Working with virtual machines using VMware OVF Tool

Last update: March 04 2024

Working with virtual machines using VMware OVF Tool

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 on using the utility, see the OVF Tool User's Guide section of the VMware documentation.

You can download the utility from VMware's 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> is the path to the .ovf template;

   • <login> — login to access Cloud Director;

   • <password> — password to access Cloud Director;

   • <vcd> is the 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 → General tab;

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

   • <datastore> is a virtual catalog;

   • <my_vapp> is 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> is the path to the directory.

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> — the directory path for the .ovf template.

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

   Linux

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

   Specify:

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