In the default configuration, a VMware Cloud Director organization VDC discovers virtual machines (VMs) that are created in any vCenter Server resource pool that backs the VDC.

After the system administrator grants you access to a discovered VM, you can reference the VM when you compose or recompose a vApp.

Each discovered VM is given a name that is derived from the name of the vCenter Server VM and a prefix specified by your organization administrator.

If you want to discover additional VMs, a system administrator can use the VMware Cloud Director API to create organization VDCs that adopt specified resource pools available from a provider VDC. vCenter Server VMs in these adopted resource pools appear in the new VDC as discovered VMs, and are candidates for adoption.

Note: Virtual machines with IDE hard drives are discovered only if they are in powered off state.

If one or more vCenter VMs are not discovered by VMware Cloud Director, you can investigate the possible reasons by debugging the vCenter VM Discovery. For more information, see the VMware Cloud Director Installation, Configuration, and Upgrade Guide.

Activating VM Discovery

VM discovery is active by default. You can control VM discovery at three levels.
  • Global setting at the cell level that system administrators can modify by using the Service Provider Admin Portal.
    1. From the top navigation bar, select Administration.
    2. In the left panel, under Settings, select General.
    3. Edit the Other section.
    4. Toggle the VM discovery enabled option.

    If the global-level setting is deactivated, then VM discovery is deactivated, regardless of the organization-level or VDC-level setting. If you want to override the global-level settings, see Activating VM Discovery by Using the VMware Cloud Director API section.

  • Organization-level setting that system administrators can modify.
    1. From the top navigation bar, select Resources.
    2. In the left panel click Organizations and select the organization for which you want to modify the setting.
    3. Under Configure, select General, and click to edit the Other section.
    4. Select the VM discovery option for all VDCs in the organization.

    If the organization-level setting is deactivated, then VM discovery is deactivated on all VDCs in the organization, regardless of the VDC-level setting. If you want to override the organization-level settings, see Activating VM Discovery by Using the VMware Cloud Director API section.

  • VDC-level setting that system administrators can modify.
    1. From the top navigation bar, select Resources.
    2. In the left panel click Organization VDCs and select the VDC for which you want to modify the setting.
    3. Select the General tab and click Edit to modify the Other section.
    4. Select the VM discovery option for the VDC.

Activating VM Discovery by Using the VMware Cloud Director API

VM discovery is active by default. To deactivate VM discovery for all organizations, a system administrator must update the value of the VmDiscoveryEnabled setting in the system's GeneralSettings. To deactivate VM discovery for all VDCs in an organization, an organization administrator must update the value of the VmDiscoveryEnabled setting in the GeneralOrgSettings for that organization. To deactivate VM discovery for an individual organization VDC, an organization administrator must update the value of the VmDiscoveryEnabled setting in the AdminVdc that represents the organization VDC.

To override the VM discovery default behavior, use the VMware Cloud Director API /api/admin/extension/settings/general to set the AllowOverrideOfVmDiscoveryByOrgAndOVDC parameter to true. When you set the parameter to true, you can modify the VM discovery settings at the organization and organization VDC level even if VM discovery is deactivated at the global level. 
allow-override-of-vm-discovery-by-org-and-orgvdc = true

The AllowOverrideOfVmDiscoveryByOrgAndOVDC parameter is set to null by default and the global settings override all lower-level settings.

Using a VM from a Discovered VM

After the system administrator grants you access, you can use a discovered VM in the same ways you can use any other VM. For example, you can specify it when you build a new vApp. You can also clone a discovered VM or modify its name, description, or lease settings without triggering the adoption process.

Adopting a Discovered VM

You can adopt a discovered VM by changing its VM network. After you adopt a discovered VM, the system imports it and treats it as though it was created in VMware Cloud Director. When you retrieve an adopted VM with a VMware Cloud Director API request, the VM includes an element named autoNature. If the discovered VM was adopted or created in VMware Cloud Director, this element has a value of false . You cannot revert an adopted VM to a discovered VM.

Note: Adopting a VM does not retain the VM reservation, limit, and shares settings that are configured in vCenter Server. Imported VMs obtain their resource allocation settings from the organization virtual data center (VDC) on which they reside.