Hyper-V is a mainstream virtualization solution for companies. It is an embedded feature in Windows operating system so users can easily enable Hyper-V on a Windows server. IT environment always needs the management of IT administrators to have good performance. When different virtualization platforms meet each other, what is the best way to manage heterogeneous virutal environment?
For example, if companies select both VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V to deploy virtual environment, IT administrator need to learn the knowledge of both virtualization solutions and a more likely scenario is that the administrator wants to migrate virtual machines like converting VMware to Hyper-V.
What are Hyper-V and OVA/OVF Template?
Microsoft provides GUI tools for users to manage virtual environment so in the most of time, IT administrators don’t have to use commands for VM management.
One of the tools is Hyper-V Manager which is the simplest tool for Hyper-V management. It can be used to create, delete, export, import VM, etc. and the VM export can be used as VM backup.
Hyper-V Manager is easy to use. To export VM, users just need to select the VM in Hyper-V Manager and then select Export. A folder containing everything of the VM will be generated and saved to the pointed directory. If you open the folder, you can get the VHD/VHDX files, the virtual disks, of the VM.
OVA/OVF template also contains all the information of the VM like the folder exported by Hyper-V Manager but can be recognized by more platforms. For example, OVA/OVF template can be directly used in XenCenter to import VMware VM to XenServer.
OVA/OVF template can’t be directly used on Hyper-V but if you need to import the original VM to another virtualization platform, you can follow the steps below to extract the virtual disk, vmdk file, from OVA/OVF template, convert it to vhd virtual disk and then import it via Hyper-V Manager.
Convert OVA/OVF template to vhd(x) format for Hyper-V
If you have got the OVA/OVF template from another virtualization platform like VMware and want to import VM data to Hyper-V, you don’t have to convert the whole template, but extract the vmdk file, convert it to vhd file, and then import it Hyper-V.
1. Extract the virtual disk from OVA/OVF template
If you have an OVA template, unzip it and then extract the virtual disk
If you have an OVF template, just open the folder and then extract the virtual disk
2. Convert the virtual disk to vhd(x) format
The tool you need is qemu-img. After you install the tool on local machine, you can convert the virtual disk with command.
qemu-img convert -p -f vmdk -O vpc my_centos7.vmdk my_centos7.vhd
-p: presenting the conversion progress
-f: format of the source image
-O: format of the target image
Then you can create a new VM with the virtual disk or attach the virtual disk to an existing VM.
Import the vhd(x) virtual disk to Hyper-V
After you get the vhd(x) virtual disk, use Hyper-V Manager to import it to a Hyper-V host.
1. Open Hyper-V Manager
2. Right-click the host name and select New > Virtual Machine
3. Read Before You Begin and click Next
4. Enter the name the VM and click Next
5. Specify the VM type and click Next
6. Assign memory for it and click Next
7. Configure networking and click Next
8. In Connect Virutal Hard Disk, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, click Browse to add the vhd(x) virtual disk you just get from OVA/OVF template. Click Next
9 Review the summary and click Finish
Then you successfully import the VM to Hyper-V.
Easily migrate VM to Hyper-V without converting OVA/OVF template
Using standard practices for virtual machine translation may result in complex compatibility issues. Considering tools specifically engineered for managing virtual landscapes could be an effective way of ensuring a smoother transition.
Vinchin Backup & Recovery is not only a backup solution for virtual machine, but also an advanced VM migration solution, supporting VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Proxmox, XenServer, XCP-ng, oVirt, OLVM, RHV, OpenStack, etc. By adding both virtualized platforms into the backup system, you can perform easy agentless VM migration with a user-friendly web console.
There is the built-in conversion engine in the backup system, you just need to select the VM you need to move it to another virtualized platform.
For instance, if you would like to migrate VM from VMware to Hyper-V:
1. Just select the backup of the target VMware VM
2. Select a Hyper-V host as target host
3. Simply set up restore strategies or directly skip this step
4. Just submit the job and then the VMware VM will be quickly restored on the Hyper-V host
Vinchin Backup & Recovery has been selected by thousands of companies and you can also start a 60-day full-featured free trial here. Also, contact us, leave your requirements, and then you will receive your tailored solution. We have established partnerships with reputable companies all over the world so if you would like to do a local business, you can select a local partner here.
Converting OVA/OVF to Hyper-V FAQs
1. Can you directly import OVA/OVF template to Hyper-V?
No, OVA/OVF template can’t be recognized by Hyper-V so you need to follow the steps above to convert it and then import the VM to Hyper-V.
2. What if your VM can’t be started on Hyper-V?
You should ensure that the OVA/OVF source is complete (make sure the original VM can be booted) or you need to try professional VM migration solution like Vinchin Backup & Recovery.
3. Is it better to use VHD or VHDX when converting OVA/OVF for Hyper-V?
VHDX is generally preferred for Hyper-V as it supports larger disk sizes, better performance, and improved resilience against corruption. However, VHD is compatible with older versions of Hyper-V, so if backward compatibility is important, you may want to use VHD.
Sum Up
Virtualization technologies are popular now and IT administrators often need to learn the knowledge about different virtualization solutions.
There are many excellent virtualization solution like Hyper-V and VMware. Hyper-V allows users to export VM to a folder but VMware VM export is OVF or OVA template so that OVA is not suitable for Hyper-V. If you would like to use the VMware VM on Hyper-V host, you should convert the virtual disk and then import it into Hyper-V host.
Also, you can select a professional backup and disaster recovery solution to migrate VM via an easier way so don’t miss out on the free trial.
