Specifications

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is easy to lose track of analogous assets in a virtual data center. The VMM library serves as a centrally
managed repository for templates and other building-block resources, as shown in Figure 70. This
service helps keep important virtual assets from being duplicated, misfiled, or even deleted.
Figure 70. The library stores virtual data center assets , including ISO images, scripts, and VHDs
Each asset is tagged with basic metadata, such as hard drive size and operating system version, so
administrators can easily find and organize files. In addition, the library provides 10 free-form metadata
fields, which allow organizations to apply their own resource-management schemes to the library.
Assets stored in the library include:
 Software images – IT administrators use these disk images as an alternative to physical media for
software distribution. With these disk images, administrators can distribute software to remote sites using
a WAN instead of dealing with physical media.
 Post-deployment customization scripts – After virtual machines are set up, scripts can be deployed to
ensure updated security settings or to take care of other administrator functions.
 Physical hardware settings – With common pre-set hardware settings readily available, IT
administrators have control similar to a physical environment.
For geographically dispersed operations, distributed VMM library servers facilitate the quick
transmission of assets to physical host servers at the edge of the organization, enabling rapid creation
and deployment of virtual machines in branch offices. In addition, the provisioning service for VMM