Importing an Image

You need to prepare an image file that meets the platform requirements and understand known issues of the OS (see Known Issues).

For details about the restrictions on Windows image files, see Preparing an Image file (Windows).
For details about the restrictions on Linux image files, see Preparing an Image file (Linux).

You are advised to complete network, tool, and driver configurations on the source VM and then export the image file. You can also complete the configurations on the created ECSs. For details, see What Do I Do If a Windows Image File Is Not Pre-Configured When I Use It to Register a Private Image? and What Do I Do If a Linux Image File Is Not Pre-Configured When I Use It to Register a Private Image?
Currently, a large image file (maximum: 1 TB) can be imported only in RAW or ZVHD2 format. In addition to meeting the requirements for common image files, a bitmap file needs to be generated alongside each RAW image file. The bitmap file will be uploaded together with the image file. For details, see Fast Import of an Image File.

IMS provides multiple methods for importing images. You can select a method based on the image file type, format, or size.

**Table 1** Importing an image
Format	File Size	Reference
VMDK, VHD, QCOW2, VHDX, QED, VDI, QCOW, or ZVHD	Not larger than 128 GB	Creating a Windows System Disk Image from an External Image File Creating a Linux System Disk Image from an External Image File Creating a Data Disk Image from an External Image File
RAW or ZVHD2	No larger than 1 TB	Creating a Data Disk Image from an External Image File
ISO	Not larger than 128 GB	Creating a Windows System Disk Image from an ISO File Creating a Linux System Disk Image from an ISO File