Importing an OVF File from an everRun 7.x System

Import an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) file from an everRun system if you want to transfer a VM from one everRun 7.x system to another, or if you want to transfer an image that you created back to the same everRun 7.x system to restore or duplicate the original VM. (To migrate a physical machine (PM) or virtual machine (VM) to the everRun 7.x system without using an OVF file, see Migrating a Physical Machine or Virtual Machine to an everRun 7.x System.)

To import a VM image from an everRun system, first use the everRun Availability Console on the source everRun system to create a VM snapshot (see Creating a Snapshot) and export that snapshot (see Exporting a Snapshot) to OVF and Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files on a supported network share. Mount the network share on your management PC, and then open the everRun Availability Console on the target everRun system to import the OVF and VHD files from your management PC.

When you import a VM image in the everRun Availability Console, the import wizard allows you to choose between importing or restoring the VM. Importing a VM creates a new instance of the VM with unique hardware IDs. Restoring a VM creates an identical VM with the same hardware IDs (SMBIOS UUID, system serial number, and MAC addresses, if provided in the VM image) that your guest operating system and applications may require for software licensing. To prevent conflicts with the original VM, restore a VM only if you want to transfer it to the everRun system and stop using it on the source system.

If you want to restore an existing VM on the same everRun system to overwrite the VM and recover it from a previous backup copy, see Replacing a Virtual Machine from an OVF File.

Notes:

You can import VMs only if they are running supported guest operating systems, as described in Compatible Guest Operating Systems.
The time required for the import depends on the size and number of volumes in the source VM as well as network bandwidth. For example, transferring a VM with one 20 GB boot volume over a 1 Gb/s network may take about 30 minutes.
When you import or restore an everRun VM, the original container size for each volume you include is not preserved. For example, if your source VM has a 20 GB boot volume in a 40 GB volume container, the target VM will have a 20 GB boot volume in a 20 GB volume container. If necessary, you can expand the volume containers on the target system as described in Expanding a Volume Container on the everRun System.
If you are importing a VM back to the same everRun system to duplicate the VM, you must rename the VM and duplicate volumes during either the export or import process.
If you are restoring a VM back to the same everRun system, the VM can be started only if the original VM is stopped or removed from that system. If you are restoring a VM from a different system, you must stop the original VM on the source system before you start it on the target system to prevent conflicts.
If you will continue to use the source VM after the import or restore process, remember to set a different MAC address and IP address for the VM on the target system.
If the everRun system switches from the primary PM to the secondary PM during an import, the import process fails. This does not affect the continuous uptime of your system, but you must delete the incomplete VM and associated volumes on the everRun system, and import them again.

Prerequisite: Both PMs of the everRun system must be online for the import process to function properly.

To import a VM to the everRun system

Create and export a VM snapshot on the source everRun system. For more information, see Managing Snapshots.

On the management PC that you use to run the everRun Availability Console, do the following:

Map the network share that contains the exported OVF and VHD files.
Log on to the everRun Availability Console on the target everRun system.

On the Physical Machines page (see The Physical Machines Page), verify that both PMs are in the running state and that neither PM is in maintenance mode or in the process of synchronizing.

On the Virtual Machines page (see The Virtual Machines Page), click Import/Restore to open the import wizard.

If prompted, allow the required Java plugins to load in your web browser. For information about enabling Java for the everRun Availability Console, see Compatible Internet Browsers.

Click Browse. In the file browser, locate the exported files. Select the .ovf file that you want to import, and click Import.

Select Import or Restore. Import creates a new instance of the VM with unique hardware IDs. Restore creates an identical VM with the same hardware IDs that are provided in the OVF file.

Review the information and make any desired edits, if necessary:

Name, CPU, and Memory

Change the name of the virtual machine, edit the number of vCPUs, or allocate the total memory it can use.
Storage

Shows all of the volumes. Select the Create box for a volume to allocate a storage container for the volume on the everRun system (the boot volume is required). Select the Restore Data box to import data for a volume from the VHD file.
Network

Displays all of the available networks. You can remove a network or add one that is not already allocated. A minimum of one network is required. If you will continue running the source VM on the source everRun system, ensure that the MAC address for each network interface in the new VM is different from the source VM.

Optionally, clear the check box for Auto start Virtual Machine after import if you need to reprovision the VM before starting it for the first time on the everRun system.

Click Import to begin importing the VM. When the transfer is complete, click Done to close the import wizard.

Note: Imported volumes begin to appear on the Volumes page of the everRun Availability Console while the import is still in progress. Do not attach or remove any of these imported volumes until the import window reports that the process is complete; otherwise, the import fails.

If applicable, use the Reprovision Virtual Machine wizard to allocate additional resources to the VM, as described in Reprovisioning Virtual Machine Resources. Also, if you want to allocate additional space in each volume container for snapshots, see Expanding a Volume Container on the everRun System.

When you are finished reprovisioning the VM, click Start to boot the VM.

Click Console to open the console of the VM and log on to the guest operating system.

If necessary, update the network settings in the guest operating system.

After you verify that the new VM is functioning properly, the import process is complete; however, the everRun system may continue to synchronize data between PMs to enable High Availability (HA) or Fault Tolerant (FT) operation.

Note: Your new VM and its associated volumes may be marked with warning symbols until the data has been synchronized and the VirtIO drivers are running.

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Product Documentation (PDF Format) everRun User's Guide everRun Quick Start Guide	About Help Help created at 1:29 PM on 4/22/2021.