Creating Virtual Machine Templates on SCVMM
Use the following instructions to create Virtual Machine Templates that you can use for Guest Customization of Virtual Machines on System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). The exact instructions depend on the operating system; instructions are provided for templates for Windows 2003, Windows 2008, Windows 2012, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- Creating templates on SCVMM for Windows 2003 (x86 and x64)
- Creating templates on SCVMM for Windows 2008 (x86, x64, and r2) and Windows 2012
- Creating templates on SCVMM for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Creating templates on SCVMM for Windows 2003 (x86 and x64)
- On the SCVMM Admin Console, create a new Virtual Machine and install Windows 2003 on it.
- Set the Guest OS of the VM to Windows 2003.
Depending upon your installation, select 32-bit or 64-bit. - Install Virtual Guest Services (Microsoft Tools) on the VM, after ensuring that your Windows 2003 is patched with at least SP2.
- From the OS Installation disk, extract the files in Support/Tools/Deploy.cab, and copy the extracted files to the newly created VM to the following folder: C:\winsysprep
- Within the VM, open a command prompt and browse to the C:\winsysprep directory.
Run the following command: sysprep.exe /reseal /quiet /shutdown
The VM reboots and undergoes sysprep and will ultimately shut down.
- Right click on the VM and select Properties. Ensure that there are no floppy disks or DVDs connected to VM.
- Right click the VM and select New Template.
During the process, do not make any hardware changes to the VM. During the Template creation process, a panel for Guest Customization appears.
From the drop down menu, select the Customization not required option.
After the job has finished running, the template is ready for use.
Creating templates on SCVMM for Windows 2008 (x86, x64, and r2) and Windows 2012
- On the SCVMM Admin Console, create a new VM and install Windows 2008 on it.
- Set the Guest OS of the VM to Windows 2008 or Windows 2012.
Depending on your installation for Windows 2008, select 32-bit or 64-bit or R2. - Install Virtual Guest Services (Microsoft Tools) on the VM.
- Within the VM, open a command prompt and browse to the C:\Windows\system32\sysprep directory.
Run the following command: sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /quiet /shutdown
The VM reboots and undergoes sysprep and will ultimately shut down.
- Right click on the VM and select Properties. Ensure that there are no floppy disks or DVDs connected to VM.
- Right click the VM and select New Template.
During the process, do not make any hardware changes to the VM.
During the Template creation process, a panel for Guest Customization appears. From the drop down menu, select the Customization not required option.
After the job has finished running, the template is ready for use.
Creating templates on SCVMM for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Ensure that you have added the Linux OS ISOs to the Library Server.
- On the SCVMM Admin Console, create a virtual machine on a Linux Guest OS.
- Install the Linux Integration Services on the virtual machine.
- Turn off the virtual machine.
- Right click the VM and select New Template.
During the process, do not make any hardware changes to the VM.
During the Template creation process, a panel for Guest Customization appears. From the drop down menu, select the Customization not required option.
Select the Library Server where you want to store this template and step through all other wizard steps.
The virtual machine is converted to a template. After the job has finished running, the template is ready for use.
Creating Linux templates on SCVMM 2012
This section consists of:
- Creating Linux Templates for SCVMM 2012 (Beta) - for BMC Server Automation 8.3
- Creating-Linux-Templates-for-SCVMM-2012-SP1-GA - for BMC Server Automation 8.3.01 or later