6.0.1

Table Of Contents
4 Click Next.
Customize Virtual Machine Hardware
Before you deploy a new virtual machine, you have the option to configure the virtual hardware. When you
create a virtual machine, the virtual disk is selected by default. You can use the New device drop-down
menu on the Customize Hardware page to add a new hard disk, select an existing disk, or add an RDM
disk.
For information about virtual disk configuration, including instructions for adding different types of disks,
see “Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine,” on page 117.
For help configuring other virtual machine hardware, see Chapter 6, “Configuring Virtual Machine
Hardware,” on page 89.
Procedure
1 (Optional) To add a new virtual hardware device, select the device from the New device drop-down
menu and click Add.
2 (Optional) Expand any device to view and configure the device settings.
3 To remove a device, move your cursor over the device and click the Remove icon.
This icon appears only for virtual hardware that you can safely remove.
4 Click Next.
Finish Virtual Machine Creation
Before you deploy the virtual machine, you can review the virtual machine settings.
Procedure
1 Review the virtual machine settings and make changes by clicking Back to go back to the relevant page.
2 Click Finish.
The virtual machine appears in the vSphere Web Client inventory.
Installing a Guest Operating System
A virtual machine is not complete until you install the guest operating system and VMware Tools. Installing
a guest operating system in your virtual machine is essentially the same as installing it in a physical
computer.
The basic steps for a typical operating system are described in this section. See the Guest Operating System
Installation Guide at http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/home.html.
Using PXE with Virtual Machines
You can start a virtual machine from a network device and remotely install a guest operating system using a
Preboot Execution Environment (PXE). You do not need the operating system installation media. When you
turn on the virtual machine, the virtual machine detects the PXE server.
PXE booting is supported for Guest Operating Systems that are listed in the VMware Guest Operating
System Compatibility list and whose operating system vendor supports PXE booting of the operating
system.
The virtual machine must meet the following requirements:
n
Have a virtual disk without operating system software and with enough free disk space to store the
intended system software.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
24 VMware, Inc.