about_VMM_2012
Updated: January 15, 2013
Applies To: System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager
about_VMM_2012
TOPIC
about_VMM_2012
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Provides an overview of new features included in Virtual Machine Manager
(VMM) for System Center 2012 and the VMM command-line interface.
LONG DESCRIPTION
VMM is a management solution for the virtualized datacenter, enabling you
to configure and manage your virtual machine hosts, networking, and
storage resources to create and deploy virtual machines and services to
private clouds or host groups that you have created.
Many enhancements have been made to the VMM command line interface in VMM
for System Center 2012, such as the addition of nearly 300 cmdlets. Also, a
persistent connection can be made to the VMM management server, eliminating
the need to connect to the VMM management server with each new VMM command
shell session.
The VMM for System Center 2012 cmdlets are delivered in a module. You can
open the VMM command shell from the Start menu, or you can open a Windows
PowerShell session and import the VMM module. To add the VMM module to a
Windows PowerShell session, type:
Import-Module -Name "virtualmachinemanager"
Using the VMM Command Shell
Because all tasks in VMM are performed by cmdlets, any task that you can
perform by using the VMM console can also be performed by using the VMM
command shell or by creating a Windows PowerShell script.
All cmdlets have new names for this version. Each cmdlet noun is
preceded with an "SC". This includes cmdlets that were in previous
versions of VMM. For example, in VMM 2008, you would have used the cmdlet
Get-VMHost to retrieve a VMM host object. In VMM for System Center 2012,
this cmdlet is now named Get-SCVMHost. In addition, several parameters
that existed in previous versions of VMM have been renamed.
For more information about cmdlet and parameter renaming, see
about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_and_Parameter_Name_Mapping.
To preserve a high level of backward compatibility functionality with
the new naming convention, aliases have been added so that when you call
a cmdlet by its previous name, the new version of the cmdlet runs.
However, we strongly recommend that you review all cmdlets in order to
discover any enhanced functionality introduced with expanded parameter
sets. Additionally, some parameters have been deprecated in this release.
For more information about backward compatibility, see
about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_Backward_Compatibility.
Writing Scripts for VMM
In previous versions of VMM, a View Script button was included on the
Summary page of each wizard in the VMM console. In VMM for System Center
2012, this has been expanded so that a View Script button is now also
included on property pages.
When you click View Script, Notepad opens and displays the commands
that will run when you complete the wizard or update the properties on
an object. You can modify the commands as necessary, such as replace a
an ID with a name, or a where clause to find a like name, and then save
the file with a .ps1 extension. You can save and run your script from
a local drive, or you can save your script to and run it from the VMM
library. For more information about saving and running scripts from
the VMM library, see about_VMM_2012_Library.
After you write and save a script, you can run the script from the
following locations:
- From the VMM command shell, navigate to the directory in which the
script resides, and then type .\VMMscript.ps1, where VMMscript is the
name of the script that you want to run. For more information about
how to write and run Windows PowerShell scripts from the command line,
in the VMM command shell, type: "Get-Help about_Scripts".
- From the VMM console, navigate to the Library workspace, select the
script, and then on the PowerShell tab, in the Actions group, click
Run.
Before you run a script, use the Set-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet to ensure
that you have enabled scripts to run.
For more information about using the VMM command shell and writing
scripts for VMM, see "Scripting in VMM for System Center 2012" in the
TechNet Library at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=212247.
Host Platforms
VMM has added support for Citrix XenServer in addition to Hyper-V and
VMware ESX. Individual cmdlets that take actions on hosts include
information about how the functionality or parameter input differs for
each platform.
For more information about host platforms, see
about_VMM_2012_Host_Platforms.
Library
You can add, configure, and manage library servers, library shares,
and library resources (such as virtual hard disks, templates, and
profiles) from the VMM command shell. In VMM for System Center 2012,
you can also manage and configure update baselines.
For more information about the VMM library, see about_VMM_2012_Library.
Role-Based Security
VMM grants users permissions to perform actions on a scoped set of
objects based on user roles. VMM for System Center 2012 provides three
user role profiles:
- Delegated Administrator
- Read-Only Administrator
- Self-Service User
You can create and modify user roles by using the VMM command shell.
For more information about role-based security, see
about_VMM_2012_Role_Based_Security.
Run As Accounts
VMM for System Center 2012 adds support for Run As accounts. A Run As
account is a named set of stored credentials that you can provide
instead of manually entering a user name and password in order to run
a process. You can get a Run As account from the command line or
within a script and provide the Run As account to a cmdlet that
accepts Run As accounts for credentials.
For more information about Run As accounts,
see about_VMM_2012_Run_As_Accounts.
Connecting to the VMM management server
You can connect to a VMM management server in the VMM command shell
by using the Get-SCVMMServer cmdlet. Additionally, you can set a
persistent connection to a VMM management server so that there is no
need to connect to a VMM management server from each new VMM command
shell session.
For more information about connecting to the VMM management server,
see about_VMM_2012_Connecting_to_the_VMM_Server.
Virtual Networking
VMM for System Center 2012 introduces several enhancements that enable
administrators to efficiently provision network resources for a
virtualized environment. Cmdlets have been added to VMM that allow
administrators to do the following:
- Create and define logical networks
- Create static IP address pools and MAC address pools
- Assign static IP addresses and MAC addresses
- Integrate load balancers
For more information about the network enhancements in VMM for System
Center 2012, see about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking
SEE ALSO
about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_and_Parameter_Name_Mapping
about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_Backward_Compatibility
about_VMM_2012_Connecting_to_the_VMM_Server
about_VMM_2012_Host_Platforms
about_VMM_2012_Library
about_VMM_2012_Role_Based_Security
about_VMM_2012_Run_As_Accounts
about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking