Export Virtual Machine in qcow2 format.
- Thread starter Andrea Carnevali
- Start date
Export it via vzdump or the GUI and "it depends" on your configuration where your VMs are stored.
Is there currently a way to export a VM via the Proxmox GUI and use that export on a desktop machine?
The idea behind this is to have a quick way to start a few VMs on another machine in case the Proxmox server fails. I know about clusters and similar setups, but I don’t want to go to that extent.
So: is it possible to export a VM directly from the Proxmox GUI and then boot that export using a standard tool like virt-manager on a Debian desktop?
The idea behind this is to have a quick way to start a few VMs on another machine in case the Proxmox server fails. I know about clusters and similar setups, but I don’t want to go to that extent.
So: is it possible to export a VM directly from the Proxmox GUI and then boot that export using a standard tool like virt-manager on a Debian desktop?
I'm using Proxmox as an on-top installation on an existing Debian 12 system (netinstall), because I prefer working with a full OS that—at least without a GUI—is identical to my desktop setup. However, when installing Proxmox VE, the default Debian kernel is replaced by a Proxmox kernel.
Unfortunately, the Proxmox kernel repeatedly causes issues when compiling various system tools—such as the Nvidia driver (run installer) or sometimes even with the Arduino IDE. That's why, as a workaround, I’d like to be able to copy VMs from the Proxmox host to my desktop machine and run them there—without relying on the Proxmox kernel.
In the past, I did this using VirtualBox, which worked fine, although Proxmox is much more comfortable, stable, and saves a lot of administrative effort (especially backups, routines, etc.).
So my question is: How can I export a VM from my Proxmox host and run it on my desktop machine? Ideally via the GUI (alternatively by copying qcow images via shell/SSH).
Unfortunately, the Proxmox kernel repeatedly causes issues when compiling various system tools—such as the Nvidia driver (run installer) or sometimes even with the Arduino IDE. That's why, as a workaround, I’d like to be able to copy VMs from the Proxmox host to my desktop machine and run them there—without relying on the Proxmox kernel.
In the past, I did this using VirtualBox, which worked fine, although Proxmox is much more comfortable, stable, and saves a lot of administrative effort (especially backups, routines, etc.).
So my question is: How can I export a VM from my Proxmox host and run it on my desktop machine? Ideally via the GUI (alternatively by copying qcow images via shell/SSH).
you can export/copy the disk(s), but the PVE config and those of other hypervisors (even QEMU managers) are different, so you'd need to create a matching one yourself. if you are using QEMU on the other host as well, you could try to run it manually with slight adaptations by basing the invocation off of the output of "qm showcmd XXX --pretty".
I've done it via SSH shell now. Since one of the last versions, Proxmox can also directly import OVA or VMDK files, if I understood correctly. However, Proxmox stores the image uploads under /var/tmp, so I still have to copy the VMs directly to the VM storage via shell. An import/export option like in VirtualBox would be really great for Proxmox.
From the UI, via the CLI this was possible for many, many years. Often you don't need to convert vHD formats, qemu is able to read them all.
Sad to hear. I didn't had any problems compiling nvidia modules from testing within PVE. Ubuntu userland tools work all with the Ubuntu-based Proxmox kernel, so maybe get those tools and compile them. You will not have fun compiling debian stable stuff with Proxmox Kernel, at least try testing or even unstable.
Haven't tried Arduino GUI on PVE, so I cannot comment on that.
My production systems all run on Debian Stable, and I didn’t want to change that. AI applications, including the "CodeProject.AI Server," run without issues on Ubuntu 24.04, because Ubuntu is used as the base for many projects (like Shinobi, etc.). I actually started with Ubuntu around 20 years ago and switched to Debian shortly after. Debian is more stable, less bloated with unnecessary software, and not driven by a CEO. CEOs are dangerous (especially in IT), particularly when I look at the Trump election and the second-tier CEOs—and what happened to Facebook and others.
As I mentioned, I had installed the Proxmox kernel and immediately ran into problems compiling the NVIDIA drivers and also with the Arduino IDE suite when compiling sketches/software for the boards. That's why I prefer to change or install as little as possible on the Proxmox host and keep the base system as a Debian netinstall with Proxmox on top.
The great thing about Proxmox is that you can simply pass hardware through to a VM, and then run all kinds of software inside the VM—like I currently do with the CodeProject.AI Server and a P2000 GPU.
It would be nice if Proxmox had a feature to change the temporary upload path from /var/tmp, and also an import/export function for VMs/containers/backups, etc., via the WebUI.
Alternatively, integration via CLI always works.
( https://speefak.spdns.de/oss_lifestyle/migration-einer-virtualbox-vm-nach-proxmox/ )
As I mentioned, I had installed the Proxmox kernel and immediately ran into problems compiling the NVIDIA drivers and also with the Arduino IDE suite when compiling sketches/software for the boards. That's why I prefer to change or install as little as possible on the Proxmox host and keep the base system as a Debian netinstall with Proxmox on top.
The great thing about Proxmox is that you can simply pass hardware through to a VM, and then run all kinds of software inside the VM—like I currently do with the CodeProject.AI Server and a P2000 GPU.
It would be nice if Proxmox had a feature to change the temporary upload path from /var/tmp, and also an import/export function for VMs/containers/backups, etc., via the WebUI.
Alternatively, integration via CLI always works.
( https://speefak.spdns.de/oss_lifestyle/migration-einer-virtualbox-vm-nach-proxmox/ )
You didn't get into details if you tried this. This has been a problem for many years due to the huge difference in kernel version from Debian Stable and Ubuntu LTS kernel.