Import your VM as an image - VM Import/Export
PrerequisitesUpload the image to Amazon S3Import the VM

Import your VM as an image

After exporting your VM from your virtualization environment, you can import it to Amazon EC2. The import process is the same regardless of the origin of the VM.

Prerequisites for importing a VM into Amazon EC2

  • Create an Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket for storing the exported images or choose an existing bucket. The bucket must be in the Region where you want to import your VMs. For more information about S3 buckets, see the Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide.

  • Create an IAM role named vmimport. For more information, see Required service role.

  • If you have not already installed the AWS CLI on the computer you'll use to run the import commands, see the AWS Command Line Interface User Guide.

    Tip

    In supported AWS Regions, you can also use AWS CloudShell for a browser-based, pre-authenticated shell that launches directly from the AWS Management Console.

Upload the image to Amazon S3

Upload your VM image file to your S3 bucket using the upload tool of your choice. For information about uploading objects through the Amazon S3 console, see Uploading Objects.

Import the VM

After you upload your VM image file to Amazon S3, you can use the AWS CLI to import the image. These tools accept either the S3 bucket and path to the file or a URL for a public Amazon S3 file. Private Amazon S3 files require a presigned URL.

You can also use the Import virtual machine images to AWS template in the Migration Hub Orchestrator console to import your on-premises virtual machine images to AWS. For more information, see Example 4.

Important

  • AWS VM Import/Export strongly recommends specifying a value for either the --license-type or --usage-operation parameter when you create a new VM Import task. This ensures your operating system is licensed appropriately and your billing is optimized. For more information, see Licensing for your imported VMs.

  • AWS VM Import/Export only supports images that were natively installed inside the source VM and not those created using a physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversion process. For more information, see the VM Import/Export Requirements.

  • If you use a JSON file to pass input to the disk-containers parameter, prefix the file path with file:// or a syntax related error might occur.

The following examples use the AWS CLI command import-image to create import tasks.

Example 1: Import an image with a single disk

Use the following command to import an image with a single disk.

aws ec2 import-image --description "My server VM" --disk-containers "file://C:\import\containers.json"

The following is an example containers.json file that specifies the image using an S3 bucket.

[
  {
    "Description": "My Server OVA",
    "Format": "ova",
    "UserBucket": {
        "S3Bucket": "amzn-s3-demo-import-bucket",
        "S3Key": "vms/my-server-vm.ova"
    }
  }
]

The following is an example containers.json file that specifies the image using a URL in Amazon S3.

[
  {
    "Description": "My Server OVA",
    "Format": "ova",
    "Url": "s3://amzn-s3-demo-import-bucket/vms/my-server-vm.ova"
  }
]

Example 2: Import an image with multiple disks

Use the following command to import an image with multiple disks.

aws ec2 import-image --description "My server disks" --disk-containers "file://C:\import\containers.json"

The following is an example containers.json file.

[
  {
    "Description": "First disk",
    "Format": "vmdk",
    "UserBucket": {
        "S3Bucket": "amzn-s3-demo-import-bucket",
        "S3Key": "disks/my-server-vm-disk1.vmdk"
    }
  },          
  {
    "Description": "Second disk",
    "Format": "vmdk",
    "UserBucket": {
        "S3Bucket": "amzn-s3-demo-import-bucket",
        "S3Key": "disks/my-server-vm-disk2.vmdk"
    }
  }
]

Example 3: Import with the encrypted option enabled

Use the following command to import an image with an encrypted root volume.

aws ec2 import-image --description "My server disks" --encrypted --kms-key-id 0ea3fef3-80a7-4778-9d8c-1c0c6EXAMPLE --disk-containers "file://C:\import\containers.json"

The CMK provided for encryption must not be disabled during the entire import process. For more information, see Amazon EBS Encryption in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.

Example 4: Import an image using the Import virtual machine images to AWS template in Migration Hub Orchestrator

  1. Open the Migration Hub Orchestrator console.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Create migration workflow.

  3. On the Choose a workflow template page, choose the Import virtual images to AWS template.

  4. Configure and submit your workflow to begin the VM import. For more information, see the AWS Migration Hub Orchestrator User Guide.