[SOLVED] Upload exported VM from VMWare to Proxmox VE

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dapeda

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Mar 3, 2021
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hi,

I am trying to migrate a machine from VMWare to Proxmox VE for testing purposes. I have already exported the VM. However, I can't find a way to upload the data to Proxmox VE at the WEB GUI. Under Storage -> local (pve) (99GB) and local-lvm (PVE) (1TB) I have also looked, here I also find no upload button or similar.
How can I copy the exported VM to the proxmox ve?

Thanks!
Peter
 
Hello,

I have tried to follow these instructions: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Migration_of_servers_to_Proxmox_VE
it says: Use the command qm importovf <new-vmid> </path/to/file.ovf> <storage>.
This assumes that the files from the machine being migrated already exist on the Proxmox VE. And that's the point: how does the data get on Proxmox VE? This is not apparent in the above link.

In your link it says at least "...and copy via ssh/scp the ovf and vmdk files to your Proxmox VE host." When I try to do that I get the error that there is not enough space. The VM has around 150GB, but there are almost 1TB free on local-lvm (pve)

Peter
 
As you mentioned import/export. Sometimes I need to "move" a VM from one proxmox to another proxmox (in a different location). Usally I do a backup and copy the backup file with scp to my workstation and afterwards to e.g. an usb stick. I wonder sometime why isn't there a "download" button besides a backup to download the backup directly?
 
I wonder sometime why isn't there a "download" button besides a backup to download the backup directly?
Click to expand...

I think feature request 3022 in Bugzilla might be interesting for you.

This assumes that the files from the machine being migrated already exist on the Proxmox VE.
Click to expand...
Correct.
In your link it says at least "...and copy via ssh/scp the ovf and vmdk files to your Proxmox VE host."
Click to expand...
This is one possible way.
how does the data get on Proxmox VE? This is not apparent in the above link.
Click to expand...
You could also use FTP or attach & mount an external disk.

When I try to do that I get the error that there is not enough space. The VM has around 150GB, but there are almost 1TB free on local-lvm (pve)
Click to expand...
local-lvm is an LVM storage, so block level. It should be easier to scp to a destination containing regular files, like /root.
 
To define it more clearly:
In our data center we have all our servers on VMWare. Furthermore we have a 2nd datacenter in our house where there is also a rack for our lab environment. Proxmox VE has been installed with default values suggested by the installer. Therefore the drive accessible for me via FTP or SSH has only about 100GB. The drive that serves as storage for the VM's has about 1TB.

But I can't seem to access it when I want to store the exported VMs. This means that I have to expand the drive that I reach via SSH or FTP to several hundred GB with expensive storage space, which then wastes me after the migration idle and expensive empty space.

You could also use FTP ....
Click to expand...
rather an emergency solution for small things for testing, but definitely not intended for productive environments. See above.
...or attach & mount an external disk.
Click to expand...
is ok if you can be on site. In our job we often have to work remotely, so an external disk is not an option.

How do you do migrations from Hyper-V or ESXi to Proxmox?
 
Do you maybe have a network storage that you could use temporarily? For example, you could upload the images to a NFS storage and add it in Datacenter→Storage→Add→NFS.

Alternatively, maybe this more direct approach works for you
  1. Convert the exported disk images locally to raw format (e.g. qemu-img convert supports .vmdk to .raw)
  2. Create a VM on your PVE host (here with ID 104)
  3. Add a disk for it (can be done during step 2, should be big enough) that is stored on your local-lvm
  4. Copy directly to your local-lvm using the following command. <your-vg-name> is probably "pve". Replace 123... with your PVE host IP address.

Code: 
dd if=./<local-image>.raw bs=4M | pv | gzip | ssh root@123.123.123.123 'gzip -d | dd of=/dev/<your-vg-name>/vm-104-disk-0 bs=4M'

Developing a (more) user-friendly way is in progress, but unfortunately not finished yet.
 
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