Can p2vtool.exe be used to import or export to OVF?

[itguybri]

I am a bit confused after reading the documentation for performing commandline migrations using p2vtool.exe

I get the impression that I could export to OVF by using the "Hosted Destination" option, however I want my end result to be an OVF, not a VMX + VMDK.

Is this posible?

Is there a good example of doing this?

Thanks in advance!

[itguybri]

I obviously overlooked it, as I see the XML is the last two examples in the guide.

[bobbarjung]

Yes, p2vTool.exe in Converter 3.0.3 can be used to import from and export to Ovfs.

in the xml file you are using, you can specify that the target should be ovf using the dest tag as follows.

<dest>

<ovfSpec> vmName="targetvmname" path="<target path>"/>

</dest>

This will create OVF + compressed vmdk package.

Deepak.

[itguybri]

Is the VMDK always compressed when outputted to an OVF?

Is there ever a case when it isn't?

And, is compressed (in this case) just mean that the disk is essentially made dynamic, or are the zeros simply removed (regardless of the disk type (flat or dynamic))?

[bobbarjung]

Ovfs created with converter will always carry virtual disks in compressed vmdk format.

Compressed vmdk is a virtual disk format optimized for streaming, but also used to package virtual appliances.

Deepak.