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== Host-wide Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown ==
VMware Server 2.0 provides for the host-wide configuration of startup options for virtual machines. These settings control whether all virtual machines start up automatically when the host systems boots up, the order in which the virtual machines are started, and the delay (if any) between each virtual machine starting. This, for example, allows a virtual machine hosting a database server to be brought online before a starting a web server system which might rely on the database to function.
As with other host-wide settings, virtual machine startup and shutdown settings are configured through the VI Web Access interface. To modify these settings, begin by logging into VI Web Access as a user with appropriate administrative privileges, select the host system from the ''Inventory'' panel and click on ''Edit Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown Settings'' from the command panel. This will launch the following settings dialog:
To impose a delay between starting or stopping each virtual machine, enter the required timeout durations in the ''Default Startup Delay'' and ''Default Shutdown Delay'' fields. In the case of the host shutting down, it is also possible to select the shutdown mechanism used to power off any currently running virtual machines using the ''Shutdown Action'' menu.
Since the purpose of the startup delay is to ensure that each virtual machine is fully booted before starting the next virtual machine, an interesting option is available for guest operating systems which have VMware Tools installed. Since VMware Tools are amongst the first processes to be started once a guest operating system has completed its startup process, VMware Server can be instructed to ignore any time remaining on the timeout delay if the presence of VMware Tools running on the guest is detected. In other words, if the startup delay is configured for 120 seconds and the guest actually starts up (and launches VMware Tools) in 90 seconds, VMware can immediately move on to starting the next virtual machine with out waiting unnecessarily for the remaining 30 seconds of the delay time. To activate this option, make sure that the ''Start next VM immediately if the VMware Tools start'' option is selected.
The lower section of the dialog presents the current startup order for the virtual machines contained within the host's inventory. Three categories are provided consisting of the virtual machines which are to be started in a specific order, virtual machine machines that may be started in any order, and virtual machines which are to be started manually. To move a virtual machine from one category to another, select it from the list and use the ''Move Up'' and ''Move Down'' buttons. When the virtual machine reaches the ''Specified Order'' list, the up and down arrows control the position of the virtual machine in the startup order. To remove a virtual machine from the startup order list, press the down button until it moves out of the Specified Order list and into the next category.
To modify the settings for a specific virtual machine, select it from the list and click the ''Edit'' button. The resulting dialog provides the option to override the host wide defaults and set specific startup and shutdown settings for the selected virtual machine.
