Administration - ggRock
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      Virtual Machines

      Creating and Using Virtual Machines

      Table of Contents

      About

      The main use-case of the Virtual Machines functionality is to update games remotely, with no need to enable any client Machines, all from the comfort of the web browser accessible from anywhere with no special software.

      Enabling Virtual Machines

      Please make sure that you have completed the following prerequisite tasks:

      1. Enable virtualization in the ggRock server BIOS.

      2. Configure a Static IP for the ggRock server as per this manual.

      3. Power off any systems in your center, as the network connection will be interrupted whilst configuration is performed.

      Do NOT enable Virtual Machines without the three steps above performed. Enabling Virtual Machines should be instant and once the page refreshes (refresh it if it doesn’t after 5 seconds) - you should be able to Create VMs.

      These are the steps required to Enable VMs:

      Creating a Virtual Machine

      NOTE:

      Before continuing, please ensure that you have enabled virtual machines per the Enabling Virtual Machines section.

      1. Observe that the "Create VM" button is now present in the ggRock Web UI.

      2. Within the ggRock Web UI, click the "Create VM" button.

      3. The "Create Virtual Machine" dialog appears - all fields are required.

      Name

      Enter a name for this VM (internal to ggRock, this does not affect the NETBIOS name of the VM)

       

      System Image

      Set the system image this VM should boot from.

       

      Game Image

      Set the game image this VM should use.

       

      Virtual CPUs number

      Set the number of CPUs the VM should have.

       

      Boot Mode

      Set Legacy or UEFI mode depending on your needs (e.g. match the boot mode used when you created your system image)

      Drives Connection

      Utilize either "Local Drives" mode, or "Network Boot" mode depending on your preference.

       

      "Local Drives" mode is the fastest available and often exceeds 1Gbps LAN speeds.

       

      "Network Boot" mode is useful for testing/troubleshooting PXE boot operations.

       

      RAM Size

      Set the amount of RAM to dedicate to this virtual machine. This cannot be larger than allowed by the system reserved RAM setting in ggRock.

      Editing Virtual Machine Settings

       

      After initial creation of a VM, it may be necessary to adjust VM settings.

      1. Click the "Machines" tab within the ggRock Web UI.

      2. Click the overflow menu (three vertical dots) to the right of the VM you wish to modify.

      3. Click the "Settings" context menu item.

      4. Click the "VM Settings" tab at the top of the dialog.

      NOTE:

      Any changes made will take effect after a reboot of the VM.

      Controlling a Virtual Machine

      1. Access the "Machines" tab of the ggRock Web UI.

      2. Click the overflow menu (three vertical dots) to the right of the VM in the "Machines" tab, then click the "turn On" menu item to boot up the VM.

      3. Click the overflow menu (three vertical dots) to the right of the VM in the "Machines" tab again, then click the "Control the VM" context menu item to launch a connection to the VM.

      4. Observe the VM boots using the system and game image you selected previously.

      Open Virtual Machine in a new tab

      After booting a VM, you may pop it out into a new tab using the "Open in new tab" button.

      NOTE:

      The URL in the address bar when opening the VM in a new tab may be shared with anyone for 60 seconds, granting them access to the virtual machine, permitting remote access to the VM.

      Open Virtual Machine in Full-Screen Mode

       

      To open the Virtual Machine in Full Screen mode hover over the noVNC menu middle-left and initiate 3rd icon from the top:

       

      Changing Virtual Machine Screen Resolution

      You can change your Virtual Machine’s resolution simply by adjusting internal Display Settings in the VM.

      See also "Unable to change screen resolution in a VM".

      Virtual Machine RAM limit

      ggRock limits total RAM consumed by VMs running at any given time to prevent core operations disturbance. You can fully control the VM allocated RAM in Settings:

      This “allocated” space will be dynamically reallocated between RAM cache and VMs, to ensure maximum core performance at all times.

      ggLeap Licensing of Virtual Machines

      Currently each ggRock Virtual Machine will fully occupy one of your center’s ggLeap Machine licenses. We are working with ggLeap team to allow for a certain number of VMs to be enabled in your plan.