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Chapter 4. Creating Virtual Machines
Through XenCenter, you can create virtual machines in a number of ways, according to your deployment needs.
Whether you need to deploy individual VMs with distinct configurations and features or groups of multiple,
similar VMs, XenCenter can get you up and running in a just a few steps.
XenServer also provides an easy way to convert batches of virtual machines from VMware. For information, see
the Citrix Conversion Manager Quick Start and the Citrix Conversion Manager Administrator's Guide.
This chapter focuses on a few methods by which to create Windows VMs. To get you started quickly, the
procedures use the simplest setup of XenServer: a single XenServer host with local storage (after you connect
XenCenter to the XenServer host, storage is automatically configured on the local disk of the host).
This chapter also demonstrates how to use XenMotion to live migrate VMs between hosts in the pool.
After explaining how to create and customize your new VM, this chapter demonstrates how to convert that
existing VM into a VM template. A VM template preserves your customizations so that you can always use it to
create new VMs to the same (or to similar) specifications. It also simplifies and hastens the process of creating
multiple VMs at a time.
You can also create a VM template from a snapshot of an existing VM. A snapshot is a record of a running VM at
a point in time. It saves the storage, configuration and networking information of the original VM, which makes
it useful for backup purposes. Snapshots provide a fast way to make VM templates, and without replacing the
original, existing VM. This chapter demonstrates how to take a snapshot of an existing VM and then how to
convert that snapshot into a VM template.
Finally, this chapter describes how to create new VMs from a VM template.
In this chapter, you will:
• Create a Windows VM
• Use XenMotion for live migration of VMs between hosts
• Make a VM template from:
• An existing VM
• A VM snapshot
• Create VMs from a VM template
4.1. Creating a Windows 7 (32-bit) VM
Note:
The following procedure provides an example of creating Windows 7 (32-bit) VM. The default
values may vary depending on the operating system that you choose.
To create a Windows VM:
1. On the toolbar, click the New VM button to open the New VM wizard.
The New VM wizard allows you to configure the new VM, adjusting various parameters for CPU, storage and
networking resources.