One of the most common tasks that is performed in VMM 2012 is deploying new virtual machines. I happened to have a need for a couple of Windows 7 virtual machines, so I thought that I’d share the process with you. Before you get started, a couple of notes. First, I’ve added a Hyper-V host to my VMM environment and will deploy the new virtual machine to this host. Second, I’ve added a Windows 7 ISO to my VMM library that I will use to install the Windows 7 operating system.
The process is initiated by going to the VMs and Services home tab and choosing the Create Virtual Machine menu and, from this menu, choosing the Create Virtual Machine option. This initiates a wizard that walks you through the virtual machine creation process.
With VMM, you can create a new virtual machine using an existing virtual hard disk or you can create a machine with a blank virtual hard disk. For my needs, I’m creating a VM with a blank virtual hard disk,
Every virtual machine needs an identity of some kind. I’m naming my virtual machine Windows 7 – client 1 as you can see in the figure below.
VMM 2012 uses capability profiles to determine virtual machine limits. When you specify the capability profile that should be used with a virtual machine, VMM knows how much maximum RAM, disk and other resources can be assigned to the virtual machine.
For my virtual machine, I’ve connected the network to the Local Area Connection.
I previously added a Windows 7 ISO image to the VMM 2012 library, so I’m pointing the virtual machine’s virtual DVD drive at this shared ISO image. The library makes it really easy to keep track of resources that you need to use on a regular basis.
Next up, you need to tell VMM where you’d like to deploy the new virtual machine – directly to a host or to the library. I need the VM in production, so I’m deploying to a host.
Once VMM knows that the VM is to be deployed to a host, a list of your hosts is provided and each one is rated for how well it will be able to handle the virtual machine. Here, choose your target and click Next to proceed.,
Some items need to be configured, so the wizard displays those items and asks you to provide values or accept the defaults.
Each virtual machine has a number of properties associated with it, too. For example, I want my virtual machine to restart if the host crashed, but only if it was running at the time of the crash. I’m able to set that setting as shown in the figure below.
The wizard provides you with a summary of your selections.
Back in the console, you are shown the status of the virtual machine creation process.
Here’s a look at the full job details for the virtual machine creation.
And, finally, in the figure below, you can see that the virtual machine is now running.