Importing a Virtual Machine From an OVA

Lab Builders may require migrating Virtual Machines created outside of Skillable Studio into the platform.  One method of creating virtual machine is by importing an OVA file into a lab profile. An OVA file is created from exporting an ESX Virtual Machine (VM) from outside of Skillable Studio.

An OVA file is a package that contains files used to describe a VM, which includes a .OVF descriptor file, optional manifest (.MF),  certificate files, and other related files. To learn more about OVA file format, please read ESX OVA file format and template documentation.

Best Practices for Creating an OVA File

• Wait to do machine customization until after you have uploaded the OVA into Studio. Otherwise your edits may not be supported.

• Keep as basic of a configuration as possible to your VM that is being imported as an OVA. This will make the process go smoother.

Uploading an OVA File

As a lab developer, you can create a VM from an OVA file in a lab profile. Your user account must have the proper permissions to allow editing and importing lab profiles. If you do not have the proper permissions, or if you are unsure if you have the proper permissions, please reach out to our customer support team.

Organization Storage

To import a VM from an OVA file into a lab profile, you must first upload the OVA file to your organization's storage in Skillable Studio . Once the file is uploaded, it can be used to import the VM into a lab profile.

1. Ensure that the file you exported from your virtualization application is in OVA format.

2. Navigate to your organization's profile in Skillable Studio.

3. Click Storage at the top of the page.

   

4. In the upper-left, select the datacenter you wish to upload to.

   Choosing a datacenter where your lab profiles or VMs are stored will improve the initial launch times of your lab profile during lab development. If you choose a datacenter to upload the OVA file that is different from where the lab profile is stored, the files will have to be copied over before the lab will launch successfully.

5. Select ESX Storage.

6. Select or create a folder in ESX Storage to upload to.

7. Click Upload File on the right side of the page.

   

8. Choose a file or drag files to the designated area, and select Upload.

After the file finishes uploading, it will be available to import as a VM, on lab profiles.

Importing an OVA File as a VM

The VM will be created by importing the OVA file to the lab profile. Importing requires your user account to have the proper permissions to edit and import lab profiles. If you do not have the proper permissions, or if you are unsure if you have the proper permissions, please reach out to our customer support team.

Import Limitations

OVA templates provide a standardization on importing into compatible platforms.

• Uploading large file sizes may result in upload failure.

• OVA templates can only be imported if they were exported from an ESX product. Exports from other products are not supported.

• If an OVA template contains multiple virtual machines, it cannot be imported. Only single virtual machine OVA templates are supported.

• OVA templates that have been customized with custom virtual machine properties are not supported.

• OVA templates that contain additional files such as NVRAM, ISO, floppy disk, etc, will not be imported. These additional files may cause the import to fail.

• OVA templates with video RAM greater than 64 MB is not supported.

Lab Profile

1. Navigate to the lab profile you wish to import the VM to.

2. Select Import at the top of the page.

3. Select Virtual machines from OVA, then select OK.

   

4. In the Choose OVA File menu, navigate to the OVA file that was uploaded.

5. Select the OVA file that will be imported as a VM.

6. On the next screen you will be asked to enter information about the VM that will be imported.

   • Name: The name of the VM profile.

   • Username: The login username for the VM. This must match the username of the VM before it was exported to an OVA file.

   • Password: The login password for the VM. This must match the password of the VM before it was exported to an OVA file.

   • Start Automatically: Enables the VM to start automatically when the lab is launched. If this is not enabled, the VM will not start automatically and the user will have to manually start the VM.

7. After you have completed each field, select OK. Skillable Studio will begin to extract the OVA file and create a virtual machine profile. The time it takes to import will vary depending on the size of the OVA file. The import process will timeout after 2 hours have elapsed. If you are not able to upload your file within the timeout period, please reach out to our customer support team for assistance.

   After the import completes, the VM profile will be added to your lab.

8. You may now launch the lab and continue lab development.

   First Lab Launch

   The first launch of the lab may take longer than expected, while files are copied in the background (caching). Subsequent lab launches should not take an extended amount of time to launch.

9. After the VM profile is created and you have tested the VM, we recommend removing the OVA file from the storage location it was uploaded to. This will prevent duplicate VM profiles from being created, and help to keep the storage location organized.