This command imports a virtual appliance in OVF format by copying the virtual disk images and creating virtual machines in VirtualBox. See Section 1.14, “Importing and exporting virtual machines” for an introduction to appliances.
The import subcommand takes at
least the path name of an OVF file as input and expects the disk images,
if needed, in the same directory as the OVF file. A lot of additional
command-line options are supported to control in detail what is being
imported and modify the import parameters, but the details depend on the
content of the OVF file.
It is therefore recommended to first run the import subcommand with
the --dry-run or
-n option. This will then print a
description of the appliance's contents to the screen how it would be
imported into VirtualBox, together with the optional command-line options
to influence the import behavior.
Use of the --options link|keepallmacs|keepnatmacs|keepdisknames:
option enables additional fine tuning of the clone operation. The first
option defines that a linked clone should be created, which is
only possible for a machine clone from a snapshot. The next two
options enable specification of how the MAC addresses of every virtual
network card should be handled. They can either be reinitialized
(the default), left unchanged
(keepallmacs) or left unchanged
when the network type is NAT
(keepnatmacs). If you add
keepdisknames all new disk images
are assigned the same names as the originals, otherwise they are
renamed.
As an example, here is the screen output with a sample appliance containing a Windows XP guest:
VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf --dry-run
Interpreting WindowsXp.ovf...
OK.
Virtual system 0:
0: Suggested OS type: "WindowsXP"
(change with "--vsys 0 --ostype <type>"; use "list ostypes" to list all)
1: Suggested VM name "Windows XP Professional_1"
(change with "--vsys 0 --vmname <name>")
3: Number of CPUs: 1
(change with "--vsys 0 --cpus <n>")
4: Guest memory: 956 MB (change with "--vsys 0 --memory <MB>")
5: Sound card (appliance expects "ensoniq1371", can change on import)
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore")
6: USB controller
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 6 --ignore")
7: Network adapter: orig bridged, config 2, extra type=bridged
8: Floppy
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 8 --ignore")
9: SCSI controller, type BusLogic
(change with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --scsitype {BusLogic|LsiLogic}";
disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --ignore")
10: IDE controller, type PIIX4
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --ignore")
11: Hard disk image: source image=WindowsXp.vmdk,
target path=/home/user/disks/WindowsXp.vmdk, controller=9;channel=0
(change controller with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --controller <id>";
disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --ignore")
As you can see, the individual configuration items are numbered, and
depending on their type support different command-line options. The import
subcommand can be directed to ignore many such items with a
--vsys X --unit Y --ignore option, where
X is the number of the virtual system (zero unless there are several
virtual system descriptions in the appliance) and Y the item number, as
printed on the screen.
In the above example, Item #1 specifies the name of the target
machine in VirtualBox. Items #9 and #10 specify hard disk controllers,
respectively. Item #11 describes a hard disk image; in this case, the
additional --controller option indicates
which item the disk image should be connected to, with the default coming
from the OVF file.
You can combine several items for the same virtual system behind the
same --vsys option. For example, to
import a machine as described in the OVF, but without the sound card and
without the USB controller, and with the disk image connected to the IDE
controller instead of the SCSI controller, use this:
VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf
--vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore --unit 6 --ignore --unit 11 --controller 10