How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Teams are a cool feature in VMware Workstation. With teams you can configure a whole virtual lab on one host computer that allows you to power on all virtual machines within the team.

For example, if you configure a clustered environment, you can call the team Windows Cluster and add all the virtual machines associated with the cluster.

Today we’ll take a look at what makes a team different from a regular VM, how to create a team and add VMs to the team, what are the different team settings and how to use them to your advantage, and how to work with the team console.

Figure 1 below shows you an example of a team in the VMware Control Center (click on the image to see a full view).

Figure 1: A team in the VMware Control Center

Team vs VM

What makes a team different from a regular virtual machine is the team’s ability to communicate within a private network called a LAN segment.

LAN segments are invisible to the host computer’s network. With LAN segments you can create a DMZ or proxy server to bridge the team members to the outside network, allow specific requirements and settings to certain virtual machines within the newly configured team, and control the traffic between the host and team virtual machines.

Figure 2 shows an example of a LAN segment.

Figure 2: Example of a LAN Segment

Now that we have given you a brief overview, let’s proceed with how to create a Team and add virtual machines to the team.

How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Creating a team in VMware Workstation can be done by opening VMware Workstation from the Start menu. You can create a new team by going to the Home Tab in the VMware Control Center and choosing the New Team button or by right-clicking on the Favorites window and choosing New | Team, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

After you choose to create a new team, the New Team wizard window appears to walk you through the creation of a new team. On the Name the Team window (see Figure 4), enter the team name and location of a new team. You can browse to a location or type the location.

Figure 4: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

The Add Virtual Machines to the Team window (see Figure 5) allows you to add virtual machines you have already created to the team, or you can choose to add virtual machines later if you have not created them yet. For purposes of this exercise, we will choose to add virtual machines. The next window (see Figure 6) allows you to add a new or existing virtual machine in addition to a new clone of a virtual machine.

Figure 5: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Figure 6: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

The Add LAN Segments to the Team window (see Figure 7) allows you to add a LAN segment now or at a later time. Let’s add a LAN segment now by choosing Yes. Click Add to add the number of LAN segments that are applicable to the individual needs of your team, as shown in Figure 8. The final phase of the wizard allows you to review your options. Click Finish to create your new team.  The new team is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 7: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Figure 8: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Figure 9: How to Create a Team in VMware Workstation

Working with the Team Settings

Once you have a team created, you can edit the team setting by highlighting your team and clicking the Edit Team Settings link in the VMware Control Center. A Team Settings window appears with the following four tabs:

• Connections
• Virtual Machines
• LAN Segments
• Options

Working with the Team Settings: Connections

The Connections tab (see Figure 10) allows you to view and add a network adapter to any virtual machine within your team. This is helpful for any custom network configuration you might make.

Figure 10: Working with the Team Settings

Working with the Team Settings: Virtual Machines

The Virtual Machines tab (see Figure 11) allows you to add a new virtual machine, an existing virtual machine, or a clone of a virtual machine to your team. When you click Add | New virtual machine, the Welcome to the New Virtual Machine wizard appears. When you click Add | Existing virtual machine, you can browse to an existing virtual machine and add it to your team.  Finally, Add | New clone of virtual machine allows you to create a linked or full clone of an existing virtual machine on your network.

Figure 11: Working with the Team Settings

Also important  is the Startup Details feature, which allows you to configure the delay before each virtual machine in the team powers on. You can specify the number of seconds before each virtual machine starts.

Additionally, you can specify  the order in which the team virtual machines will start. For example, you might have a domain controller that needs to be running prior to other virtual machines starting. Using the up and down arrows, you  make sure the domain controller is at the top of the virtual machine list. The order and delay time is very helpful when you have multitier applications that have many dependencies.

Working with the Team Settings: LAN Segments

The LAN Segments tab (see Figure 12) allows you to configure a LAN segment and specify bandwidth and packet loss. This can be very helpful when you are trying to simulate certain environments. You have the ability to configure the following settings:

• Name: Enter the name of the LAN segment you are creating. For example, if you are creating a client LAN segment with a dialup modem, call it Modem or Client Modem.
• Bandwidth: You can choose the appropriate bandwidth from the drop-down menu as shown in Figure 10.18.
• KBPS: You can determine the numeric throughput limit on this field. When you choose the applicable bandwidth, it populates the KPBS, which you can modify.
• Packet Loss: This field allows you to specify any percentage of packet loss for testing. You can modify this field as applicable to your specific testing scenario.

Figure 12: Working with the Team Settings

Working with the Team Settings: Options

The Options tab allows you to change the name of the team you created.

VMware Workstation Team Console

The Team Console (see Figure 13) consists of three main areas:

• Favorites window,
• inactive virtual machines area,
• and active virtual machines area.

Additionally, you have a grab bar that allows you to further size your active/inactive windows.  When working with teams, you do not see the team console until you power on the team. Once a team is powered on, you can toggle between the VMware Control Center and the team console by selecting View | Current View.

Figure 13: VMware Workstation Team Console

VMware Workstation Team Console: Active Virtual Machine

The active virtual machine is the largest machine in the team console. This virtual machine is located at the bottom of the window and is the only virtual machine that you can work with.

VMware Workstation Team Console: Inactive Virtual Machines

The inactive virtual machines are the row of machines in the team console that appear at the top. To change which virtual machine is active, simply click on one of the smaller inactive virtual machines to make it become active. You can also use the Team | Switch to (virtual machine) to perform the same functionality.

You now have all the information necessary to take off running with teams. You can reinforce these skills by creating many multitier environments and simulating different types of bandwidth and packet loss.

More Related Posts

1. New Training Release: VMware Server Training
2. VMware — The Virtual Machine in Action
3. How to Use VMware’s Virtual Disk Manager
4. How to Create a New Virtual Machine with Hyper-V
5. VMware Server: Creating a Virtual Machine