Create the VM using REST API (v3)

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The Nutanix REST API (v3) allows for automated VM deployments, which is useful for scripting, CI/CD pipelines, or bulk VM provisioning. For more information, see Nutanix KB 6440 – Create a VM using Nutanix REST API v3 and Nutanix API v3 – Creating a Linux VM with Cloud-Init – Nutanix.dev.

Trend Micro recommends the following VM configuration:

VM Name:Nutanix-rest-connector-vm
vCPUs: 4 (1 socket × 4 vCPUs)
Memory: 8 GB (8192 MB)
Disk: Cloned from image Nutaminx-connector-image
Disk Bus: IDE
Network: Subnet New-VLAN265 (DHCP)

Before starting, ensure that the required VM image has already been uploaded to the Nutanix Image Service and that the target network subnet (VLAN) has been created.

Procedure

Gather Required UUIDs

REST API requires UUIDs for images and subnets instead of names.

Get the image UUID:

curl -u "admin:<password>" -k \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST https://<cluster-ip>:9440/api/nutanix/v3/images/list \
  -d '{"kind":"image","filter":"name==Nutaminx-connector-image"}'

Purpose: Retrieve the UUID of the image Nutaminx-connector-image.

Output: JSON including metadata.uuid, for example

"metadata": {
    "uuid": "c63ef950-7ba5-4450-bb10-65fdf209c639",
    "name": "Nutaminx-connector-image"

This UUID will be used to attach the boot disk

Get the subnet UUID.

curl -u "admin:<password>" -k \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST https://<cluster-ip>:9440/api/nutanix/v3/subnets/list \
  -d '{"kind":"subnet","filter":"name==New-VLAN265"}'

Purpose: Retrieve the UUID of the subnet New-VLAN265.

Output: JSON including metadata.uuid, for example

"metadata": {
    "uuid": "06b5de80-6864-4871-b7b8-9e36849fb5a9",
    "name": "New-VLAN265"
}

This UUID is used to attach the NIC to the VM.

Create the VM using the image UUID and the subnet UUID:

curl -u "admin:<password>" -k -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST https://<cluster-ip>:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms \
  -d '{
    "spec": {
      "name": "Nutanix-rest-connector-vm",
      "resources": {
        "num_vcpus_per_socket": 4,
        "num_sockets": 1,
        "memory_size_mib": 8192,
        "disk_list": [
          {
            "device_properties": {
              "disk_address": {
                "device_index": 0,
                "adapter_type": "IDE"
              }
            },
            "data_source_reference": {
              "kind": "image",
              "uuid": "c63ef950-7ba5-4450-bb10-65fdf209c639"
            }
          }
        ],
        "nic_list": [
          {
            "subnet_reference": {
              "kind": "subnet",
              "uuid": "06b5de80-6864-4871-b7b8-9e36849fb5a9"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "metadata": {
      "kind": "vm"
    }
  }'

Definition of the key fields

Field	Description
`name`	Name of the VM (`Nutanix-rest-connector-vm`)
`num_vcpus_per_socket`	Number of vCPUs in each socket
`num_sockets`	Number of CPU sockets
`memory_size_mib`	Memory in MiB (8192 = 8GB)
`disk_list.device_properties.disk_address.adapter_type`	Bus type for the disk (`IDE`)
`disk_list.data_source_reference.uuid`	UUID of the image to clone from
`nic_list.subnet_reference.uuid`	UUID of the subnet for the VM NIC
`metadata.kind`	Must be `"vm"` for VM creation

Verify the VM creation after the command is finished:

Prism UI: Check the VMs page for Nutanix-rest-connector-vm
ACLI:

acli vm.get
              Nutanix-rest-connector-vm

REST API:

curl -u
              "admin:<password>" -k \   -H "Content-Type:
            application/json" \ 
            https://<cluster-ip>:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms/<VM-UUID>

Power on the VM:

curl -u "admin:<password>" -k \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST https://<cluster-ip>:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms/<VM-UUID>/set_power_state \
  -d '{"transition":"ON"}'