Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man virt-convert

System Administration Commands                   virt-convert(1M)



NAME
     virt-convert - convert virtual machines between formats

SYNOPSIS
     virt-convert [option]... input.vmx | input.ovf | input-dir
          [output.xml | output-dir]


DESCRIPTION
     The virt-convert program is a command line tool for convert-
     ing  virtual  machines  (VMs) from one format to another. It
     accepts either a VM definition file (such as VMware vmx for-
     mat)  or  a  directory containing a VM. By default, a new VM
     definition file, and converted disk images, will  be  placed
     in a new output directory.


     If an output directory is specified, it will be  created  if
     necessary,  and  the  output VM definition placed within the
     new directory, along with any disk images, as needed.


     If an output VM definition file is  specified,  it  will  be
     created alongside any disks in the same directory.

OPTIONS
     Any of the following options can be omitted, in  which  case
     virt-convert  will  use  defaults when required. An input VM
     definition or containing  directory  must  be  provided.  By
     default,  an  output  directory  is generated based upon the
     name of the VM. The default input format is VMware vmx,  and
     the  default  output format is a libvirt "image" XML defini-
     tion.

     -a, --arch=arch

         Architecture of the virtual machine (i686, x86_64, ppc).
         Defaults to that of the host machine.


     -D, --disk-format=format

         Output disk format, or none if no conversion  should  be
         performed. format is one of:

         none

             No disks are converted or copied.


         vmdk




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System Administration Commands                   virt-convert(1M)



             VMWare VMDK format


         raw

             raw file


         vdisk

             vdisk format (see vdiskadm(1M))



     -d, --debug

         Display debugging information.


     -h, --help

         Display the help message and exit.


     -i, --input-format format

         Input format. Currently, vmx and ovf are supported.


     --noacpi

         Override the OS type and variant  to  disable  the  ACPI
         setting for fully virtualized guest.


     --noapic

         Override the OS type and variant  to  disable  the  APIC
         setting for fully virtualized guest.


     -o, --output-format format

         Output format. Currently, the supported  output  formats
         are  virt-instance  and virt-image. virt-instance is the
         recommended format for Solaris.


     --os-type=os_type

         Optimize the guest configuration for a type of operating
         system. This will attempt to pick the most suitable ACPI



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System Administration Commands                   virt-convert(1M)



         and APIC settings, optimally  supported  mouse  drivers,
         and generally accommodate other operating system quirks.
         See virt-install(1M) for a list of valid operating  sys-
         tem types.


     --os-variant=os_variant

         Further optimize the guest configuration for a  specific
         operating  system  variant.  This parameter is optional.
         See virt-install(1M) for a list of valid operating  sys-
         tem variants.


     -p, --paravirt

         Create a paravirtualized guest image. Convert machine to
         a paravirtualized Xen-based image.


     -q, --quiet

         Avoid verbose output.


     -v, --hvm

         Create a fully virtualized guest image. Convert  machine
         to  a  hvm/qemu-based  image  (this is the default if --
         paravirt is not specified).


EXAMPLES
     Example 1 Converting a VMware VMX appliance


     The following sequence of commands  converts  a  VMware  VMX
     appliance and imports it into Solaris xVM.


       # virt-convert -o virt-instance /guests/vmx-appliance/ \
       /guests/xvm-appliance/
       # virsh define --relative-path=/guests/xvm-appliance/ \
       \guests/xvm-appliance/appliance.xml



ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:





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System Administration Commands                   virt-convert(1M)



     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | system/xvm/header-xvm       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Interface Stability         | Volatile                    |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     vdiskadm(1M), virt-install(1M), attributes(5), xvm(5)

CAVEATS
     Not all conversions will result in a working guest installa-
     tion.  If  the  source  OS  image  is configured to use SCSI
     disks, the use of IDE disks may cause the OS boot  to  fail.
     Some images may be configured to use the VMware drivers such
     as vlance. In the vlance case and in general, device  emula-
     tion support may not be sufficient for all OS installations.

AUTHORS
     Written by Joey Boggs and John Levon.


     See the AUTHORS file in the source distribution for the com-
     plete list of credits.





























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