Create VM from VMWare vCenter 8

The EXSI servers and vCenter are installed on the VMWare Workstation.

1. Create a New Virtual Machine

1.1 Set up the New VM

Set VM name and place it in an ESXI server.

Choose where the VM files are stored. The VM is a folder under a datastore.

Select the compatibility option. For older OS, choose low version ESXI.

Select guest OS and the version.

Assign hardware resources. We can also choose default and modify it later.

Now we have this VM created under one of the ESXI servers.

1.2 Install OS in the VM

Power up the VM and load IOS image from the CDROM.

I upload the ISO image to one of the datastores first. Then load WIN10 ISO image.

Now CDROM shows connected and we can reboot the VM.

Now set up WIN10 normally.

2. Deploy from Template

2.1 Create a Template from an Existing VM

2.1.1 Convert VM to Template

Ensure the VM is powered off. Otherwise the option “Convert to Template” is greyed out and not available.

It is instantly converted to the template. See the icon is different. The original VM is gone and only the template is there. The template can be converted back to the VM instantly too.

2.2.2 Clone VM to Template

If you want to keep the VM while create a template from it, you can use the clone function.

2.2 Create a VM from Template

Task status:

2.3 Apply VM Customization Policy

Now the policy is ready to use.

2.4 Create New VM from Template With New Policy

The template must have VMware tools installed. Otherwise customization won’t be performed.

The customization can only be done when the VM is powered off.