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When you create an OVF package, the virtual hard disk images are, by default, allocated the same
amount of space as the exported VM. For example, a VM that is allocated 26 GB of space will have a
hard disk image that consumes 26 GB of space, regardless of whether or not the VM actually requires it.
Note:
Compressing the VHD files makes the export process take longer to complete, and importing
a package containing compressed VHD files will also take longer, as the Import wizard must
extract all of the VHD images as it imports them.
If both the Create OVA package (single OVA export file) and Compress OVF files options are checked, the
result is a compressed OVA file with the file extension .ova.gz.
7. Configure Transfer VM networking.
Select a network from the list of network interfaces available in the destination pool or host, and then choose
to automatically or manually configure the network settings.
• To use automated Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to automatically assign networking
settings including the IP address, subnet mask and gateway, select Automatically obtain network settings
using DHCP.
• To configure networking settings manually, select Use these network settings, and then enter the required
values. You must enter an IP address, but the subnet mask and gateway settings are optional.
Click Next to continue.
8. Review the export settings.
To have the wizard verify the exported package, select the Verify export on completion check box. Click
Finish to begin the export process and close the wizard.
Note:
Exporting a VM may take some time, depending on the size of the VM and the speed and
bandwidth of the network connection.
The export progress is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the XenCenter window and on the Logs tab. To
cancel an export in progress, click on the Logs tab, find the export in the list of events, and click the Cancel button.
11.5.1.1. Exporting VMs as XVA
You can export an existing VM as an XVA file using the XenCenter Export wizard or the xe CLI. Citrix does
recommend exporting a VM to a machine other than a XenServer host, on which you can maintain a library of
export files (for example, to the machine running XenCenter).
Warning:
It may not always be possible to run an imported VM that was exported from another server
with a different CPU type. For example, a Windows VM created on a server with an Intel VT
Enabled CPU, then exported, may not run when imported to a server with an AMD-VTM CPU.
To Export VM(s) as XVA Files using XenCenter:
1. Shut down or suspend the VM that you wish to export.
2. Open the Export wizard: from the Resources pane, right-click the VM which you want to export, and then
select Export.
3. On the first page of the wizard, enter the name of the export file, specify the folder where you want the
file(s) to be saved, and select XVA File (*.xva) from the Format drop-down list. Click Next to continue.
4. From the list of available VMs, select the VM that you want to export, and then click Next to continue.
