Overview

A Windows template is a VM image where a Windows VM instance with installed necessary software such as drives and QGA removes and then regenerates its security identifier (SID, a unique identifier of a user, user group, or computer account). This template can be mainly used to create VM instances in bulk in a custom manner. This Tutorial supports the following versions:

  • Windows version: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.
  • ZStack Cloud version: 3.7.1 or later.

Environment Preparation

To encapsulate a template, prepare the following software or tools:
  • ZStack Cloud:

    To obtain 3.7.1 or later versions, go to the Official Website

  • Windows image:

    Make sure that you obtain a Windows image from the Microsoft official website as needed, and ensure your compliance of relevant authorizations and permissions. This Tutorial referencescn_windows_server_2008_r2_standard_enterprise_datacenter_and_web_with_sp1_x64_dvd_617598.iso.

  • Optional. USB 3.0 driver:

    USB 2.0 driver is native to Windows Server 2008 R2. Install USB 3.0 driver as needed. The driver path (64-bit) references http://cdn.zstack.io/tools/renesas_usb30_21390.exe .

Template

This Tutorial includes two types of encapsulation method: Windows and Windows VirtIO. Encapsulation procedures for each method are different. Make sure that you perform relevant operations according to the corresponding method as follows:
  • Windows: Add an image by using Windows platform type. Note that the template with the Windows method has two types of drive: IDE and VirtIO. For more information about how to encapsulate a template with the Windows method, see Windows Template.
  • Windows VirtIO: Add an image by using Windows platform type and enable Virtio. Note that the template with the Windows VirtIO method has only one type of drive: VirtIO. For more information about how to encapsulate a template with the Windows VirtIO method, see Windows VirtIO Template.

Windows Template

To encapsulate a Windows template, follow these steps:
  1. Add an image.
  2. Install an operating system.
  3. Install GuestTools and other software.
  4. Prepare the operating system.
  5. Create a system template.

The following details the whole process of how to encapsulate a Windows Server 2008 R2 template.

Add an Image

Add a Windows Server 2008 R2 image to ZStack Cloud. This image is used to install the operating system.

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Resource Center > Resource Pool > Compute Configuration > Image. On the Image page, click Add Image. Then, the Add Image page is displayed. On the Add Image page, set the following parameters:
  • Name: Enter a name for the image.
  • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the image.
  • Image Type: Select an image type. Here, select system template.
  • Image Format: Select an image format. Here, select iso.
  • CPU Architecture: Select a CPU architecture for the image. VM instances created from the image use this CPU architecture.
    Note: If you select aarch64 or mips64, set the BIOS mode to UEFI.
  • Platform: Select an image platform. Here, select Windows.
  • OS: Select an operating system that is consistent with the image.
  • VirtIO: Disable Virtio.
  • Backup Storage: Select a backup storage.
  • Image Path: Specify an image URL or upload a local file.
    Note:
    • The URL can be either in the HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/SFTP format or the file:/// format. Currently, the file:/// format supports only ImageStorage backup storages.
    • To upload a local file, make sure that this file can be accessed by your browser. ImageStore backup storages are supported.
  • BIOS Mode: Select a BIOS mode, including Legacy or UEFI. Default mode: Legacy.
    • Legacy: This mode supports all operating systems.
    • UEFI: This mode supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, and their later versions.
      Note:
      • For a Windows-based VM instance (such as Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows 10) booted by UEFI, the following page will be displayed after the VM instance starts. Press any key to continue the installation of the VM operating system. Otherwise, the VM instance will enter the UEFI Shell.
        Figure 1. Press Any Key to Continue


        If the VM instance already entered the UEFI Shell, you must run the following commands before you boot the operating system.
        Shell> fs0:
        FS0:\> dir
        FS0:\> cd EFI
        FS0:\EFI\> cd BOOT
        FS0:\EFI\BOOT\> BOOTX64.EFI
        After you perform the preceding operations, press any key to continue the VM operating system installation. Otherwise, the VM instance will enter the UEFI Shell again.
Figure 2. Add Windows Image


Install an Operating System

Create a VM instance and install the operating system by using the Windows Server 2008 R2 image you added in the previous step.

Create a VM Instance

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Resource Center > Resource Pool > Virtual Resource > VM Instance. On the VM Instance page, click Create VM Instance. On the displayed, click on Standard Creation. Then, follow these steps to create a VM instance.
  1. Complete the basic configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • Name: Enter a name for the VM instance.
    • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the VM instance.
    • Quantity: Enter the number of VM instances to be created. You can create VM instances in bulk.
    • Tag: Optional. Bind one or more tags to the VM instance.
    • Group:Choose a group for the VM instance. If not selected, the VM instance will go to the default group.
    • Set the VM offering by using one of the following methods:
      • Basic Offering: Set the VM offering by selecting an existing instance offering and disk offering.
        • Instance Offering: Select an existing instance offering.
        • Image: Select an existing image.
        • Data Volume: Optional. Choose whether to create a data volume and attach it to the VM instance. Here, you do not need to create a data volume.
      • Custom Offering: Set the VM offering by customizing the following VM configurations:
        • CPU: Set the number of CPU cores of the VM instance.
        • Memory: Set the memory size of the VM instance.
        • Image: Select an existing image.
        • Data Volume: Optional. Choose whether to create a data volume and attach it to the VM instance. Here, you do not need to create a data volume.
  2. Complete the resource configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • Network Configurations: Select an L3 network used by the VM instance and complete the network configurations.
      • Network: Select an L3 network used by the VM instance. Supported network types: public network, flat network, and VPC network.
      • Make Default: If you add multiple network configurations, set one of the networks as the default network.
      • Enable SR-IOV: Optional. Choose whether to use SR-IOV to generate a VF NIC and pass it through to the VM instance.
      • Assign IP: Optional. Choose whether to assign an IP address to the VM NIC.
      • MAC Address: Optional. Choose whether to configure a MAC address for the VM instance.
      • Security Group: Optional. Associate a security group with the VM instance.
    • Cluster: Optional. Specify a cluster for the host on which the VM instance is to be started.
    • Storage Allocation Policy: Specify how the Cloud allocates a primary storage.
    • Host: Optional. Select the host on which the VM instance is to be started. If you specified a cluster, select a host from the cluster.
    • vDrive: Optional. Add a virtual drive (vDrive) for the VM instance.
    • GPU: Add a GPU device for the VM instance by specifying a GPU specification or device. The GPU device can be either a physical GPU (pGPU) or a virtual GPU (vGPU).
    • CPU Pinning: Specify the association between the pCPU of the host and the vCPU of the VM instance. Then, the Cloud allocates a pCPU to the VM instance accordingly. This helps to improve the VM performance.
  3. Complete the system configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • SSH Login Mode: Optional. Set the SSH login mode.
    • Hostname: Set a hostname for the VM instance.
    • User Data: Optional. Inject user-defined parameters or scripts to customize configurations for the VM instance or to accomplish specific tasks.
    • Console Password: Set a console password for the VM instance.
    • Console Mode: Set the console mode. Options: VNC, SPICE, and VNC+SPICE. Default: VNC.
  4. Confirm the information.

    View the information about the VM instance. You can edit the information by clicking the Edit icon.

On the Preview page, click OK. Then, the Windows Server 2008 VM instance is created. The operating system will automatically enter the BIOS mode.

Figure 3. Create VM Instance


Install the Operating System

On the VM Instance page, select the VM instance you created before, and launch the VM console. Then, the installation page appears.

Figure 4. Install Operating System


Complete the configurations by referencing to the common installation process of Windows Server 2008 R2. During the installation, the operating system will be automatically rebooted, due to which the console might be disconnected. In that case, launch the console again. After you complete installing the operating system, set the admin password and log in to the operating system. So far, the Windows operating system is installed.

Figure 5. Complete Installing Operating System


Prevent Disk from Being Offline

If the server is abnormally shut down, disks on the VM instance might be offline after the VM instance reboots. To prevent this, after you complete installing the Windows operating system, go to Command Prompt as an Administrator, and run the following commands successively.
C:\Users\Administrator> diskpart  ::Enter diskpart.
DISKPART> san   ::View the SAN policy.
DISKPART> san policy=onlineall   ::Change the SAN policy by using diskpart.
DISKPART> exit

Install GuestTools and other Software

GuestTools is a performance optimization tool used by ZStack Cloud to improve the performance of Windows VM instances. The following table lists the tools and drivers contained in GuestTools.
Type Name Functionality
VirtIO driver SCSI controller Storage controllers of the VirtIO type can effectively improve the disk performance of a VM instance in a virtualization environment.
PCI simple communications controller After you install a PCI simple communications controller, a Windows VM instance can communicate with the underlying KVM virtualization.
PCI device After you install a PCI device and enable its internal monitoring, Windows will support the balloon memory scaling.
Ethernet adapter A VirtIO Ethernet adapter can effectively improve the network performance of a VM instance in a virtualization environment.
Commonly-used tools QEMU Guest Agent (QGA)

QGA is an application where mutual interactions between a host and a VM instance can be achieved. These interactions do not rely on networks, thereby greatly improving the VM performance and functionality.

QGA helps check the state of GuestTools and VirtIO drivers in a VM instance.

After QGA is installed, the VM instance enables you to change its password online.

Cloudbase-Init The VM instance that has Cloudbase-Init installed enables you to import User Data and achieve other custom functionalities.
Agent internal monitoring

After an agent is installed, you can check the internal monitoring data of a VM instance.

Install GuestTools

  1. Install GuestTools ISO.

    After you complete installing the operating system, enter the VM details page, and click install GuestTools to attach the GuestTools ISO to the VM instance.

  2. Load the GuestTools image.
    Enter the console page of the VM instance, and click Install GuestTools in the GuestTools installation prompt. Then, the operating system automatically loads the GuestTools image to the virtual CD Drive. To check this operation, go to the Computer page.
    Figure 6. Load GuestTools Image


  3. Install GuestTools and VirtIO driver.

    Right-click the GuestTools CD Drive, select Install or run program from your media or double-click the GuestTools installation program. By following the displayed setup installation wizard, install GuestTools, commonly-used tools, and VirtIO drivers, successively.

    Figure 7. Install GuestTools




  4. Confirm the installation and reboot your computer.

    After you complete installing GuestTools, click Finish in the displayed dialog box. Make sure that you complete the installation and reboot the computer to make all configurations take effect.

    Figure 8. Complete the Installation and Reboot Your Computer


    After the operating system reboots, the platform of the VM instance is automatically changed to WindowsVirtio.

(Optional) Install other Software

You can install other software as needed in addition to the tools or drivers included in GuestTools.

For example, USB 2.0 driver is native to Windows Server 2008 R2. You can install the USB 3.0 driver as needed. Then, you can use the USB passthrough functionality.

You can obtain the driver file from https://cdn.zstack.io/tools/renesas_usb30_21390.exe , and double click the file to install the USB 3.0 driver.

Figure 9. Install USB 3.0 Driver


Prepare the Operating System

Operating system preparation is designed for generalizing and removing system-specific information such as hardware of a computer via Windows-native System Preparation Tool (Sysprep). To prepare the operating system, follow these steps:
  1. Open the CMD command line by using the administrator permission.
  2. Go to the C:\Windows\System32\sysprep directory and run the Sysprep tool.
  3. Configure preparation policies and perform relevant operations. You can complete this step by setting the following parameters:
    • System Cleanup Action: Select Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE).
    • Generalize: Select this checkbox. Then, the VM operating system created from the template has a unique security identity (SID).
    • Shutdown Options: Select Shutdown.
Click OK. Then, the system preparation begins.
Figure 10. System Preparation


Create a System Template

After you create the operating system template successfully, you can create VM instances in bulk in a custom manner by using this image. Also, you can export this image to create VM instances in other cloud platforms.

Create a VM Image

On the VM Instance page, select the target VM instance and create an image for the VM instance.

On the Create Image page, set the following parameters:
  • Name: Enter a name for the image.
  • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the image.
  • Image Type: Select system image.
  • Backup Storage: Select an existing backup storage.
Click OK. Then, the image is created.
Figure 11. Create Image


Note: If your backup storage is ImageStore or Ceph, you can create an image for a VM instance when it is in the running state. For other types of backup storage, you need to stop the VM instance before you can create an image.

Export the Image

Exported images can be used directly by other cloud platforms to create VM instances. The export method varies based on the backup storage type.
  • ImageStore backup storages

    On the Image page, click Actions > Export Image. Then, an image is exported.

    After the image is generated, you can download the exported image by copying the image URL on the Overview tab page of the image details page.

  • Ceph backup storages
    On the Overview tab page of the created image, copying Backup Storage Path will prompt you for the corresponding information such as pool and image in the Ceph backup storage. After you copy this image path, you can export the Ceph image by running rbd on the Ceph backup storage. Assume that the storage path of the Ceph backup storage is ceph://bak-t-c9923f982/61ece0adc72, run the following command:
    [root@ceph-node1 ~]#rbd export bak-t-c9923f982/61ece0adc72 /root/export-test.image
    #bak-t-c9923f982 is the pool name where the image belongs.
    #61ece0adc72 is the image name.
    #/root/export-test.image is the name of the exported target file .

Windows VirtIO Template

To encapsulate a Windows VirtIO template, follow these steps:
  1. Add an image.
  2. Install an operating system.
  3. Install GuestTools and other software.
  4. Prepare the operating system.
  5. Create a system template.

The following details the whole process of how to encapsulate a Windows Server 2008 R2 template.

Add an Image

Add a Windows Server 2008 R2 image and a VirtIO drive image to ZStack Cloud. These two images are used to install the operating system.

Add a Windows Image

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Resource Center > Resource Pool > Compute Configuration > Image. On the Image page, click Add Image. Then, the Add Image page is displayed.

On the Add Image page, set the following parameters:
  • Name: Enter a name for the image.
  • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the image.
  • Image Type: Select an image type. Here, select system template.
  • Image Format: Select an image format. Here, select iso.
  • CPU Architecture: Select a CPU architecture. Here, select x86_64.
  • Platform: Select the platform for the image. Here, select Windows.
  • OS: Select Windows.
  • VirtIO: Enable VirtIO.
  • Backup Storage: Select an existing backup storage.
  • Image Path: Specify an image URL or upload a local file.
    Note:
    • The URL can be either in the HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/SFTP format or the file:/// format. Currently, the file:/// format supports only ImageStorage backup storages.
    • To upload a local file, make sure that this file can be accessed by your browser. ImageStore backup storages are supported.
  • BIOS Mode: Select a BIOS mode, including Legacy or UEFI. Default mode: Legacy.
    • Legacy: This mode supports all operating systems.
    • UEFI: This mode supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, and their later versions.
      Note:
      • For a Windows-based VM instance (such as Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows 10) booted by UEFI, the following page will be displayed after the VM instance starts. Press any key to continue the installation of the VM operating system. Otherwise, the VM instance will enter the UEFI Shell.
        Figure 12. Press Any Key to Continue


        If the VM instance already entered the UEFI Shell, you must run the following commands before you boot the operating system.
        Shell> fs0:
        FS0:\> dir
        FS0:\> cd EFI
        FS0:\EFI\> cd BOOT
        FS0:\EFI\BOOT\> BOOTX64.EFI
        After you perform the preceding operations, press any key to continue the VM operating system installation. Otherwise, the VM instance will enter the UEFI Shell again.
  • QEMU Guest Agent: Choose whether the current image has installed QEMU Guest Agent (QGA). Here, leave this option alone.
  • Support Elastic Baremetal Instance: Choose whether to support elastic baremetal instance. Here, leave this option alone.
Figure 13. Add Windows Image


Install an Operating System

Create a VM instance and install an operating system by using the Windows Server 2008 R2 image you added before.

Create a VM Instance

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Resource Center > Resource Pool > Virtual Resource > VM Instance. On the VM Instance page, click Create VM Instance. On the displayed, click on Standard Creation. Then, follow these steps to create a VM instance.

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Resource Center > Resource Pool > Virtual Resource > VM Instance. On the VM Instance page, click Create VM Instance. On the displayed, click on Standard Creation. Then, follow these steps to create a VM instance.
  1. Complete the basic configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • Name: Enter a name for the VM instance.
    • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the VM instance.
    • Quantity: Enter the number of VM instances to be created. You can create VM instances in bulk.
    • Tag: Optional. Bind one or more tags to the VM instance.
    • Group:Choose a group for the VM instance. If not selected, the VM instance will go to the default group.
    • Set the VM offering by using one of the following methods:
      • Basic Offering: Set the VM offering by selecting an existing instance offering and disk offering.
        • Instance Offering: Select an existing instance offering.
        • Image: Select the WindowsVirtio image you added before.
        • Data Volume: Optional. Choose whether to create a data volume and attach it to the VM instance. Here, you do not need to create a data volume.
      • Custom Offering: Set the VM offering by customizing the following VM configurations:
        • CPU: Set the number of CPU cores of the VM instance.
        • Memory: Set the memory size of the VM instance.
        • Image: Select an existing image.
        • Data Volume: Optional. Choose whether to create a data volume and attach it to the VM instance. Here, you do not need to create a data volume.
  2. Complete the resource configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • Network Configurations: Select an L3 network used by the VM instance and complete the network configurations.
      • Network: Select an L3 network used by the VM instance. Supported network types: public network, flat network, and VPC network.
      • Make Default: If you add multiple network configurations, set one of the networks as the default network.
      • Enable SR-IOV: Optional. Choose whether to use SR-IOV to generate a VF NIC and pass it through to the VM instance.
      • Assign IP: Optional. Choose whether to assign an IP address to the VM NIC.
      • MAC Address: Optional. Choose whether to configure a MAC address for the VM instance.
      • Security Group: Optional. Associate a security group with the VM instance.
    • Cluster: Optional. Specify a cluster for the host on which the VM instance is to be started.
    • Storage Allocation Policy: Specify how the Cloud allocates a primary storage.
    • Host: Optional. Select the host on which the VM instance is to be started. If you specified a cluster, select a host from the cluster.
    • vDrive: Optional. Add a virtual drive (vDrive) for the VM instance.
    • GPU: Add a GPU device for the VM instance by specifying a GPU specification or device. The GPU device can be either a physical GPU (pGPU) or a virtual GPU (vGPU).
    • CPU Pinning: Specify the association between the pCPU of the host and the vCPU of the VM instance. Then, the Cloud allocates a pCPU to the VM instance accordingly. This helps to improve the VM performance.
  3. Complete the system configurations.
    Set the following parameters:
    • SSH Login Mode: Optional. Set the SSH login mode.
    • Hostname: Set a hostname for the VM instance.
    • User Data: Optional. Inject user-defined parameters or scripts to customize configurations for the VM instance or to accomplish specific tasks.
    • Console Password: Set a console password for the VM instance.
    • Console Mode: Set the console mode. Options: VNC, SPICE, and VNC+SPICE. Default: VNC.
  4. Confirm the information.

    View the information about the VM instance. You can edit the information by clicking the Edit icon.

On the Preview page, click OK. Then, the Windows Server 2008 VM instance is created. The operating system will automatically enter the BIOS mode.
Figure 14. Create VM Instance


Install the Operating System

On the VM Instance page, select the VM instance you created before, and launch the VM console. Then, the installation page appears.

Figure 15. Install Operating System


To configure your own operating system, reference to the normal Windows Server 2008 R2. When you select the installation path during installation, you will prompt for No drives were found., as shown in No Drives Were Found.
Figure 16. No Drives Were Found


At this time, to continue the installation, install a disk drive. Choose Load Driver > Browse. According to the operating system, select the disk drive in the VirtIO driver image, and click OK > Next to complete loading the disk drive.
  • For the 64-bit operating system, the path of the disk drive is viostor\*\amd64.
  • For the 32-bit operating system, the path of the disk drive is viostor\*\x86.
Figure 17. Load Disk Drive


After you load the disk drive, select a system installation path and click Next to continue the preceding installation process. During installation, the operating system will automatically reboot, which may lead to disconnection of the console. In that case, re-enter the operating system. After you complete installing the operating system, customize the admin password and log in to the operating system. So far, the Windows operating system is installed.

Figure 18. Complete Installing Operating System


Prevent Disk from Being Offline

If the server is abnormally shut down, disks on the VM instance might be offline after the VM instance reboots. To prevent this, after you complete installing the Windows operating system, go to Command Prompt as an Administrator, and run the following commands successively.
C:\Users\Administrator> diskpart  ::Enter diskpart.
DISKPART> san   ::View the SAN policy.
DISKPART> san policy=onlineall   ::Change the SAN policy by using diskpart.
DISKPART> exit

Install GuestTools and other Software

GuestTools is a performance optimization tool used by ZStack Cloud to improve the performance of Windows VM instances. The following table lists the tools and drivers contained in GuestTools.
Type Name Functionality
VirtIO driver SCSI controller Storage controllers of the VirtIO type can effectively improve the disk performance of a VM instance in a virtualization environment.
PCI simple communications controller After you install a PCI simple communications controller, a Windows VM instance can communicate with the underlying KVM virtualization.
PCI device After you install a PCI device and enable its internal monitoring, Windows will support the balloon memory scaling.
Ethernet adapter A VirtIO Ethernet adapter can effectively improve the network performance of a VM instance in a virtualization environment.
Commonly-used tools QEMU Guest Agent (QGA)

QGA is an application where mutual interactions between a host and a VM instance can be achieved. These interactions do not rely on networks, thereby greatly improving the VM performance and functionality.

QGA helps check the state of GuestTools and VirtIO drivers in a VM instance.

After QGA is installed, the VM instance enables you to change its password online.

Cloudbase-Init The VM instance that has Cloudbase-Init installed enables you to import User Data and achieve other custom functionalities.
Agent internal monitoring

After an agent is installed, you can check the internal monitoring data of a VM instance.

Install GuestTools

  1. Install GuestTools ISO.

    After you complete installing the operating system, enter the VM details page, and click install GuestTools to attach the GuestTools ISO to the VM instance.

  2. Load the GuestTools image.
    Enter the console page of the VM instance, and click Install GuestTools in the GuestTools installation prompt. Then, the operating system automatically loads the GuestTools image to the virtual CD Drive. To check this operation, go to the Computer page.
    Figure 19. Load GuestTools Image


  3. Install GuestTools and VirtIO driver.

    Right-click the GuestTools CD Drive, select Install or run program from your media or double-click the GuestTools installation program. By following the displayed setup installation wizard, install GuestTools, commonly-used tools, and VirtIO drivers, successively.

    Figure 20. Install GuestTools




  4. Confirm the installation and reboot your computer.

    After you complete installing GuestTools, click Finish in the displayed dialog box. Make sure that you complete the installation and reboot the computer to make all configurations take effect.

    Figure 21. Complete the Installation and Reboot Your Computer


    After the operating system reboots, the platform of the VM instance is automatically changed to WindowsVirtio.

(Optional) Install other Software

You can install other software as needed in addition to the tools or drivers included in GuestTools.

For example, USB 2.0 driver is native to Windows Server 2008 R2. You can install the USB 3.0 driver as needed. Then, you can use the USB passthrough functionality.

You can obtain the driver file from https://cdn.zstack.io/tools/renesas_usb30_21390.exe , and double click the file to install the USB 3.0 driver.

Figure 22. Install USB 3.0 Driver


Prepare the Operating System

Operating system preparation is designed for generalizing and removing system-specific information such as hardware of a computer via Windows-native System Preparation Tool (Sysprep). To prepare the operating system, follow these steps:
  1. Open the CMD command line by using the administrator permission.
  2. Go to the C:\Windows\System32\sysprep directory and run the Sysprep tool.
  3. Configure preparation policies and perform relevant operations. You can complete this step by setting the following parameters:
    • System Cleanup Action: Select Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE).
    • Generalize: Select this checkbox. Then, the VM operating system created from the template has a unique security identity (SID).
    • Shutdown Options: Select Shutdown.
Click OK. Then, the system preparation begins.
Figure 23. System Preparation


Create a System Template

After you create the operating system template successfully, you can create VM instances in bulk in a custom manner by using this image. Also, you can export this image to create VM instances in other cloud platforms.

Create a VM Image

On the VM Instance page, select the target VM instance and create an image for the VM instance.

On the Create Image page, set the following parameters:
  • Name: Enter a name for the image.
  • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the image.
  • Image Type: Select system image.
  • Backup Storage: Select an existing backup storage.
Click OK. Then, the image is created.
Figure 24. Create Image


Note: If your backup storage is ImageStore or Ceph, you can create an image for a VM instance when it is in the running state. For other types of backup storage, you need to stop the VM instance before you can create an image.

Export the Image

Exported images can be used directly by other cloud platforms to create VM instances. The export method varies based on the backup storage type.
  • ImageStore backup storages

    On the Image page, click Actions > Export Image. Then, an image is exported.

    After the image is generated, you can download the exported image by copying the image URL on the Overview tab page of the image details page.

  • Ceph backup storages
    On the Overview tab page of the created image, copying Backup Storage Path will prompt you for the corresponding information such as pool and image in the Ceph backup storage. After you copy this image path, you can export the Ceph image by running rbd on the Ceph backup storage. Assume that the storage path of the Ceph backup storage is ceph://bak-t-c9923f982/61ece0adc72, run the following command:
    [root@ceph-node1 ~]#rbd export bak-t-c9923f982/61ece0adc72 /root/export-test.image
    #bak-t-c9923f982 is the pool name where the image belongs.
    #61ece0adc72 is the image name.
    #/root/export-test.image is the name of the exported target file .
Windows Server 2008 R2 ~ 2019 Template Tutorial (GuestTools) | 4.8.38 | ZStack Cloud · ZCF | ZStack Resource Center