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VMware virtual machines

If your service provider offers VMware vSphere, you can order virtual machines from the marketplace and manage them from Waldur: power, resize, disks, network adapters and console. The provider sets the offering up as described in the VMware vSphere admin guide.

Ordering a virtual machine

  1. Click Add resource in the sidebar, or open the offering in the Service Catalog and click Request.
  2. Under General information, pick the organization and the project the VM belongs to.

  3. Under Plan, pick a plan. The table below it shows what each component costs per month.

    vSphere order form with plan pricing and progress panel

  4. Under Template, pick the operating system image. The template's hardware fills in the Processor, Memory and Storage steps.

  5. Adjust the number of cores, cores per socket and memory if needed. The sliders stop at the maximums the provider allows. The storage size and guest OS come from the template; add more disks after the VM is created.

    Template, processor and memory steps of the order form

  6. Under Network interfaces, tick the networks the VM should be connected to. Only the networks your organization is allowed to use are listed.

  7. Advanced options lets you pick a cluster, datastore and folder. Leave them empty to use the provider's defaults. Your provider may hide these options.

    Network interfaces and advanced options of the order form

  8. Under Final configuration, enter the VM name, an optional description and an optional termination date. The name is also the VM's name in vCenter.

    Final configuration step with the VM name and description

  9. Check the monthly total on the right and click Create, then confirm.

The VM is deployed from the template and starts out powered off. The resource page opens once provisioning finishes.

Note

Depending on the organization's settings, an order may need approval before it is provisioned. See Resource management.

The resource page

The badge next to the VM name shows its power state: Powered on, Powered off or Suspended. The panel on the right shows the VM's CPU, RAM and disk limits, which are what you are billed for. The Details menu switches between the VM's Disks and Network adapters.

VM header with the power-state badge and the Details menu

All VM operations are in the Actions menu. An action that cannot run right now is greyed out; hover over its question mark to see why.

Actions menu of a VMware virtual machine

Power operations

Action Effect Available when
Start Powers the VM on; also resumes a suspended VM. Powered off or suspended
Stop Powers the VM off immediately, like pulling the plug. Powered on or suspended
Reset Hard-resets the VM. Powered on
Suspend Saves the VM's memory to disk and pauses it. Powered on
Shutdown Asks the guest OS to shut down cleanly. Powered on, VMware Tools running
Reboot Asks the guest OS to restart cleanly. Powered on, VMware Tools running

Shutdown and Reboot go through VMware Tools inside the guest. If the template has no VMware Tools, or they are not running yet, use Stop and Reset instead.

Changing CPU and memory

  1. Stop the VM. vCenter changes CPU and memory only while the VM is powered off.
  2. Choose Actions → Change limits.

  3. Enter the new number of vCPUs and the memory in GB. The Difference and Price columns show what changes on your bill.

    Change resource limits dialog raising CPU from 2 to 4 and RAM from 4 to 8 GB

  4. Click Request for a change, then Start the VM again.

The Disk row reflects the total size of the VM's disks and cannot be changed here. Use the disk actions below instead.

Disks

The Disks tab lists the VM's disks with their size and state.

Disks tab of a virtual machine

  • Add a disk: click Create disk, enter the size in GB and click Submit.

    Create disk dialog

  • Extend a disk: open the disk's ⋮ menu, choose Extend and enter the new, larger size. Then grow the partition and file system inside the guest OS.

    Extend disk dialog

  • Delete a disk: open the disk's ⋮ menu and choose Destroy. The disk and its data are deleted in vCenter.

A disk cannot be shrunk. The provider may cap the size of a single disk and the total size of all disks of a VM; a request over either cap is refused with a message saying which one.

When a change fails

Disk and adapter changes are carried out by vCenter after Waldur accepts them: a new disk is listed as Creation scheduled and turns OK once vCenter has added it. If vCenter refuses the change, the disk turns Erred instead. Hover over the Erred badge, or expand the row, to see the error vCenter returned.

An Erred disk with vCenter's error in the tooltip and in the expanded row

An Erred disk that vCenter never created can be removed with Destroy in its ⋮ menu. If the reason is not clear from the message, contact your provider's support with it.

Network adapters

The Network adapters tab lists the VM's adapters with their network and MAC address.

Network adapters tab of a virtual machine

To connect the VM to another network, click Create network adapter, pick the network and click Submit. Only networks the provider has enabled for your organization are offered, and a VM can have at most 10 adapters.

Create network adapter dialog

The list shows each adapter under the label vCenter gives it (for example Network adapter 2), not the name entered in the dialog.

Console

Actions → Open console opens the VM in VMware Remote Console (VMRC), which must be installed on your computer. Waldur hands VMRC a one-time ticket, so you do not need a vCenter account. Your computer must be able to reach the vCenter address the provider configured.

Terminating a virtual machine

  1. Stop the VM. A VM is deleted only while it is powered off.
  2. Choose Actions → Terminate and confirm with Request for a termination.

Terminate resource confirmation

The VM and all its disks are deleted from vCenter, and billing stops.

Warning

Termination cannot be undone. Copy any data you need off the VM first.

Tip

The Destroy action in the same menu also deletes the VM, but directly, without a termination order. Use Terminate: it goes through your organization's approval settings and is recorded in the order history.