Adding and Managing VM Devices

Using the Create Virtual Machine wizard configures at least one disk and NIC, and optionally a CD-ROM and display as part of the process, but you can add more devices to suit your use case. Go to Virtual Machines, then click anywhere on a VM entry to expand it and show the options for the VM.

The VM options change when the VM is running.

Click device_hub Devices to open the Devices screen for that VM. Click the more_vert icon at the right of each listed device to see device options.

The devices for the VM display as a list.

Device notes:

• A virtual machine attempts to boot from devices according to the Device Order, starting with 1000, then ascending.
• A CD-ROM device allows booting a VM from a CD-ROM image like an installation CD. The CD image must be available in the system storage.
• A Display device provides remote clients with a way to connect to VM display sessions.

Before adding, editing, or deleting a VM device, stop the VM if it is running. Click the Running toggle to stop a VM, or click on the VM row and use the Stop button. Clicking the Running toggle for a stopped VM restarts it, or you can click on the VM row to expand it, and then click on the Restart button.

To access the devices for a VM, click on the VM row on the Virtual Machines screen to expand the VM, then click on Devices to open the Devices screen showing the devices for the selected VM.

Click Add to create a new device> To edit an existing device, click on the more_vert at the right of each device row, click Edit to open the Edit Device screen. Click Delete to open a delete confirmation dialog. t

After selecting the VM row on the Virtual Machines list and clicking on Devices to open the Devices screen, the devices configured for that selected VM show. Devices added when you create the VM show by default. You can add additional or edit existing devices.

Click on the more_vert at the right of the device row. Options for each device show. A disk device shows four options: Edit, Delete, Details, and Export to Image. Other device types do not include the export option.

Click Edit* to open the Edit Device screen. The screen settings change based on the device type selected. For example, when editing a disk (example provided below), you can change the type of virtual hard disk, the storage volume to use, or change the boot order for the device.

Stop the VM on the Virtual Machines screen, click on Devices to open the Devices screen for that VM, and then click Edit. The procedure below describes editing a disk device. Steps below are optional. Change them based on your use case.

1. (Optional) Select the zvol created when setting up the VM on the Zvol dropdown list. The field populates with the path to the selected zvol.
2. (Optional) Select the type of hard disk emulation from the Mode dropdown list. The options are AHCI and VirtIO. Select AHCI for better software compatibility, or VirtIO for better performance if the guest OS installed in the VM has support for VirtIO disk devices.
3. (Optional) Specify the disk sector size in bytes in Disk Sector Size. Leave set to Default if you want to leave the sector size unset and use the ZFS volume value. Select either 512 or 4096 byte values from the dropdown list to specify a logical and physical sector size.
4. (Optional) Enter a number that reflects the boot order or priority level in Device Order. Setting this value to 1000 puts the disk device in the boot order first position. When first installing or changing an OS added to the CD-ROM device, the CD-ROM is assigned 1000 to boot up from and install an OS. After installing the OS, change the boot order for the CD-ROM to a lower boot order so you don’t keep booting into an installer and to run the OS in the VM. The lower the number, the higher the priority in the boot sequence.
5. Click Save.
6. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen to return to the Virtual Machines screen. Click on the VM to expand it and restart it.

Deleting a device removes it from the list of available devices for the selected VM.

To delete a device:

1. Stop the VM if it is running, then click Devices to open the Devices screen showing the devices for the selected VM.

2. Click on the more_vert icon to the right of the device and then Delete to open the delete confirmation dialog for that display device. The dialog shows the name or identifier for the selected device. The example below shows undefined 8 as the name.

   

3. Select Force Delete to force the system to delete the device (for example, device is a CD-ROM). When deleting a disk, it forces the system to delete the zvol even if other devices or services are using it or are affiliated with the zvol device.

4. Click Delete Device.

Changing the device order moves the device up or down in the boot order when the VM or system is restarted. A VM attempts to boot from devices according to the Device Order, starting with 1000, then ascending.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click on the more_vert at the right of the device row, then click on Edit to open the Edit Device screen.
2. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order. The lower the number, the higher the device is in the boot sequence. 1000 is the first position in the boot order.
3. Click Save.
4. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add and select CD-ROM on the Device Type dropdown list.

   

2. Enter or browse to select the mount path to the CD-ROM device. Click on the to the left of /mnt to expand or collapse the directory tree.

3. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order.

4. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order. The lower the number, the higher the device is in the boot sequence.

5. Click Save.

6. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add to open the Add Device screen.

2. Select NIC on the Device Type dropdown list to show the network interface card settings.

   

3. Select the adapter type from the Adapter Type dropdown list. Choose Intel e82585 (e1000) for maximum compatibility with most operating systems. If the guest OS supports VirtIO paravirtualized network drivers, choose VirtIO for better performance.

4. Click Generate to have TrueNAS populate MAC Address with a new random MAC address to replace the default random address, or enter your own custom address.

5. Select a physical interface on your TrueNAS system from the NIC To Attach dropdown list.

6. (Optional) Select Trust Guest Filters to allow the virtual server to change its MAC address and join multicast groups. This is required for the IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP).

   Setting this attribute has security risks because it allows the virtual server to change its MAC address and receive all frames delivered to this address. Determine your network setup needs before setting this attribute.

7. Click Save.

8. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add and select Disk from the Device Type dropdown list.

   

2. Select the path to the zvol created when setting up the VM on the Zvol dropdown list.

3. Select the hard disk emulation type from the Mode dropdown list. Select AHCI for better software compatibility, or VirtIO for better performance if the guest OS installed in the VM supports VirtIO disk devices.

4. Select the sector size in bytes in Disk Sector Size. Leave set to Default or select either 512 or 4096 from the dropdown list. Default uses the ZFS volume values.

5. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order. The lower the number, the higher the device is in the boot sequence.

6. Click Save.

7. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

You can use this function to create a VM disk image that you can then specify later as a zvol for use by a VM.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click on the more_vert icon to the right of the disk device and then click Export to Image to open the Export Disk to Image window.

   

2. Browse to select the dataset/directory using the file browser, click on the dataset/directory to select it, and populate the mount path field.

3. Select the image format from the Image Format dropdown list. Selecting the format adds the extension to the image name in Image Name.

4. Click Export. The disk is saved as an image in the location specified in Destination Directory.

Depending upon the type of device installed in your system, you might see a warning: PCI device does not have a reset mechanism defined. You may experience inconsistent or degraded behavior when starting or stopping the VM. Determine if you want to proceed with this action in such an instance.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add and select PCI Passthrough Device from the Device Type dropdown list.

2. Enter a value in PCI Passthrough Device using the format of bus#/slot#/fcn#.

   

3. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order. The lower the number, the higher the device is in the boot sequence.

4. Click Save.

5. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add and select USB Passthrough Device from the Device Type dropdown list to configure the USB passthrough device.

   

2. Select the Controller Type from the dropdown list.

3. Select the hub controller type from the Device dropdown list. If the type is not listed, select Specify custom, then enter the Vendor ID and Product ID.

4. Enter a new number that represents where in the boot sequence you want to place this device in Device Order. The lower the number, the higher the device is in the boot sequence.

5. Click Save.

6. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.

Display devices have a 60-second inactivity timeout. If the VM display session appears unresponsive, try refreshing the browser tab.

After stopping the VM and clicking Devices to open the Devices screen:

1. Click Add and select Display from the Device Type dropdown list to configure a new display device.

   

2. Select the Display Device option from the dropdown list. TrueNAS allows a VM to have two different display devices: a VNC display device added through the VM creation wizard if the Enable Display (VNC) option is selected, and a second SPICE display device added to the VM using the Add Device screen with Device Type set to display.

   If you created the VM without the display, the Display Type dropdown list shows the VNC and SPICE options. Select the display type on the dropdown list. (VNC is recommended). To add a second display device, repeat this procedure and select SPICE (the only option for the second display device).

3. Enter a fixed port number in Port. To allow TrueNAS to assign the port after restarting the VM, set the value to zero (leave the field empty).

4. Specify the display session settings: a. Select the screen resolution to use for the display from the Resolution dropdown. b. Select an IP address for the display device to use in Bind. The default is 0.0.0.0. c. Enter a unique password for the display device to securely access the VM.

5. Select Web Interface to allow access to the VNC web interface.

6. Click Save.

7. Click on the Virtual Machines breadcrumb at the top of the screen, and restart the VM.