Ovftool 4.1 vmdk format to OVF format

Ovftool 4.1

• New Features in Ovftool 4.1
• Known Issues
• System Requirements
• Installation
• Deprecated Features

New Features in Ovftool 4.1

There is no new features in version 4.1 of the OVF Tool.

Known Issues in Version 4.1

You cannot use the OVF Tool to deploy a VMS to the static DVS port group.

To work around this issue:

1. Use VCenter Server to create a ephemeral port on the desired network.
2. Deploy the appliance to this port group on an ESXi host.
3. Switch the appliance over to that static port group.
4. Use VCenter Server to delete the ephemeral port group.

System Requirements for Version 4.1

The OVF Tools supports the following operating systems and software.

Supported Operating Systems

Supported Operating Systems include:

Microsoft Windows

The OVF Tool supports the following Windows 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86_64) operating systems:

• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows 8

Linux

The OVF Tool supports the following Linux operating systems:

• CentOS 5.x and 6.x
• Fedora Core 14.x, 15.x, 16x, 17x, and 18x
• RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.x and 6.x
• SUSE Enterprise Server 10.x and 11x
• Ubuntu Desktop 9.x, 10.x, 11x, and 12x

Apple

The OVF Tool supports the following MAC OS X operating systems:

• Mac OS X 10.7
• Mac OS X 10.8

Supported VMware products and platforms

Version 4.1 of the OVF Tool supports the following VMware software:

• Packages created with previous OVF Tool versions 4.0.0, 3.5.2, 3.5.1, 3.5.0, 3.0.1, 2.1, 2.0, and 1.1 and is backward comp Atible with OVF format from versions 1.0 and 0.9.
• VSphere 4.0 and later
• VCloud Director 6.0, 5.5, 5.1, 1.5, and 1.0 (source from OVF or OVA types only)
• VCloud Suite 6.0 and 5.5
• VirtualCenter 2.5 and later
• ESX 3.5 and later
• VMware Server 2.0 and later
• VMware Workstation 6.0 and later
• VMware Fusion 3.0 and later
• Vapprun 1.0
• OVF 0.9 is supported for import and export by VirtualCenter 2.5 and later, and ESX 3.5 and later
• VMware Studio 1.0 and later can generate OVF packages.

OVF built to the VSphere Client that installs from, and are compatible with Vcenter 5.0 and ESXi 5.0, vcenter 4.0 and ESX 4.0. It is a also built into the VSphere Client, a installs from and are compatible with VirtualCenter 2.5 and later, and ESX 3. 5 and later. The VSphere 5.1 Web client includes the 3.x version of the VMware OVF Tool as part of the Client integration plug-in.

Space Requirements for OVF Packages

A virtual machine was stored as a set of files on disk. In the VMware runtime format, these files has extensions. VMX,. VMDK,. Vmsd,. VMXF, and. Nvram. The VMware hypervisor requires these file formats, which is optimized for efficient execution. An ESXi host often uses fully allocated flat disks in a VMFS file system to optimize virtual machine performance.

The OVF standard supports efficient, secure distribution of Vapps and virtual machine templates. OVF is optimized for these goals, rather than for efficient runtime execution. OVF does not include specific information on runtime disk format because such information are not required until the Virtua L machine is deployed. When your package appliances with OVF, you can optimize one vApp for high performance in a production environment, and Opti Mize another for minimal storage space during evaluation.

The following table contrasts a virtual machine in VMware file format with a Vsan in OVF format. OVF employs a compressed sparse format for VMDK files. Virtual disks in this format cannot be used directly for execution without conversion.

&NBSP;	vmware Format	ovf format< /th>	ova Format
Files	linuxbasedappliance.nvram linuxbasedappliance.vmdk linuxbasedappliance-s001.vmdk linuxbasedappliance-s002.vmdk linuxbasedappliance.vmsd linuxbasedappliance.vmx linuxbasedappliance.vmxf	linuxbasedappliance.ovf LINUXBASEDAPPLIANCE-0.VMDK linuxbasedappliance-1.vmdk linuxbasedappliance-2.vmdk	linuxbasedappliance.ova
total Size	251MB using thin provisioning 4000MB using thick provisioning	132MB	132MB

Installing the OVF Tool

2. Download the VMware OVF Tool as an installer or an archive (zipped/compressed) file: vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-win.i386.msi

   operating System	download Filename
   linux-bit	vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-lin.i386.bundle
   linux-bit	vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10 936-lin.x86_64.bundle
   mac OS X a bit	VMWARE-OVFTOOL-4.1.0-10936-MAC.X64.DMG
   windows + bit
   windo WS-A bit	vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-win.x86_64.msi

4. Install software from the table above using the appropriate method for your operating system:

operating System	download Filename
linux-bit	run the shell script as . Vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-lin.i386.bundle
linux-bit	run the shell script as ./vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-lin.x86_64.bundle
mac OS X	class= "tg-031e" >open the. dmg file and double-click the package installer. VMWARE-OVFTOOL-4.1.0-10936-MAC.X64.DMG
windows-bit	double-click on the installation file, vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-win.i386.msi
windows-bit	double-click on the installation file, Vmware-ovftool-4.1.0-10936-win.x86_64.msi

Completing the installation Steps

The following list gives you screen-by-screen instructions for all installations:

1. At the Welcome screen, click Next.
2. At the license agreement, read the license agreements, select "I agree ..." and clickNext.
3. Accept the path suggested or change to a path of your choice and click Next.
4. When you have finished choosing your installation options, click Install.
5. When the installation are complete, click Next.
6. Deselect Show The Readme file if you don't want to view the Readme file, and click Finish to exit.

Running the OVF Tool from a Windows Command line

After installing the OVF tool on Windows, you can run the OVF tool from the Windows command line.

1. From the Start menu, choose Run.
2. In the Run dialog, write cmd , which opens the Windows command line console (DOS prompt).

If you have the OVF tool folder in your PATH environment variable, you can run the OVF tool from the command line.

Adding the OVF Tool to your Path environment Variable

The following instructions is for Windows 7, but the steps is similar on other Windows systems.

1. Right-click My Computer.
2. Select Properties.
3. Select Advanced system Settings.
4. Select Environment Variables.
5. Highlight (Select) The Path variable from the System variable (lower) pane.
6. Click the Edit button and then type the path to the folder where you installed the OVF Tool (at the end of the ex Isting path).

Specifying the Inventory Path

The OVF Tool allows the Specify an inventory path for a source or target.

Inventory Path to a VM

You can specify the inventory path to a specific virtual machine.

The following example shows an inventory path to a Vsan without any folders:MyDatacenter/vm/MyVM

The following example shows an inventory path with a nested folders:MyDatacenter/vm/Folder 1/Sub Folder/MyVM

The use of the VM tags after the datacenter name specifies that is locating a virtual machine or vApp in the VM and Te Mplate view. Use the host tag after the datacenter name if you are locating a vsan or vApp in the host and Clusters view.

Inventory Path to a Cluster, Host, or Resource Pool

You can specify an inventory path for a host or a resource pool. You can nest resource pools similar to folders.

To specify a inventory path for a host or a resource pool as part of target locators, use the following syntax:/host//Resources/

Using The example above, the following rules apply:

• hostis a fixed part of the path
• Resourcesis a fixed part of the path, and is only specified when using a resource pool
• <resource pool>Can take the value of one or more nested resource pools. If No resource pools is specified, the default resource pool for the host is used.

You must specify the sections of an /host/ inventory path when using a VI destination locator. If you is specifying the destination of a resource pool, you must include the section of the /Resources/ path.

The following example is a inventory path without a specified resource pool:vi://username:[email protected]/my_datacenter/host/esx01.example.com

The following example is a inventory path with a specified resource pool:vi://username:[email protected]/my_datacenter/host/esx01.example.com/Resources/my_resourcepool

Using Partial Locators

When using the OVF Tool, it's often not necessary to specify source and target types as long as certain filename Conventi ONS is used. It is possible to the Ignore locator type and specify the source and target explicitly using the arguments --sourceType=... --targetType= 4/> and .

The OVF Tool assumes the locator type based on the following rules:

1. If The name starts vcloud:// with, the OVF Tool assumes VCloud Director type.
2. If The name starts vi:// with, the OVF Tool assumes vSphere type.
3. If the name ends .ovf with, the OVF Tool assumes OVF type.
4. If the name ends .vmx with, the OVF Tool assumes VMX type.
5. If the name ends .ova with, the OVF tool assumes OVA type.
6. If The locator is a file path to a directory that represents a Vapprun workspace or an entity in a Vapprun workspace and then OVF Tool assums the Vapprun type.

Similarly, source and target types can inferred from folder locators. OVF Tool assumes the type according the following rules:

1. If The source locator is a folder, the OVF Tool assumes, the source was an OVF package and that the OVF descr Iptor has the same name as the folder. For example, my-ovf/my-ovf.ovf .
2. If The source is an OVF package and the target locator is a directory, such as myvirtualmachines/, the OVF Tool assumes, the target is a VMX locator. The resulting VMX/VMDK file is added to in a directory with the target name, for example, MYVIRTUALMACHINES/MYVM/MYVM . VMX .
3. If The source is a VMX locator and the target locator are a directory, the OVF Tool assumes that the target was an OVF p Ackage.
4. If The source is a vSphere locator, and the target locator is a directory, the OVF Tool assumes, the OVF package.

OVF Tool supports partial vSphere locators when deploying or exporting. For a incomplete locator path, the tool suggests completions at the command line. The following example shows the command-line dialog when the partial locators is used.

Example 1-partial VMware Locators on the Command line

 > Ovftool lamp.ovf vi://localhost/opening source:LAMP.ovfOpening target:vi://[email protected]/error: Found wrong kind of object (Folder) Possible completions are:datacenter/remote datacenter/secondary datacenter/> o Vftool lamp.ovf vi://localhost/datacenteropening source:LAMP.ovfOpening target:vi://[email protected]/ Datacentererror:found wrong kind of object (Datacenter) Possible completions are:vm/host/> ovftool lamp.ovf Vi://lo Calhost/datacenter/hostopening source:LAMP.ovfOpening Target:vi://[email protected]/datacenter/hosterror: Found wrong kind of object (Folder) Possible completions are:host1.foo.com/host2.foo.com/> ovftool lamp.ovf Vi://loc Alhost/datacenter/vm/host1.foo.com 

The OVF Tool supports partial vSphere locators when deploying or exporting. For a incomplete locator path, the tool suggests completions at the command line. Example 2 shows the command-line dialog when partial locators is used. First, the OVF Tool signals that there are more than one virtual datacenter present, then multiple catalogs, then multiple Networks. At each attempt, you must select one of the options and the OVF Tool presents.

Example 2-partial VCloud Director Locators on the Command line

Ovftool lamp.ovf vcloud://jd:[email protected]:443/?org=myorg&vapp=test1opening ovf Source: LAMP.ovfWarning:No manifest fileopening vCloud target:vcloud://js:[email protected]:443/error:multiple VDCs Found. Possible VDC completions are:orgvdc orgvdc2completed with Errorsovftool lamp.ovf "Vcloud://jd:[email protected]:4 43/?ORG=MYORG&VAPP=TEST1&VDC=ORGVDC "Opening OVF source:LAMP.ovfWarning:No manifest fileopening vCloud target : Vcloud://js:[email protected]:443/error:multiple catalogs found. Possible Catalog completions Are:catalog catalog2completed with errors "vcloud://jd:[email protected]:443/?org= Myorg&vapp=test1&vdc=orgvdc&catalog=catalog "Opening OVF source:LAMP.ovfWarning:No manifest fileopening VCloud target:vcloud://js:[email protected]:443/error:multiple networks found on target. Possible completions Are:extnet2 extorgnet intNet2 intnetcompleted with Errorsovftool--net: "VM network=intnet" LAMP.o VF "Vcloud:Jd:[email protected]:443/?org=myorg&vapp=test1&vdc=orgvdc&catalog=catalog "Opening OVF Source: LAMP.ovfWarning:No manifest fileopening vCloud target:vcloud://js:[email protected]:443/deploying to VCloud: Vcloud://js:[email protected]:443/disk Transfer completecompleted successfully

For more information and examples on the partial locators, see the "Partial Locators" section of the OVF Tool User's Guide.

Using Configuration Files

The OVF Tool has many configuration options. You can create a configuration file with so, and you don't have to type long configuration entries on the command line. A configuration file uses the following syntax:

Option1=value. #commentoptionN =value

The following is an example of a configuration file:

proxy=http://proxy.example.comdatastore=storage-test42# Comment on SOMETHINGLOCALE=DK

You can create local or global configuration files. A Local configuration file has the. ovftool suffix and was read in the folder from which you invoke the OVF Tool. A global configuration file is per user.

On Windows, the global configuration file was read from the following location:C:\Documents and Settings\$USERNAME\VMware\ovftool.cfg

On Linux, the global configuration file was read from the following location:$HOME/.ovftool

When using the configuration files, globally defined options is overwritten by locally defined and command-line options. Locally defined options is overwritten by command-line options.

You can also with the Ovftool--help Config command to get information on the use a configuration file.

See the OVF tool, User's Guide for more information, about how to use the OVF tool.

Deprecated Features

There is no deprecated features in version 4.1 of the OVF Tool, but support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 have be En discontinued.

Ovftool 4.1 vmdk format to OVF format