How to register or add a Virtual Machine (VM) to the vSphere Inventory in vCenter Server
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Article ID: 335224
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Updated On:
Products
VMware vCenter ServerVMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
This article provides steps to register or add a VM to vCenter inventory or in an ESXi host.
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x VMware vCenter Server 7.x VMware vCenter ESXi 8.x VMware vCenter Server 8.x
Resolution
Virtual Machine (VM) can be added to the vSphere Inventory in vCenter Server/ Virtual Center or in an ESX/ESXi from GUI or command line of the ESX/ ESXi host.
To register a virtual machine in vCenter Server:
Log in to vSphere Web Client (Flex/Flash or HTML5).
Click on the desired host.
Click the Datastores tab
Click on the appropriate datastore
Click on the Files tab
Locate the correct directory for the VM and double-click it to open the folder
Locate the virtual machine.vmx file and click on it to highlight it.
Click the "Register VM" button
If using the Flex/Flash client, right-click the VMX file and then select "Register VM"
Continue to follow the wizard to add the virtual machine.
To register a virtual machine from a command line in an ESXi host:
A virtual machine should be registered on one ESX host at a time.
If an ESX host is being managed by vCenter Server, perform any virtual machine registration through vCenter Server. Note: Bypassing vCenter Server to register a virtual machine may cause a mismatch between the host and the vCenter Server Inventory and may cause unexpected results.