VMware GSX 3 - Manual (Page 123)

C H A P T E R 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware GSX Server Host
123
Identifying a Virtual Machine by Its UUID
Each virtual machine is automatically assigned a universally unique identifier (UUID),
which is stored in the SMBIOS system information descriptor. It can be accessed by
standard SMBIOS scanning software — for example SiSoftware Sandra or the IBM
utility smbios2 — and used for system management in the same way you use the
UUID of a physical computer.
The UUID is a 128-bit integer. The 16 bytes of this value are separated by spaces,
except for a dash between the eighth and ninth hexadecimal pairs. So a sample UUID
looks like this:
00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77-88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff
The UUID is based on the physical computer’s identifier and the path to the virtual
machine’s configuration file. This UUID is generated when you power on or reset the
virtual machine. As long as you do not move or copy the virtual machine to another
location, the UUID remains constant.
If you move or copy the virtual machine, you have the choice of creating a new UUID
the first time you power on the virtual machine. This new UUID is based on the
physical computer’s identifier and path to the virtual machine’s configuration file in its
new location.
When you power on a virtual machine that was moved or copied to a new location, a
message appears.
If you moved this virtual machine, you can choose to keep the UUID. Select Keep,
then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine.
If you copied this virtual machine to a new location, you should create a new UUID,
since the copy of the virtual machine is using the same UUID as the original virtual
machine. Select Create, then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine.
If the original virtual machine is being used as a template for more virtual machines,
you can choose to create a new UUID the first time you power on each copy. After you
configure the virtual machine and are ready to make it a template, move it to a new
location and power it on. When the message appears after you power on, select
Always Create, then click OK to continue powering on the virtual machine. The virtual