Updated on 2026-09-16 GMT+08:00

Exporting an Image

Scenarios

You can export a private image to a standard OBS bucket and then download it to your local PC.

Background

You can export images of cloud servers from the cloud platform and then use the exported images to create cloud servers for use in on-premises clusters or private clouds. The following figure shows the process of exporting an image.

Figure 1 Exporting an image
Click to enlarge

Constraints

**Table 1** Constraints on exporting images
Item	Description
Region	An image can only be exported to a Standard bucket that is in the same region as the image.
Image type	The following private images cannot be exported: Full-ECS images ISO images Private images created from a Windows, SUSE, Red Hat, or Oracle Linux public image Private images created from a KooGallery image NOTE: Fast export is unavailable for encrypted images. To export an encrypted image, decrypt it first. In some regions, private images created from Ubuntu public images can be exported. You can see on the console if such a private image can be exported.
Image format	You can export images to the ZVHD2, QCOW2, VMDK, VHD, or ZVHD format. By default, a private image is created in ZVHD2 format. The size of an exported image may vary depending on the export format you select. Fast export only supports the ZVHD2 format. If you need to export the image in another format, you can use the qemu-img-hw tool to convert the image to the required format after the image is exported. For details, see Converting the Image Format Using qemu-img-hw.
Image size	The image size must be less than 1 TiB. Images larger than 128 GiB and smaller than 1 TiB only support fast export. For details about the differences between standard and fast export, see What Are the Differences Between Standard and Fast Import/Export? NOTE: In some regions, an image larger than 128 GiB can be exported without enabling fast export. You can see on the console if such a large image can be exported in that way.
Time	The time required for exporting an image depends on the image size and the number of concurrent export tasks.
Billing	You will be billed for storing exported images in the OBS bucket. For details, see OBS Pricing Details.

Prerequisites

You have Administrator permissions for OBS. For details, see Using IAM to Grant Access to OBS.
An OBS bucket is available for storing the private image in the region where the private image is located.
If no OBS bucket is available, create one by referring to Creating a Bucket. Select Standard for Storage Class.

Procedure

Log in to the IMS console.
Locate the row that contains the image to be exported, click More in the Operation column and select Export.

In the displayed dialog box, specify the parameters as required.

Figure 2 Exporting an Image
Click to enlarge

**Table 2** Image export parameters
Parameter	Description	Example Value
Fast Export	To export an image larger than 128 GiB, you must enable fast export. The exported format is ZVHD2. After the image is exported, you can use the qemu-img-hw tool to convert the image to another format. For details, see Converting the Image Format Using qemu-img-hw. NOTE: For details about the differences between standard and fast export, see What Are the Differences Between Standard and Fast Import/Export?	-
Format	The image can be exported in QCOW2, VMDK, VHD, or ZVHD format. Select the image format as required.	qcow2
Name	Enter a name that is easy to identify.	-
Storage Path	Click to expand the bucket list and select an OBS bucket for storing the image. NOTE: An image can only be exported to a Standard bucket that is in the same region as the image. So, only such buckets are listed.	-

Click OK. You can view the image export progress above the private image list.

Follow-up Procedure

After the image is exported, you can download it from the OBS bucket through the management console or OBS Browser+. For details, see Downloading an Object.

Parent Topic: Managing Private Images