Importing Virtual Machines to ESX Server
Posted by hsukumar on April 15, 2008
Description: Import an ESX 3 VM to an ESX 3 host
You may have recently completed an in place upgrade from ESX 2.x to 3, are working in a stand-alone environment or maybe carrying out a site migration and are wondering how to import an existing ESX 3 VM to an ESX server. By using the Virtual Infrastructure Client either by logging directly onto the ESX server or via VirtualCenter it can be done simply using the GUI.
Pre-Requisites:
1. Source VM must be in version 3 format 2. Require access to the host via Virtual Infrastructure Client 3. Source VM must be on a vmfs3 Datastore that is visible to the ESX server
Tasks:
Log onto VirtualCenter or the local ESX server via the Virtual Infrastructure Client.
From the inventory, select the ESX server you wish to import the VM into. From the Summary tab right-click the vmfs Datastore where the VM is residing and select Browse Datastore from the context menu
Navigate to the folder containing the VM and select the vmx file. Right-click it and select Add to Inventory.
A wizard will appear. Follow the instructions to name the VM and add it to a Resource Pool and click Finish to complete.
The VM will now appear to the esx host and can be powered on.
