Article Intended For
VM Hosting customers who want to know more about the settings available when creating virtual machines (VMs), including VMs for secure enclaves.
Introduction
This article describes the controls and options available in the CREATE INSTANCE interface when creating a VM. This article is not an exhaustive reference. For additional assistance, contact us at Support@vmhost.psu.edu.
To build a secure enclave VM, choose an enclave-enabled UMG in GROUP. (For more information about secure enclaves, see Secure Enclaves and ATO.)
For additional articles and information about the VM Hosting service, see KB0015140, Getting Started with VM Hosting.
Article Body
This article is organized based on the tabs in the CREATE INSTANCE screen of the VM Hosting portal. Click the name of a tab to jump the corresponding section of this article:
TYPE
On the TYPE tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen, select the type of VM to create.
GROUP
The GROUP tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
Instance Summary
GROUP
Select the appropriate UMG. To build a secure enclave, choose an enclave-enabled UMG. (For more information about managing VM access with UMGs, see KB0015263, Manage Your VM Users with User-managed Groups (UMGs).)
CLOUD
Specify the data center in which you would like your VM to be located.
NAME
Enter a name for the VM. Consider the following:
- Please do not include spaces or special characters; they can cause problems.
- It's a good idea to include your unit's assigned, 2-character EAD prefix.
- VM names should be unique within the first 15 characters. For example, the following would not be good names because they are the same until the 21st character:
d7-my20charbasename-1 d7-my20charbasename-2
ENVIRONMENT
Add metadata for reference. This metadata does not affect how the VM functions and can be changed at any time.
LABELS
Add metadata for reference. This metadata does not affect how the VM functions and can be changed at any time.
CONFIGURE
The CONFIGURE tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
Configuration Options
VERSION
(Not available for some VMs)
Select from among the available versions of the chosen OS.
LAYOUT
This control doesn't do anything. However, the text "(Enclave)" indicates that a secure enclave will be built because an enclave-enabled UMG was specified in GROUP (on the GROUP tab).
PLAN
Choose a disaster recovery option. For more information, see KB0017762, Disaster Recovery Options.
RESOURCE POOL
Generally, it's best to leave the default value. If you specify a zone (A or B), make sure you select the corresponding Datastore option.
VOLUMES
Specify the number of drives as well as the name, amount of storage, and Datastore for each. The maximum amount of storage for a VM (or for any individual drive) is 2 TB.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to add a drive. Click the trash can icon () to remove a drive.
CORE COUNT
Specify the number of cores (also called virtual CPUs or vCPUs). The maximum number of cores you can specify in the portal is 8. If additional cores are needed, please submit a support ticket.
CORES PER SOCKET
Unless you have a specific reason to want multiple sockets, enter the same value here as you did in CORE COUNT. Generally, the number of sockets does not affect the performance of a VM.
MEMORY
Specify the amount of RAM. The maximum amount of RAM you can specify in the portal is 64 GB. If more RAM is required, please submit a support ticket.
NETWORKS
Select the appropriate network. We recommend VM Hosting Private unless your VM will need to be accessed from outside of the University IP spaces.
- VM Hosting Private allows access from University networks only, or via a University VPN.
- VM Hosting Public allows your VM to be accessed from outside of the University's IP spaces. (For example, a public website may need to be accessible by devices outside of the PSU network.)
- If you are building a VM for a Level 3 secure enclave, select the option that starts with 3269-ENC_L3_client.
- To make your own networks available, see KB0016280, Add Your Own Networks to the Portal.
- To modify network settings after you create a VM, submit a support ticket.
ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD
(Only available for Windows VMs)
Specify the initial administrative password for the VM. (The initial administrative username is Administrator.)
LR NUMBER
(Only available for Secure Enclave VMs)
If you are building a VM for a secure enclave, enter the associated LR Number.
FOLDER
Ignore this field unless you have a specific reason to change it.
User Config
USER GROUP
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
Advanced Options
HOSTNAME
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
DOMAIN
Select an available domain to join the VM to:
- If you are building a secure enclave VM, select the OU that is associated with your unit.
NOTE: OU names are followed by "(ad.psu.edu)" in the menu, for example, "D7‑MyEnclaveOU (ad.psu.edu)".
- Otherwise, select one of the following:
- vmhost.psu.edu
- D7 - VMHosting (ad.psu.edu)
- an OU associated with your account (For more information, see KB0015264, Join Your VMs to Enterprise Active Directory (EAD).)
NOTE: We recommend that you do not select localdomain - Default Domain. If this option is chosen, the VM's IP address will not be registered in DNS.
If you leave Use Default selected, vmhost.psu.edu will be used.
TIME ZONE
The recommended setting is Use Default, which will implement US/Eastern as the time zone. Change this setting only if you have a specific need to.
PORTS
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
SKIP AGENT INSTALL
Ignore. Checking this box causes numerous problems -- such as a lack of logging and guest operating system statistics -- and may also adversely affect automation scripts. So please leave unchecked. (Agent installation is automatically skipped for secure enclave VMs, regardless of whether this box is checked.)
ASSET TAG
Set the asset tag on the SMBIOS for use by the guest operating system. This can be useful, for example, if you use scripting to poll and inventory your VMs. If left blank, the name of the virtual machine will be used.
ENABLE NESTED VIRTUALIZATION
Ignore. This option is not recommended.
TAGS
Add metadata with which to sort and filter VMs in the portal. For example, suppose you are creating several VMs and would like to be able to sort them by department. As you create each VM, enter Department in Name and enter the department (e.g., Accounting) in Value.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to apply an additional tag. Click the trash can icon () to remove a tag.
ENVIRONMENTAL PREFIX
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Add or modify the environmental variables for the VM's operating system. You can also modify the environmental variables after the VM is created.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to apply an additional environmental variable. Click the trash can icon () to remove one.
AUTOMATION
The AUTOMATION tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
Automation
WORKFLOW
Ignore.
Lifecycle
POWER SCHEDULE
Ignore. This control doesn't do anything and may be removed in a future update.
SHUTDOWN DAYS
Use to automatically shut down the VM after the specified number of days.
EXPIRATION DAYS
Use to automatically delete the VM after the specified number of days.
REVIEW
On the REVIEW tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen, review your settings and choose the number of VMs to create.
Summary
Review your settings.
Options
COPIES
Specify the number of VMs to create with the specified settings. The system automatically appends "-1, -2, -3" and so on to the instance name.