how to identify a virtual machine even if it's moved/copied?

[visual2me]

i need to track all the virtual machines in one data center for some perposes. at the beginning, i think UUID can be used to identify a virtual machine, but i find it may be changed when the virtual machine is moved or copied to another location (e.g. in the environment where vmotion is enabled).

so anyone knows how can i identify a virtual machine uniquely and consistently? any other configuration parameters can be used?

[admin]

When you VMotion the UUID stays the same and could possibly change at a reboot because the ID is generated by a combination of the host and guest.

You should also be able to use the "config.name" property of the vm.

[tmilner]

The UUID is indeed unique, even if its migrated, as long as the virtual machine is powered on. Cloned VMs have their UUIDs cloned also, and uniqueness is not tested until the second VM with the same UUID is powered up (at which point its UUID is changed to a different value).

Tom

[akutz]

That's why after you copy or move a VM in workstation or server it

will ask if you want to create a new UUID.

--

-a

"condensing fact from the vapor of nuance"

gpg pubkey: http://www.lostcreations.com/~akutz/akutz.gpg

lostcreations ca: http://www.lostcreations.com/lostcreations.com-ca.crt

[visual2me]

yeah, it seams that "config.name" can be used in single data center.

thank all of you~