Create a Virtual Machine from a Template

You can create a standalone virtual machine from a template that you select from the templates catalog.

Starting with VMware Cloud Director 10.4.2, when instantiating a VM from a vApp template containing a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) device, there are some considerations you must take into account.

• If the template was created by using VMware Cloud Director, the instantiation copies or replaces the TPM device based on the selected TPM Provisioning option when the template was captured.
• If the template was created by uploading an OVF or OVA, the instantiation replaces the TPM device.
• If the template was created by importing a VM from vCenter Server, the instantiation copies the TPM device.
• If the target vCenter Server meets the TPM requirements, you can perform instantiations across vCenter Server instances for templates for which VMware Cloud Director replaces the TPM devices during instantiation.

Prerequisites

For VMware Cloud Director 10.4.2 and later, if you want to create a VM with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) device, verify the following:

• A VDC that supports TPM backs the VM.
• The VM firmware is EFI.
• The VM hardware version is version 14 or later.
• The guest OS is compatible with TPM.
• For operations acrossvCenter Server instances, verify that the key provider used to encrypt each VM is registered on the target vCenter Server instance under the same name.
• For operations acrossvCenter Server instances, verify that the VM and the target vCenter Server instance are on the same shared storage or that fast cross vCenter Server vApp instantiation is enabled. See the fast cross vCenter Server vApp instantiation information in the VMware Cloud Director 10.4 Release Notes.

Procedure

1. On the Virtual Data Center dashboard screen, click the card of the virtual data center you want to explore and from the left panel, select Virtual Machines.
2. Click to view the list in a card view and, optionally, arrange the list of virtual machines from the Sort by drop-down menu.
3. Click New VM.
4. Enter the name, the computer name, and optionally, a description for the virtual machine.
   Important: The computer name can contain only alphanumeric characters and hyphens. A computer name cannot consist of digits only, cannot contain spaces, and a hyphen cannot be the last character.
5. Select From Template.
6. If you want the VM to power on right after its creation, select the Power on check box.
7. Select a VM template from the list of available templates.

   If you select a template tagged with a non-modifiable vGPU policy, in step 9, VMware Cloud Director displays only the vGPU Enabled settings with a preselected vGPU policy that you cannot change.

   You can filter the templates, for example, you can filter to see only the templates tagged with a vGPU policy.

8. (Optional) Select a storage policy.
   If you specify a remote datastore as a storage policy, all objects that make up the VM must reside on the same remote datastore.
9. Depending on your VMware Cloud Director version, create a general purpose or vGPU enabled VM.
   If the target VDC does not have an added vGPU policy, you can create only a VM for general use and the option to select a VM purpose does not appear.

   If the template you select has a tagged non-modifiable policy, you cannot select the compute type.

   Option	Action
   Create a General Purpose VM	You create a VM for general use. Select General Purpose. This option appears if the organization VDC has an added vGPU policy and the template has a modifiable vGPU policy. (Optional) Select a VM placement policy and a VM sizing policy. Note: The VM placement and VM sizing policy drop-down menus appear only if the service provider has published such policies to the organization VDC. If the organization VDC has only one sizing policy, the policy appears as preselected and you cannot change it. (Optional) Review the number of virtual CPUs, cores per socket, and memory settings manually. Note: If you select a VM sizing policy that defines the VM size, this option is not visible. (Optional) Select a primary NIC. If the VM template has modifiable custom properties, you can edit the properties. If there is an end-user license agreement, read and accept it.
   Create a vGPU Enabled VM	You create a VM that uses vGPU resources. Select vGPU Enabled. This option appears if the organization VDC has an added vGPU policy and the template has a modifiable vGPU or placement policy tagged. Select a vGPU policy. If the sizing policy is not defined in vGPU policy, select a sizing policy. (Optional) Select a primary NIC. If the VM template has modifiable custom properties, you can edit the properties. If there is an end-user license agreement, read and accept it.

10. Click OK to save the settings of the virtual machine and to start the creation process.
    You can see the card of the virtual machine in the catalog. Until the virtual machine is created, its state is displayed as Busy.