Update VM
Applies To: System Center 2012 - Orchestrator, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator, System Center 2012 SP1 - Orchestrator
The Update VM Properties activity is used to make changes to an existing virtual machine.
For the procedure to configure this activity, see Configuring the Update VM Activity.
The following tables list the properties and published data for this activity. The activity publishes all of the data from the required and optional properties into published data.
Update VM Property
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
VM ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the virtual machine |
Optional Properties
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
Boot Order |
The order of devices that the virtual machine on a Hyper-V host uses to start up. The valid values are: CD, IDE Hard Drive, PXE Boot, or Floppy |
Cost Center |
An alphanumeric value of your choice for the Self-Service Portal |
CPU Count |
The number of CPUs on the virtual machine |
CPU Max (%) |
A two-digit percent value that represents the upper bound for CPU usage while the virtual machine is running |
CPU Reserve (%) |
A two-digit percent value that represents the CPU resources that are set aside for the host operating system to use |
CPU Type |
The type of CPU for the virtual machine |
Custom Priority |
A two-digit value of your choice to describe the priority of the virtual machine |
Custom Property 1 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 1 |
Custom Property 2 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 2 |
Custom Property 3 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 3 |
Custom Property 4 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 4 |
Custom Property 5 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 5 |
Custom Property 6 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 6 |
Custom Property 7 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 7 |
Custom Property 8 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 8 |
Custom Property 9 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 9 |
Custom Property 10 |
The value of your choice for Custom Property 10 |
Delay Start (s) |
The number of seconds to wait after the virtualization service starts before automatically starting the virtual machine. This value is used to stagger the startup time of multiple virtual machines to help reduce the demand on the physical computer’s resources. A typical setting could be 30 to 60 seconds. |
Description |
An alphanumeric description of your choice for the virtual machine |
Disk I/O (IOPS) |
The disk I/O performance, measured by the number of I/O operations per second [IOPS] that can be performed with acceptable latency. IOPS is a metering tool that Virtual Machine Manager uses. |
Enable Backup |
True or False |
Enable Data Exchange |
True or False |
Enable Heartbeat |
True or False |
Enable Operating System Shutdown |
True or False |
Enable Time Synchronization |
True or False |
Expected CPU Utilization (%) |
A two-digit percent value that represents the average CPU usage for the virtual machine |
Install Virtualization Guest Services |
True or False |
Is Highly Available |
True or False |
Limit CPU Functionality |
True or False. Virtual Machine Manager uses this setting to determine whether the CPU should be put into a compatibility mode for virtual machines running Windows NT. |
Memory (MB) |
The total amount of memory on the host that is assigned to the virtual machine in megabytes (MB) |
Network Utilization |
A two-digit network utilization value |
Numlock Enabled |
True or False |
Operating System |
The type of operating system for the virtual machine |
Owner |
The virtual machine owner, in the format Domain\User |
Quota Point |
A three digit number that represents a unit by which the virtual machine quota for self-service users is calculated. Quota points are assigned to the templates that self-service users use to create their virtual machines. |
Start Action |
The behavior of the virtual machine when the virtualization service starts. The valid values are: Never Auto Turn On, Always Auto Turn On, or Turn On VM If Running When VS Stopped. |
Stop Action |
The behavior of the virtual machine when the virtualization service stops. The valid values are: Save, Turn Off, or Shut Down Guest OS. |
Tag |
An alphanumeric value of your choice used to locate related virtual machines |
VM Name |
The name of the virtual machine |
Update VM Published Data
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
Accessibility |
Public or Internal |
Added Time |
The date and time that the virtual machine was added in the format mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss AM or PM |
Backup Enabled |
True or False |
Boot Order |
The order of devices that the virtual machine on a Hyper-V host uses to start up. The valid values are: CD, IDE Hard Drive, PXE Boot, or Floppy |
Checkpoint Location |
The full path of the checkpoint for the virtual machine, in the format C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V |
Computer Name |
The name of the virtual machine |
Cost Center |
An alphanumeric value for the Self-Service Portal |
CPU Count |
The number of CPUs on the virtual machine |
CPU Max (%) |
A two-digit percent value that represents the upper bound for CPU usage while the virtual machine is running |
CPU Reserve (%) |
A two-digit percent value that represents the CPU resources that are set aside for the host operating system to use |
CPU Type |
The type of CPU for the virtual machine |
CPU Utilization (%) |
Two-digit percent value that represents the CPU utilization threshold that will trigger a monitor for the virtual machine |
Creation Source |
The name of the source that was used to create the virtual machine; for example, the name of another virtual machine, a VHD name, or Unknown. |
Creation Time |
The date and time that the virtual machine was created in the format mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss AM or PM |
Custom Priority |
A two-digit value to describe the priority of the virtual machine |
Custom Properties |
Up to 10 custom values that can be used to identify, track, and sort virtual machines. The values are published in one list. |
Data Exchange Enabled |
True or False |
Delay Start (s) |
The number of seconds to wait after the virtualization service starts before automatically starting the virtual machine |
Description |
Alphanumeric text to describe the virtual machine |
Disk I/O (IOPS) |
The disk I/O performance, measured by the number of I/O operations per second [IOPS] that can be performed with acceptable latency |
Enable Backup |
True or False |
Enable Data Exchange |
True or False |
Enable Heartbeat |
True or False |
Enable Operating System Shutdown |
True or False |
Enable Time Synchronization |
True or False |
Enabled |
True or False. If False, the virtual machine cannot be started. |
Expected CPU Utilization |
A two-digit percent value that represents the average CPU usage for the virtual machine |
Failed Job ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the most recent failed job |
Has Pass-through Disk |
True or False |
Has VM Additions |
True or False. If True, the virtual machine has additional software installed on the Guest Operating System to assist with virtualization, also known as virtual machine Guest Services. |
Heartbeat Enabled |
True or False |
Host Group Path |
The path of the virtual machine under its Host Group, in the format All Hosts\virtual machine Name |
Host ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the Host Computer |
Host Type |
VMHost |
Install Virtualization Guest Services |
True or False |
Is Highly Available |
True or False |
Is Tag Empty |
True or False |
Is Undergoing Live Migration |
True or False |
Last Restored VM Checkpoint |
The name of the most recently restored virtual machine Checkpoint |
Library Group |
The name of the Library Group |
Library Server |
The name of the Library Server |
Limit CPU Functionality |
True or False. Virtual Machine Manager uses the setting to determine whether the CPU should be put into a compatibility mode for virtual machines running Windows NT. |
Location |
The virtual machine location in the format C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V |
Marked As Template |
True or False |
Memory (MB) |
The total amount of memory on the host that is assigned to the virtual machine in MB |
Modified Time |
The date and time that the virtual machine was modified in the format mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss AM or PM |
Most Recent Task |
The name of the most recent task for the virtual machine, for example, Start virtual machine |
Network Utilization |
A two-digit network utilization value |
NumLock Enabled |
True or False |
Operating System |
The type of operating system for the virtual machine |
Operating System Shutdown Enabled |
True or False |
Owner |
The virtual machine owner, in the format Domain\User |
Owner SID |
The unique identifier of the owner of the virtual machine in the format S-1-5-21-GUID |
Pass-through Disk |
A list of names of pass-through disks |
Quota Point |
A three digit number for the virtual machine that represents a unit by which the virtual machine quota for self-service users is calculated |
Self Service User Role |
The User Role that allows users to create virtual machines using templates |
Share SCSI Bus |
True or False |
Source Object Type |
The type of the source object that was used to create the virtual machine; for example, virtual machine, Template, or VHD |
Start Action |
The behavior of the virtual machine when the virtualization service starts. The valid values are: Never Auto Turn On, Always Auto Turn On, or Turn On VM If Running When VS Stopped. |
Status |
The status of the virtual machine. Valid values are: Running, Paused, PowerOff, or Missing. |
Stop Action |
The behavior of the virtual machine when the virtualization service stops. The valid values are: Save, Turn Off, or Shut Down Guest OS. |
Tag |
An alphanumeric value used to locate related virtual machines |
Tiered Perf Data |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the ordered performance data |
Time Synchronization Enabled |
True or False |
Total Size |
The total size of the virtual machine, including all disks and configuration files |
Undo Disks Enabled |
True or False. If True, the virtual machine can undo any changes when shutting down. |
Unsupported Reason |
If an error occurs during cloning, this message text describes the reason that the attempted action is not supported |
Use Hardware Assisted Virtualization |
True or False |
User Role ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the user role that allows users to create virtual machines |
Virtual COM Ports |
A list of the names of the Virtual COM Ports. Always COM1 or COM2. |
Virtual DVD Drives |
A list of the names of Virtual DVD Drives |
Virtual Disk Drives |
A list of the names of Virtual Disk Drives |
Virtual Floppy Drive |
A list of the names of Virtual Floppy Drives |
Virtual Hard Disks |
A list of the names of Virtual Hard Disks |
Virtualization Platform |
The virtualization platform. Valid values are: HyperV, VMWareESX, or Unknown. |
Virtual Network Adapters |
A list of the names of Virtual Network Adapters |
Virtual SCSI Adapters |
A list of the names of Virtual SCSI Adapters |
VMC Path |
The virtual machine Configuration file path, in the format C:\VMM\DRDemo-DataTier\VirtualMachines\abc12345-d6ef-78g9-h0ij-1kl2-34m56n7890p12.xml |
VM Host |
The full computer name of the Host computer for Virtual Machine Manager |
VM Name |
The name of the virtual machine |
VM ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the virtual machine |
VM Platform ID |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the virtual machine inside the platform, for example, Hyper-V, VMware, or Virtual Server |
Configuring the Update VM Activity
To configure the Update VM Properties activity
From the Activities window, drag an Update VM activity to the active runbook window. Double-click the Update VM activity icon.
Click the Properties tab.
In the Configuration section, click the ellipsis button (...), and select the Name of the Virtual Machine Manager computer that you want to connect to with this activity. Click OK. The property required to define this activity is displayed in the Properties section.
In the Properties section, select the VM ID of the virtual machine that you want to update, or to automatically populate the VM ID from the data published by any previous activity in the workflow, right-click the property box, point to Subscribe, and then click Published data. Click the VM ID published data element, and then click OK.
For a list of the data elements published by each activity, see the Published Data tables in the activity topic. For information about the Common Published Data items, see Published Data in the System Center Orchestrator 2012 Runbook Guide.
To use additional properties to define the object, click Optional Properties. In the Add/Remove Property dialog box, select the properties you want to apply to this object from the Available list, and then click the right arrow button (>>). The properties appear in the Selected list. To remove a property from the Selected list, click the property, and then click the left arrow button (<<). Click OK. Assign values to the properties or Subscribe to Published data from any previous activity in the workflow, and then click OK.
For information about the settings on the General and Run Behavior tabs, see Common Configuration Instructions for all Activities.
Click Finish.
Other VM Activities
The Integration Pack for System Center Virtual Machine Manager contains the following additional VM activities: