This section explains how Carbon Black App Control efficiently manages virtual machines, called clones in the console, and the template computers on which they are based.

To manage virtual machines, you also will need to be familiar with Managing Computers.

When the Carbon Black App Control is installed on a virtual machine, Carbon Black App Control can manage the virtual machine just as it manages physically distinct computers. However, you can improve the way virtual machines are managed if some special steps are taken.

When you provision a computer on a virtualized software platform that includes the Carbon Black App Control Agent and then convert that computer to a template using the Carbon Black App Control Console, much of the file inventory processing on clones based on this template can be optimized. The Carbon Black App Control Server can automatically initialize a clone's inventory based on its template, or optionally, you can choose to have the server track only file changes that happen after a clone is created.

These options reduce the network traffic and server load associated with cloned computers, potentially allowing much larger number of virtual machines to be managed by an Carbon Black App Control Server. In addition, the server maintains an association between the template and its clones so that you can easily discover which computers are based on a particular template and manage them accordingly.

Note:
  • While this section primarily describes how you manage virtual machines as clones, the procedures are applicable to re-imaging of physical computers (such as "ghosting") in which the clones are actually physical machines with a common disk image from a template.

  • If you worked with support representatives to implement a custom solution to manage templates and clones in pre-7.0 releases, that solution will still work but is not integrated with the new, standard template management features.

The following key terms are used throughout the chapter and in the Carbon Black App Control Agent to describe the components of virtual and ghosted machine management:

Template Computer -
A computer that is pre-installed with required software, including the Carbon Black App Control Agent, and will be used to clone one or more computers through VMware or some other mechanism (e.g., “ghosting” of the hard drives of multiple computers from a common image). Before a computer can be used as an Carbon Black App Control template computer, it must be taken offline.
Cloned Computer -
A computer that originated as a clone of a template computer. It will register with the Carbon Black App Control Server as a new computer, but it will also remain identified as a clone of a specific parent template.
Parent Template -
Each cloned computer points to its parent Template Computer.
This mapping persists until either the clone or the template is deleted.

The login account used to log in to the console must have Manage Computers permission to be able to manage templates and clones.