Using OVF Templates
Open Virtualization Format (formerly called Open Virtual Machine Format) is a Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) standard format for describing the configuration of a VM. Although it was originally pioneered by VMware and other industry contributors, most virtualization vendors now support OVF as well. VMware vSphere 6.7 provides OVF support in three ways:
- Deploying new VMs from an OVF template (essentially, importing a VM in OVF format)
- Exporting a VM as an OVF template
- Storing OVF templates within a Content Library
Let's look first at deploying VMs from an OVF template.
Deploying a VM from an OVF Template
To deploy a VM from an OVF template, right-click a host, cluster, datacenter, or vCenter Server and select Deploy OVF Template. This initiates a wizard that walks you through deploying a new VM from the OVF template. Figure 10.13 shows that vCenter Server can deploy OVF templates stored locally or those stored remotely and accessible with a URL.
