Service VMs
What are the Service VMs?
The Service VMs section displays all service VMs in the system.
They facilitate efficient workflows for updating and maintaining virtual machines. These are virtual machines with minimal restrictions, allowing internet access but no access to encrypted drives or the vault.
Service VMs cannot be used for research and are only available for maintenance by administrators. They are exclusive to this section and do not exist elsewhere in the system.
Restarting the service VM controller or shutting down the service VM may disrupt ongoing processes. Proceed with caution.
The Active column displays a Checkmark when the service VM is powered up. If you shut down your service VM and want to power it up again, ensure you re-login before performing this action.
What Does Cloning VM Images Have in Common with Service VMs?
You can clone an existing VM image while it is running in a Service VM without interrupting the functionality of the Service VM.
This operation produces a new version of the existing VM image that can be modified while the original VM image remains in use.
This approach saves both setup time and storage space through a copy-on-write mechanism.
Scenario:
Imagine you need to update the software running on your service VMs but want to test the new updates to avoid disrupting existing workflows.
You can clone the VM image of an existing Service VM and create a new testing Service VM with the cloned VM image to test the software functionality before releasing it to production.