Transferring VMs from ESXi Host to External HDD

[skyfxl]

Hi all,

I created a number of VMs on a free ESXi Hypervisor installation. One of my colleagues downloaded these VMs to an external HDD and sent it to me. When I reviewed the files on the HDD, I noticed that some of the VMs' files were missing. Specifically, some of the .vmdk files. My question is two fold:

- Is there any way I could download the missing .vmdk files using the ESXi shell? When viewing the directory using the vSphere Client, I am only shown the large .vmdk file (consisting of the .vmdk and flat.vmdk), so I can't just download it from there.

- What could be the reason these .vmdk's were left out of the transfer to the external HDD? Out of 8 VMs copied to the external HDD, 5 have this problem.

Appreciate any insights you could share!

-skyfxl

[sparrowangelste]

if you export the vm to a ova it will package it in a simple exportable package that can be imported easily..

might be easier then trying to copy and then verify everything was transfered over or not

[skyfxl]

That's a good idea, but unfortunately not feasible for me at this point. The reason my colleague had to send (read: ship) me the external was because the VMs are too large to download. I would have to ship the external HDD back to him, he would have to export the VMs, copy the files, and then ship it back to me, and that isn't feasible. Thanks anyways! If you have any thoughts on my two questions above that would great

[a_p_]

If I understand this correctly only the .vmdk header files are missing!?

- Is there any way I could download the missing .vmdk files using the  ESXi shell? When viewing the directory using the vSphere Client, I am  only shown the large .vmdk file (consisting of the .vmdk and flat.vmdk),  so I can't just download it from there.

You can either enable SSH and Use e.g. WinSCP to download these files or start downloading the .vmdk files from the Datastore Browser and Cancel the download after the header file has been downloaded (this file will usually be downloaded first)

- What could be the  reason these .vmdk's were left out of the transfer to the external HDD?  Out of 8 VMs copied to the external HDD, 5 have this problem.

That's something you may ask your colleage!?

André

[sparrowangelste]

the vm fiels were probably not copied in the first place/not enough disk space? It would be hard to know why exactly they arent there in your storage drive.

- Is there any way I could download the missing .vmdk files using the ESXi shell? When viewing the directory using the vSphere Client, I am only shown the large .vmdk file (consisting of the .vmdk and flat.vmdk), so I can't just download it from there.

If its too big for you to download  via vi client I dont know how downloading via shell will be any different

[skyfxl]

@a.p.: Perfect - WinSCP was exactly what I needed. Thanks!

You are correct - only the header .vmdk files were missing, and this was consistent across all (5) issue VMs. That's also why I was asking what could have caused this, since it seemed too coincidental to have been an oversight on my colleague's part.

@sparrowangels: Disk space isn't an issue. As I explained above, I only needed the header file, which the vSphere Web Client does not explicitly offer for download.