If you are using the VirtualBox DPK PeopleSoft Images, you may have noticed the Virtual Machine names are not descriptive. By default, the names use this pattern: SHELL_8_55_xx. This name is the PeopleTools version the image is based on, but it tells you nothing about the application release. I prefer to use a different naming standard for our VirtualBox PeopleSoft Images, like: HCMDB-8-55-03-017. This naming convention tells me what application (HCMDB), PeopleTools release (8-55-03), and image number (017) a vm is running.
You can change the name of a VirtualBox vm pretty easily. When the vm is stopped (the vm can’t be running, or in a paused state), click the Settings button or select Machine > Settings. In the Name field, change the vm name to something meaningful. This will change the label of the vm in VirtualBox, as well as the folder name on the machine. It will not change the name of the hard drive files.
DPK Considerations
When you run the VBox DPK bootstrap script, you get a question that asks if you want to “Import the PeopleSoft Appliance into VirtualBox”. If you answer “Yes”, the new vm will use the name SHELL_8_55_xx. You can shutdown the vm after it is configured and rename it at that time.
If you answer “No”, you can import the SHELL_8_55_xx.ova file manually. The import page in VirtualBox lets you set the name of the vm. Keep in mind, if you import it manually you will need to create a Shared Folder back to the DPK files.