6.0.1

Table Of Contents
Other Virtual Machine Device Configuration
In addition to configuring virtual machine CPU and Memory and adding a hard disk and virtual NICs, you
can also add and configure virtual hardware, such as DVD/CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, and SCSI
devices. Not all devices are available to add and configure. For example, you cannot add a video card, but
you can configure available video cards and PCI devices.
Change the CD/DVD Drive Configuration in the vSphere Web Client
You can configure DVD or CD devices to connect to client devices, host devices, or Datastore ISO files.
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Configure a Datastore ISO File for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 130
To install a guest operating system and its applications on a new virtual machine, you can connect the
CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host.
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Configure a Host Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 131
You can configure the virtual machine’s CD/DVD drive to connect to a physical CD or DVD device on
the host so that you can install a guest operating system, VMware Tools, or other applications.
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Configure a Client Device Type for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client on page 131
To install a guest operating system and its applications or other media on a virtual machine, you can
connect the CD/DVD device to a physical DVD or CD device on the system from which you access the
vSphere Web Client
Configure a Datastore ISO File for the CD/DVD Drive in the vSphere Web Client
To install a guest operating system and its applications on a new virtual machine, you can connect the
CD/DVD device to an ISO file that is stored on a datastore accessible to the host.
If an ISO image is not available on a local or shared datastore, upload the file to a datastore from your local
system by using the datastore file browser. See “Upload ISO Image Installation Media for a Guest Operating
System,” on page 25.
To avoid performance issues and possible conflicts between virtual machines that might try to
simultaneously access the ISO image, unmount and disconnect the ISO file when the installation finishes.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
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Virtual machine.Interaction.Configure CD media on the virtual machine.
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Datastore.Browse datastore on the datastore to which you upload the installation media ISO image.
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Datastore.Low level file operations on the datastore to which you upload the installation media ISO
image.
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
2 Expand CD/DVD drive, and select Datastore ISO File from the drop-down menu.
3 Browse to select the file and click OK.
4 In the Virtual Device Node drop-down menu, select the node that the drive uses in the virtual
machine.
5 (Optional) Select Connect At Power On to connect the device when the virtual machine powers on.
6 Click OK.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
130 VMware, Inc.