---
title: "Installing a NIOS Virtual Appliance"
canonical: "https://docs.infoblox.com/space/nutanix/35947432/Installing%20a%20NIOS%20Virtual%20Appliance"
format: markdown
---
After uploading the NIOS virtual image, you must create a VM in the Prism web console. To create a VM, complete the following steps: 

1. Log in to the Prism web console.
2. Click **Home** > **VM** > **Create VM**. The *Create VM* dialog box appears.
3. Complete the following. Based on the supported vNIOS model that you are installing, see the *[vNIOS for Nutanix AHV X6 Series](https://docs.infoblox.com/space/vniosspec/1488453717/vNIOS+for+Nutanix+AHV+X6+series)* and *[vNIOS for Nutanix AHV X5 Series](https://docs.infoblox.com/space/vniosspec/1488650376/vNIOS+for+Nutanix+AHV+X5+Series)* topics to know the specifications for **Number of cores per vCPU** and **Memory** fields.
  - **Name**: Enter a name for the VM.
  - **Description**: Enter a description for the VM.
  - **Timezone**: Enter a local time zone at which the VM must operate.  
When setting up the NIOS virtual appliance, do not select the **Use this VM as an agent VM** option.
  - <span style="color: #22272e">**vCPU(s)**</span><span style="color: #22272e">: Enter the number of virtual CPUs to allocate to this VM as 1. </span>
  - <span style="color: #22272e">**Number of Cores per vCPU**</span><span style="color: #22272e">: Enter the number of cores for the CPU.</span>
  - <span style="color: #22272e">**Memory**</span><span style="color: #22272e">: Enter the amount of memory (in MiBs) to allocate to this VM.</span>
  - **Boot Configuration**: Select **Legacy BIOS** to boot the VM with legacy BIOS firmware.
  - **Disks**: Remove the **CD-ROM** disk by clicking the **X** button, and then click **Add New Disk** to attach a new disk to the VM.  
<span style="color: #22272e">In the </span><span style="color: #22272e">*Add Disk*</span><span style="color: #22272e"> dialog box, complete the following:</span>
    - <span style="color: #22272e">From the </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Type**</span><span style="color: #22272e"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Disk**</span><span style="color: #22272e">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #22272e">From the </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Operation**</span><span style="color: #22272e"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Clone from Image Service**</span><span style="color: #22272e">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #22272e">From the </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Bus Type**</span><span style="color: #22272e"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #22272e">**SCSI**</span><span style="color: #22272e">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #22272e">From the </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Image**</span><span style="color: #22272e"> drop-down list, select the NIOS virtual image that you uploaded in prior steps. For more information, see </span><span style="color: #22272e">*[Uploading the NIOS Virtual Image on Nutanix AHV](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/nutanix/pages/35386475)*</span><span style="color: #22272e">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">Click </span><span style="color: #000000">**Add**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
  - <span style="color: #000000">If you are setting up a reporting virtual appliance, you must add an additional disk. To add, click </span><span style="color: #000000">**Add New Disk**</span><span style="color: #000000"> and </span><span style="color: #22272e">complete the following </span><span style="color: #000000">in the</span><span style="color: #22272e"> </span><span style="color: #22272e">*Add Disk*</span><span style="color: #22272e"> dialog box</span><span style="color: #000000">:</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">From the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Type**</span><span style="color: #000000"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #000000">**Disk**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">From the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Operation**</span><span style="color: #000000"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #000000">**Allocate on Storage Container**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #22272e">From the </span><span style="color: #22272e">**Bus Type**</span><span style="color: #22272e"> drop-down list, select </span><span style="color: #22272e">**SCSI**</span><span style="color: #22272e">.</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">From the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Storage Container**</span><span style="color: #000000"> drop-down list, select the container.</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">In the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Size (GB)**</span><span style="color: #000000"> field, specify the disk size you want to allocate to the additional disk.</span>
    - <span style="color: #000000">Click </span><span style="color: #000000">**Add**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
4. <span style="color: #000000">Click the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Add New NIC**</span><span style="color: #000000"> button to create a NIC for the VM. You can add a maximum of four network interfaces. Complete the following steps:</span>  
<span style="color: #000000">*Note*</span><span style="color: #000000">: You must add at least two NICs and they must be MGMT and LAN1 interfaces. Ensure that you add the NICs in the order: MGMT, LAN1, HA, and LAN2.</span>
  1. <span style="color: #000000">From the </span><span style="color: #000000">**VLAN Name**</span><span style="color: #000000"> drop-down list, select the required VLAN name.</span>
  2. <span style="color: #000000">Ensure that the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Network Connection State**</span><span style="color: #000000"> is </span><span style="color: #000000">**Connected**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
  3. <span style="color: #000000">Click </span><span style="color: #000000">**Add**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>
5. <span style="color: #000000">(Optional) Enable </span><span style="color: #000000">**Custom Script**</span><span style="color: #000000"> if you want to customize the VM by running a cloud-init script to enable services such as elastic scaling.</span>  
For information about supported cloud-init settings, see *[cloud-init Configuration in vNIOS for Nutanix AHV](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/nutanix/pages/1928593446)*.
6. <span style="color: #000000">Click </span><span style="color: #000000">**Save**</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>  
<span style="color: #000000">*Note*</span><span style="color: #000000">: Do not power on the VM until the commands specified in the later steps are run. If the specified order is not followed, creation of the VM will not be successful.</span>
7. <span style="color: #000000">Start a command prompt and run the </span>the following commands from the Nutanix controller VM:
  1. Run the `acli vm.list` command and note the VM name and VM UUID.
  2. For the VM to function properly, turn off the VM branding using the following command:  
`acli vm.update <VM_uuid> disable_branding=true`
8. <span style="color: #000000">If you have enabled custom script for services such as elastic scaling, create a serial port by using the following command:</span>  
`acli vm.serial_port_create <VM_name> index=0 type=kServer`  
<span style="color: #000000">Note that </span>`<VM_name>`<span style="color: #000000"> is the VM name that you noted after running the </span>`acli vm.list`<span style="color: #000000"> command.</span>
9. <span style="color: #000000">In the Prism web console, select the new VM in the </span><span style="color: #000000">*VM*</span><span style="color: #000000"> table, and then click the </span><span style="color: #000000">**Power On**</span><span style="color: #000000"> button to start the VM. The system may not be immediately available. </span>Wait for sometime for the VM to finish booting.

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ - <span style="color: #000000">As you install and start each VM, use the</span>` show hwid`<span style="color: #000000"> command to obtain the hardware ID for the new VM. Note the hardware ID for each VM.</span>
> ⚠️ - <span style="color: #000000">NIOS virtual appliances will not operate without a license. To ensure that the VMs operate until you install the permanent license keys, run the </span>`set temp_license`<span style="color: #000000"> command in the NIOS command line for any VM. For information, see the </span>*Managing Licenses*<span style="color: #000000"> section in the </span><span style="color: #000000">*[Infoblox NIOS Documentation](https://docs.infoblox.com/space/NIOS/35400616/NIOS)*</span><span style="color: #000000">.</span>

<span style="color: #000000">For detailed information about the procedure in this section, see the Nutanix documentation at</span> *[https://portal.nutanix.com/](https://portal.nutanix.com/)*.