Virtual machines can be exported in OVF and OVA formats and deployed in the same or different environments. OVA and OVF are compressed file packages that enable faster deployment and may contain more than one VM. From vSphere 6.5, the installation of the CIP is no longer required to import and export OVF or OVA templates.
The procedure to deploy a VM from an OVF or OVA file is similar to deployment from a template:
- From the vSphere Web Client, right-click a valid inventory object (host, datacenter, cluster, or resource pool) and select the Actions | Deploy OVF Template option.
- Click the Choose Files button to specify the .ovf file to use, or you can deploy the ...