VM Import/Export

To import your images, use the Amazon EC2 API tools, or if you use the VMware vSphere virtualization platform, the Amazon EC2 VM Import Connector to target a virtual machine (VM) image in your existing environment. You then specify which Availability Zone and instance type you want to run in Amazon EC2, and VM Import/Export will automatically transfer the image file and create your instance. Once you have imported your VMs, you can take advantage of Amazon’s elasticity, scalability and monitoring via offerings like Auto Scaling, Elastic Load Balancing and CloudWatch to support your imported images. Your instance will be up and running in Amazon EC2 in as little time as it takes to upload your image.*

You can export previously imported EC2 instances using the Amazon EC2 API tools. You simply specify the target instance, virtual machine file format and a destination S3 bucket, and VM Import/Export will automatically export the instance to the S3 bucket. You can then download and launch the exported VM within your on-premise virtualization infrastructure.

You can import VMware ESX and VMware Workstation VMDK images, Citrix Xen VHD images and Microsoft Hyper-V VHD images for Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. You can export previously imported EC2 instances to VMware ESX VMDK, VMware ESX OVA, Microsoft Hyper-V VHD or Citrix Xen VHD file formats. We plan to support import for additional operating systems, versions and virtualization infrastructure products in the future.

*The time required for VM Import is dependent upon your network connection speed and the size of the virtual machine image being uploaded.

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Using the VM Import/Export Tools

VM Import/Export offers two ways to import your virtual machine into Amazon EC2.

The first method is to import your VM image using the Amazon EC2 API tools. To get started, simply:

• Download the VM Import Command Line Tools from Amazon EC2 API tools.
• Import the VMDK, VHD or RAW file via the ec2-import-instance API. The import instance task captures the parameters necessary to properly configure the Amazon EC2 instance properties (instance size, availability zone, and security groups) and uploads the disk image into Amazon S3.
• If ec2-import-instance is interrupted or terminates without completing the upload, use ec2-resume-import to resume the upload. The import task will resume where it left off.
• Use the ec2-describe-conversion-tasks command to monitor the import progress and obtain the resulting Amazon EC2 instance ID.
• Once your import task is completed, you can boot the Amazon EC2 instance by specifying its instance ID to the ec2-run-instances API.
• Finally, use the ec2-delete-disk-image command line tool to delete your disk image from Amazon S3.

Alternatively, if you use the VMware vSphere virtualization platform, you can use the Amazon EC2 VM Import Connector for VMware vCenter, which provides you a simple graphical user interface to import your virtual machines. To get started with the Connector:

• Download the Amazon EC2 VM Import Connector for VMware vCenter
• Install the Connector vApp on your vCenter Server. The Connector will appear as a new tab in the VMware vSphere client.
• Using your VMware vSphere Client, select the virtual machine you’d like to import to Amazon EC2
• On the Import to EC2 tab, select the Region, Availability Zone, operating system, instance size, security group, and VPC details (if desired) into which the virtual machine should be imported and initiate the import process.
• Launch the Amazon EC2 instance when the import process has completed.

You can export EC2 instances you previously imported using the Amazon EC2 CLI tools:

• Export the instance using the ec2-create-instance-export-task command. The export command captures the parameters necessary (instance ID, S3 bucket to hold the exported image, name of the exported image, VMDK, OVA or VHD format) to properly export the instance to your chosen format. The exported file is saved in an S3 bucket that you previously created
• Use ec2-describe-export-tasks to monitor the export progress
• Use ec2-cancel-export-task to cancel an export task prior to completion

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Licensing Model

When you import your on-premise Microsoft Windows VM images into Amazon EC2, AWS will provide the appropriate Microsoft Windows Server license key for your imported instance. Hourly EC2 instance charges cover the Microsoft Windows software and underlying hardware resources. Your on-premise Microsoft Windows license key will not be used by EC2 and you are free to reuse it for other Microsoft Windows VM images within your on-premise environment.

If you export an Amazon EC2 instance, access to the Microsoft Windows Server license key for that instance is no longer available through AWS. You will need to reactivate and specify a new license key for the exported VM image after it is launched in your on-premise virtualization platform.

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Common Uses for VM Import/Export

Easily Import Your Data Center VM Applications to Amazon EC2

The VM Import process enables you to import your existing VM images from your environment to Amazon EC2 and immediately begin running your imported applications in the cloud. Leverage AWS’s Auto Scaling, Elastic Load Balancing, and CloudWatch monitoring to scale and monitor the newly imported applications.

Create a Disaster Recovery Repository for your VM images

Import your on-premise VM images to Amazon EC2 for backup and disaster recovery contingencies. Store the imported images as Elastic Block Store-backed AMIs so they’re ready to launch in Amazon EC2 when you need them. In the event of a contingency, you can quickly launch your instances to preserve business continuity while simultaneously exporting them to rebuild your on-premise infrastructure. You only pay for Elastic Block Store charges until you decide to launch the instances. Once launched, you pay normal Amazon EC2 service charges for your running instances. If you choose to export your instances, you will pay normal S3 storage charges.

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Projecting Costs

VM Import/Export is a feature of Amazon EC2 and is available at no additional charge, aside from normal Amazon EC2 service fees. Amazon S3 and EBS storage is utilized during the import and export process and is billed separately.

As an example, importing a 10 GB VMware image of Windows Server 2008 would amount to $0.04 for 1 day of S3 storage ($0.125 per GB/month x 10 GB / 30 days). In addition, EBS charges equal to $0.10 per GB-month will apply for the EBS volume containing the EBS-backed instance.

Exporting the same EC2 instance above will result in charges of $1.25 per month ($0.125 per GB/month x 10 GB) for S3 storage to hold the exported VM. Additionally, you will be billed a small amount (typically less than $1.00) for temporary use of EBS storage during the export process.

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Resources