Virtual machines

Purpose

• Create VMs from scratch or deploy them from a template.
• Edit configuration, clone a VM, and manage its power state.
• Open a browser console and manage attached vNICs and disks.
• Track every action asynchronously through Task Manager.

Prerequisites

• Minimum permission to view: compute.vms.read
• To create, clone, or deploy from a template: compute.vms.create
• To edit a VM or manage its vNICs: compute.vms.update
• To delete a VM: compute.vms.delete
• To add a disk to a VM: compute.disks.create
• VM operations run asynchronously — external workers execute them and report status back, visible in Task Manager (top bar).

View virtual machines

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines.
2. Review each VM's name, state, and resource usage in the list.
3. Select a VM to open its detail page, disks, and vNICs.

Create a virtual machine

For a blank VM (not from a template):

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines.
2. Select Create VM.
3. Enter a name; it must be a valid resource name.
4. Select the guest OS, vCPUs, and RAM; optionally choose a compute quota.
5. Under Disks, choose Create a New Disk (name, whole-number size in GB, storage pool), Attach Existing Disk, or No Disk.
6. Select one or more networks to add vNICs; optionally attach an ISO.
7. Optionally add tags or a resource group.
8. Save.

Expected result: a VM-create task is queued and appears in Task Manager; the VM is listed once the worker completes it.

Deploy a VM from a template

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines.
2. Select Create VM, then enable Deploy from template (available only when at least one template exists).
3. Select a template.
4. Enter a name.
5. Choose a compute quota, a storage pool, and at least one network.
6. Save.

Expected result: a deploy task is queued in Task Manager; the VM appears when provisioning completes.

Edit a virtual machine

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines.
2. Open a VM and select Edit.
3. Update the name, description, or editable configuration fields.
4. Save.

Expected result: the update is queued in Task Manager.

Clone a virtual machine

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines.
2. Open a stopped VM (clone is available only when the VM is stopped).
3. Select Clone.
4. Enter a name and select a compute quota; storage pool and networks are prefilled from the source VM.
5. Save to queue the clone.

Expected result: a clone task is queued in Task Manager.

Manage power states

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines, or open a VM's detail page.
2. Use the power/state control to Start, Stop, Restart, or Shutdown the VM.

Expected result: a lifecycle task is queued and its progress appears in Task Manager. Delete is available only when a VM is stopped or initializing.

Open the console

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines, or open a VM.
2. Select Connect on a running VM.

Expected result: a VNC console session opens in a new browser window.

Manage vNICs

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines and open a VM.
2. In the vNICs card, select Manage vNICs.
3. For each vNIC, change its network and connected state.
4. Save to apply only the vNICs you changed.

Expected result: a vNIC-update task is queued in Task Manager.

Attach a disk

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines and open a VM.
2. In the Storage Disks card, select Create Disk (the VM is preselected).
3. Set the disk name, whole-number size in GB, and storage pool.
4. Save.

Expected result: a disk task is queued in Task Manager and the disk attaches when it completes. Existing unattached disks can also be attached while creating a VM via Attach Existing Disk.

Best Practices

• Stop a VM before cloning it.
• Ensure a storage pool that accepts VM disks exists before adding disks.
• Keep vCPU and RAM within the selected compute quota's available capacity.
• Watch Task Manager for the outcome of every create, power, clone, or vNIC action.