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Preparing the VM Image

VM Format

In order to upload a VM, you will need to have a VM image in one of the following formats prepared for portability:

  • OVF (preferred format) - The complete VM package contains a minimum of three files: <vm_image>.ovf, <vm_image>disk#.vmdk, <vm_image>.mf).
  • OVA (a single Tarball file that contains individual files that make up the package). 

An OVA package contains individual files that make up a virtual system used for portability and distribution. An OVA package contains one OVF descriptor (a file with extension .ovf), which is an XML file that describes the packaged virtual machine. In addition to the OVF descriptor, the OVF package will typically contain one or more disk images (a file with the extension .vmdk), and a manifest file used for integrity and authenticity checks.

You can prepare an image of the VM you want to import by first exporting it to OVF. When the VM image is exported correctly, the resulting OVF package will contain:

  • One OVF descriptor with file extension .ovf. This is an XML file that specifies the packaged VM.
  • One or more disk image files with the file extension .vmdk.
  • Zero or more other files, such as a file with extension .mf.

The above VM formats should have the following requirements:

  • Created using VMware infrastructure (Workstation, ESX, vCenter Server, Fusion).
  • Hardware versions up to 21 are supported.

Virtual Hardware Specification

  • CPU - The VM can have up to four CPUs.
  • Disks - The VM must have at least one attached disk (the VM can include more than one disk, but you will not be able to change the disk size of the additional drives after uploading the VM to CloudShare).
  • Network adapters - The VM can have up to 10 network adapters.
  • CPU, RAM, disk size – The totals should not exceed your CloudShare hardware quota, as agreed upon in your contract.

Additional Requirements

The following requirements ensure higher performance and better compatibility when running on CloudShare’s service:

  • Set the screen resolution to 1024 x 768.
  • Install the latest Windows updates and disable Windows auto-update.
  • Allow Remote Desktop connectivity (Computer Properties > Advanced > Remote).
  • Add the Administrator account to the Remote Users Group (if you have other users, you may need to add them as well).
  • Set the desktop visual effect to “best performance”.
  • Set the wallpaper to a single solid color.
  • Disable 3D graphics support.
  • Disable sound over Remote Desktop connection.
  • Disable automatic sleep or hibernate mode.
  • Disable automatic power off for the display and hard disk.
  • Turn off the screensaver.
  • Disable Windows Firewall (alternatively, you can add an exception for RDP access on ports 443, 3389).

Using VMWare

Export the VM using VMWare infrastructure (Workstation, ESX, vCenter Server, Fusion).

If you are using VMware Workstation, do the following:

  1. Check the settings of your VM for the Virtual Disk type being used (i.e., IDE, SCSI, SATA, or NVMe). If the type is NVMe, do the following:
    1. Note the location of the Virtual Disk (.vmdk) file and remove the NVMe Virtual Disk from your VM's devices.
    2. Add the Virtual Disk (.vmdk) file back to your VM's devices configured as SATA Virtual Disk type.
  2. Go to Manage > Change Hardware Compatibility and set your VM version to VMX11 (VMware Workstation 11).
  3. Go to File > Export to OVF and export your VM.

Using VirtualBox

  1. Export the VM using Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager. CloudShare fully supports OVF 1.0 format (recommended). OVF 2.0 and 0.9 are also supported; however, CloudShare will need to apply some auto-corrections on import, assigning a default CPU and RAM size. 
  2. VirtualBox export creates an OVA file (i.e., a single distribution file containing an OVF file package, saved in TAR format). Before running the CloudShare VM import wizard, you will need to extract this file on your local machine using a supporting compression tool.
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