VM Template Mobility

The mobility feature enables users to export or move a template to private or public cloud. The original template must always be in the private cloud.

You can export:

• multi-disk templates to other datacenters managed by Abiquo
• single boot disks to public cloud regions in
  
  • AWS
  • Azure: You cannot upload more than one file with the same name in the same account and region. The file name is the unique part of the container name which is combined with the account name and region

To export to public cloud, you must first prepare the templates according to the cloud provider instructions.
See Preparing Templates for Export to Public Cloud

This section describes how to prepare templates for export to public cloud.

AWS Templates

The export process will export your template from private cloud to Amazon, and convert it into an Amazon AMI

Please see the AWS documentation for more information about prerequisites and compatible images at https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/vmimport-image-import.html

To summarize, you'll need:

• A bucket in each region where you want to export a template. The platform will automatically manage the creation of the S3 bucket, and name it using your credentials and region, to guarantee a unique name.
• Role vmimport, necessary for the export process. If your credentials have access to the IAM API, the platform will automatically manage this process. If not, you'll have to create the role, and attach a policy with access to the buckets used for export. More information https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/vmie_prereqs.html#vmimport-role

The process will use the AWS SDK to upload your template to an S3 bucket and start the export process, track it until it finishes, and finally delete your template from the bucket. The bucket will remain created for future exports.
The export process works with single disks in VMDK format only. If your disk is in a different format, the platform will convert it into VMDK format, and then export it.

There are no known limitations on regions, so you can use any region. Other limitations documented at https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/vmie_prereqs.html

Azure Templates

Users must prepare the templates according to the Microsoft documentation for each guest operating system. The following links are provided for convenience, but please see Azure documentation for information about prerequisites and compatible images.

You can prepare the virtual machine template inside or outside of Abiquo. After you create the template outside of Abiquo, you can upload it to Abiquo and export it.

If you decide to prepare your virtual machine within Abiquo it is NOT necessary to work with a virtual machine template in VHD format or deployed on Hyper-V. It is not necessary for you to have a Hyper-V hypervisor installed in your Abiquo datacenter.

As part of the export to Azure, Abiquo will automatically convert your template to the VHD format that is compatible with Microsoft Azure. See AZURE LINK

Prepare Linux VMs for Azure

For a compatibility table of endorsed distributions, see https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-linux-endorsed-distributions/

The following links are provided for convenience only. Always check Azure documentation before performing an export. 

Prepare the image following the link for each endorsed distribution in step 1. See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-linux-create-upload-vhd/

Although Microsoft only recommends uploading endorsed distributions, there are also some generic Linux distribution steps. See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-linux-create-upload-vhd-generic/ 

If you are working in Abiquo, create an instance of the VM to save it as a template in the Apps library.  

Prepare Windows VMs for Azure

For a compatibility table, see https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-create-upload-vhd-windows-server/

The following links are provided for convenience only. Always check Azure documentation before performing an export. 

 Prepare the image following the Microsoft instructions. At the time of writing, these can be summed up as follows: run the default sysprep of the machine with the OOBE, generalized and shutdown options.

If you are working in Abiquo, create an instance of the VM to save it as a template in the Apps library. 

Before you begin:

• Check cloud providers. See Introduction to mobility
• Prepare templates for export to public cloud according to the cloud provider's instructions. See Preparing Templates for Export to Public Cloud

To export a template to a datacenter or public cloud

1. Go to Apps library → select the private cloud datacenter where the VM template is stored.
2. Select the VM template and from its options menu, select Export
   
   
3. From the dialog, select Private or Public cloud.
   1. For public cloud
      1. select the public cloud provider and region
      2. select one bootable system disk.
   2. For private cloud
      1. select the datacenter
      2. select disks from the template to export.  
4. Click Export

Export templates with the API

Using the API you can perform the export using the VirtualMachineTemplates Resource with the same method as is used for promoting an instance template. The datacenter repository should be the destination of the export and the request payload should contain a link to the VM template to export. See https://wiki.abiquo.com/api/latest/VirtualMachineTemplatesResource.html#create-a-virtual-machine-template-in-a-datacenter-repository-by-download-promote-or-export