task is run, actions such as powering off, or shutting down are prevented from running on VMs that match the IP addresses specified in the XML file.

Adding vNICs

Note

When you add a vNIC VM, the values of the Port Group Name and Adapter Type parameters are modified. The IP address of the VM is changed only if DHCP is enabled on the selected port group. However, the IP address is not modified if it is sourced from a static pool policy.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Add vNICs.

Step 6

In the Add VM vNICS window, choose Add from the Operation drop-down list.

This addition is not allowed if the vNIC limit configured in the network policy will be exceeded.

Step 7

Click Add (+).

Step 8

In the Add Entry to VM Networks dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
NIC Alias drop-down list	Choose a NIC alias from the list.
Port Group Type display-only drop-down list	Choose a port group from the list.
Port Group Name drop-down list	Choose a port group name from the list.
Adapter Type display-only drop-down list	Choose the adapter type. The choice is available only if the NIC alias does not have Copy Adapter Type from Template chosen in the network policy.
DHCP check box	If this field is checked, then the IP is assigned using DHCP.
Static IP Pool field	The static IP address pool.
Network Mask field	The network mask.
Gateway IP Address field	The gateway IP address.

Note

The NIC Alias, Port Group Name, Adapter Type, DHCP, and Static IP Pool choices depend on the settings in the network policies associated with the VM (VM’s VDC). For more information about multiple NIC network policies, see Managing Policies.

The VM is powered down to perform this action. The VM will power up once the action is completed.

Step 9

Click Submit.

Replacing a vNIC

Note

When you replace a vNIC VM, the values for the Port Group Name and Adapter Type parameters are modified. The IP address of the VM is changed only if DHCP is enabled on the selected port group. However, the IP address is not modified if it is sourced from a static pool policy.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Add vNICs.

Step 6

In the Add VM vNICS window, choose Replace from the Operation drop-down list.

This replacement is not allowed if the additional vNIC limit configured in the network policy will be exceeded.

Step 7

Choose a vNIC.

Step 8

In the Add vNIC dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
NIC Alias drop-down list	Choose a NIC alias. Only the vNICs configured in the network policy are visible here.
Port Group Name drop-down list	Choose a port group name from the list.
Adapter Type display-only drop-down list	Choose the adapter type. The choice is available only if the choice of the NIC alias does not have Copy Adapter Type from Template chosen in the network policy.
DHCP check box	Check the check box if you want the IP assigned using DHCP.
Static IP Pool field	The static IP address pool.
Network Mask field	The network mask.
Gateway IP Address field	The gateway IP address.

Step 9

Click Submit.

Note

The VM is powered down to perform this action. The VM is powered up once the action is completed. The Replace task removes all existing vNICs from the VM and replaces them with the vNICs that were added.

The NIC Alias, Port Group Name, Adapter Type, DHCP, and Static IP Pool choices depend on the settings in the network policy associated with the VM (VM’s VDC). For more information about multiple NIC network policies, see Managing Policies.

Launching the VM Client

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM from the list.
Step 5	On the toolbar, choose Launch VM Client.
Step 6	In the Launch Client dialog box, choose an access scheme for the VM Client. If a VM is provisioned through Cisco UCS Director, the access schemes displayed in this dialog box are defined by the options enabled in the catalog used to provision the VM. For a VM that is discovered, the options, Remote Desktop, Web Access, VMRC Console (Browser Plug-in), and VMRC Console (Standalone Plug-in) are displayed. The VNC Console option is displayed only if you have chosen the Configure VNC Console option for the VM.
Step 7	Click Proceed.

Enabling the VNC Console on a VM

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Configure VNC.
Step 6	In the Configure VNC dialog box, choose a keyboard mapping language from the drop down. French (Switzerland) Japanese US English Italian Icelandic UK English French (Belgium) German (Switzerland) German Spanish Norwegian Finnish Polish
Step 7	Click Submit.
Step 8	Click OK. The system automatically configures VNC console access to a VM when a request is submitted.

Accessing VM Console using VNC Client

The VNC client is an Ajax-based application that provides access to a VM console. The console window can be launched by using any standalone web browser. It does not require a dedicated browser plug-in and it provides full VM control capabilities. However, you must disable pop-up blockers in the browser for the VNC console to launch.

Note

If the access to a VM is secured through the https protocol, the VNC console does not launch in Internet Explorer. For accessing VMs secured through the https protocol, use the Chrome or Firefox browser to launch the VNC console.

Before You Begin

You must configure ESX/ESXi server for VNC access to VM console. For information on how to do this, see Configuring ESX/ESXi Server for VNC Access to VM Console.
Cisco UCS Director provides automatic configuration of the VM console access using VNC client. To configure, you must open ports 5901-6000 in the ESX/ESXi server to the Cisco UCS Director appliance.
Import a self-signed certificate or a CA certificate using Cisco UCS Director admin shell. Importing a certificate enables secured access to the VM console using the VNC client. For more information on importing certificates, see the Cisco UCS Director Shell Guide available at the following link:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/servers-unified-computing/ucs-director/products-maintenance-guides-list.html
Disable pop-up blockers in your browser.

Note

VMware with ESX 4.x and ESXi 5.x versions is supported for configuring VM console access using the VNC client.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM from the list.

Step 5

On the toolbar, choose Launch VM Client.

Step 6

In the Launch Client dialog box, choose VNC Console as the Access Schema.

Note

If this VM is deployed using a catalog, then the access schemes displayed for the VM are those that were specified while creating the catalog.

Step 7

Click Proceed.

Tip

If the screen is blank, click in the black area and press Enter.

Configuring ESX/ESXi Server for VNC Access to VM Console

VMware with ESX 4.x and ESXi 5.x versions is supported to configure VNC access to the VM console.

Step 1

Step 2

Using the shell, disable the firewall configuration.

Step 3

Copy and paste the following XML configuration to the vnc.xml file.

 # cat /etc/vmware/firewall/vnc.xml  
<!-- Firewall configuration information for VNC -->
<ConfigRoot>
  <service>
   <id>VNC</id>
    <rule id='0000'>
    <direction>inbound</direction>
     <protocol>tcp</protocol>
     <porttype>dst</porttype>
     <port>
     <begin>5901</begin>
     <end>6000</end>
     </port>
    </rule>
    <rule id='0001'>
     <direction>outbound</direction>
     <protocol>tcp</protocol>
     <porttype>dst</porttype>
     <port>
      <begin>0</begin>
      <end>65535</end>
     </port>
    </rule>
    <enabled>true</enabled>
    <required>false</required>
  </service>
</ConfigRoot>

Note

This vnc.xml file is available when VNC is enabled for the host. If this file is not available, then create a vnc.xml file, add the configuration lines mentioned in this procedure, and save the file.

Step 4

Refresh the firewall rules and verify that the new configuration is accurately loaded.

~ # esxcli network firewall refresh
~ # esxcli network firewall ruleset list | grep VNC
VNC   true #****************************************

Step 5

Repeat these steps on all ESXi hosts in an ESXi cluster.

Assigning a VM

You can assign a resource or a VM to a user group. If the resource or VM is in a VMWare cloud, then you can also assign it to a specific end user in Cisco UCS Director.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Click the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM from the list.

Step 5

On the toolbar, click the Assign VM button.

Step 6

In the Assign VM dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

VM Name field

The name of the VM.

VM Ownership Section

Customer Organizations radio button

Select this radio button to assign the VM to a specific group.

Cutomer Organizations field

Click Select to choose the specific user group to which you want to assign the VM.

This field is visible only when you select the Customer Organizations radio button.

Note

Only groups that have valid vDCs are displayed.

User radio button

Select this radio button to assign the VM to a specific user.

User field

Click Select to choose the user to whom you want to assign the VM. This list is populated with users from groups that allow resource assignment to users.

VM Access Sharing Section

Users with Access Privilege field

Click Select to choose users who can only access VM information.

The selected users can only access the VM. They cannot perform any administrative actions

This option is only available if the User radio button is selected and you have selected a specific user for this VM.

Users with Manage Privilege field

Click Select to choose users who can only manage the VM.

The selected users can perform administrative tasks on the VM.

This option is only available if the User radio button is selected and you have selected a specific user for this VM.

General Assignment Information Section

VDC drop-down list

Choose the VDC.

Category drop-down list

Choose the category for the VM.

VM User Label field

The VM label if required.

Set Provision Time check box

Check the check box to set a specific provisioning time for the VM.

Provision Date/Time calendar, drop-down lists, radio buttons

The VM’s provisioning date and time. There are calendars for the Date, drop-down lists for the Time (hour and minute), and radio buttons for AM or PM.

This option appears when Set Provision Time is checked.

Comments field

Add any comments about the task, if necessary.

Step 7

Click Assign.

Step 8

Click OK.

VM Credentials

The web or remote access login credentials for a VM can only be viewed if the administrator provides the necessary privileges in the Catalog from which the VM is provisioned.

Viewing VM Credentials

Viewing VM Credentials

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM from the list.
Step 5	On the toolbar, click the Access VM Credentials button.

Initiating Inventory Collection for a VM

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Inventory Collection.
Step 6	Click Submit.

Testing VNC Connectivity

Testing VNC connectivity is used for troubleshooting purposes. A successful test for VNC connectivity displays the host node IP address and VNC port number. For example: VNC connectivity intact at 172.16.0.1:5921.

However if connectivity fails, a failure message displays. For example: VM is not configured for VNC yet.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Test VNC.

Step 6

In the Test VNC Connectivity dialog box, click Submit.

Step 7

Use the result to troubleshoot VNC connectivity.

Note

If connectivity fails, then there is no VNC port assigned to the VM IP address. For more information, see Enabling the VNC Console on a VM.

Cloning a VM

Cloning a VM allows you to create a new VM in the system, by using some of the parameters defined in an existing VM. The cloning option helps you create a VM faster, especially if you need to modify only a few parameters of an existing VM. The name that you specify for the cloned VM is defined by the system policy.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 5

From the drop-down list, choose Clone.

Step 6

In the Clone VM dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select Group drop-down list

Choose a predefined group to clone. The Default Group is chosen by default.

Assign to User check box

Check this check box to assign the VM to a specific user.

This option is visible only if resource assignment to end users is enabled for the group share policy that is applied to the selected user group. For more information on creating a group share policy, see Creating a Group Share Policy.

User drop-down list

Select the user to whom this VM needs to be assigned.

Note

Currently, only VMs that are in a VMWare cloud can be assigned to a specific end user.

Use Linked Clone check box

Check this check box to clone a VM from a linked clone.

Note

A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent VM. A linked clone is made from a snapshot of the parent VM. A linked clone must have access to the parent VM. Without access to the parent VM, a linked clone is disabled.

Select Snapshot Type drop-down list

Select the snapshot that is associated with the linked clone.

You can choose one of the following:

Existing Snapshot
New Snapshot

Select Existing Snapshot field

Click Select to view a list of existing snapshots.

Select a snapshot from the list, and click Select.

Note

This field appears only when you select Existing Snapshot.

Snapshot Name field

Specify a name for the snapshot.

Note

This field appears only when you select New Snapshot.

Perform deployment assessment check box

Check this check box to perform an assessment of the budget allocation, resource limits and resource availability prior to cloning a VM. After you check this check box, the summary of the assessment is displayed in the Deployment Assessment pane.

Note

This option is visible only for VMware clouds.

Step 7

Click Next.

Step 8

In the Customization Options pane, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
Category drop-down list	Choose the required VM category.
Credential Options drop-down list	Choose to allow or disallow users to retrieve VM access credentials (shared). The Do not share option is chosen if the administrator wants to send the credentials privately to another user outside Cisco UCS Director.
Provision all disks in a single datastore check box	Check this check box to have provision all the VM disk in the previously configured single datastore.
User ID field	The user ID. This option appears when you choose either of the share options under Credential Options.
Password field	The user password. This option appears when you choose either of the share options under Credential Options.
Automatic Guest Customization check box	The Enable check box is checked.
Post Provisioning Custom Actions check box	Click Enable to attach a workflow. The Workflow drop-down list appears with a list of workflows to choose from. The chosen workflow will initiate when provisioning starts.
VM App Charge Frequency drop-down list	Choose Hourly or Monthly.
Active VM Application Cost field	The cost for the application that is included in the template.
Inactive VM Application Cost field	The cost to this catalog of a VM in inactive state per hour or month.

Step 9

Click Next.

Step 10

In the Deployment Configuration pane, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select VDC drop-down list

Choose a VDC containing the policies you want for the VM.

Comment field

Optionally, enter a description of the VDC.

Provision drop-down list

Choose Now to provision the VDC now or choose Later to provision the VDC later.

If you choose Later, then fields to specify the date and time appear.

Lease Time check box

Check the check box to configure a lease expiration time.

Days field

Specify the number of days for the lease time.

Note

This field appears only when you select the Lease Time checkbox

Hours field

Specify the number of hours for the lease time.

Note

This field appears only when you select the Lease Time checkbox

Step 11

Click Next.

Step 12

In the Custom Specification pane, complete the following fields:

Name	Description
CPU Cores drop-down list	Choose the CPU cores for the VM being provisioned.
Memory drop-down list	Choose the amount of memory for the VM being provisioned.

Step 13

Click Next.

Step 14

In the Select Datastores pane, complete the following field:

Name

Description

VM Disks pencil icon

Click the VM Disks pencil icon (if a disk is available) to assign any applicable datastores to the applicable disk.

You can also resize the VM disks from this pane.

Step 15

In the Edit VM Disks Entry pane, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Disk Name

The name of the VM disk to which datastores are assigned.

Disk Type

Choose the VM disk type. For example: System.

Selected Datastores

Choose the datastores that you want for this VM disk. The datastore choices that appear are from the data storage policy associated with the VDC.

Do not resize check box

Check this check box if you do not want the disks resized before cloning the VM.

If you check this check box, then the Size drop-down list is no longer visible.

Size drop-down list

Specify the new size of the disk while cloning the VM.

Note

You can edit the size of the disk if you have enabled the Allow Resizing of Disk check box in the storage policy.

Step 16

Click Submit.

Step 17

Click Next.

Step 18

In the Select VM Networks pane, click the VM Networks pencil icon to edit a VM network.

Note

The Select VM Networks pane is empty unless the Allow end user to select optional NICs check box is chosen in the network policy.

Step 19

In the Select dialog box, choose the cloud(s) that you want associated with the VM.

Step 20

Click Submit.

Step 21

If you checked the Perform deployment assessment check box, then review the report of the assessment displayed in the Deployment Assessment pane.

If this assessment report identifies errors, then you must return to the previous panes and rectify the errors before submitting the request. If the assessment report shows no errors, then click Next.

Step 22

Review the cloned VM information in the Summary pane.

Step 23

Click Submit.

The cloned VM gets its new name from the VDC policy.

Moving a VM to VDC

A VM is moved to a VDC so that the rules of the VDC system policy are followed in the VM. The existing VM is replaced by the one that is moved to the VDC.

Note

The old VM is deleted. The new VM name is given according to the system policy.

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Move VM to VDC.
Step 6	In the Move VM to VDC dialog box, you can make modifications to the VM that you are moving in the same way you did when cloning a VDC. For more information, see Cloning a VM.

Resynchronizing a VM

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1	On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.
Step 2	Choose the cloud name.
Step 3	Choose the VMs tab.
Step 4	Choose a VM and click the down arrow button on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 5	From the drop-down list, choose Resync VM.
Step 6	In the Resync VM dialog box, choose the number of minutes from 0 to 30 from the Max Wait Time drop-down list.
Step 7	Click Submit.

Applying a Tag to a VM

With the introduction of tagging support for a VM, you can manage tags in Cisco UCS Director to categorize and identify specific VMs as firewall VMs or as load balancer VMs.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Virtual > Compute.

Step 2

Choose the cloud name.

Step 3

Choose the VMs tab.

Step 4

Choose a VM from the table.

Step 5

On the tool bar, choose Add Tags.

Step 6

In the Add Tags dialog box, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Tag Name drop-down list

Choose the tag that you want to apply to the VM.

This drop-down list displays all the tags that you have previously created. You can choose a tag from this list, or create a new tag. For information on creating a tag, see Creating a Tag.

Tag Value drop-down list

Choose a value for the tag.

Step 7

Click Submit.

What to Do Next

You can create a tag-based cost model for the VMs. For more information, see Creating a Tag-Based Cost Model.

Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide, Release 6.0

Bias-Free Language

Book Title

Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide, Release 6.0

Chapter Title