change name of VDi / VM

[Gillykaboose]

Hello, I've just imported a VM on to a new computer on my network. This VM has the basic setup that I would require (programs apps etc). This VM would need to "talk" to the other VM on the network. Thinking that they should not be named the same (identification could become a nightmare) how does one go about the changing the name of the VM / vdi that has been imported without losing the functionality of the VM? The concern is the old name still appears in the underlying files after I have changed the name in Settings.

[scottgus1]

Virtualbox does not come with a way to change the name of a guest's disk file, VDI extension or otherwise. Changing the name involves releasing the disk file from the guest, removing the disk from Virtualbox without accidentally deleting it, then changing the name in Explorer/File Manager/Finder, then reattaching the renamed disk file to the exact previous location in the guest's Storage settings.

Each guest has its own folder, so it is OK to have two or more guest disk files with the same name.

The guest itself can be renamed in the guest's General settings, 'Name:' box. Simply type the new name. As long as there is not another guest or other folder next to the guest folder with that name, and the guest will rename.

Since you mention getting the guest to talk on the network, the guest OS will have its own network name. Renaming that part if the guest is done using the guest's methods: inquire of that guest's help channels.

[Gillykaboose]

Thanks for your quick reply scottgus1..... if I understand you correctly since the VM is on another computer on the same network then it shouldn't be a problem as in actual fact the VM are identified differently anyway....but had it been on the same computer it would have the potential of becoming problematic.....

[scottgus1]

Guests on two different PCs can have the same Virtualbox name. If they are networked, they need different OS network names.

Guests on the same PC need different Virtualbox names and, if networked, they need different OS network names.

Each guest has its own folder. If the guest disk is in the guest folder with the guest's .vbox file, then each guest can have the same disk name. If you have the guest disks outside the guest folder, and they happen to be stored together in another folder, then the guest disk names must be different.

[BillG]

As Scott said, they will need to have different names if you need to network them, but that has nothing to do with the names you give them in VirtualBox. For example, my Win 7 vm is called Win7Pro and my XP vm is called WinXPSP3 in Virtualbox. On the network they are seen by their internal names Win7onFred and XPonFred .

VBoxNames.PNG

Win7.PNG

VMs on different hosts would appear as Win7onDave and XPonDave, etc.

If they are actual clones or copies, I would also go into the Settings of one vm, go to Network, click Advanced and toggle the MAC address. Otherwise they will not appear as different devices on the network.