Options for deploying a vCenter VM template (stored in content library) to VMWare WorkStation Pro VM

[LumH]

Hi folks,

I would like to know the "best practice" of deploying a vCenter VM template that is stored in the content library (1st PC) to a VMWare WorkStation VM (2nd PC). The vCenter content library is served by a FreeNAS VM.

As I understand it, from vCenter web client, I cannot deploy a vCenter VM template directly to a Workstation VM because it only controls ESXi Hosts.

After research, I believe that VMWare vCenter Converter Standalone or Converter Standalone is the tool I'll need (as opposed to the OVF tool).

Steps:

• on the vCenter PC, install Converter Standalone (client-server).
• on the Workstation PC, install Converter Standalone (client).
• on either vCenter PC, or Workstation PC, use Converter Standalone to convert the VM template on vCenter Host to a VM on Workstation Host.
  Does it make a difference whether I run the convert command from the vCenter PC, or the Workstation PC ?
  I know in Windows that it's more efficient to run the copy command from the target PC and have it "pull" the data from the source.
• I'm guessing the number of deployments I can do in concurrently depends on the load it places on the network?

Is it as simple as that?

Appreciate any guidance!!

Thank you.

Lum

[daphnissov]

Well, there's really no good way to do this because vSphere is a totally different product set with different aims and goals than either of the desktop products. vCenter doesn't manage VMware Workstation applications because, again, that isn't its goal. What may be best is if you have these templates defined as OVF/OVA files available to all PCs running Workstation via a centralized network share. You could then choose to deploy those on each Workstation installation that you need. But other than that, you're trying to hack together something that otherwise has no official OOTB support so it'll be difficult goings.

[LumH]

daphnissov,

So are you saying that the Converter Standalone tool won't do the job as described?

And I've had to use OVF tool to export from VM Template on vCenter to an OVA file on a network drive, and then from the target Workstation PC, again OVF tool to import from the OVA file back to a VM ?

Regards

Lum

[daphnissov]

Honestly, I'm not positive. It may do that, but it's been a while since I looked at it. Your suggested workflow, however, looks suspect. Converter is not installed on a "vCenter PC" but either on a workstation PC which is used to convert an external, powered-on system to a VM. It can also convert to Workstation-approved format, but this can be had just by exporting a template as an OVF. When you use the vCenter Content Library, templates are stored natively in this format anyhow, so no extra conversion is really necessary. However, depending on how you've created that template inside vSphere, it may not be fully compatible with Workstation.

I think it'd be more helpful if you explain the problem you're trying to solve here and what your goal is. There may be a better way to achieve this with fewer swings and roundabouts.

[sjesse]

What I've done in the past with template from vsphere is to deploy a VM in vsphere that you need. Then connect to vcenter with workstation, you can then find the VM and there is a download button. It may take a while but thats the last way I did it.

[sjesse]

I think this is just creating and downloading an ovf like mentioned before, but its a built in workstation function.

[LumH]

daphnissov,

So the goal is to store a set of VM templates (vCenter content library) that can be used to deploy/clone to both ESXi VMs and Workstation VMs.

Can a VM template created from an ESXi VM be used to create a VM for Workstation?

Can a VM template created from a Workstation VM be used to create a VM for ESXi?

I guess the assumption here is that the source VMs have no special h/w dependencies like pass-through devices or custom device drivers.

[LumH]

sjesse,

I know from vCenter, that I cannot "connect" to any Workstation Host(s), but you are saying that from a Workstation Host, I can "connect" to vCenter?

I didn't know you can do that, and get access to the vCenter's VM Templates stored in a content library? cool!

I'm using vCenter 6.7, Workstation Pro 14, ESXi 6.5 and 6.5.

Thanks!

[sjesse]

Yes with vmware workstation you can connect to vcenter, I do it with my home lab all the time. They keep adding features, like in workstation 14 they added these

• ESXi Host Power Operations
  The following ESXi power operations can now be performed from Workstation 14 Pro:
  • Shutdown
  • Restart
  • Enter/Exit Maintenance Mode

VMware Workstation 14 Pro Release Notes

I'm not sure about the template part though. If you need something from that template I think you may need to deploy it to temp vm and then download it with workstation.