Fast Import of an Image File in Windows

Scenarios

This section describes how to convert the format of an image file on a Windows server and then quickly import it to the cloud platform. You are advised to use a local Windows PC for converting image formats and generating bitmap files.

In Windows, use the open-source tool qemu-img to convert image formats. qemu-img supports conversion between image files of the VHD, VMDK, QCOW2, RAW, VHDX, QCOW, VDI, and QED formats. Convert an image to the RAW format and then use the CreateMF.jar tool to generate a bitmap file.

Prerequisites

The image file has been initially configured as instructed in Table 2 based on the OS in the image file.
An OBS bucket has been created on the management console, and OBS Browser+ has been ready.

Procedure

Install the open-source image conversion tool qemu-img. For details, see Converting the Image Format Using qemu-img.
Run the cmd command to go to the qemu-img installation directory and run the qemu-img command to convert the image file to the RAW format.

For example, run the following command to convert an image.qcow2 file to an image.raw file:

qemu-img convert -p -O raw image.qcow2 image.raw
Use CreateMF.jar to generate a bitmap file.
1. Obtain the CreateMF.jar package and decompress it.
  
  Table 1 CreateMF.jar package
  
  Tool Package
  
  How to Obtain
  
  createMF.zip
  
  https://cn-south-1-cloud-reset-pwd.obs.cn-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/imageImportTools/createMF.zip
2. Ensure that JDK has been installed in the current environment.
  You can verify the installation by running cmd.exe and then java -version. If Java version information is displayed, JDK has been installed.
3. Go to the directory where CreateMF.jar is stored.
  For example, if you have downloaded CreateMF.jar to D:/test, run the following commands to access the directory:
  
  D:
  
  cd test
4. Run the following command to generate a bitmap file for the RAW image file:
  java -jar CreateMF.jar D:/image01.raw D:/image01.mf
  - The generated .mf bitmap file must have the same prefix as the RAW image file. For example, if the image file name is image01.raw, the generated bitmap file name is image01.mf.
Use OBS Browser+ to upload the converted image file and its bitmap file to an OBS bucket.

You must upload the RAW image file and its bitmap file to the same OBS bucket.

**Table 1** CreateMF.jar package
Tool Package	How to Obtain
createMF.zip	https://cn-south-1-cloud-reset-pwd.obs.cn-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/imageImportTools/createMF.zip

You can register a private image using the converted ZVHD2 or RAW file on the console or using an API.

Method 1: Register a private image on the console.

The following example describes how to create a system disk image from an external image file:

Set image parameters as required.

Table 2 and Table 3 list the parameters in the Image Type and Source and Image Information areas, respectively.

Figure 1 Image type and source
Click to enlarge

**Table 2** Parameters for configuring the image type and source
Parameter	Description	Example Value
Region	Resources in different regions cannot communicate with each other over an intranet. For low latency and fast access, select a region close to where your services will be provided.	-
Type	Private images can be created or imported.	Import Image
Image Type	A private image contains an OS or service data, preinstalled public applications, and a user's personal applications. Private images are only available to the users who created them. A private image can be a system disk image, data disk image, ISO image, or full-ECS image. A system disk image contains an OS and preinstalled software for various services. You can use a system disk image to create ECSs and migrate your services to the cloud. A data disk image contains only service data. You can use a data disk image to create EVS disks and use them to migrate your service data to the cloud. An ISO image is created from an external ISO image file. It is a special image that is not available on the ECS console. It can only be used to provision temporary cloud servers. A full-ECS image contains an OS, preinstalled software, and service data. A full-ECS image is created using differential backups and the creation takes less time than creating a system or data disk image that has the same disk capacity.	System disk image
Select Image File	The image file must be converted to the ZVHD2 or RAW format and optimized. Select the bucket storing the ZVHD2 or RAW image file and then select the image file. For the RAW format, you also need to upload a bitmap file with the same name as the image file. NOTE: To learn how to convert image file formats and generate bitmap files, see Fast Import of an Image File.	xxx.zvhd2
Fast Create	This parameter is available only when you select a ZVHD2 or RAW image file. This function enables fast image creation and supports import of large files (maximum: 1 TB). If you have already prepared an image file that meets the requirements, select Enable Fast Create and select the confirmation checkbox in the Image File Preparation row.	-

Figure 2 Image information
Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

**Table 3** Parameters for configuring image information
Parameter	Description	Example Value
Enable automatic configuration	If you select this option, the system will automatically check and optimize the image file. For details, see What Will the System Do to an Image File When I Use the File to Register a Private Image?	-
Auto sign	If you select this option, the system will sign the image for high data reliability. Key Name: Select a key from the drop-down list. The key is used to sign the image. If there is no key available, log in to the DEW console and create a key. Key ID: After you select a key, its ID will be automatically displayed. NOTE: A signed image cannot be shared with other users. Check on the console to see if Auto sign is available.	-
Function	Indicates whether the image is used to create an ECS or BMS. The value can be ECS system disk image or BMS system disk image.	ECS system disk image
Architecture	The value can be x86 or ARM. NOTE: If the system identifies that the architecture in the image file is different from what you set here, the identified architecture will be used. If the system fails to identify an architecture, the architecture you set will be used.	x86
Boot Mode	This parameter is optional. Select the same boot mode as that in the image file, or the ECS created using this image cannot be booted. After you select the boot mode, the cloud platform will configure the corresponding boot settings for the image. The boot mode can be BIOS or UEFI. For details about the differences between them, see How Is BIOS Different from UEFI? For details about which OSs support UEFI boot, see OSs supporting UEFI Boot Mode. NOTE: If the image file uses the Arm architecture, only the UEFI mode is available.	BIOS
OS	To ensure that the image can be created and used properly, select an OS consistent with that in the image file. If you do not select an OS, the system attempts to automatically identify the OS in the image file. NOTE: If the system identifies that the OS in the image file is different from the one you select here, the identified OS will be used instead. If the system fails to identify an OS, the OS you select will be used. If the OS you selected or the OS identified by the system is different from the actual OS, the performance of the ECSs created using the image file may be affected.	-
License Type	Bring Your own license (BYOL) is supported. If you already have a license for the OS, you can directly use the license after creating an ECS and do not need to apply for a new one. This parameter is only available for Windows.	-
System Disk	Set the system disk capacity (value range: 40 GiB to 1,024 GiB). This value must be no less than the size of the system disk in the image file. NOTE: If the uploaded VHD image is generated using qemu-img or similar tools, check the system disk capacity by referring to Why Did My VHD Upload Fail? Why Does the System Say the System Disk in the VHD Image File Is Larger Than What I Specified on the Management Console?	-
Data Disk	You can also add data disks to the image. You need to obtain an image file containing data disks in advance. This function is used to migrate VMs and data disks from other platforms to the current platform. To add a data disk, click , configure the data disk size, and click Select Image File. In the displayed dialog box, select the target bucket and then the target image file containing the data disk. NOTE: A maximum of three data disks can be added.	-
Name	Set an image name that is easy to identify.	-
Encryption	This parameter is optional. If you want to encrypt the image, select KMS encryption and select the key to be used from the key list. After you select KMS encryption, the system will create a default key ims/default. You can also select a key from the key list. For details about how to encrypt an image, see Introduction.	-
Enterprise Project	This parameter is for enterprise users. To use this function, contact customer service to enable it. An enterprise project groups cloud resources, so you can manage resources and users by project. The default project is default. Select an enterprise project from the drop-down list. For more information, see Accessing the Enterprise Center.	default
Tag	This parameter is optional. Set tag keys and values for the image to make identification and management easier. You are advised to create predefined tags in TMS. For details, see Creating Predefined Tags. NOTE: If your organization has configured tag policies for images, you need to add tags to your images based on the policies. Otherwise, tags may fail to be added. For details about image tag format, see Image Tag Format.	-
Description	This parameter is optional. Enter a description for the image.	-
Agreement	Read and agree to the Image Disclaimer	-

Click Next. Confirm the settings and click Submit.

Go back to the private image list. The image is successfully registered when its status becomes Normal.
If you add data disks during image creation, a system disk image and data disk images will be generated. The number of data disk images depends on the number of data disks you add (a maximum of 3).

The time required for registering an image file as a private image varies depending on the image file size.