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Chapter 5. Managing Virtual Machines

5.1. Editing Virtual Machine Properties
5.1.1. Editing Virtual Machines
5.1.2. Editing Network Interfaces
5.1.3. Editing Virtual Disks
5.1.4. Changing ISO Images
5.2. Managing Snapshots
After the initial setup of your virtual machines, you will occasionally need to make configuration changes to your virtual environment. This chapter enables you to edit your virtual machine settings, and to make backups of your virtual machine's data.

5.1. Editing Virtual Machine Properties

As the administrator of your virtual machines, you will need to change or even remove machines to keep your system updated. Virtual machines must powered off before any changes can be made to them. See Section 2.2, “Turning Off a Virtual Machine”.

5.1.1. Editing Virtual Machines

Changes to storage, operating system or networking parameters can adversely affect the virtual machine. Ensure that you have the correct details before attempting to make any changes.
To edit a virtual machine:
  1. Select the virtual machine to be edited. Click the Edit button.
    Edit virtual machine button
    Figure 5.1. Edit virtual machine button

  2. The Edit Server Virtual Machine window displays. The fields are identical to the New Server Virtual Machine window. See Figure 4.1, “New Server Virtual Machine”.
  3. Change the General, Console, Host, High Availability, Resource Allocation and Boot Options fields as required.
  4. Click OK to save your changes. Your changes will be applied once you restart your virtual machine.
To remove a virtual machine:
  1. Select the virtual machine to be removed. Click the Remove button.
    Remove virtual machine
    Figure 5.2. Remove virtual machine

  2. A warning message displays, asking if you wish to proceed. Select OK to continue or Cancel to abort the procedure.
    Remove virtual machine warning
    Figure 5.3. Remove virtual machine warning

5.1.2. Editing Network Interfaces

For each virtual machine, you can attach one or more Network Interface Cards (NICs) to the logical network in the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager as described in Section 4.2, “Adding Network Interfaces to Virtual Machines”.
To edit a network interface:
  1. To change the settings of an existing network interface, select the virtual machine and click the Network Interfaces tab of the details pane. Select the network interface you wish to edit and click Edit.
  2. The Edit Network Interface window displays. This dialog contains the same fields as the New Network Interface dialog. See Figure 4.3, “New Network Interface menu”.
  3. After you have made the required changes, click OK to save your changes.
To remove a network interface:
  1. To remove an existing network interface, select the virtual machine and click the Network Interfaces tab of the details pane. Select the network interface you wish to remove and click Remove.
  2. A warning message displays, asking you to confirm if you wish to proceed. Select OK to continue or Cancel to abort the procedure.

5.1.3. Editing Virtual Disks

The Virtual Disks tab on allows you to manage one or more storage disks to virtual machines. Adding virtual disks is described in Section 4.3, “Adding New Virtual Disks to Virtual Machines”.
To edit a virtual disk:
  1. To change the settings of an existing virtual disk, select the virtual machine and click the Virtual Disks tab of the details pane. Select the virtual disk you wish to edit and click Edit.
  2. The Edit Virtual Disk window displays. This dialog contains the same fields as the New Virtual Disk dialog. See Figure 4.4, “New Virtual Disk menu”.
  3. After you have made the changes required, click OK to save your changes.
To remove a virtual disk:
  1. To remove an existing virtual disk, select the virtual machine and click the Virtual Disks tab of the details pane. Select the virtual disk you wish to remove and click Remove.
  2. A warning message displays, asking you to confirm if you wish to proceed. Select OK to continue or Cancel to abort the procedure.

5.1.4. Changing ISO Images

If you installed your virtual machine from an ISO image, you may have to change or remove the CD which has been attached to your virtual machine. For example, you can remove the existing installation media and attach the Guest Tools ISO which provides virtio drivers and additional tools. To do so, use the Change CD utility. Change CD can only be used when a virtual machine is running, unlike Run Once which allows you to boot a powered down virtual machine from a CD.
Note that only ISO images which have been uploaded onto the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager storage domain can be attached to virtual machines. For more information see the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Administration Guide.
To change CD on a virtual machine:
  1. Select the virtual machine you wish to attach a new ISO image to and click Change CD.
    The Change CD dialog displays.
    Change CD on a virtual machine
    Figure 5.4. Change CD on a virtual machine

  2. From the drop-down menu, select the name of the ISO image you wish to use. Click OK.
  3. The new ISO image can now be accessed from your virtual machine.