Manage the VM view

The system provides the VM view for you to assign VMs of the same type to the same directory or subdirectory for unified VM management, fast VM filtering, and fast VM information search.

When a directory has subdirectories or VMs, you can configure a boot rule for the VMs to start up or shut down in the specified order. For example, three VMs are installed with the datacenter software, application software, and WebService software, respectively. To start the VMs in a specific order, you can assign the VMs to the same directory, set the boot rule for the directory, and then perform the startup operation.

Restrictions and guidelines

• You cannot delete the system-defined VM View or assign any VMs to this view.

• With a boot rule set, the order in which VMs are shut down is the reverse of their startup order.

• A boot rule takes precedence over a VM rule when you bulk start up or shut down VMs on the VM View page. For example, if you configure a boot rule that requires the system to start VM 1, VM 2, and VM 3 at intervals of 5 minutes and a VM rule that requires the system to start VM 2 and VM 3 simultaneously, and then perform the bulk startup operation on the VM View page, VM 3 will be started 5 minutes after VM 2 is started instead of being started simultaneously with VM 2.

• Operating VMs in bulk are resources intensive and can degrade host performance. As a best practice, operate VMs in bulk only when no services are running on the VMs.

Create a directory or subdirectory

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, and then click Add.

3. Enter a directory name, and then click OK.

Delete directories

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, click More, and then select Delete Directory.

3. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Assign VMs to a directory

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, and then click My VMs.

3. Select one or more VMs, and then click OK.

Remove a VM from a directory

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, select one or more VMs, click More, and then select Remove VM.

3. Click OK.

Configure a VM boot rule

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, and then click Set Boot Rule.

3. Drag subdirectories or VMs or click the Up  or Down  icon to set their boot priorities.

4. Set the boot interval as described in "Parameters".

5. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Bulk start VMs

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, click Batch Actions, and then select Start.

3. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Bulk shut down VMs

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, click Batch Actions, and then select Shut Down.

3. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Switch between the VM tree view and the VM list view

1. On the top navigation bar, click VMs, and then select VM View from the navigation pane.

2. Select a directory, and then click Tree or List.

Parameters

Boot Interval: Specify the boot interval for VMs. After finishing starting or shutting down a VM, the system must wait for a boot interval before it starts or shuts down the next VM. If the system has a plenty of tasks to process, the actual interval might be longer than the specified value. If a subdirectory does not have any VMs, the system still has to wait for a boot interval before it starts or shuts down the next VM.