Creating Virtual Machine

Creating a Virtual Machine in eEVOS

To create a new virtual machine, navigate to the VM Management section and click on Create New VM to open the Creation Wizard.

In the Creation Wizard, you can configure the following settings:

• VM Name: Enter a name for your VM. Avoid special characters; use a hyphen (“-“) for spaces.
• BIOS: Choose between Standard or UEFI depending on your requirements.
• Keyboard Layout: Select the keyboard layout that matches your preferences.
• Guest OS: Specify the operating system that you plan to install on this VM.

Next, select the Cluster Drive where you want to install this VM.

Select the Priority Node for this VM. This node will be the first choice whenever the VM is powered on, ensuring it starts on the specified node if available.

Adding Virtual Disks

Now, you can add virtual disks to the VM. Below are the options you can configure:

• Size: Specify the disk size in gigabytes.
• Disk Format: Choose between two disk formats:
  • Thin Provisioned: In this format, disk space is allocated dynamically as data is written to the disk. This means the actual disk space used will grow as the VM writes data, making it an efficient option for saving storage space. However, this can lead to performance overhead as the disk expands.
  • RAW: A RAW disk format allocates the entire specified disk space upfront. This provides better performance since there is no overhead from dynamically expanding the disk. However, it uses the full disk space immediately, which might lead to inefficient storage utilization if the VM doesn’t use all the allocated space.
• Caching: There are several caching options available:
  • Writethrough (default): This caching mode ensures data is written to the disk immediately and simultaneously cached. It offers a good balance between performance and data safety, as data is always synchronized between the cache and the disk.
  • Writeback: In writeback mode, data is initially written to the cache, and then later written to the disk. This can significantly improve write performance, but it comes with the risk of data loss if the system fails before the data is fully written to the disk.
  • DirectSync: DirectSync writes data directly to the disk, bypassing the cache. This ensures maximum data integrity, but may result in lower write performance compared to the other options. It is ideal for environments where data consistency is critical.

Selecting an ISO File

Next, select the ISO file for the operating system installation. This ISO file will serve as the installation media for the guest OS.

Configuring VM Resources

Configure the RAM, CPU Sockets, Cores, and CPU Model. Here’s what you need to know:

• RAM: Allocate the amount of memory (in GB) that the VM will use. Ensure that it meets the requirements of the guest OS and applications you plan to run.
• CPU Sockets: Define the number of virtual CPU sockets for the VM. This setting can help distribute the CPU load if your physical CPU supports multiple sockets.
• Cores: Specify the number of CPU cores per socket. This determines the parallel processing capability of the VM.
• CPU Model: Choose between:
  • Standard: This option is ideal if your servers are not identical in hardware, ensuring broad compatibility.
  • CPU Passthrough: For maximum performance, especially for resource-intensive applications like databases, CPU Passthrough allows the VM to use the host’s physical CPU features directly, resulting in better performance.

Configuring Network Adapters

Select the Network Adapters and choose the virtual network or switch to associate with these adapters.

Note: If you are using a virtual switch, you can set VLANs in the VM properties after the creation process is complete.

Finalizing and Managing the VM

Once the installation is complete, your VM will appear in the VM Management Overview. You can now start using your newly created virtual machine.