Programmatic modifications made to VMs by VM Import/Export - VM Import/Export

Programmatic modifications made to VMs by VM Import/Export

When importing a VM using the ImportImage API, AWS modifies the file system to make the imported VM accessible. When writing a modified file, AWS retains the original file at the same location under a new name. The following actions may occur:

General

  • For parity with images provided by AWS, the AWS Systems Manager client is installed on the VM.

Windows

  • Modifying registry settings to make the VM bootable.

Linux

  • Installing Citrix PV drivers either directly in OS or modify initrd/initramfs to contain them.

  • Modifying network scripts to replace static IPs with dynamic IPs.

  • Modifying /etc/fstab, commenting out invalid entries and replacing device names with UUIDs. If no matching UUID can be found for a device, the nofail option is added to the device description. You must correct the device naming and remove nofail after import. As a best practice when preparing your VMs for import, we recommend that you specify your VM disk devices by UUID rather than device name.

    Entries in /etc/fstab that contain non-standard file system types (cifs, smbfs, vboxsf, sshfs, etc.) are disabled.

  • Modifying grub bootloader settings such as the default entry and timeout.