qm: rework import section, document new wizard

Signed-off-by: Thomas Lamprecht <t.lamprecht@proxmox.com>
This commit is contained in:
Thomas Lamprecht 2024-03-27 14:27:24 +01:00
parent f3765da7a2
commit ff30375727
3 changed files with 63 additions and 7 deletions

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@ -1517,8 +1517,64 @@ replicate services (such as databases or domain controller
footnote:[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/get-started/virtual-dc/virtualized-domain-controller-architecture])
on snapshot rollback, backup restore or a whole VM clone operation.
Importing Virtual Machines and disk images
------------------------------------------
[[qm_import_virtual_machines]]
Importing Virtual Machines
--------------------------
Importing existing virtual machines from foreign hypervisors or other {pve}
clusters can be achieved through various methods, the most common ones are:
* Using the native import wizard, which utilizes the 'import' content type, such
as provided by the ESXi special storage.
* Performing a backup on the source and then restoring on the target. This
method works best when migrating from another {pve} instance.
* using the OVF-specific import command of the `qm` command-line tool.
If you import VMs to {pve} from other hypervisors, its recommended to
familiarize yourself with the
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Migrate_to_Proxmox_VE#Concepts[concepts of {pve}].
Import Wizard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[thumbnail="screenshot/gui-import-wizard-general.png"]
{pve} provides an integrated VM importer using the storage plugin system for
native integration into the API and web-based user interface. You can use this
to import the VM as a whole, with most of its config mapped to {pve}'s config
model and reduced downtime.
NOTE: The import wizard was added during the {pve} 8.2 development cycle and is
in tech preview state. While it's already promising and working stable, it's
still under active development, focusing on adding other import-sources, like
for example OVF/OVA files, in the future.
To use the import wizard you have to first set up a new storage for an import
source, you can do so on the web-interface under _Datacenter -> Storage -> Add_.
Then you can select the new storage in the resource tree and use the 'Virtual
Guests' content tab to see all available guests that can be imported.
[thumbnail="screenshot/gui-import-wizard-advanced.png"]
Select one and use the 'Import' button (or double-click) to open the import
wizard. You can modify a subset of the available options here and then start the
import. Please note that you can do more advanced modifications after the import
finished.
TIP: The import wizard is currently (2024-03) available for ESXi and has been
tested with ESXi versions 6.5 through 8.0. Note that guests using vSAN storage
cannot be directly imported directly; their disks must first be moved to another
storage. While it is possible to use a vCenter as the import source, performance
is dramatically degraded (5 to 10 times slower).
For a step-by-step guide and tips for how to adapt the virtual guest to the new
hyper-visor see our
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Migrate_to_Proxmox_VE#Migration[migrate to {pve}
wiki article].
Import OVF/OVA Through CLI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A VM export from a foreign hypervisor takes usually the form of one or more disk
images, with a configuration file describing the settings of the VM (RAM,
@ -1549,7 +1605,7 @@ that we cannot guarantee a successful import/export of Windows VMs in all
cases due to the problems above.
Step-by-step example of a Windows OVF import
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Microsoft provides
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/[Virtual Machines downloads]
@ -1557,19 +1613,19 @@ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/[Virtua
to demonstrate the OVF import feature.
Download the Virtual Machine zip
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After getting informed about the user agreement, choose the _Windows 10
Enterprise (Evaluation - Build)_ for the VMware platform, and download the zip.
Extract the disk image from the zip
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Using the `unzip` utility or any archiver of your choice, unpack the zip,
and copy via ssh/scp the ovf and vmdk files to your {pve} host.
Import the Virtual Machine
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This will create a new virtual machine, using cores, memory and
VM name as read from the OVF manifest, and import the disks to the +local-lvm+
@ -1582,7 +1638,7 @@ VM name as read from the OVF manifest, and import the disks to the +local-lvm+
The VM is ready to be started.
Adding an external disk image to a Virtual Machine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You can also add an existing disk image to a VM, either coming from a
foreign hypervisor, or one that you created yourself.