43
Consider using XVA format to:
• Share VMs with versions of XenServer earlier than 6.0
• Import and export VMs from a script with a CLI
11.1.1. Open Virtualization Format (OVF and OVA)
OVF is an open standard, specified by the Distributed Management Task Force, for packaging and distributing
a virtual appliance consisting of one or more VM(s). For further details about OVF and OVA formats, see the
following:
• Knowledge Base Article CTX121652: Overview of the Open Virtualization Format
• Open Virtualization Format Specification
Note:
In order to import or export OVF or OVA packages, you must be logged in as root or have the
Pool Administrator Role Based Access Control (RBAC) role associated with your user account.
An OVF Package is the set of files that comprises the virtual appliance. It always includes a descriptor file and any
other files that represent the following attributes of the package:
Attribute Description
Descriptor (.ovf) The descriptor always specifies the virtual hardware
requirements of the package. It may also specify other
information, including:
• Descriptions of virtual disks, the package itself, and
guest operating systems
• A license agreement
• Instructions to start and stop VMs in the appliance
• Instructions to install the package
Signature (.cert) The signature is the digital signature used by a public
key certificate in the X.509 format to authenticate the
author of the package.
Manifest (.mf) The manifest allows you to verify the integrity of the
package contents. It contains the SHA-1 digests of
every file in the package.
Virtual disks OVF does not specify a disk image format. An OVF
package includes files comprising virtual disks in
the format defined by the virtualization product
that exported the virtual disks. XenServer produces
OVF packages with disk images in Dynamic VHD
format; VMware products and Virtual Box produce
OVF packages with virtual disks in Stream-Optimized
VMDK format.
OVF packages also support other non-metadata related capabilities, such as compression, archiving, EULA
attachment, and annotations.
Note:
When importing an OVF package that has been compressed or contains compressed files, you
may need to free up additional disk space on the XenServer host in order to import it properly.
