Configurations to export VMs from your virtualization environment - VM Import/Export
General configurationsLinux/Unix configurationsWindows configurations

Configurations to export VMs from your virtualization environment

Before you can import your VM to Amazon EC2, you need to export it from your virtualization environment. Use the following guidelines to configure your VM before exporting it.

General configurations

The following configurations should be made in your VM before you export it from your virtualization environment. You should also review the section specific to your operating system for additional required configurations.

  • Disable any antivirus or intrusion detection software on your VM. These services can be re-enabled after the import process is complete.

  • Uninstall the VMware Tools from your VMware VM.

  • Disconnect any CD-ROM drives (virtual or physical).

  • Your source VM must have a functional DHCP client service. Ensure that the service can start and is not disabled administratively. All static IP addresses currently assigned to the source VM are removed during import. When your imported instance is launched in an Amazon VPC, it receives a primary private IP address from the IPv4 address range of the subnet. If you don't specify a primary private IP address when you launch the instance, we select an available IP address in the subnet's IPv4 range for you. For more information, see VPC and Subnet Sizing.

Linux/Unix configurations

The following configurations should be made in your Linux VM before you export it from your virtualization environment. This section assumes you have already reviewed General configurations.

  • Enable Secure Shell (SSH) for remote access.

  • Make sure that your host firewall (such as Linux iptables) allows access to SSH. Otherwise, you won't be able to access your instance after the import is complete.

  • Make sure that you have configured a non-root user to use public key-based SSH to access your instance after it is imported. The use of password-based SSH and root login over SSH are both possible, but not recommended. The use of public keys and a non-root user is recommended because it is more secure. VM Import does not configure an ec2-user account as part of the import process.

  • Make sure that your Linux VM uses GRUB (GRUB legacy) or GRUB 2 as its bootloader.

  • Make sure that your Linux VM uses one of the following for the root file system: EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, Btrfs, JFS, or XFS.

  • Make sure that your Linux VM is not using predictable network interface device names.

  • Shut down your VM before exporting it from your virtualization environment.

Windows configurations

The following configurations should be made in your Windows VM before you export it from your virtualization environment. This section assumes you have already reviewed General configurations.

  • Enable Remote Desktop (RDP) for remote access.

  • Make sure that your host firewall (Windows firewall or similar), if configured, allows access to RDP. Otherwise, you cannot access your instance after the import is complete.

  • Make sure that the administrator account and all other user accounts use secure passwords. All accounts must have passwords or the import process might fail.

  • Install .NET Framework 4.5 or later on the VM. We install the .NET framework on your VM as needed.

  • Disable Autologon on your Windows VM.

  • Open Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update. In the left pane, choose Change settings. Choose the desired setting. Be aware that if you choose Download updates but let me choose whether to install them (the default value) the update check can temporarily consume between 50% and 99% of CPU resources on the instance. The check usually occurs several minutes after the instance starts. Make sure that there are no pending Microsoft updates, and that the computer is not set to install software when it reboots.

  • Apply the following hot fixes as needed:

  • Set the RealTimeIsUniversal registry key. For more information, see Set the time for your Amazon EC2 instance in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.

  • Run System Preparation (Sysprep) on your Windows Server VM images.

    • If you run Sysprep before importing your VM, the import process adds an answer file (unattend.xml) to the VM that automatically accepts the End User License Agreement (EULA) and sets the locale to EN-US.

    • If you choose to run Sysprep after importing your VM, we recommend that you use EC2Launch (Windows Server 2016 and later) or EC2Config (through Windows Server 2012 R2) to run Sysprep.

    To include your own answer file instead of the default (unattend.xml)

    1. Copy the following sample file below and set the processorArchitecture parameter to x86 or amd64, depending on your operating system architecture:

      <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<unattend xmlns:wcm='https://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State' xmlns='urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend'>
 <settings pass='oobeSystem'>
  <component versionScope='nonSxS' processorArchitecture='x86 or amd64' name='Microsoft-Windows-International-Core' publicKeyToken='31bf3856ad364e35' language='neutral'>
   <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
   <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
   <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
   <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
  </component> 
  <component versionScope='nonSxS' processorArchitecture='x86 or amd64' name='Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup' publicKeyToken='31bf3856ad364e35' language='neutral'>
   <OOBE>
    <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
    <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
    <SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
   </OOBE>
  </component>
 </settings>
</unattend>

    2. Save the file in the C:\Windows\Panther directory with the name unattend.xml.

    3. Run Sysprep with the /oobe and /generalize options. These options strip all unique system information from the Windows installation and prompt you to reset the administrator password.

    4. Shut down the VM and export it from your virtualization environment.