Hello, I'm trying to export a VM as an OVA from an ESXi 4.0 host through our vCenter Server again version 4.0. At present my command looks like this:

ovftool.exe vi://<IP Address>/< Datacenter>/vm/<Folder Name>/<Folder Name>/<Folder Name> C:/<Path To OVA Store>/<VM Name.OVA>

The final folder name given above is the location of the VMX / VMDK files for the VM. I'm using version 2.1.0-467744-win-i386 of the ovftool from a Windows XP VM running SP3.

Issuing the above command appears to kick off the ova export process but it quickly dies and returns my prompt. The only output after issuing the command is a request for a username and password which I supply followed by the words "Opening VI source".

Any ideas where I'm going wrong?

I have a VM that I exported as an OVA as a "Just in Case" backup a while ago.  Today I had to use it and I cannot import it.

There was an ISO mounted when I did the export and it exported the ISO as well.  The error I get is when it tries to access the ISO, it fails.

I downloaded OVFtool in the hopes I could strip the ISO from the OVA, but I am getting an error trying to use the --noImageFiles option.  it tells me:

Is it possible to remove this ISO?

After searching through the forum I uninstalled OVFtool from my E: drive and put it on C: with the same result.  Here is the logToConsole:

E:\ESX\OVA's>ovftool --X:logToConsole Win7-Tax64.ova test.ova

2012-03-09T17:08:08.405-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Subscribing to signal: 2

(SIGINT)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.405-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Subscribing to signal: 4

(SIGILL)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.405-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Subscribing to signal: 2

2 (SIGABRT)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.405-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Subscribing to signal: 8

(SIGFPE)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.405-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Subscribing to signal: 1

5 (SIGTERM)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.406-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] [ovfTool.cpp] Using home

directory C:\Users\ItsTooHot\AppData\Roaming\VMware\ovftool.cfg

2012-03-09T17:08:08.406-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] [ovfTool.cpp] OvfTool En

vironment:

--> /X:httpTimeout = "600"

--> /X:imageReadSize = "262144"

--> /X:logToConsole = "true"

--> /X:maxNumberOfTermSignals = "5"

--> /X:maxRedirects = "256"

--> /X:maximalDeltaConfSize = "8"

--> /X:maximalDeltaTreeSize = "6"

--> /X:progressSmoothing = "60"

--> /X:useMacNaming = "false"

--> /X:vCloudKeepTemplate = "true"

--> /X:vCloudTimeout = "3600"

--> /X:vimSessionTimeout = "600"

--> /authdPortSource = "902"

--> /authdPortTarget = "902"

--> /fencedMode = "bridged"

--> /prgPath = "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool"

--> /source = "Win7-Tax64.ova"

--> /target = "test.ova"

-->

2012-03-09T17:08:08.412-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] [ovfTool.cpp] Done initi

alizing libs

2012-03-09T17:08:08.412-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] [ovfTool.cpp] Determinin

g source

2012-03-09T17:08:08.412-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] [ovfTool.cpp] Determinin

g target

Opening OVA source: Win7-Tax64.ova

2012-03-09T17:08:08.479-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] OVF Descriptor: <?xml ve

rsion="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

--> <!--Generated by VMware VirtualCenter Server, User: ItsTooHot, UTC time: 201

2-03-02T23:49:58.21025Z-->

--> <Envelope vmw:buildId="build-345043" xmlns="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/enve

lope/1" xmlns:cim="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/common" xmlns:ovf="http:

//schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1" xmlns:rasd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wsci

m/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_ResourceAllocationSettingData" xmlns:vmw="http://www.vmware

.com/schema/ovf" xmlns:vssd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/C

IM_VirtualSystemSettingData" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instanc

e">

-->   <References>

-->     <File ovf:href="Win7-Tax64-disk1.vmdk" ovf:id="file1" ovf:size="80291440

64" />

-->     <File ovf:href="Win7-Tax64-file1.iso" ovf:id="file2" ovf:size="331949670

4" />

-->   </References>

-->   <DiskSection>

-->     <Info>Virtual disk information</Info>

-->     <Disk ovf:capacity="70" ovf:capacityAllocationUnits="byte * 2^30" ovf:di

skId="vmdisk1" ovf:fileRef="file1" ovf:format="http://www.vmware.com/interfaces/

specifications/vmdk.html#streamOptimized" ovf:populatedSize="18292015104" />

-->   </DiskSection>

-->   <NetworkSection>

-->     <Info>The list of logical networks</Info>

-->     <Network ovf:name="VM Network">

-->       <Description>The VM Network network</Description>

-->     </Network>

-->   </NetworkSection>

-->   <VirtualSystem ovf:id="Win7-Tax64">

-->     <Info>A virtual machine</Info>

-->     <Name>Win7-Tax64</Name>

-->     <OperatingSystemSection ovf:id="1" vmw:osType="windows7_64Guest">

-->       <Info>The kind of installed guest operating system</Info>

-->       <Description>Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)</Description>

-->     </OperatingSystemSection>

-->     <VirtualHardwareSection>

-->       <Info>Virtual hardware requirements</Info>

-->       <System>

-->         <vssd:ElementName>Virtual Hardware Family</vssd:ElementName>

-->         <vssd:InstanceID>0</vssd:InstanceID>

-->         <vssd:VirtualSystemIdentifier>Win7-Tax64</vssd:VirtualSystemIdentifi

er>

-->         <vssd:VirtualSystemType>vmx-07</vssd:VirtualSystemType>

-->       </System>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:AllocationUnits>hertz * 10^6</rasd:AllocationUnits>

-->         <rasd:Description>Number of Virtual CPUs</rasd:Description>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>2 virtual CPU(s)</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>1</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>3</rasd:ResourceType>

-->         <rasd:VirtualQuantity>2</rasd:VirtualQuantity>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:AllocationUnits>byte * 2^20</rasd:AllocationUnits>

-->         <rasd:Description>Memory Size</rasd:Description>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>2048MB of memory</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>2</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>4</rasd:ResourceType>

-->         <rasd:VirtualQuantity>2048</rasd:VirtualQuantity>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:Address>0</rasd:Address>

-->         <rasd:Description>SCSI Controller</rasd:Description>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>SCSI controller 0</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>3</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceSubType>lsilogicsas</rasd:ResourceSubType>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>6</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:Address>1</rasd:Address>

-->         <rasd:Description>IDE Controller</rasd:Description>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>IDE 1</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>4</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>5</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:Address>0</rasd:Address>

-->         <rasd:Description>IDE Controller</rasd:Description>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>IDE 0</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>5</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>5</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:AddressOnParent>0</rasd:AddressOnParent>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>Hard disk 1</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:HostResource>ovf:/disk/vmdisk1</rasd:HostResource>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>6</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:Parent>3</rasd:Parent>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>17</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:AddressOnParent>0</rasd:AddressOnParent>

-->         <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>true</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>CD/DVD Drive 1</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:HostResource>ovf:/file/file2</rasd:HostResource>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>7</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:Parent>4</rasd:Parent>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>15</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->       <Item>

-->         <rasd:AddressOnParent>7</rasd:AddressOnParent>

-->         <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>true</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>

-->         <rasd:Connection>VM Network</rasd:Connection>

-->         <rasd:Description>E1000 ethernet adapter on "VM Network"</rasd:Descr

iption>

-->         <rasd:ElementName>Network adapter 1</rasd:ElementName>

-->         <rasd:InstanceID>8</rasd:InstanceID>

-->         <rasd:ResourceSubType>E1000</rasd:ResourceSubType>

-->         <rasd:ResourceType>10</rasd:ResourceType>

-->       </Item>

-->     </VirtualHardwareSection>

-->   </VirtualSystem>

--> </Envelope>

Opening OVA target: test.ova

2012-03-09T17:08:08.490-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Closing writer. Locator:

test.ovf (SHA1: 352f265785c162cd8bf180f257a7876dbacf34c4, Written bytes: 4962)

2012-03-09T17:08:08.491-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Closing writer. Locator:

test.mf (SHA1: 05aeacecbe7778a0bfa4bc10ab9f6e6fc713aaa9, Written bytes: 184)

Writing OVA package: test.ova

2012-03-09T17:08:08.492-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Using file size as progr

ess measure

Disk Transfer Failed

Error: Invalid access to memory location.

2012-03-09T17:08:08.495-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Backtrace:

--> backtrace[00] rip 000000000047693a (no symbol)

--> backtrace[01] rip 000000000034d008 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[02] rip 000000000034dc1e (no symbol)

--> backtrace[03] rip 00000000003011cb (no symbol)

--> backtrace[04] rip 0000000000475df3 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[05] rip 000000000048a2fc (no symbol)

--> backtrace[06] rip 000000014001d7ab (no symbol)

--> backtrace[07] rip 000000014009b945 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[08] rip 000000014009ce71 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[09] rip 0000000140022137 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[10] rip 0000000140049b91 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[11] rip 000000014007e8b2 (no symbol)

--> backtrace[12] rip 000000014007ed6d (no symbol)

--> backtrace[13] rip 000000014001af6f (no symbol)

--> backtrace[14] rip 000000014001b76a (no symbol)

--> backtrace[15] rip 000000014025f62e (no symbol)

--> backtrace[16] rip 0000000076d9652d (no symbol)

--> backtrace[17] rip 00000000770dc521 (no symbol)

-->

2012-03-09T17:08:08.496-05:00 [08672 verbose 'Default'] Deleting file: test.ova

Completed with errors

E:\ESX\OVA's>

Hi All,

I have just come across ovftool and was giving a try to it. I am fairly new to VMware world.

I have a  .OVF which I exported using vSphere client 4.0. This .OVF comprises of 3 Suse Linux based virtual machines. i.e. I created a vApp on ESX (4.1) host, in this vApp I put my 3 SLES VMs and then exported it as OVF.

It has a total size of around 4.5GB.

Now I ran this command to compress this .OVF as well as gave an option to create deltadisks.

C:\> ovftool --compress=9 --makeDeltaDisks --skipManifestCheck  MyVMCluster\MyVMCluster.ovf   E:\

output:

{{{

The manifest does not validate
Generating delta disks for 2 disks (capacity 40960 MB)
Reading disks
Disk Transfer Completed

Determining optimal configuration for capacity group
Writing configuration to disk
Disk Transfer Completed

Completed successfully

}}}

Now when I checked my E:\ It had created a folder with the same name and put related files there. I saw a significant reduction in the new vmdk size. ( around 2.3GB now )

Now when I manually deploy this new ovf on vSphere client, it goes till certain %age and then flags an error:

{{{

Error uploading file to server ( E:\MyVMCluster\disk3.vmdk.gz ) Not a supported disk format ( Invalid sparse vmdk header )

}}}

and then it stops and everything rolledback.

Any pointers ?

Thanks

Nikunj

Hello all,

I have a linux VM on a remote ESXi 5 host that I have installed OVFtool.  That same linux vm has a local "win2k8.ova" ova file.  Here is the command i'm trying to use:

ovftool -ds=DS1 -n=MSRVR01 win2k8.ova vi://root:password@172.16.100.20

and get the following message:

Error: Found wrong kind of object (ResourcePool). Possible completions are:

But this is a single ESXi host without any ResourcePools.  How do i get around this?

Thanks,

Nick

Hello

I've looked around in the forums, but couldn't find a resolution to this problem. I'm using ovftool (the latest version - 2.1.0) to deploy an ova consisting of 3 VMs to an ESXi 4.1 server, via a vcenter. I see frequent stalls in the data transfer from the vcenter to the server (did a packet capture), and ovftool frequently (but not always) gives up at some random point through the transfer, complaining that it encountered an unexpected end of stream.

Here's the commandline I'm using:

ovftool --name=foo --X:logToConsole=True --X:logLevel="verbose" --diskMode=thin --net:"VM Network"="VM Network" --vmFolder=bar --skipManifestCheck myova.ova vi://user:pass@localhost/my_dc/host/my_host/Resources/my_pool

Here's a log snippet if it might help:

2012-09-11T07:13:01.767-07:00 [07668 verbose 'Default'] [ViConnection] Using vim API version: 5.0
2012-09-11T07:13:01.891-07:00 [07384 warning 'Libs'] Encountered other certificate error: 27
2012-09-11T07:13:01.891-07:00 [07384 warning 'Libs'] Encountered other certificate error: 27
2012-09-11T07:13:01.938-07:00 [07668 verbose 'HttpConnectionPool'] HttpConnectionPoolImpl created. maxPoolConnections = 1; idleTimeout = 900000000; maxOpenConnections = 1; maxConnectionAge = 0
2012-09-11T07:13:01.954-07:00 [07668 verbose 'Default'] Keeping VI session alive
Opening VI target: vi://user:pass@localhost:443/my_dc/host/my_host/Resources/my_pool
2012-09-11T07:13:02.016-07:00 [07384 warning 'Libs'] Encountered other certificate error: 27
2012-09-11T07:13:02.016-07:00 [07384 warning 'Libs'] Encountered other certificate error: 27
Deploying to VI: vi://user:pass@localhost:443/my_dc/host/my_host/Resources/my_pool
2012-09-11T07:13:10.471-07:00 [07668 verbose 'Default'] Using file size as progress measure
Disk progress: 02012-09-11T07:13:10.518-07:00 [07668 verbose 'Default'] Opening disk target /nut4/client/VirtualLsiLogicController0:0
2012-09-11T07:13:10.534-07:00 [07384 verbose 'Default'] CURL: => Send header POST /nfc/52d3abc1-5c67-3e19-1db6-88303c597203/disk-0.vmdk HTTP/1.1
--> User-Agent: VMware-client/4.0.0 (ovfTool; libcurl)
--> Host: 1.1.1.2
--> Accept: */*
--> Transfer-Encoding: chunked
--> Content-Type: application/x-vnd.vmware-streamVmdk
-->
-->
2012-09-11T07:13:35.010-07:00 [07384 verbose 'Default'] Curl_perform error code 55 (Failed sending data to the peer)
Disk Transfer Failed                      
Error: Internal error: Unexpected end of stream

Interestingly, if I use the vsphere client to deploy the ova, it goes through quicker and I haven't seen it fail (I need to use ovftool to automate deployment).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi,

     I try to upload a physical server image to vcloud but it keep returning this error "Invalid response from Server"

The ovftool version is 3.01 and the vcloud is 1.5.

I have also attahed the ovf file.

Thank you.
Regards,

ET Goh

I am attempting to determine an easy method to deploy .OVA templates for quick provisioning/deployment of VM's.

I have built VM baselines using a development vSphere cluster and exported the VM to .OVA using vSphere client. Those .OVA files reside on a Linux fileserver with ovftool installed on the system and network access to future ESXi and/or vSphere clusters.

Is it possible to 'deploy' the .OVA template from the Linux fileserver directly to a remote ESXi host's datastore and/or vSphere cluster datastore? I cant get it to work.

My OVA file:

[root@centos_lab1 u0]# ls -lha

total 5.9G

drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root 4.0K Jun 28 08:48 .

dr-xr-xr-x. 24 root root 4.0K Jun 25 11:30 ..

-rw-r--r--   1 root root 5.9G Jun 24 10:01 test.ova

Attempting to deploy to ESXi host:

[root@centos_lab1 u0]# ovftool test.ova vi://root:test123@172.16.16.81

Opening OVA source: test.ova

Opening VI target: vi://root@172.16.16.81:443/

Error: No target datastore specified. Possible completions:

  iSCSI-Large

  ESX1_local_datastore

  iSCSI-Equallogic

  fusionio

  Super_ISO

Completed with errors

[root@centos_lab1 u0]# ovftool test.ova vi://root:test123@172.16.16.81/iSCSI-Equallogic/

Opening OVA source: test.ova

Error: Locator does not refer to an object: vi://root@172.16.16.81:443ha-datacenter/host/esx1.lab.q9.com/Resources/iSCSI-Equallogic/

Completed with errors

Any idea what I am doing wrong here? Is what I am trying to do even possible with ovftool?

OVF Command option:

ovftool.exe "--acceptAllEulas=true" "--name=Robo_Naren_vApp_Temp" "--datastore=fiddleback-esx2:storage1" "-dm=thin" "--network=VM-Network" "C:/appliance-main-image-8.0.0.3.0.ova" "--prop:hostname=naren.am.com" "--prop:ip=10.0.0.xx9" "--prop:netmask=255.255.252.0" "--prop:gateway=x1.3x.2xx.1" "--powerOn" "vi://root:xxxxx@1x.xx.2xx.5x/"

When i try to execute the above command i'm getting the below error.

Error:

Error: Unexpected option: --prop:ip=10.0.0.xx9

Completed with errors

OVF properties

Here's is my ovf content for the properties

      <Property ovf:key="ip" ovf:required="true" ovf:type="string" ovf:userConfigurable="true" vmw:qualifiers="Ip">

        <Label>2. IP Address</Label>

      </Property>

      <Property ovf:key="netmask" ovf:required="true" ovf:type="string" ovf:userConfigurable="true" vmw:qualifiers="Ip">

        <Label>3. Subnet Mask</Label>

      </Property>

      <Property ovf:key="gateway" ovf:required="true" ovf:type="string" ovf:userConfigurable="true" vmw:qualifiers="Ip">

        <Label>4. Default Gateway</Label>

      </Property>

Using  "vSphere Client version 5.1.0"

Can anyone help me in resolving this problem ?

Hi all


I am running

ovftool -tt=vmx --lax --X:logFile=debug.log --X:logLevel=verbose ../backup/DataStax_Sandbox_1_0_0_for_VMWare.ova /u01/vmware

<Envelope vmw:buildId="build-1274719" xmlns="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1" xmlns:cim="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/common" xmlns:ovf="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1" xmlns:rasd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_ResourceAllocationSettingData" xmlns:vmw="http://www.vmware.com/schema/ovf" xmlns:vssd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_VirtualSystemSettingData" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

Hello,

I am trying to use the ovftool in Linux to export a VM running on ESXi 4.0 to an OVF package with the following syntax:

$ovftool "vi://root@192.168.X.XXX?ds=[datastore1]test-vm/test-vm.vmx" /home/ovfs/test1.ovf

But I always get the error: Datacenter object not found

The path to the vmx file is:

test-vm/test-vm.vmx

If I have a standalone ESXi (no vCenter present) what Datacenter name should I use?, I have tried with "Datacenter", "Default" but nothing seems to work.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Juan Aristizabal.

Hi,

Suppose I have a VM "vm1" with 3 disks "[datastore2] k1/k1.vmdk",   "[datastore2] k1/k1new.vmdk"  and "[datastore2] k1/k1up.vmdk".

I can't identify the correct disk, If I import this VM to my local system using "ovftool".

Output of "ovftool" command : ovftool vi://root:vmware123@192.168.1.26?moref=vim.VirtualMachine:109 .

k1-disk1.vmdk

k1-disk2.vmdk

k1-disk3.vmdk

k1.mf

k1.ovf

See, "ovftool" renamed the disks to "k1-disk1.vmdk", "k1-disk2.vmdk" and "k1-disk1.vmdk".

Have any way to keep the name of the disk ??

Have any way to specify the name for the disk in the "ovftool"  ???

Thanks,

Hi All,

I just started exploring the ovf-tools. I have an ovf template available for a VM and I was able to deploy it in Workstation using the GUI.

Is there a way / command available to use this pre-existing .ovf template and deploy a Virtual Machine in workstation using this; through ovf-tool?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

I am deploying a VM using a OVA format. The  size of OVA format is 60 GB. Currently free space on my datastore is 388 GB.

At the time of selecting Disk Format type if shows me in red that the disk size required is 1 TB therefore you cannot select THICK provisioning.

Therefore, i selected THIN provisiong. It THIN provisioing i am showed that Estimated Disk Usage is 112 GB which is less than the free space available.

But even after selecting THIN proviosing at the time of deployment it throws an error that it cannot create disk as the size of disk is larger than the maximum specified limit. 

My block size is of 1 MB.

I am facing an issue. I have an ova file of size 362 MB. I am using OVFTOOL to convert ova to vmx file. I get the below error during conversion,

Also tried with option --chunkSize=200mb, but with no luck. Same error as below.

Transfer Failed

Error: System error: (Unknown exception)

Completed with errors.

In Vmware workstation 8, i get the below error when i am trying to import the OVA file with the below steps,

a). From the File menu on the VMware Workstation 8 menu bar, select Open.

b).  Browse to the .ovf or .ova file and click Open and Import.

I get the below error.  Anyone who could help me with this?

I'm trying to create an OVA file from an installed VM.  If I try creating it with ovftool 3.5, it downloads everything completely then gives me the following error:

SHA1 digest of file https://172.31.68.10:443/ha-nfc/52cca89a-6cde-c7a7-0810-25ff2197d3d6/disk-1.iso does not match manifest
and then deletes the file(s) it generated.

I am using compress=0 and --noImageFiles so i don't get the install iso.

If I manually go into Edit Settings and remove the cdrom, then 3.5 creates the ova correctly.

If I use ovftool 2.0, it succeeds even without manually removing the cdrom iso.

I've seen posts where users get the same error I do when they are going ova/f to vm and the answer is to delete the manifest.   Since all of the files are deleted after the error message, I don't have the option to delete the locally created manifest.

Is there a way to keep the files around even after a manifest error?

Does anyone know why ovftool 3.5 would fail in this case and 2.0 would word?  Has there been some deprecation between the two of them?

Thanks,
Mike

Hi everybody,


I'd like to change the hardware version during an export using ovftool. Is there a way to specify it ?
I've seen the "--maxVirtualHardwareVersion" but I'm unable to understand how to use it. I can't find any documentation on the supported syntax anywhere.


Any advice ?


Jean-Baptiste

Hi,

trying to convert a "SUSEstudio" generated vmdk/vmx to our VI.

I have:

SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmdk

SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmx

christian@chrisw:/srv/ISO/JeOS/SLE_11.1JeOSPHR-0.0.3&gt; ovftool SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmx

Opening VMX source: SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmx

OVF version:   1.0

Name:          SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3

Download Size:     Unknown

Deployment Sizes:

  Flat disks:      4.04 GB

  Sparse disks:   Unknown

Networks:

  Name:        bridged

  Description: The bridged network

Virtual Hardware:

  Family:       vmx-04

  Disk Types:   SCSI-lsilogic

Completed successfully

#####

When I try to convert it to vi (to correct datastore) I'm getting the mentioned error:

so what is the correct syntax ??

christian@chrisw:~/srv/ISO/JeOS/SLE_11.1JeOSPHR-0.0.3&gt; ovftool -ds=CX300-OTC-02 -dm=thick SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmx vi://i000156@vc.icw.int/DC%20OTC

Opening VMX source: SLE_11.1JeOSPHR.x86_64-0.0.3.vmx

Please enter login information for target vi://vc.icw.int/

Username: i000156

Password: ********

Error: Locator does not refer to an object: vi://i000156@vc.icw.int/DC%20OTC

DataCenter="DC OTC"

DataSource="CX300-OTC-2"

THX

Chris

I need access to my deployed virtual machine's serial console, not through a GUI window, but through ssh or telnet.  I finally found how to define a serial console so that I can telnet in, which is perfect, but now I'd like to automate the defining of that serial device without using the vSphere Client GUI.

I can define my serial port from the vSphere Client GUI after deploying my VM by powering off the VM, Edit Settings -> Add a Serial Port, check "Connect via Network" -> Network Backing -> Server (VM listens for connections), Port URI = telnet://10.36.0.85:7001, where 10.36.0.85 is my ESXi 4.1 server's IP address and 7001 is a random port.  When I power on my VM, I can telnet 10.36.0.85 7001 from a remote system and viola, I have serial console/terminal access.

In the vmx file, I can see

  serial0.present = "TRUE"

  serial0.yieldOnMsrRead = "TRUE"

  serial0.fileType = "network"

  serial0.fileName = "telnet://10.36.0.85:7001"

The question is, how can I define the above either in the ovf file before I deploy, as I deploy (I'm using ovftool from a remote system), or via a remote command afterwards, e.g. a vSphere CLI command?  When I try exporting the ovf template from the vSphere client, I get "Device 'Serial port 1' cannot be exported."

I am trying to create an OVF from a vm in vsphere - I'm running ovftool on a linux machine, and using the following syntax (I got this from the ovftool users guide):

ovftool username@myvcenter.aaa.com/"datacenter name"/vm/vmname /local/path/tostoreit/vnname.ovf

It prompts for a password, I enter the password, and it comes back with:

Opening VI source: vi://username@myvcenter.aaa.com/datacenter name/vmname
Error: Locator does not refer to an object:vi://username@myvcenter.aaa.com/datacenter name/vmname

Incidentally, I get the exact same error when I try using the mac version of ovftool, and the windows version.

Please help - I know this should work. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, but I have to get this working pretty fast.

Thank you!!

Hi,

I'm trying to convert VM into ovf. But ovftool fails with the message:

./ovftool --powerOffSource vi://administrator:xxxxx@host/?ip=192.168.1.22 myovf.ovf
Opening VI source: vi://administrator@host/
Powering off VM: 0593498732-VM_Name
Error: File sanfs://vmfs_uuid:3c3693e8-f77a642a-1910-5c6bdcb26d3a/packages/4.1.0/vmtools/linux.iso was not found

Could you please help me with the issue above?

Thanks,