​
Overview

Images are what a new virtual machine boots from. Simnet offers two kinds.
Navigation: Images.

​
Templates

A template is a pre-installed disk image — the normal way to create a machine. Choosing a template at create time gives you a running system without an installation step. The screen lists the templates available to you, which includes platform-provided images for common Linux distributions and any you’ve registered yourself.
If you’re building several similar machines, configure one from a template and capture your own template from it. Every subsequent machine then starts from your configuration instead of a fresh base image.

​
ISOs

An ISO is installation media. Booting one puts you in the operating system’s installer, which you complete manually. Use an ISO when no template exists for what you need — an unusual distribution, a specific version, or an operating system you must install with particular options. Otherwise prefer a template.

​
Choosing between them

Compute

Create a virtual machine from a template or ISO.

Storage

Volumes and snapshots — related but distinct from images.