By default, vCenter Server is not configured to send email notifications. Set the system SMTP server and sender account to receive an email when the datastore usage alarm is triggered.
Procedure
1 Select the vCenter Server system My vCenter Server 5.1 in the navigator.
2 Click the Manage tab, and click Settings.
3 Click Edit, and click Mail.
4 In the Mail server text field, type the IP address of your SMTP sever.
5 In the Mail sender text field, type notifications@my_company.com.
Click OK.
Creating a vCenter alert for newly created VM's
If your like me and you want to know when a VM is created so as to try and curb virtual server sprawl then you should setup a custom alert to let you know when a new VM is created.VCenter actually already has the alerts pre-canned for you in either ESXi 4.1 or 5.
Follow these steps:
Create a new alarm
General settings should be monitor virtual machines
Check radio button for Monitor for specific events
On the triggers tab
Add event for Deploying VM
Add event for Creating VM
On the Actions Tab
Send a notification email
Enter email address
Alert once for green to yellow
Alert once for yellow to green
