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ElessarGR
Contributor
Contributor

ESXi 6.5 Deploy ova from Datastore

Hello to all,

can you please guys help me on how to deploy an ova file from my datastore on the ESXi that I have? [6.5.0 Update 1 (Build 6765664)]

I cant find a way how to do that!

Thank you

18 Replies
rsk007
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

  1. Select any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine, such as a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host.
  2. Select Actions > Deploy OVF Template.The Deploy OVF Template wizard opens.
  3. On the Select template page, specify the location of the source OVF or OVA template and click Next.
    OptionAction
    URLType a URL to an OVF or OVA template located on the Internet. Supported URL sources are HTTP and HTTPS.Example: http://vmware.com/VMTN/appliance.ovf.
    Local fileClick Browse and select all the files associated with an OVF template or OVA file. This includes files such as .ovf, .vmdk, etc. If you do not select all the required files, a warning message displays.
  4. On the Select name and location page, enter a unique name for the virtual machine or vAPP, select a deployment location, and click Next.The default name for the virtual machine is the same as the name of the selected OVF or OVA template. If you change the default name, choose a name that is unique within each vCenter Server virtual machine folder.The default deployment location for the virtual machine is the inventory object where you started the wizard.
  5. On the Select a resource page, select a host, a cluster, a resource pool, or a vApp where to run the deployed VM template, and click Next.
  6. On the Review details page, verify the OVF or OVA template details and click Next.
    OptionDescription
    PublisherPublisher of the OVF or OVA template, if a certificate included in the OVF or OVA template file specifies a publisher.
    Download sizeSize of the OVF or OVA file.
    Size on diskSize on disk after you deploy the OVF or OVA template.
    DescriptionDescription, as provided by the distributor of the OVF or OVA template.
  7. On the Select storage page, define where and how to store the files for the deployed OVF or OVA template.
    1. Select the disk format for the virtual machine virtual disks.
      FormatDescription
      Thick Provisioned Lazy ZeroedCreates a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated when the virtual disk is created. Data remaining on the physical device is not erased during creation, but is zeroed out later, on demand, on first write from the virtual machine.
      Thick Provision Eager ZeroedA type of thick virtual disk that supports clustering features such as Fault tolerance. Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the flat format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out when the virtual disk is created. It might take much longer to create disks in this format than to create other types o disks.
      Thin ProvisionUse this format to save storage space. For the thin disk, you provision as much datastore space as the disk requires based on the value that you enter for the disk size. However, the thin disk starts small and at first, uses only as much datastore space as the disk needs for its initial operations.
    2. Select a VM Storage Policy.This option is available only if storage policies are enabled on the destination resource.
    3. Enable the Show datastores from Storage DRS clusters check box to choose individual datastores from Storage DRS clusters for the initial placement of the virtual machine.
    4. Select a datastore to store the deployed OVF or OVA template.The configuration file and virtual disk files are stored on the datastore. Select a datastore large enough to accommodate the virtual machine or vApp and all associated virtual disk files.
  8. On the Select networks page, select a source network and map it to a destination network. Click Next.The Source Network column lists all networks that are defined in the OVF or OVA template.
  9. On the Ready to complete page, review the page and click Finish.

for more information: Deploy an OVF or OVA Template in the vSphere Web Client

If you found my answers helpful please consider marking them as helpful or correct.

Santhosh Ranga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/santhosh-ranga-43a88b124/
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ElessarGR
Contributor
Contributor

hello rsk007,

thank you for your help.

Capture3.PNG

Capture.PNG

I know that I need to find the

URLType a URL to an OVF or OVA template located on the Internet. Supported URL sources are HTTP and HTTPS.Example

but I dont see it!
Did I miss something?

Thanks again!

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a_p_
Leadership
Leadership

Afaik there's no option to deploy an OVA from a datastore. Download the OVA to the system on which you run the vSphere Client, and deploy it from there.

André

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ElessarGR
Contributor
Contributor

Hi a.p.,

vSphere Client doesnt work with 6.5 version unfortunately.

Smiley Sad Other suggestions?

I want to avoid reupload the file via the web client again, its taking toooo long...

Thank you

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a_p_
Leadership
Leadership

Sorry if I was unclear, I meant the Web Client.

André

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ElessarGR
Contributor
Contributor

Hello again,

for the vSphere Web Client if I am not wrong you need a vCenter server right?

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a_p_
Leadership
Leadership

There's a web client for vCenter Server as well as for ESXi.

Anyway, none of the clients provide an option to select an OVA that's stored on a datsatore.


André

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ElessarGR
Contributor
Contributor

"none of the clients provide an option to select an OVA that's stored on a datsatore."

oh.... thats bad Smiley Sad

So there is no way.

Then each time I will need to upload the ova.... until they fix that.

Thanks for the help!

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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

There's nothing to "fix" as OVAs and OVFs are not runtime artifacts like VMXs and their accompanying files. They're meant to be transported, stored, and then uploaded by a user or programmatically to instantiate into running VMs. The only way this will change is when the Content Library feature natively supports OVAs.

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VMarcin
Contributor
Contributor

A datastore can hold ISO's too.. there is nothing wrong with that.

Why wouldn't VMware allow you to upload an ovf from its own datastore to itself which would be BY FAR the quickest option?

They need a fix, the Host Client should have an option to deploy an OVF from datastore IMO.  They have before.

fredoz
Contributor
Contributor

Hi.

You need to use ovftool do do that

in short : install ovftool ( it's command line  you can find a windows version on VMware site)

get the proper url of your ova by browsing your esxi datastore (ie : https://esx2.mydomain.local/folder  )

get the proper parameters for the ovtool to work

hint : when you try to install manually : you'll see the questions that need answers ( in my example : EULA and NICs matching )

Just tested from windows  10 ( only hiding my domain )

ovftool --name="bigve-4" -ds=ds2 --net:Management=MGMT --net:HA=LAB --net:Internal=DMZ --net:External=LAB -dm=thin --acceptAllEulas --noSSLVerify "https://esx2.mydomain.local/folder/kits/BIGIP-13.1.0.5-0.0.5.ALL-scsi.ova?dcPath=ha%252ddatacenter&d..." "vi://esx2.mydomain.local/"

full explanation here : https://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/03/how-to-deploy-ovf-located-on-esxi.html

https://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/03/how-to-deploy-ovf-located-on-esxi.html

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vitaprimo
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

How come VMware has come up with a way to deploy complete datacenters in minutes out of a template or something if wish yet somehow they haven't figured out that image sources are most likely already attached to hosts, it's in the basic settings to mount images directly to VMs! It makes no sense be able to access the files in ESXi mounted datastores but not to make use of them --if you happen to need to mount the OVA for vCenter itself-- or to hunt for URLs or download an image to a client computer only to upload it again. Six major vSphere versions and it has slipped no one's mind; impressive.  

Is there something like a suggestions    around?

SupreetK
Commander
Commander

Hello Folks,

We can follow the below steps to deploy an OVA from the datastore -

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-deploy-vmware-virtual-machine-from-ova-directly-local-gabra-1/

Regards,

Supreet

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Phoenixoboros
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

I have tried this method and judging from the NIC usage on my PC where I executed the command ovftool still use my PC as a "proxy" to transfer the files from the url to the ESXi host, it does not instruct the ESXi host to pull the files directly from the URL without transiting through my PC like we want to.

What we want to do is avoid that and have the ESXi directly pull the files from its own datastore, this way we can maybe attain HDD speeds on OVF deployments.

Best regards.

dweiss1
Contributor
Contributor

I don't have access to the ESXi hosts directly.  But, if you do, this looks like a viable option.

http://www.running-system.com/deploy-an-ovf-template-stored-on-a-local-esxi-datastore/

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WillyEight
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

An alternative solution would be to deploy basic linux vm, mount the cd (map it from your datastore).

This should give you access to the files and allow you to deploy VCSA from the desktop.

regards,

Dan

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BillionthOne
Contributor
Contributor

be forewarned: the method show in the provided link will expose the username and password in the events log for anyone with read-only permission to see...  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-deploy-vmware-virtual-machine-from-ova-directly-local-gabra-1/ 

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elies_jebri
Contributor
Contributor

In ESXi 7

the trick is to add "&f.ovf" at the end of the URL you copy from the datastore

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