hvm-docs/corpus/hvm_deployment_guide/GUID-EC50D35A-3B63-44DD-BC2D-1D2A0191E97C.md

Configuring Windows Images for Use with HVM Clusters

This section will go through the steps to prepare a Windows image for deployment on HVM clusters. This image can serve as a template from which additional images and VM Essentials Library items can be built. This section only discusses the Virtual Image configuration fields needed to be successful with this example Windows deployment. For more generalized information on Virtual Images, including configurations needed for successful Linux deployment, see the Library > Virtual Images of the product user manual.

1. In this example case, we’ll start from downloading a Windows Server ISO directly from the Microsoft download center and go all the way through to creating a new Instance Type in VM Essentials that users can provision on-demand.

2. With the Windows ISO already downloaded, begin by uploading the ISO as a Virtual Image in VM Essentials. Virtual Images are added in Library > Virtual Images. Click + ADD and then choose “ISO.” Before adding the file itself, set the following configurations on the Virtual Image:

   • NAME: A name for the Virtual Image in VM Essentials, such as “Windows Server 2025 ISO”
   • OPERATING SYSTEM: “Windows Server 2025”
   • MINIMUM MEMORY: Filters out Service Plans at provision time which do not meet the minimum value. For this image type, I’ve set 4 GB

3. In addition to the above, there are a number of checkbox configurations here (many of them are in the expandable “Advanced” section), some of which are checked by default. They should all be unchecked except for “VIRTIO DRIVERS LOADED?” within the “Advanced” expandable section.

4. With the configurations set, it’s time to upload the ISO to VM Essentials. Keep in mind that if you do not specify a bucket in which the file should be uploaded, it will be uploaded to the appliance itself. If you choose to do this, be sure you have enough space in your VME Manager appliance to store the images you need. Within the UPLOAD VIRTUAL IMAGE modal is a large drop zone labeled “Drop Files Here.” You can drag and drop the ISO file here or you can click the button labeled Add File and browse for it. A progress bar will appear, wait until the file is completely uploaded before you save and dismiss the modal.

   

5. After the file has completely uploaded, click SAVE CHANGES. Rather than dropping and uploading the file through this modal, users may also select the URL/PATH radio button. This results in a URL field replacing the file drop zone where a URL to external storage containing the image may be entered.

   NOTE

   Alternatively, you can source the file from an integrated bucket (if any currently exist) by selecting the bucket in the BUCKET field and entering a path to the image in the URL field. When uploading the image via URL or path, the Virtual Image can be saved and closed as soon as all configurations are finished. Image upload will continue in the background. When uploading via file drop, the modal must remain open until the upload process is completed.

6. Next, we’ll provision a VM from the ISO using the built-in HVM Instance Type. Once running, we will configure the VM to any specific requirements and convert it to a template. Navigate to Provisioning > Instances and click + ADD. On the TYPE tab of the Instance provisioning wizard, we select the Instance Type to provision. In this case, select “HVM” and click NEXT.

7. On the GROUP tab, select the Group and Cloud containing the target MVM Cluster and provide a name for the new Instance. In my case, I have an automatic naming policy setting my Instance name, but depending on your appliance configuration you may need to enter a custom name. Click NEXT.

8. On the CONFIGURE tab, first select the IMAGE. Select the Windows server ISO that was uploaded in the previous step. Based on the minimum memory configuration that was set on the Virtual Image, Plans which are too small will be filtered out. Among compatible Plans, select one that meets your requirements. Next, set the RESOURCE POOL, which is the HVM cluster you’re targeting. Configure disks and disk sizes, as well as network details (this will vary based on HVM cluster configuration).

9. Finally, select the HOST, which is the HVM host within the cluster that the new Instance should initially be provisioned onto.

10. As a final step, we need to also expand the “Advanced Options” section and make sure “ATTACH VIRTIO DRIVERS” is checked. This will attach an ISO containing the VirtIO drivers which we’ll use later. Click NEXT.

    

11. The final two tabs of the wizard, AUTOMATION and REVIEW, do not require any configuration changes though you may want to review the Instance settings on the final tab. When done, click COMPLETE.

12. Click on the newly provisioning Instance from the Instances list page. Since this image is being provisioned for the first time, the image must be uploaded to the HVM host. This can take a little bit of time but any future attempts to provision workloads from this image will skip this step. Wait for the Instance to fully complete and appear in a green “Ready” status.

13. Once the Instance has fully finished provisioning, launch a console session by clicking ACTIONS and then Open Console. This will open a new window with a console session into the VM.

    

14. After selecting the language, click Next. On the following screen, click Install Now. This will begin the Windows setup process on our new VM. You’ll next select the operating system type you wish to install. For this example, I’m installing 2019 standard with desktop experience. Click Next.

    

15. Accept the licensing terms and click Next.

    

16. On the next screen, choose a custom install.

    

17. The next screen asks where Windows should be installed and may be empty. Click “Load Driver” to locate the mounted disk image containing the VirtIO drivers. The search should return a number of VirtIO SCSI controller packages for various Windows flavors. Select the proper package for the Windows version being installed. Click “Next.”

    

18. After a moment, we’re back at the screen asking where Windows should be installed. We should see the disk(s) of size and type selected at the time the VM was provisioned. Select the proper disk and click “Next.” The Windows installation will now begin. Once Windows has fully installed, proceed to the next step.

    

19. Following installation, Windows will restart and prompt for an Administrator user password. Set the password and log in as Administrator. Currently, there are no network interfaces configured. We need to install the VirtIO drivers to get this machine onto the network. We have a disk image mounted with the driver installer so we need to navigate to that drive and launch the installer. Open Windows Explorer and locate the drive in the side bar. In my case, it’s the E: drive. Right-click on virtio-win-guest-tools and select “Install.”

    

20. Step through the installer. Simply click Next or Install through each step, there are no configuration changes needed. Once the installer has completed, click Finish. You can confirm we now have a network interface by opening a Command Prompt session and using the ipconfig command. One network adapter should be listed.

    

21. We can now eject the two virtual disks, drives D: and E: in my case.