Working with virtual machines using VMware OVF Tool

Last update: June 04 2025

VMware Cloud Director® supports importing virtual machines in. ovf/.ova formats only. The VMware OVF Tool allows you to convert virtual machines to .ovf (Open Virtualization Format) templates and vice versa. For more information about using the utility, see the OVF Tool User's Guide section of  the VMware documentation.

You can download the utility from the VMware website.

Import a virtual machine into Cloud Director⁠

1. Open the catalog with the OVF Tool.

2. Import the virtual machine into Cloud Director:

   ovftool.exe "<path_ovf>"
   "vcloud://<login>:<password>@<vcd>?org=<organization>&vdc=<s-xxxx>&catalog=<datastore>&vapp=<my_vapp>"

   Specify:

   • <path_ovf> — template path .ovf;

   • <login> — login to access Cloud Director;

   • <password> — password to access Cloud Director;

   • <vcd> — address of the virtual data center:

     • St. Petersburg — vcd.selectel.ru
     • Moscow — vcd-msk.selectel.ru

   • <organization> — organization name, can be viewed in Cloud Director under Administration → tab General;

   • <s-xxxx> — organizations name, can be viewed in the address bar of Cloud Director or in the control panel under VMware-based Cloud in the list of organizations;

   • <datastore> — virtual catalog;

   • <my_vapp> — the name that the imported vApp will have.

Convert virtual machine to OVF template⁠

1. Open the catalog with the OVF Tool.

   d <path_catalog>

   Specify <path_catalog> — the path to the catalog.

2. Convert the virtual machine to an OVF template:

   Windows

   ovftool.exe "<path_vm>" "<path_ovf>"

   Specify:

   • <path_vm> — path to the virtual machine configuration file;
   • <path_ovf> — directory path for the template .ovf.

   Linux

   ~/MyVM$ ovftool

Convert OVF template to virtual machine⁠

1. Open the catalog with the OVF Tool.

2. Convert the virtual machine to an OVF template:

   Windows

   ovftool.exe "<path_ovf>" "<path_vm>"

   Specify:

   • <path_ovf> — template path .ovf;
   • <path_vm> — path to the directory for the virtual machine.

   Linux

   ~/MyVM$ ovftool <./path_ova> <./path_vm>

   Specify:

   • <./path_ova> — template path .ova;
   • <./path_vm> — directory path for the virtual machine.