Chapter 8 Create Virtual Machines

Table of Contents
This figure shows the visual indicator that shows where you are in the tutorial. The Create virtual machines option is selected. This is step seven of a seven step process.

When you have a virtual machine template (either as an Oracle VM template or an virtual appliance), or an ISO file that contains an the installation files for an operating system, you can create a virtual machine. If you use a virtual machine template, you need to clone the template to create a virtual machine. If you use the OVF template format, you first need to create an Oracle VM template from the OVF file, then use that template to clone a virtual machine. If you use an installation source ISO file, you can create a virtual machine directly from the ISO file. The examples in this tutorial first use a template, a virtual appliance, and then an ISO file to create virtual machines. A final example shows you how to start a virtual machine and connect to the virtual machine's console.

8.1 Creating a virtual machine from a template

This example uses the virtual machine template you imported in Section 7.2, “Importing a virtual machine template” to create a virtual machine, and deploy it in the server pool.

To create a virtual machine from a template:

  1. Click the Servers and VMs tab.

  2. Click Create Virtual Machine Create Virtual Machine icon in the toolbar.

    This figure shows the Create Virtual Machine icon in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_snip.png

  3. The Create Virtual Machine wizard is displayed. Select the Clone from an existing VM Template option and then click Next.

    This figure shows the Clone from an existing VM template option in the Create Virtual Machine dialog.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_options_templ.png

  4. The Create Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to specify details for the virtual machine.

    This figure shows details for creating a virtual machine from a template in the Create Virtual Machine dialog box.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_from_template.png

    Enter the number of virtual machines to create from the template in the Clone Count field. Select the storage repository in which to store the virtual machine files. Select the virtual machine template from the VM Template field. Enter a name for the virtual machine(s) in the VM Name field. Select the server pool on which to deploy the virtual machine(s) from the Server Pool field. Click Finish.

    The template is cloned to create one or more virtual machines. The cloning job may take some time. When the clone job is completed, the virtual machine is deployed to an Oracle VM Server in the server pool. To see the virtual machine, select the server pool in the navigation pane and select Virtual Machines from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane toolbar.

8.2 Creating a virtual machine from a virtual appliance

This example uses the virtual appliance you imported in Section 7.1, “Importing a virtual appliance” to create a virtual machine, and deploy it in the server pool.

To create a virtual machine from a virtual appliance:

  1. Click the Servers and VMs tab.

  2. Click Create Virtual Machine Create Virtual Machine icon in the toolbar.

    This figure shows the Create Virtual Machine icon in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_snip.png

  3. The Create Virtual Machine wizard is displayed. Select the Clone from an existing Virtual Appliance option and then click Next.

    This figure shows the Clone from an existing Virtual Appliance option in the Create Virtual Machine dialog.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_options_appliance.png

  4. The Create Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to specify details for the virtual machine.

    This figure shows details for creating a virtual machine from a virtual appliance in the Create Virtual Machine dialog box.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_from_appliance.png

    Select the repository in which to create the virtual machine configuration files from the Repository menu. Select the virtual appliance from which you want to create the virtual machine from the Virtual Appliance menu. Select the server pool in which you want to deploy the virtual machine from the Server Pool menu. Select the virtual machines that you want to create from the Available Virtual Appliance VM(s) column. Confirm the virtual machines in the Selected Virtual Appliance VM(s) column. Click Finish.

    Oracle VM Manager creates one or more virtual machines from the selected virtual appliance(s). The job to create the virtual machine may take some time. When the job is completed, Oracle VM Manager deploys the virtual machines to the server pool you specified. If you did not specify a server pool, the virtual machines are deployed to the Unassigned Virtual Machines folder in the Servers and VMs tab. You can then migrate each virtual machine to a compatible server or server pool.

8.3 Creating a virtual machine from an ISO file

This example uses the ISO file you imported in Section 7.3, “Importing an ISO file” to create a virtual machine, and deploy it in the server pool.

To create a virtual machine from an ISO file:

  1. Click the Servers and VMs tab.

  2. Click Create Virtual Machine Create Virtual Machine icon in the toolbar.

    This figure shows the Create Virtual Machine icon in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_snip.png

  3. The Create Virtual Machine wizard is displayed. Select the Create a new VM option and then click Next.

    This figure shows the Create a new VM option in the Create Virtual Machine dialog.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_options_new.png

  4. The Create Virtual Machine wizard is displayed. In the Create Virtual Machine step, select the server pool you created earlier, the repository you created as the location to store the virtual machine configuration file, and enter a name for the virtual machine. Click Next.

    This figure shows the Create Virtual Machine step in the Create Virtual machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create.png

  5. In the Setup Networks step, add one or more VNICs to the virtual machine. To dynamically create a VNIC, select the Dynamically Assign Mac check box and click Add VNIC. The VNIC is added to the virtual machine, and a MAC address is assigned when the create virtual machine job is submitted. Click Next.

    This figure shows the Setup Networks step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_net.png

  6. In the Arrange Disks step, create a virtual disk to use as the virtual machine's hard disk and select the ISO to use to create the virtual machine. For slot 0, select Virtual Disk from the Disk Type drop-down list. Click Create a Virtual Disk Create a Virtual Disk icon .

    This figure shows the Arrange Disks step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_disks_add_vdisk.png

    The Create Virtual Disk dialog box is displayed. Select the repository on which to create the virtual disk, enter a name for the disk, and enter the size of the disk. Click OK.

    This figure shows the Create Virtual Disk dialog box step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.

    For slot 1 select CD/DVD from the Disk Type drop-down list. Click Select a Virtual Machine Disk Select a Virtual Machine Disk icon .

    This figure shows the Arrange Disks step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_disks_add_cdrom.png

    The Select an ISO dialog box is displayed. Select the ISO file and click OK.

    This figure shows the Select an ISO dialog box in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_disks_select_iso.png

    You have now created a virtual disk to use as the virtual machine's hard disk, and added the ISO file which contains the operating system to be installed. Click Next.

    This figure shows the Arrange Disks step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_disks_configured.png

  7. In the Boot Options step, select the boot media and order for your virtual machine. Click Finish.

    This figure shows the Boot Options step in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
    Click to view larger image vm_create_boot_options.png

The virtual machine is created and deployed to an Oracle VM Server in the server pool. To see the virtual machine, select the server pool in the navigation pane and select Virtual Machines from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane toolbar.

8.4 Starting a virtual machine and connecting to the console

When a virtual machine is created, it is deployed to the server pool in a stopped state. This step of the tutorial starts the virtual machine created with an ISO file, and logs into the virtual machine console.

To start a virtual machine and connect to the console:

  1. Click the Servers and VMs tab. Select the server pool in which the virtual machine is deployed in the navigation pane.

  2. From the Perspective field in the management pane, select Virtual Machines from the drop-down list.

    This figure shows the Virtual Machines perspective in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_start_snip.png

  3. Select the virtual machine in the table and click Start Start icon in the management pane toolbar.

    This figure shows the Start icon in the Virtual Machines perspective in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_start_snip3b.png

  4. When the virtual machine is running, you can connect to the virtual machine's console and log in, if required. To connect to the console, click Launch Console Launch Console icon in the management pane toolbar.

    This figure shows the Launch Console icon in the Virtual Machines perspective in the Servers and VMs tab.
    Click to view larger image vm_start_snip3c.png

  5. The virtual machine console is displayed. Log in and interact with the virtual machine as you would through any other VNC session.

    This example shows the initial installation screen for the virtual machine created with the Oracle Linux operating system ISO file.

    This figure shows the virtual machine console screen.
    Click to view larger image vm_console_iso.png

See Create Virtual Machine for more information on creating virtual machines.

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