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NCD – Viewing and Updating VM Configuration and Status

← NCD – vApp/VM
A VM (virtual machine) is a software implementation of a physical computer. A VM has an installed operating system, may have installed applications, and otherwise performs as a physical computer.

The VM detail page provides the VM status condition, available actions, performance data, task history, billing data, behaviors, networking configuration, and other properties.

Viewing the VM Detail Page

VMs can be viewed and configured at the VM detail page, which is accessible either…
  • by clicking the appropriate VM link in the "VMs" section of the vApp detail page, as illustrated below.



  • by clicking the appropriate VM link in the "Name" column of the VMs page table, as illustrated below.



    • The VMs page table provides the following information about each of your VMs:

    • Name – the VM's assigned name

    • vCloud – the the installed instance of vCloud Director in which the VM resides, identified by the physical location of the data center

    • vDataCenter (vCD) – the Navisite Cloud Director vDC in which the VM resides

    • vApp – the Navisite Cloud Director vApp in which the VM resides

    • Status – the VM's current status condition (Powered On, Powered Off, Partially Powered Off, Suspended, Inconsistent state)

    • Operating System – the operating system running on the VM (e.g., Windows, Red Hat Linux, etc.)

    • CPUs – the current number of CPUs on the VM

    • Memory – the current amount of memory on the VM

    • Storage Capacity – the current amount of disk space on the VM

    • vApp Net IP – the configured IP address(es) assigned to the VM's network interface controller(s) connected to the vApp network

    • vDC Net IP – the configured IP address(es) assigned to the vDC network interface(s) connected to the VM

    At the VMs page, click the My VMs/All VMs selector to filter the "VMs" table content.

    • My VMs displays VMs to which you have write access, either because you are the VM owner (creator), or because they have been shared with you.

    • All VMs displays VMs to which you have read access.

    To download the displayed table data as a .csv file, click the "Download" icon above the table.


VM Detail Page

The VM detail page displays VM status, available actions, performance data, task history, billing data, behaviors, networking configuration, and other properties.



The VM detail page displays:
  • Name – the assigned VM name. See Editing VM Properties for instructions on changing the VM's name.

  • Status – the current power status of the VM. VM status values include:

    • Powered On

    • Powered Off

    • Partially Powered Off – the VM is powered off, but is still deployed

    • Suspended – all virtual machine activity is paused

    • Inconsistent State – VM configuration details are currently unavailable

  • Operating System – the operating system running on the VM (e.g., Windows, Red Hat Linux, etc.).

  • Memory – the current amount of memory residing on the VM. See Editing VM Properties for instructions on adjusting the VM's memory.

  • CPUs – the current number of CPUs on the VM. See Editing VM Properties for instructions on adjusting the number of CPUs for a VM.

  • Storage Capacity – the current amount of disk space on the VM. See Editing VM Properties for instructions on adjusting the VM's disk space.

  • Performance – (displayed for powered on VMs only) – a graphical representation of the VM's CPU performance numbers. See How do I examine performance metrics? for more information.

  • Powered On cost – provides an estimated cost for the VM. See Viewing Cost Estimates for more information.

  • Current Status – displays VM status information, including:

    • Managed Services – summarizes management services available for the VM.

    • VM Diagram – Clicking objects in the VM diagram provides a pop-up summary for the VM, which in turn link to further detail sections.

      The Legend button provides a summary key to the images in the diagram. The diagram's VM icon includes symbols indicating the VM's power state (powered on, suspended, etc.).

    • Performance – (displayed for powered on VMs only) – provides a graphical representation of the VM's performance numbers. The graph's left vertical axis charts CPU and memory as percentages, while its right axis charts network performance in Mbps. The horizontal axis is a timeline that defaults to three-hour segments of a 24-hour period, or five minute segments of a "last hour" period. See How do I examine VM performance metrics? for details.

    • Task History – displays a subset of system task history, relating to actions taken on the VM's configuration. See How do I monitor my tasks? for more information.

    • Billing – Displays bar graphs depicting billing data for the VM object over time. The graphs provide an additional display of projected billing for the current month, based on extrapolation from existing monthly charges. You can click the graph's bars to navigate to the applicable billing page for the selected bar. See Managing Your Billing for more information.



  • Hardware – VM hardware information, including:

    • Disks – allows you to add, adjust, and remove disks on the VM. See Editing VM Properties for details.

    • Network Interfaces – allows you to add, change, and remove network interface controllers (NICs) on the VM. See Editing VM Properties for details.



  • Configuration – VM configuration information, including:

    • Behaviors – allows you to view, add, and modify common VM public service and internal service behaviors (e.g., FTP, SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS). See What are Behaviors? and Configuring Common VM Network Behaviors for details.

    • Antivirus – (available for Microsoft Windows VMs only) – allows you to configure antivirus protection for the VM using the Trend Micro portal. See Applying Anti-Virus Protection to VMs for details.

    • Backups – allows you to view and configure VM backups using the CommVault portal. See Backing Up and Restoring VMs for details.

    • VM Config – VM configuration information, including:

      • Hostname – the VM name as defined in the guest OS, used to identify it on a network. To change the hostname, click the "pencil" icon, enter the new hostname, and click the green check mark button.

      • Snapshots – indicates whether there is an existing saved snapshot of the VM's state and content. Shows date/time, power state, and disk size of the snapshot.

        Enables you to create a snapshot of the VM by clicking Create Snapshot. One snapshot may exist at a time, and a new snapshot overwrites an older one. In the Create Snapshot pop up window, you can specify whether the snapshot should Include current running state and/or whether the snapshot should Quiesce guest file system.

        This section also allows you to Revert to an existing VM snapshot, or to Delete an existing snapshot.

        See How do I create snapshots of VMs? for more information.

      • Storage Policy – allows you to configure the appropriate storage resource on which to deploy virtual resources. To do so, click the "gear" icon, select High, unlimited or Standard, unlimited from the drop-down menu, and click the green check mark button.

        High, unlimited specifies high-speed, low latency SSD-based storage.

        See About Storage Policies for more information.

      • System Type – displays the VMware virtual hardware version for the VM. See About the VM System Type for more information.

      • VMware Tools – indicates the version of VMware Tools currently installed on the VM. A check mark icon indicates an up-to-date version. An Install version button indicates the availability of an updated version. Clicking the button causes Navisite Cloud Director to insert a virtual CD image for the VMware Tools upgrade. See Verifying and Updating VMware Tools for a VM for details.

      • Change SID – (available for Microsoft Windows VMs only) – the Security Identifier (SID) uniquely identifies user, group, and computer accounts in Windows. In order to join a domain successfully, a VM requires a unique SID.

        To configure this setting, click the "gear" icon and select Yes or No from the drop-down menu. Setting a value of Yes causes VMware Tools to generate a new, unique SID for the VM upon its next recustomization, and to prompt for initiation of recustomization. Note: Change SID cannot be applied to a running or suspended VM.

      • Monitoring – for managed NCD customers, a VM with monitoring enabled will alert the Navisite Service Center NSC if the VM's guest operating system is not running. You will then be called by the NSC.

      • Replication – Indicates whether the VM is configured for replication. The Configure replication button allows you to configure replication at the Zerto Virtual Manager Web Client.

        See the "Replication" articles in the knowledge base for more information.

      • Admin Password – the VM admin password setting, as specified by the VM owner or Navisite Cloud Director administrator.

        To specify this setting, click the "gear" icon, select the desired value from the drop-down menu, and click the green check mark button.

        Possible values include:

        Don't set password -- use this setting if you do not want the VM password to be known and displayed in this field. VM password remains the default (either as set or inherited as a default). The password is not displayed in this field.

        Auto-generate on customize -- use this setting if you want the VM password to be known and displayed in this field. A password is generated which takes effect after next VMware recustomization is performed on the VM. The auto-generated password is displayed in this field.

        Specify password -- use this setting if you want the VM password to be known and displayed in this field. Presents an entry field for you to specify password manually, which takes effect after the next VMware recustomization is performed on the VM. The manually specified password is displayed in this field.

    • Object Properties – provides the following information about the VM:

      • Description – A VM’s description can be edited by clicking the "pencil" icon in the "Description" field.

      • Created – the date on which the VM was created.

      • vCloud

      • vDataCenter

      • vApp

      • UUID

      • VMUI – the Virtual Machine Unique Identifier

Downloading Table Data

To download any displayed table data as a .csv file, click the "Download" icon above the table.


Changing the VM Name

To change the VM's name, click the "pencil" icon to the right of the VM name at the top of the VM detail page. The name cannot be blank and cannot be the same as another VM in the same vCloud.


Adding Tags to the VM

Tags are keywords that you can use to identify or logically group items. They are useful in finding items through the universal search or a table’s filter.

Click the Add Tag button at the top of the VM detail page to add a tag to the VM.

See What is a Tag? and How do I add or remove Tags? for more information.

Powering On, Powering Off, Shutting Down, Suspending, Rebooting, and Resetting the VM



Power On – Clicking the Power On button (or selecting Power On from the drop down menu) at the VM detail page powers on the VM. Powering on a VM is the equivalent to powering on a physical computer. A VM must be powered off or suspended in order to be powered on.

Power On and Recustomize – Selecting Power on and recustomize from the Power On button drop-down menu powers on the VM and performs VMware recustomization (to implement an administrator password change, for example). The VM may be automatically rebooted after changes have been made.

Power Off – Clicking the Power Off button (or selecting Power Off from the drop down menu) at the VM detail page powers off the VM. Powering off a VM is equivalent to unplugging or cutting the power to a physical computer. The VM must be powered on in order to be powered off.

Shutdown – Selecting Shutdown from the Power Off button drop down menu at the VM detail page sends a "shut down" message to the guest operating system, in order to allow processes on the machine to finish before powering off (if the operating system supports this functionality). The VM must be powered on in order to be shut down.

Suspend – Selecting Suspend from the Power Off button drop down menu at the VM detail page places the VM in a suspended state. The VM running state is maintained by the system. The VM must be powered on in order to be suspended.

Reboot – Clicking the "refresh" button (or selecting Reboot from the drop down menu) sends a "reboot" message to the guest operating system, which allows processes on the machine to finish before resetting the VM (if the operating system supports this functionality). The VM must be powered on in order to be rebooted.

Reset – Selecting Reset from the "refresh" button drop down menu cycles the VM power (similar to a power off and power on operation in quick succession). The VM must be powered on in order to be rebooted.

Copying the VM

Clicking Copy at the VM detail page clones the VM and requires you to specify a VM name, a destination vApp, a hostname, a storage policy, and a network connection. You can also specify backup settings and an admin password. See How do I clone a VM? for details.

Moving the VM

Clicking Move at the VM detail page allows you to move the VM to another vApp in the same datacenter. In order to move the VM, it must be powered off and cannot have enabled backups. Note that the estimated cost of the destination vApp will reflect the proposed VM move. See How do I move a VM? for details.

Deleting the VM

Clicking Delete at the VM detail page deletes the VM from your Navisite Cloud Director environment and removes it from its vApp.

Note: The VM must be powered off in order to be deleted.

Mounting Media to the VM

Clicking Media at the VM detail page allows you to select available inserted media and mount it to the VM. See How do I mount media to a VM? for details.

Accessing the VM Console

Clicking Open Console at the VM detail page opens the VM's console window and allows you to interact with the VM's guest operating system. See How do I access the console of a VM? for details.

Viewing the VM in vCloud Director

Click the View in vCloud button at the top of the VM detail page to launch VMware vCloud Director® and use the interface to view the VM. See What is View in vCloud? for more information.



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