Exporting a Snapshot
Export a snapshot to transfer a virtual machine (VM) image from an everRun system to a network-mounted folder (that is, directory) or to a USB device. Exporting a snapshot makes the VM image available for importing to another system or for importing back to the same everRun system to restore or duplicate the original VM. (For an overview of snapshots, see Managing Snapshots. For additional VM migration/export methods, see Creating and Migrating Virtual Machines.)
Prepare for exporting a snapshot by inserting a USB device or by creating a network-mounted folder to store an exported VM in your environment. If you are using a USB device, insert it into the primary node. If you are using a folder, create a folder for either a Windows share (also known as a Common Internet File System (CIFS) share) or a Network File System (NFS) export. Then mount the folder or USB device in the host operating system of the everRun system, as described in this topic. When you initiate an export in the everRun Availability Console, the everRun system saves the VM image as standard Open Virtualization Format (OVF) and Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files.
- When you create a snapshot that you intend to export, you must follow steps to prepare the guest operating system; otherwise, the VM image that you create may not function as expected. For details, see Creating a Snapshot.
- When you export a snapshot, you export a fully coalesced snapshot of the VM from that point in time, not only the changed data. If you want to create differential backups of a VM, use a third-party backup solution.
- When you export a snapshot to import a VM to another everRun system, 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 everRun system as described in Expanding a Volume Container on the everRun System.
- The time required for the export 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 disk over a 1Gb network may take about 30 minutes.
- If you will continue to use the source VM after the export, remember to set a different MAC address and IP address for the VM when you import it on the target system.
- If the everRun system switches from the primary PM to the secondary PM during an export, the export process fails. This does not affect the continuous uptime of your system. You can delete the partially exported files from your system running the everRun Availability Console and export the files again.
- Both PMs of the everRun system must be online for the export process to function properly. You can export a snapshot from a single-node system only if all of the volume snapshots that you select to include in the export are present on the primary node, as displayed in the Export Snapshot dialog box. In most cases, snapshots are replicated on both nodes, but a snapshot may be unavailable if a node was offline when the snapshot was taken.
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Prepare the export destination:
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If you are using a USB device, insert it into the primary node. Confirm that system displays the USB device. Navigate to the Physical Machines page. Click the node into which you inserted the device, and in the lower pane, select the USB Device tab. The USB device you inserted should appear in the tab's display.
- If you are using a network-mounted folder for a Windows/CIFS share or an NFS export, create the folder in your environment where you can store the exported snapshot. Set full read/write permissions on the network-mounted folder to permit file transfers, or, for a Windows/CIFS share only, assign read/write permissions to a specific user on the system/domain that hosts the share. Record the URL or pathname of the NFS export or CIFS share as well as the username/password of the CIFS share, which you use when you export the snapshot.
Ensure that you have enough storage for the snapshots that you want to export.
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To -
Log on to the everRun system with the everRun Availability Console.
- On 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. See The Physical Machines Page.
- If you have not already done so, create a snapshot, as described in Creating a Snapshot.
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On the Snapshots page, select the snapshot to export.
Snapshots are usually in a normal state (
) the State column. If a snapshot is broken (
), it may indicate that one or more volumes in the snapshot are unavailable for export. You can check volume availability in step 10 - Click Export to open the export wizard.
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Select one of the following:
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Mount device via Windows Share (CIFS/SMB)
The export destination is a folder on a CIFS share. Enter a Username, Password, and Repository value. For Repository, enter a value in the format \\machine_URL\ShareName (for example, \\192.168.1.34\MyExportSnaps).
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Mount device via NFS
The export destination is a folder on a remote system, accessed through NFS. Enter a Repository value, which is the URL of the remote system, in the format nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn (do not include http:// or https://).
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Mount USB
For USB partition list, select a partition from the pull-down menu.
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- For Export Path: /mnt/ft-export:, type the path of the location where you want the snapshot to be exported and its OVF and VHD files to be stored. For example, if you want to export the snapshot to a new folder named ocean1, type ocean1.
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Click Mount.
If the mount succeeds, the repository appears under Device URL and the Export VM button becomes active; otherwise, an alert appears.
- For All Captured Data Volumes are available for Export from noden, select the volumes to include. (The boot volume is required.)
- Click Export Snapshot to export the VM.
You can monitor the Export Status in the Summary tab for the snapshot that you are exporting. Progress is reported as the percentage (%) completed for the whole export and for each volume. When the process is complete, the status changes to Export completed successfully.
To cancel the export, click Cancel next to the Export progress percentage. A dialog box opens, asking you to confirm the cancellation. Click Yes to cancel.
The everRun system exports the VHD files (volumes) first, then it exports the OVF file. You can confirm that the process is finished when the OVF file appears in the folder.
After the export process, if you want to import or restore the OVF and VHD files on an everRun system, see Importing an OVF or OVA File.
To unmount the device, see Mounting a USB Device or Network-mounted Folder on the everRun System.
Troubleshooting
If necessary, use the following information to resolve problems with the export process.
To clean up after a canceled or failed export from the everRun system
Remove the VM files from the export folder or create a new folder for a subsequent export.