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Create a Windows VM

Create one or more virtual machines from the Virtual Machines page.

Note

For creating Linux virtual machines, please refer to this page.

Header Section

  1. Create a single VM instance or multiple VM instances.
  2. Set the VM name.
  3. [Optional] Provide a description for the VM.
  4. [Optional] Select the VM template windows-iso-image-base-template. This template will add a volume with the virtio drivers for Windows.

Basics Tab

  1. Configure the number of CPU cores assigned to the VM.
  2. Configure the amount of Memory assigned to the VM.
  3. [Optional] Select existing SSH keys or upload new ones.

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Note

As mentioned above, it is recommended that you use the Windows VM template. The Volumes section will describe the options which the Windows VM template created automatically.

Warning

The bootOrder values need to be set with the installation image first. If you change it, your VM might not boot into the installation disk.

Volumes Tab

  1. The first volume is an Image Volume with the following values:
    1. Name: The value cdrom-disk is set by default. You can keep it or change it.
    2. Image: Select the Windows image to be installed. See Upload Images for the full description on how to create new images.
    3. Type: Select cd-rom.
    4. Size: The value 20 is set by default. You can change it if your image has a bigger size.
    5. Bus: The value SATA is set by default. It's recommended you don't change it.
  2. The second volume is a Volume with the following values:
    1. Name: The value rootdisk is set by default. You can keep it or change it.
    2. Size: The value 32 is set by default. See the disk space requirements for Windows Server and Windows 11 before changing this value.
    3. Bus: The value VirtIO is set by default. You can keep it or change it to the other available options, SATA or SCSI.
  3. The third volume is a Container with the following values:
    1. Name: The value virtio-container-disk is set by default. You can keep it or change it.
    2. Docker Image: The value registry.suse.com/harvester-beta/vmdp:latest is set by default. It's recommended you don't change it.
    3. Bus: The value SATA is set by default. It's recommended you don't change it.
  4. You can add additional disks using the buttons Add Volume, Add Existing Volume, Add VM Image, or Add Container.

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Networks Tab

  1. The Management Network is added by default with the following values:
    1. Name: The value default is set by default. You can keep it or change it.
    2. Network: The value management Network is set by default. You can't change this option if no other network has been created. See Harvester Network for the full description on how to create new networks.
    3. Model: The value e1000 is set by default. You can keep it or change it to the other available options from the dropdown.
    4. Type: The value masquerade is set by default. You can keep it or change it to the other available option, bridge.
  2. You can add additional networks by clicking Add Network.

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Warning

Changing the Node Scheduling settings can impact Harvester features, such as disabling Live migration.

Node Scheduling Tab

  1. Node Scheduling is set to Run VM on any available node by default. You can keep it or change it to the other available options from the dropdown.

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Advanced Options Tab

  1. OS Type: The value Windows is set by default. It's recommended you don't change it.
  2. Machine Type: The value None is set by default. It's recommended you don't change it. See the KubeVirt Machine Type documentation before you change this value.
  3. [Optional] Hostname: Set the VM hostname.
  4. [Optional] Cloud Config: Both User Data and Network Data values are set with default values. Currently, these configurations are not applied to Windows-based VMs.

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  1. Start virtual machine on creation: This option is checked by default. You can uncheck it if you don't want the VM to start once it's created.

Once all the settings are in place, click on Create to create the VM.

Note

If you need to add advanced settings, you can edit the VM configuration directly by clicking on Edit as YAML. And if you want to cancel all changes made, click Cancel.