Amazon VM Import/Export

Question 1

What Operating Systems are supported by Amazon VM Import/Export?

Answer 1

Microsoft Windows Server 2003

^{(Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)}

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2

_{(Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)}

Microsoft Windows Server 2008

_{(Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)}

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

_{(Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)}

Question 2

What image formats are supported by Amazon VM Import?

Answer 2

RAW

Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) - compatible with Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix Xen

Virtual Machine Hard Disk (VMDK) - compatible with VMware ESX and VMware vSphere

Question 3

What are the known limitations for importing an VM using Amazon VM Import/Export?

Answer 3

• can have up to five (5) concurrent and tasks in progress in one Region
• import image cannot exceed 1TB
• task must complete within 7 days of start date
• importing vm’s with more than one virtual disk is not supported
• multiple network interfaces is not supported (instance will have a single virtual NIC using DHCP)
• for vCenter 4.0 or vSphere 4.0 users, remove any attached CD-images or IOS images

Question 4

What are the steps to prepare a virtual machine to be imported using Amazon VM Import/Export?

Answer 4

• enable Remote Desktop (RDP) for remote access
• configure Windows Firewall (if enabled) to allow RDP
• make sure all accounts use secure passwords
• disable any anti-virus or intrusion detection software on the virtual machine (enable it post import process)
• disconnect any CD-ROM devices (virtual or physical)
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