8.17. VBoxManage export

Export one or more virtual machines to a virtual appliance or to a cloud service.

Synopsis

VBoxManage export <machines> <--output=name> [ --legacy09 | --ovf09 | --ovf10 | --ovf20 ] [--manifest] [--options= manifest | iso | nomacs | nomacsbutnat ... ] [--vsys=virtual-system-number] [--description=description-info] [--eula=license-text] [--eulafile=filename] [--product=product-name] [--producturl=product-URL] [--vendor=vendor-name] [--vendorurl=vendor-URL] [--version=version-info] [--vmname=vmname]

VBoxManage export <machine> <--output=cloud-service-provider> [--opc10] [--vmname=vmname] [--cloud=virtual-system-number] [--cloudprofile=cloud-profile-name] [--cloudshape=cloud-shape-name] [--clouddomain=cloud-domain] [--clouddisksize=disk-size-in-GB] [--cloudbucket=bucket-name] [--cloudocivcn=OCI-VCN-ID] [--cloudocisubnet=OCI-subnet-ID] [--cloudkeepobject= true | false ] [--cloudlaunchinstance= true | false ] [--cloudlaunchmode= EMULATED | PARAVIRTUALIZED ] [--cloudpublicip= true | false ]

Description

The VBoxManage export command enables you to export one or more virtual machines (VMs) from Oracle VM VirtualBox. You can export the VM to one of the following:

  • Virtual appliance in OVF format. Includes the copying of its virtual disk images to compressed VMDK.

  • Cloud service such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Exports a single VM.

For more information about exporting VMs from Oracle VM VirtualBox, see Section 1.15, “Importing and Exporting Virtual Machines”

Export a Virtual Machine to an OVF Virtual Appliance

VBoxManage export <machines> <--output=name> [ --legacy09 | --ovf09 | --ovf10 | --ovf20 ] [--manifest] [--options= manifest | iso | nomacs | nomacsbutnat ... ] [--vsys=virtual-system-number] [--description=description-info] [--eula=license-text] [--eulafile=filename] [--product=product-name] [--producturl=product-URL] [--vendor=vendor-name] [--vendorurl=vendor-URL] [--version=version-info] [--vmname=vmname]

The VBoxManage export command enables you to export a VM as a virtual appliance in OVF format.

machines

Specifies a comma-separated list of one or more machines to export to the same OVF file.

--output=filename

Specifies the target OVF file. The file can be OVF, OVA, or a ZIP file compressed with the gzip command. Because the directory that contains the target OVF file will also store the exported disk images in the compressed VMDK format, ensure that this directory has sufficient disk space in which to store the images.

The short form of this option is -o.

--legacy09

Exports in OVF 0.9 legacy mode if the virtualization product is not fully compatible with the OVF 1.0 standard.

--ovf09

Exports in OVF 0.9 format.

--ovf10

Exports in OVF 1.0 format.

--ovf20

Exports in OVF 2.0 format.

--manifest

Creates a manifest of the exported files.

--options=argument,...

Specifies information to control the exact content of the appliance file. Specify one or more comma-separated arguments:

manifest

Produces a manifest file that detects corrupted appliances on import.

iso

Exports DVD images in an ISO file.

nomacs

Excludes all MAC addresses.

nomacsbutnat

Excludes all MAC addresses except for those in a NAT network.

--description=description-info

Specifies a description of the VM.

--eula=license-text

Specifies end-user license text.

--eulafile=filename

Specifies an end-user license file.

--product=product-name

Specifies a product name.

--producturl=product-URL

Specifies a product URL.

--vendor=vendor-name

Specifies a vendor name.

--vendorurl=vendor-URL

Specifies a vendor URL.

--version=version-info

Specifies version information.

--vmname=vmname

Specifies the name of the exported VM.

--vsys=virtual-system-number

Specifies the number of the virtual system.

Export a Virtual Machine to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

VBoxManage export <machine> <--output=cloud-service-provider> [--opc10] [--vmname=vmname] [--cloud=virtual-system-number] [--cloudprofile=cloud-profile-name] [--cloudshape=cloud-shape-name] [--clouddomain=cloud-domain] [--clouddisksize=disk-size-in-GB] [--cloudbucket=bucket-name] [--cloudocivcn=OCI-VCN-ID] [--cloudocisubnet=OCI-subnet-ID] [--cloudkeepobject= true | false ] [--cloudlaunchinstance= true | false ] [--cloudlaunchmode= EMULATED | PARAVIRTUALIZED ] [--cloudpublicip= true | false ]

The VBoxManage export command enables you to export a VM to a cloud service provider such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. By default, the exported disk image is converted into compressed VMDK format. This minimizes the amount of data to transfer to the cloud service.

Some of the following options are configuration settings for the VM instance. As a result, specify an Oracle Cloud Identifier (OCID) for a resource. Use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console to view OCIDs.

--output=cloud-service-provider

Specifies the short name of the cloud service provider to which you export the VM. For Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, specify OCI://.

The short form of this option is -o.

--opc10

Exports in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure format.

--cloud=number-of-virtual-system

Specifies a number that identifies the VM to export. Numbering starts at 0 for the first VM.

--vmname=vmname

Specifies the name of the exported VM, which is used as the VM instance name in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

--cloudprofile=cloud-profile-name

Specifies the cloud profile to use to connect to the cloud service provider. The cloud profile contains your Oracle Cloud Infrastructure account details, such as your user OCID and the fingerprint for your public key.

To use a cloud profile, you must have the required permissions on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

--cloudshape=cloud-shape-name

Specifies the shape used by the VM instance. The shape defines the number of CPUs and the amount of memory that is allocated to the VM instance. Ensure that the shape is compatible with the exported image.

--clouddomain=cloud-domain

Specifies the availability domain to use for the VM instance. Enter the full name of the availability domain.

--clouddisksize=disk-size-in-GB

Specifies the amount of disk space, in gigabytes, to use for the exported disk image. Valid values are from 50 GB to 300 GB.

--cloudbucket=bucket-name

Specifies the bucket in which to store uploaded files. In Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, a bucket is a logical container for storing objects.

--cloudocivcn=OCI-VCN-ID

Specifies the OCID of the virtual cloud network (VCN) to use for the VM instance.

--cloudocisubnet=OCI-subnet-ID

Specifies the OCID of the VCN subnet to use for the VM instance.

--cloudkeepobject=true | false

Specifies whether to store the exported disk image in Oracle Object Storage.

--cloudlaunchinstance=true | false

Specifies whether to start the VM instance after the export to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure completes.

--cloudlaunchinstance=EMULATED | PARAVIRTUALIZED

Specifies the launch mode used for the instance. Paravirtualized mode gives improved performance.

--cloudpublicip=true | false

Specifies whether to enable a public IP address for the VM instance.

Example

The following example shows how to export the myVM VM to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The command's option arguments describe the configuration of the myVM_Cloud VM in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. 

# VBoxManage export myVM --output=OCI:// --cloud=0 --vmname=myVM_Cloud \
--cloudprofile="standard user" --cloudbucket=myBucket \
--cloudshape=VM.Standard2.1 --clouddomain=US-ASHBURN-AD-1 --clouddisksize=50  \
--cloudocivcn=ocid1.vcn.oc1.iad.aaaa... --cloudocisubnet=ocid1.subnet.oc1.iad.aaaa... \
--cloudkeepobject=true --cloudlaunchinstance=true --cloudpublicip=true