A type of network connection between a virtual machine and the rest of the
world. Under bridged networking, a virtual machine appears as an additional
computer on the same physical Ethernet network as the host.
See also Host-only Networking.
See Virtual machine configuration.
A point-and-click editor to view and modify the configuration of a virtual
machine. It may be launched from the Settings menu.
See also Configuration Wizard.
A point-and-click interface for convenient, easy creation of a virtual machine configuration. You have the option of running the Configuration Wizard when you start VMware GSX Server without specifying a virtual machine configuraton file. You can also start the Configuration Wizard once a console is running by selecting File > Wizard.
The Configuration Wizard prompts the user for information,
suggesting default values in most cases. At the end it creates files that
define the virtual machine, including a virtual machine configuration file and
(optionally) a virtual disk or raw disk file.
See also Configuration Editor.
Any type of network connection between virtual machines and the host that is not bridged or host-only networking. For instance, different virtual machines can be connected to the host by separate networks, or connected to each other and not to the host. Any network topology is possible.
A property of a virtual disk that defines its external
behavior but is completely invisible to the guest operating system. There are
three modes: persistent (changes to the disk are always preserved when
the virtual machine is powered off), nonpersistent (changes are never
preserved) and undoable (changes are preserved at the user's discretion).
Disk modes may be changed from the Configuration
Editor.
See also Disk Modes.
A partition on a real disk in the host machine.
See also Raw disk.
An operating system that runs inside a virtual machine. VMware GSX Server supports a variety of guest operating systems.
See also Host operating system.
A type of
network connection between a virtual machine and the host. Under host-only
networking, a virtual machine is connected to the host on a private network,
which normally is not visible outside the host. Multiple virtual machines
configured with host-only networking on the same host are on the same network.
See also Bridged networking and Custom networking.
A real, physical computer (as opposed to a Virtual machine).
An operating system that runs on the host machine. VMware GSX Server runs on several host operating systems.
See also Guest operating system.
The amount of random access memory (RAM) that is used by virtual machines or by the host operating system to ensure continued operation. See Memory Use: Host Operating System and Virtual Machines for more information.
A type of networking with VMware GSX Server wherein a separate private network is set up on the host computer that allows the virtual machine to obtain an address on that network from the VMware virtual DHCP server.
Connecting virtual machines with other virtual machines or other host machines via local area networks or inter-computer communication. See "Common networking configurations" for more information about networking with VMware GSX Server.
All disk writes issued by software running inside a virtual machine with a
disk in nonpersistent mode appear to be written to disk but are in fact discarded
after the virtual machine is powered off. As a result, a virtual
disk or raw disk in nonpersistent mode is not modified
by VMware GSX Server.
See also Disk Modes.
All disk writes issued by software running inside a virtual machine are
immediately and permanently written to a virtual disk in persistent mode.
As a result, a virtual disk or raw
disk in persistent mode behaves like a conventional disk drive on a real
computer.
See also Disk Modes.
A hard disk in a virtual machine that is mapped to a
physical disk drive in the host machine. A virtual machine's disk can be stored
as a file on the host file system (see Virtual disk) or on a local IDE raw disk
device. When a virtual machine is configured to use a raw disk, VMware GSX Server
directly accesses the local disk/partition as a raw device (not as a file on a
file system). It is possible to boot a previously installed operating system on
an existing partition within a virtual machine environment. The only limitation
is that the existing partition must reside on a local IDE or SCSI drive.
See also Safe raw disk file, Virtual disk.
A file containing access privilege information that
controls a virtual machine's read/write access to partitions on a raw disk.
Proper use of this file prevents dual-boot users from accidentally trying to
run the host operating system again as a guest or from another guest operating
system that the virtual machine was not configured for. Safe raw disk files can
also prevent accidental writes to raw disk partitions from badly behaved
operating systems or applications. Safe raw disk files can be created by the
Configuration Wizard or the Configuration Editor.
See also Raw Disks.
All writes to a disk in undoable mode issued by software running inside a
virtual machine appear to be written to the disk but are in fact stored in a
temporary file (.REDO file) on the host file system while the virutal machine
is running. When the virtual machine is powered off, the user is given three
choices: (1) permanently apply all changes to the disk; (2) discard the changes,
thus restoring the disk to its previous state; or (3) keep the changes, so that
further changes made the next time the virtual machine runs can be added to the
log.
See also Disk Modes.
A virtual disk is a file on the host file system that
appears as a physical disk drive to a guest operating system. This file can be
on the host machine as well as on a remote file system. When you configure a
virtual machine with a virtual disk, you can install a new operating system
onto the disk file without the need to repartition a physical disk or reboot
the host. VMware GSX Server virtual disk devices can also be mapped to partitions
on the host machine.
See also Raw disk.
A virtualized x86 PC environment on which a guest operating system and associated application software can run. Multiple virtual machines can operate on the same host machine concurrently.
The specification of what virtual devices (disks, memory size, etc.) are present in a virtual machine and how they are mapped to host files and devices.
A file containing a virtual machine configuration. It is created by the Configuration Wizard or the Configuration Editor. It is used by VMware GSX Server to identify and run a specific virtual machine.
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