6.5.1

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The vSphere Web Client validates an OVF or OVA file before importing it, and ensures that it is
compatible with the intended destination server. If the appliance is incompatible with the selected
host, it cannot be imported and an error message appears.
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OVF and OVA can encapsulate multi-tiered applications and more than one virtual machine.
Exporting OVF or OVA templates allows you to create virtual appliances that can be imported by other
users. You can use the export function to distribute pre-installed software as a virtual appliance, or to
distributing template virtual machines to users. You can make the OVF or OVA file available to users who
cannot access your vCenter Server inventory.
Deploying an OVF or OVA template allows you to add pre-configured virtual machines or vApps to your
vCenter Server or ESXi inventory. Deploying an OVF or OVA template is similar to deploying a virtual
machine from a template. However, you can deploy an OVF or OVA template from any local file system
accessible from the vSphere Web Client, or from a remote Web server. The local file systems can include
local disks (such as C:), removable media (such as CDs or USB keychain drives), and shared network
drives.
Deploy an OVF or OVA Template
You can deploy an OVF or OVA template from a local file system or from a URL.
Procedure
1 On the Select an OVF template page, specify the location of the source OVF or OVA template and
click Next.
Option Action
URL Type 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 file Click 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.
2 On the Select a name and folder 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.
3 On the Select a compute resource page, select a resource where to run the deployed VM template,
and click Next.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
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