Content Library (vSphere 6.7 & higher)

Check-Out a VM Template (VMTX)

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Welcome to the vSphere 7.0 Product Walkthrough for VM Template Management. This product walkthrough will guide you through the process of checking out a VM template in Content library to quickly make changes and keep track of template versions

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Checking out a template allows for rapid updating, template versioning, the ability to revert to a previous template version, as well as delete any unwanted template versions. Template versioning is only available when the VM Template (VMTX) is stored within a Content Library. Templates that are stored outside of a Content Library can still be used in vSphere 7.0, but template management features like Check-In/Check-Out operations and versioning will not be available for those templates.

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We will begin by clicking on the Versioning tab at the top of the screen.

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From here you will notice the new versioning screen for VM Templates. We can easily see the time and date that the template was created as well as the user who did so. Click the Information icon (i) to read more.

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A quick explanation of template versioning is displayed. We check out a template so we can make changes to the virtual machine or the operating system.Click the X to close the window.

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Let's begin by clicking Check Out VM From This Template

imageNext, we can add the Virtual Machine Name. [Click to continue]

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Click to expand the Barcelona Datacenter

imageSelect the Master Templates folder, click Next to continue

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Click the cluster named BCN to select the compute resource

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Be sure that the Compute resource is compatible, then click Next to continue.

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Verify all info is correct before proceeding. When ready, click Finish to complete.

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Our VM Template (vmtx) is now 'Checked Out' for editing. Review the info in the blue box area. You will find the time & date of the operation as well as the privileged user who has made the edit(s). Click on the template named, APP-Server-Edit to continue.

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Scroll down to view the 'Edit Settings' portion of the VM Hardware tile.

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Click Edit Settings to open the VM Hardware options.

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From here we will add some new devices to the VM Template. Click, Add New Device to continue.

imageClick, Network Adapter to add one and continue.

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Now we will edit the VM Memory from 4GB to 6GB. Click the 4GB RAM setting to continue.

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Review the changes, then click OK to continue.

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Now that we have made our edits to the VM Template, we are ready to CheckIn the changes. PLEASE VISIT PART 2: "Check-In a VM Template" to continue this workflow.URL:

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This concludes the "Check-Out a VM Template" Walkthrough. Visit vSphere Central for more Product Walkthroughs: https://vspherecentral.vmware.com

Check-In a VM Template (VMTX)

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Welcome to the vSphere 7 Product Walkthrough for VM Template Management. This product walkthrough will guide you through the process of checking in a VM template in a Content Library to save any changes made and keep track of template versions.

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Checking IN a template allows for saving edits, template versioning, the ability to revert to a previous template version, as well as delete any unwanted template versions. NOTE: Template versioning is only available when the VM Template (VMTX) is stored within a Content Library.

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If you have yet to do so, please head over to the Product Walkthrough for 'Check-Out a VM Template' to review/try the first part of this operation. This is considered Part 2 in the template management workflow. URL: https://vspherecentral.vmware.com/t/configuration-and-day-2operations/c… that changes have been completed on the VM Template it is time to Check-In the vmtx. Click Check In VM To Template to continue.

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After a Check Out of a virtual machine from a template and updating the VM, you must check the virtual machine back into the VM template. When you Check In the VM to a template, you create a new version of the VM template (vmtx) containing the updated state of the machine.Enter any required notes (click the notes box to continue)

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Once all notes have been entered, click Check In to continue. NOTE: Verify that the virtual machine is powered off or suspended. You cannot check in a powered-on virtual machine to a VM template.

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Once checked in, the VM template now has an audit trail, or versioning to keep track of any edits. You will also notice two versions of the VM Template on the left side pane. Click on the Versioning tab to continue.

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The updated version of the VM template appears in the vertical timeline.Notes as well as timestamps, and name of the privileged user making the edits are preserved. This new view of template history keeps things simple and easy to manage.Click the VM Template APP-Server (2) to continue.

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You notice this message whenever a VM Template is NOT stored in a Content Library. Template Versioning is only available with the VM Template (vmtx) is stored in a Content Library. Click the error message to continue.

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Doing so takes the administrator directly to the template to review or use. vSphere objects such as VMs & Templates also have a customizable view. Click Switch to New View

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Quickly we can now see all vSphere object info (a VM template in this case) as tiles. These tiles can be moved around by dragging & dropping. Customize as needed. Click the scrollbar to continue.

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Template Versioning can also be seen in the Customized View.Scroll up to continue.

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Under the Customized view, some tiles can be hidden from view by unchecking the box next to the tile name. Tiles that are greyed-out, cannot be turned off. Click Switch to Classic View

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Now let's say that we no longer need a version of the template we have edited. To remove a template version we first click on the ellipses [...]

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This drop-down allows for a rollback or Revert to This Verison or Delete Verison. In this case, we will choose Delete Verison.

imageVerify and confirm the deletion process and click YES to continue.

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You will notice the VM Template version has been deleted. It no longer shows in the left side pane under Master Templates, nor does it show under the Versioning tile. Click the Versioning tab to continue.

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The same info we discovered on the Summary tab for template versioning can be reviewed here also.

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This concludes the "Check-In a VM Template" Walkthrough. Visit vSphere Central for more Product Walkthroughs: https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere

Using Content Library to Sync VM Templates

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This walkthrough demonstrates how to Publish (Sync) a native VM Template (vmtx) to Subscriber Libraries in vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 Update 2.

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NOTE: Syncing of native VM templates (vmtx) between Content Libraries is available when vCenter Server is configured for Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM). Published libraries are now subscriber aware allowing newly published items to replicate to other subscribed Content Libraries.Begin by clicking on the vSphere Client top Menu

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In the dropdown, select "Content Libraries"

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This displays the list of Content Libraries accessible to the vCenter Server. Click on the Local Library named "OnPrem-Publisher".

imageFrom the Summary page, we can view the details of the Local Library. Click Templates to continue.

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We have 3 templates displayed, two OVF, and one VMTX. To Publish (Sync) the VMTX template to subscriber libraries, select the VMTX template named "Win2012-tmp"

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The details of the VMTX Template is displayed. Click Actions to continue.

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Click Publish to sync this VMTX template from the local Content Library over to the Subscriber Library

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Alternatively, we can also publish VMTX templates directly from the Local Library view versus the template details page. Click the radio button checkbox to select the Subscriber Library to publish to.

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Once the Subscriber Library is selected, clicking Publish will sync the VMTX template from the Local Content Library over to the Subscriber Library.

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The warning displayed indicates that "All VM Templates in the library will be published to the selected Subscriptions. OVF Templates and other types will not be published". This is intended to notify that only VMTX templates will be published to the Subscriber Library. Click Publish to continue.

 

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By opening the Recent Tasks pane we can review the status of the VMTX Template synching to the Subscriber Library named "VC-026 Lib".

 

imageWe can also verify that the template made it over to the Content Library by clicking on the Subscriber Library named "VC-026 Lib"

 

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From the Summary page select the Templates tab.

 

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Review the current templates in the Subscriber Library. Here we can see that our VMTX (VM Template) has synchronized to the Subscriber Content Library (VC-026 Lib) from the local Content Library.

 

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If your view of the Subscriber Content Library is similar looking where the VMTX template has not been synchronized, you may also force the Synch operation from the library itself. Click Actions to continue.

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From the Actions menu, select Synchronize to have the Subscriber Library contact the local Content Library for any VMTX templates that need to sync.

 

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Once synchronization completes, all templates can be seen from this view. If there are other files in Content Library that you need to review, click Other Types to see them.

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Other file types include items such as ISOs, text files, etc.

imageThis concludes the "Using Content Library to Sync VM Templates" Walkthrough. Visit vSphere Central for more Product Walkthroughs: https://vspherecentral.vmware.com 

Creating a Content Library in vSphere 6.7

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This Product Walkthrough will guide you through the workflow of creating a Content Library in vSphere 6.7.

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Content Library has evolved quite a bit since its inception in vSphere 6.0. Some of that evolution has brought new ways to accomplish tasks as well as new features.

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Before we begin, it is important to discuss vCenter Server Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) permissions for Content Library. To be able to create a library the required privileges needed are; Content library.Create local library or Content library.Create subscribed library on the vCenter Server node where you are creating the library.

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Begin by logging into the vSphere Client and then from the top Menu select Content Libraries to continue.

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Next, click the "+" (plus sign) to open the New Content Library wizard.

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Specify the Content Library Name and any required Notes. Then select the vCenter Server that will manage the library. NOTE: If only one (1) vCenter Server is being used, no others will show in the list. This is also true if the vCenter Servers are not in Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM).

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Once the library Name and Notes have been entered, click Next to continue.

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This is where the Content Library setup or configuration takes place. We can either set this library to be a Local Library or we can Subscribe to another Content Library by providing the Subscription URL of that Published Library. In this example we will choose; Local Content Library to continue.

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Choose Enable Publishing and click Next to continue.

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Select a storage location for the library's contents. This can be vSphere datastore that exists in inventory or an SMB or NFS path to storage. In this example, a vSAN datastore is being used as the backing datastore for the Content Library. Choose the datastore and then click Next to continue. NOTE: You can store your templates on an NFS storage that is mounted to the vCenter Server Appliance. After the create a new library operation is complete, the vCenter Server Appliance mounts the shared storage to the host OS.

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Review the settings chosen for the Content Library before clicking Finish to complete.

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When the wizard is done, the vSphere Client will show the details of the Content Library created. Click on the name of the Content Library to continue.

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From here customers can review the details of the Content Library. Easily review and access Storage or Publication information such as capacity/free space and Subscription URL, needed when subscribing to a published library.

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This concludes our product walk-through "Creating a Content Library in vSphere 6.7". To learn more please visit the vSphere Blog at https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/

 

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