Objective
The objective is to first export XenServer’s virtual machine into a regular backup file and later import a new virtual machine from the previously generated backup file.
Requirements
Privileged access to XenServer’s command line.
Difficulty
EASY
Instructions
Identify VM’s UUID
We start by identifying a virtual machine we would lake to export to as a regular backup file. Run xe vm-list
to list all available virtual machines and take a note of the virtual machine in question:
# xe vm-list uuid ( RO) : 7371124f-7d4d-66b7-cbc7-a98b1457543e name-label ( RW): Debian Jessie 8.5 power-state ( RO): halted uuid ( RO) : bad8e456-df88-435d-ba12-3f0f6e54b2c6 name-label ( RW): Control domain on host: xenserver power-state ( RO): running
Take VM snapshot
At this stage we take a snapshot of our virtual machine. The UUID of the target VM is eg. 7371124f-7d4d-66b7-cbc7-a98b1457543e
:
# xe vm-snapshot new-name-label="Debian Jessie 8.5 - Export" vm=7371124f-7d4d-66b7-cbc7-a98b1457543e 1fcc437b-b792-d609-925a-a700be870dff
Snapshot with name Debian Jessie 8.5 - Export
has been taken.
Export VM to a file
Now is a time to export our VM into a file:
# xe vm-export vm=1fcc437b-b792-d609-925a-a700be870dff filename=debian_vm.xen Export succeeded # ls -lh debian_vm.xen -rw------- 1 root root 1.5G Sep 16 17:27 debian_vm.xen
Import VM from a file
The file created in the previous step can now be used as a base to import new XenServer virtual machines:
# xe vm-import filename=debian_vm.xen dc1c72bb-3a53-9335-669a-6e68a7f99873
The new virtual machine with UUID dc1c72bb-3a53-9335-669a-6e68a7f99873
has been created.
# xe vm-list uuid ( RO) : dc1c72bb-3a53-9335-669a-6e68a7f99873 name-label ( RW): Debian Jessie 8.5 - Export power-state ( RO): halted uuid ( RO) : 1fcc437b-b792-d609-925a-a700be870dff name-label ( RW): Debian Jessie 8.5 - Export power-state ( RO): halted uuid ( RO) : 7371124f-7d4d-66b7-cbc7-a98b1457543e name-label ( RW): Debian Jessie 8.5 power-state ( RO): halted uuid ( RO) : bad8e456-df88-435d-ba12-3f0f6e54b2c6 name-label ( RW): Control domain on host: xenserver power-state ( RO): running
Remove the snapshot
Optionally you can now remove the unused snapshot to conserve some disk space:
# xe snapshot-uninstall snapshot-uuid=1fcc437b-b792-d609-925a-a700be870dff The following items are about to be destroyed VM : 1fcc437b-b792-d609-925a-a700be870dff (Debian Jessie 8.5 - Export) VDI: 3c2ca807-8654-468d-98e2-dec8fb7513b8 (0) Type 'yes' to continue yes All objects destroyed