Configuring a RAS Template

Once the template is created, the template configuration wizard automatically opens. You need to complete the wizard before you can use the template to create virtual machines from it.

The RAS template configuration wizard consists of a few pages, which are described below.

Note: You can access the same configuration pages for an existing template by selecting it in the list and then clicking Tasks > Properties. This will open a dialog (instead of the wizard described below), but the pages and configuration options will be the same.

General

On the General page, specify the following options:

• RAS Template. Specify a name for the template.
• Maximum guest VMs. Specify the maximum number of guest VMs that can be created from this template. Once the number of existing guest VMs exceeds this number, a VM is deleted to comply with the limitation.
• Pre-created guest VMs. Specify the number of VMs that will be automatically created in advance. This is done in order to have some VMs ready right away. If all pre-created VMs are already in use and another one is needed, it will be created on demand.
• Virtual machine name prefix. Specify a name prefix for guest VMs. A VM ID will be appended to it to make the final VM name unique.
• Delete unused guest VMs after the following period. Enable this option to automatically delete VMs that haven't been used for a specified period of time. Use the drop-down list to specify the time period.

Advanced

On the Advanced page, specify the following options:

• Folder. Specify the folder where guest VMs created from this RAS Template will be stored. This option is available if you are using Hyper-V, Hyper-V Failover Cluster, VMware vCenter and Citrix XenServer.
• Native Pool. Specify the native pool to add the VMs to. This option is available if you are using VMware ESX and VMware vCenter.

SysPrep

On the SysPrep page, you can configure SysPrep settings in Windows inside the RAS Template.

Specify the following properties:

• Computer name. Computer name that should be assigned to a VM.
• Owner name. Owner name.
• Organization. Organization name.
• Administrative password. Local Windows administrator password.
• Join domain. Name of a domain for the VM to join.
• Administrator. Domain account.
• Password. Domain account password.
• Target OU. Full DN of an organizational unit. Click the [...] button to browse Active Directory and select an OU.

License Keys

On the License Keys page, specify the license key information that will be used to activate virtual machines created from this template.

First, select the license key management type that you are using in your organization (KMS or MAK):

Key Management Service (KMS): If you are using KMS, click the Finish button to save the template configuration information. Virtual machines that will be created from this template will look for KMS in DNS (at the end of the OS mini-setup and domain joining) and will be activated accordingly.

Multiple Activation Keys (MAK): If you are using MAK, do the following:

1. Click the Add button and type a valid key in the License key field.
2. In the Max guest VMs field, specify the maximum number of VMs that can be created from this template.
3. Click OK.
4. Click Finish to save the template configuration information.

If you need to change the template configuration later, select it in the RAS Templates list and click Tasks > Properties. Use the dialog that opens to view and modify the template properties.