Open Virtualization Format (OVF) defines the open-source VM file format specifications. An OVF template enables VMs to be compatible with different virtualization management platforms. In the current software version, the system supports OVS templates exported from virtualization platforms such as H3C CAS CVM, VMware vSphere, Oracle VM, and ZTE iECS.
The time taken to upload an OVF template mainly depends on the disk space used by the VM image file. Before deploying an OVF template, as a best practice, navigate to the System > Advanced Settings > System Parameters > Basic Parameter Settings page, and set the idle timeout timer for the operator to be longer than the time taken to upload the OVF template. This setting ensures that the OVF template upload will not be interrupted.
In the current software version, the system does not support deploying an OVF template saved in a disk fragment.
In the current software version, the system does not support deploying a disk file or an OVF template that is not named correctly. An OVF file name supports only letters, digits, minus signs, underscores, and dots, cannot start with a minus sign or dot, and cannot be all-digits.
When deploying an OVF template for a VMware vSphere VM or VirtualBox VM, if the VM runs an old operating system (for example, Windows XP), you can edit the registry to enable the operating system to support IDE (PIIX3 or PIIX4), or directly select a VM with good hardware compatibility as the template. In this way, you can avoid the blue screen issues caused by hardware compatibility issues.
ARM hosts do not support this feature in the current software version.
From the navigation pane, select Images > Desktop Images.
Click the Image Source VMs tab. Click Deploy VMs from OVF Template.
Select the host where the image source VM resides, and upload the OVF file. After the file is successfully uploaded, set the VM alias, CPUs, and memory, and click Next to configure the VM disks.
Select the target storage file and bus type for the VM, and click Next to configure the NIC.
After completing the configuration, click OK.
Basic Info
Alias: Enter the alias name of the VM.
CPUs: Set the number of CPU cores assigned to the VM, which is the number of CPUs multiplied by cores per CPU.
Memory: Specify the memory capacity of the VM.
Disks
Target Storage File: Specify a target storage file for the VM.
Target Storage Pool: Specify a target storage pool for the VM.
Bus Type: Select a bus type. Options include IDE (the default), SCSI, USB, High-Speed, and High-Speed SCSI. When you deploy an OVF template from another platform, as a best practice, set the bus type to IDE.
NIC
Network: Select the vSwitch for the image source VM network communication.
Port Profile: Select a port profile for the VM.
vFirewalls: Select the vFirewalls for the VM. The incoming and outgoing packets of the VM will be filtered by rules of the selected vFirewalls.
Network Type: Select a NIC type for the VM. Options include Common NIC, High-Speed NIC, and Intel e1000 NIC. The default NIC type is high-speed NIC, which is CVK driven.
Bound IPv4/IPv6 Address: Set the IP address bound to the MAC address of the VM. For the NIC to communicate correctly, make sure the IP address assigned to the NIC is the same as the bound IP address.
Fast Forwarding: Enable the fast forwarding feature. With fast forwarding enabled, a high-speed NIC will be simulated in the CVK kernel as a separate thread to improve the network performance for the VM. This parameter is available when you select High-Speed NIC for the network type, and is enabled by default.
Queue Count: Set the number of queues for the virtual NIC. The default is 1. Setting more queues can improve the data processing performance for the virtual NIC. The maximum number of queues is the number of vCPUs multiplied by the number of cores. You need to set this parameter after you select High-Speed NIC for the network type and enable fast forwarding.