IBM Tivoli Provisioning Manager for Images, Version 7.1.1.11

Exporting images to OVF format

Using Tivoli® Provisioning Manager for Images, you can export existing images to an OVF file.

Before you begin

Install the rbagent, also known as the web interface extension, in the background as a service. If you want to export in the VMDK format, you must install the web interface extension in its 32 bit version to be compatible with VDDK.
Ensure that there is enough disk space on the machine on which you want to export the image.
Note: To export an image to OVF format on Windows systems, ensure that the image is less than:
- 2 GB, on a FAT16 filesystem
- 4 GB, on a FAT32 filesystem
On an NTFS filesystem, the only image size limit is the available hard disk space. The exFAT filesystem is not supported.

Procedure

To export an image to the OVF format, perform the following steps:

Log on to the Tivoli Provisioning Manager for Images interface.
Click Server > Advanced features > Image Monitor.
Select the image that you want to export.
Click Export to OVF from the contextual menu.
Select the computer where you want to export the OVF image. You can select the local computer if web interface extension is installed, the OS deployment server, or any computer with the web interface extension installed.
Specify the path where you want to export your OVF image. If you choose the OS deployment server, the path is the local <TPMfOSD_DATA_DIR>\import directory. A virtual image in OVF format consists of a file with the .ovf extension, and a set of virtual disk image files.
Select the format to use for the virtual disk image files, depending on the format supported by the tool with which you will reimport the image later. Available formats are: VHD, VMDK, and raw sparse.
Note: If the selected virtual disk image format is VMDK, before exporting the image ensure that:
- You installed the VDDK library on the machine where the VMDK file will be located.
When installing VDDK, change the environment variables as follows:
- On Windows systems, add the binary path (such as C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\bin) to the %PATH% variable. If you are using a 64-bit rbagent or the import directory of a 64-bit server, add to the %PATH% variable the bin directory by unzipping the vddk64.zip file contained in the VDDK bin directory (such as C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\bin\vddk64.zip). Refresh the environment variables. If needed, restart your machine.
- On Linux systems, add the library installation path (such as /usr/lib/vmware-vix-disklib/lib32) to the /etc/ld.so.conf file. If you are using a 64-bit rbagent or the import directory of a 64-bit server, add the 64-bit library installation path (such as /usr/lib/vmware-vix-disklib/lib64) to the /etc/ld.so.conf file. Refresh the settings by running ldconfig. Refresh the environment variables. If needed, restart your machine.
Before using the exported VMDK file on a VMWare ESX Server, you must run the following command on the hypervisor:
```
vmkfstools -i <source_bytpmfosd> <output_for_esx>
```
where:
<source_bytpmfosd>

Specifies the name of the VMDK file created by using Tivoli Provisioning Manager for Images.

<output_for_esx>

Specifies the name of the destination VMDK file to run on the VMWare ESX Server.

For example:
```
vmkfstools -i ./OVFSLES10_OM.vmdk  
./SLES10_CONVERTED/OVFSLES10_OM_CONVERTED.vmdk
```
Using the generated <output_for_esx> file you can run the new virtual machine on the VMWare ESX Server.

Results

The image has been exported on the specified computer in the OVF format.

What to do next

You can now use the new image on the targets.

Note: If the images are exported to OVF in a format different from the format of the source hypervisor, they might be unusable on the target hypervisor. This is because of the different hardware emulation. To avoid this problem, use the standard capture and deployment process on virtual machines, because this process rebuilds the system according to the different hardware.

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