Converting a Xen Image to OVF for use in the Lumen Cloud

Updated by Jake Malmad on Oct 26, 2021
Article Code: kb/1392

The .OVF (Open Virtualization Format) standard is an open-source, secure, and portable format compatible across nearly all hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, Xen, VirtualBox, etc.). Lumen Cloud recommends converting all virtual servers to OVF format prior to delivering to Lumen Cloud for import into our platform.

To convert a Citrix XenServer machine to OVF, begin by downloading XenServer Convert (if converting multiple machines, it is recommended to install the Conversion Manager as well).

After installing and launching XenConvert, you will be prompted to select your source and destination workloads. If you are converting a single machine, you should be running the conversion tool from within the guest OS. Select "OFV" as the destination workload, and click next.

On the next screen, make any required changes to the destination partition layout.

On the next screen you will be prompted for your destination location, as well as the option to convert to an OVA (Open Virtualization Appliance), compress, encrypt or add a EULA.

You will be presented with a summary screen, and upon clicking "Convert," the conversion process will begin.

Once you have converted the Virtual Machine, please contact your Account Executive or our Professional Services team to import the OVF/OVA in to the Lumen Cloud.