6.12. Exporting and Importing Virtual Machines and Templates

Procedure 6.21. Exporting and Importing Virtual Machines and Templates

1. Attach the export domain to the source data center.
   

   Figure 6.6. Attach Export Domain

2. Export the virtual machine or template to the export domain.
   

   Figure 6.7. Export the Virtual Resource

3. Detach the export domain from the source data center.
   

   Figure 6.8. Detach Export Domain

4. Attach the export domain to the destination data center.
   

   Figure 6.9. Attach the Export Domain

5. Import the virtual machine or template into the destination data center.
   

   Figure 6.10. Import the virtual resource

Procedure 6.22. Exporting a Virtual Machine to the Export Domain

1. Click the Virtual Machines tab and select a virtual machine.
2. Click Export.
3. Optionally select the following check boxes:

   • Force Override: overrides existing images of the virtual machine on the export domain.
   • Collapse Snapshots: creates a single export volume per disk. This option removes snapshot restore points and includes the template in a template-based virtual machine, and removes any dependencies a virtual machine has on a template. For a virtual machine that is dependent on a template, either select this option, export the template with the virtual machine, or make sure the template exists in the destination data center.

     Note

     When you create a virtual machine from a template, two storage allocation options are available under New Virtual Machine Resource Allocation Storage Allocation.

     • If Clone was selected, the virtual machine is not dependent on the template. The template does not have to exist in the destination data center.
     • If Thin was selected, the virtual machine is dependent on the template, so the template must exist in the destination data center or be exported with the virtual machine. Alternatively, select the Collapse Snapshots check box to collapse the template disk and virtual machine disk into a single disk.

     To check which option was selected, select a virtual machine and click the General tab in the details pane.
4. Click OK.

Procedure 6.23. Importing a Virtual Machine into the Destination Data Center

1. Click the Storage tab, and select the export domain in the results list. The export domain must have a status of Active.
2. Select the VM Import tab in the details pane to list the available virtual machines to import.
3. Select one or more virtual machines to import and click Import.
   

   Figure 6.11. Import Virtual Machine

4. Select the Default Storage Domain and Cluster.
5. Select the Collapse Snapshots check box to remove snapshot restore points and include templates in template-based virtual machines.
6. Click the virtual machine to be imported and click on the Disks sub-tab. From this tab, you can use the Allocation Policy and Storage Domain drop-down lists to select whether the disk used by the virtual machine will be thinly provisioned or preallocated, and can also select the storage domain on which the disk will be stored. An icon is also displayed to indicate which of the disks to be imported acts as the boot disk for that virtual machine.
7. Click OK to import the virtual machines.
   The Import Virtual Machine Conflict window opens if the virtual machine exists in the virtualized environment.
   

   Figure 6.12. Import Virtual Machine Conflict Window

8. Choose one of the following radio buttons:

   • Don't import
   • Import as cloned and enter a unique name for the virtual machine in the New Name field.
9. Optionally select the Apply to all check box to import all duplicated virtual machines with the same suffix, and then enter a suffix in the Suffix to add to the cloned VMs field.
10. Click OK.

Procedure 6.24. Importing a Virtual Machine from VMware

1. In the Virtual Machines tab, click Import to open the Import Virtual Machine(s) window.
   

   Figure 6.13. The Import Virtual Machine(s) Window

2. Select VMware from the Source list.
3. If you have configured a VMware provider as an external provider, select it from the External Provider list. Verify that the provider credentials are correct. If you did not specify a destination data center or proxy host when configuring the external provider, select those options now.
4. If you have not configured a VMware provider, or want to import from a new VMware provider, provide the following details:
   1. Select from the list the Data Center in which the virtual machine will be available.
   2. Enter the IP address or fully qualified domain name of the VMware vCenter instance in the vCenter field.
   3. Enter the IP address or fully qualified domain name of the host from which the virtual machines will be imported in the ESXi field.
   4. Enter the name of the data center in which the specified ESXi host resides in the Data Center field.
   5. Optionally, select the Verify Credentials check box to verify the ESXi host's certificate.
   6. Enter the Username and Password for the VMware vCenter instance. The user must have access to the VMware data center and ESXi host on which the virtual machines reside.
   7. Select a host in the chosen data center with virt-v2v installed to serve as the Proxy Host during virtual machine import operations. This host must also be able to connect to the network of the VMware vCenter external provider.
5. Click Load to generate a list of the virtual machines on the VMware provider.
6. Select one or more virtual machines from the Virtual Machines on Source list, and use the arrows to move them to the Virtual Machines to Import list.
7. Click Next.
   

   Figure 6.14. The Import Virtual Machine(s) Window

8. Select the Cluster in which the virtual machines will reside.
9. Select a CPU Profile for the virtual machines.
10. Select the Collapse Snapshots check box to remove snapshot restore points and include templates in template-based virtual machines.
11. Select the Clone check box to change the virtual machine name and MAC addresses, and clone all disks, removing all snapshots. If a virtual machine appears with a warning symbol beside its name or has a tick in the VM in System column, you must clone the virtual machine and change its name.
12. Click on each virtual machine to be imported and click on the Disks sub-tab. Use the Allocation Policy and Storage Domain lists to select whether the disk used by the virtual machine will be thinly provisioned or preallocated, and select the storage domain on which the disk will be stored. An icon is also displayed to indicate which of the disks to be imported acts as the boot disk for that virtual machine.

    Note

    The target storage domain must be a filed-based domain. Due to current limitations, specifying a block-based domain causes the V2V operation to fail.
13. If you selected the Clone check box, change the name of the virtual machine in the General sub-tab.
14. Click OK to import the virtual machines.