Exporting an Image

Scenarios

Background

• You can export images of cloud servers from the cloud platform and then use the exported images to create cloud servers for use in on-premises clusters or private clouds. The following figure shows the process of exporting an image.

  Figure 1 Exporting an image

  
  
• The time required for exporting an image depends on the image size and the number of concurrent export tasks.
• You can export images in ZVHD2, QCOW2, VMDK, VHD, or ZVHD format. The default format of a private image is ZVHD2. Images exported in different formats may vary in size.
• For an image larger than 128 GB, enable Fast Export when exporting it to an OBS bucket. The image will be exported as a ZVHD2 file. You can convert the image format after it is exported.
  Note

  Fast Export is unavailable for encrypted images. To export an encrypted image, decrypt it first.

Constraints

• An image can only be exported to a Standard bucket that is in the same region as the image.
• The following private images cannot be exported:
  • Full-ECS images
  • ISO images
  • Private images created from a Windows, SUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, or Oracle Linux public image
• The image size must be less than 1 TB. Images larger than 128 GB support only fast export.

Prerequisites

• You have Administrator permissions for OBS.
• An OBS bucket is available for storing the private image in the region where the private image is located.

  If no OBS bucket is available, create one by referring to Object Storage Service User Guide. Select Standard for Storage Class.

Procedure

1. Log in to the management console.
   1. Under Computing, click Image Management Service. The IMS console is displayed.
2. Locate the row that contains the image to be exported, click More in the Operation column and select Export.
3. In the displayed Export Image dialog box, set the following parameters:
   • Fast Export: To export an image larger than 128 GB, you must enable fast export, and you cannot specify the format of the exported image (which can only be ZVHD2). After exporting the image, you can use qemu-img-hw to convert it to your desired format. For details, see 3.
     Note

     For details about the differences between standard and fast export, see What Are the Differences Between Standard and Fast Import/Export?

   • Format: Select one from qcow2, vmdk, vhd, and zvhd as you need.
   • Name: Enter a name that is easy to identify.
   • Storage Path: Click to expand the bucket list and select an OBS bucket for storing the exported image.
     Note

     An image can only be exported to a Standard bucket that is in the same region as the image. So, only such buckets are listed.

4. Click OK.

   You can view the image export progress above the private image list.

Follow-up Procedure