Adds extra management abilities to a guest VM. The bundle holds VirtIO drivers, VSS support and the Nutanix Guest Agent.
Also called NGT.
Read more: Nutanix docs
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Nutanix Guest Tools in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Volume Shadow Copy Service
A Windows service from Microsoft that makes application-consistent snapshots possible. Nutanix Guest Tools reaches it through its VSS package.
- Nutanix Guest Agent
Nutanix Guest Tools installs this service in a VM, where it holds a communication link with the CVM open.
Related terms
- CD-ROM
A drive for optical discs, either real or virtual. NGT installation requires a VM to have a vacant one on IDE or SATA, and Foundation imaging wants it listed first for BIOS booting.
- Cross-hypervisor disaster recovery
Bringing protected VMs back up on another hypervisor, from ESXi to AHV or the other way round, using replicated snapshots. Every VM involved must have NGT installed.
- HTTPS
Push installs of Nutanix Guest Tools to Windows reach TCP 5986 with WinRM over this protocol, and Pulse uses TCP 443. It is HTTP wrapped in TLS.
- IDE
A VM disk bus that is emulated. Attaching a disk of this type rules out AHV Secure Boot, and Nutanix Guest Tools needs an empty CD-ROM on IDE or SATA.
- MSI
A package format for Windows Installer. The VirtIO one, which also comes with Nutanix Guest Tools, puts or updates VirtIO on a Windows guest while it runs.
- NGT metrics
Disabled until Nutanix Support enables it, this NGT feature lets Windows Performance Monitor in a guest see CPU figures from the host.
- NGT policies
Also known as VM reboot policies, these Prism Central rules use VM categories to decide how NGT restarts. Choosing Skip restart at install or upgrade time is what brings them into effect.
- SATA
Interface for connecting disks. Nutanix ranks SSDs of this type below NVMe but above HDD, and NGT relies on a VM having a vacant CD-ROM on this bus or IDE.