Configure the Components › Configure CA Automation Suite for Clouds Base Configuration for ESX › Managing Virtual Machines in VMware ESX › Create and Configure Reservation Manager System Images

Create and Configure Reservation Manager System Images

You now create the system images for the virtual machines.

Follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Reservation Manager using the CA Server Automation administrator user credentials and the following URL:

   https://servername:port/ssrm

   See your Installation Worksheet for these values.

2. Click Administer your Reservation Manager.

   The Administration page opens.

3. Click Manage your system image inventory.

   The System Images page opens. This page lists the inventory of operating system images and virtual machine templates that are available for users to select when reserving systems. From this page, you can define the operating system images or virtual machine templates to make available to users.

4. Select Add VM Template from the Actions drop-down list to add new virtual machine templates to the inventory.

   The Add VM Template wizard opens on the Select Image page.

   The information automatically populates based on the first available template in vCenter.

   Note: After you assign a VMware template to a Reservation Manager system image, you cannot assign it to another system and the template does not appear again.

5. Specify the following vCenter resources first to add the template to the inventory: vCenter Server, Data Center Name, and Guest OS Type. Then select the virtual machine template from the Template Name list, add a template description, and click Next.

   Note: Templates for VMware reservations must be in the same data center as the resource pools available to users.

   The Specify Custom Specification page opens.

6. Select the custom specification file to use to tailor settings for the virtual machines to deploy using this template, and click Next.

   Note: Because of the guest operating system type (Windows or Linux) you selected, only the VMware custom specification files for that operating system type appear. You can assign a VMware custom specification file to multiple Reservation Manager system images.

   The Specify Software page opens.

   Note: This screen is available only if you have the CA Server Automation installed and integrated with the CA IT Client Manager (Software Delivery). After you have imported the Software Delivery packages and made them available, they appear in the Available Software Group window.

7. Move all software that you want to install on the system image from the Available Software Group to the Selected Software Group.

   The Available Software Group list contains software that the administrator has identified as being compatible with the selected operating system. This list is filtered to display only software that you are authorized to access. Authorization is based on the organizational unit that your user name has been assigned to.

   The selected software is installed on the system in the order it is listed in the Selected Software Group list. Use the up and down arrow buttons to modify the order of software in the list.

8. Click Next when finished. You do not have to select any software on this page.

   The Specify Access Policy page opens.

9. Select the organizational units whose members are granted access to this virtual machine template, then click Finish.

   Note: Before you grant access to users, grant the rmadministrators user group access so you can test creating reservations for virtual machine templates.

10. Click Finish to skip the step in the following cases:
    • When an organizational unit that is granted access to the template is not listed.
    • When you are not sure of organizational units to grant access.

    You can grant access to the resource pool later.

    The System Images page opens and lists the template that has been successfully added to the inventory.

11. You can double-click a system image to edit it.

    You have created and configured Reservation Manager system image.