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AWS Documentation » Amazon EC2 » User Guide » What Is VM Import/Export?

What Is VM Import/Export?

VM Import/Export enables you to import virtual machine (VM) images from your existing virtualization environment to Amazon EC2, and then export them back. This enables you to migrate applications and workloads to Amazon EC2, copy your VM image catalog to Amazon EC2, or create a repository of VM images for backup and disaster recovery.

For more information, see VM Import/Export.

Note

For most VM import needs, we recommend that you use the AWS Server Migration Service. AWS SMS automates the import process (reducing the workload of migrating large VM infrastructures), adds support for incremental updates of changing VMs, and converts your imported VMs into ready-to-use Amazon machine images (AMIs). To get started with AWS SMS, see AWS Server Migration Service.

Features of VM Import/Export

VM Import provides the following features:

  • The ability to import a VM from your virtualization environment to Amazon EC2 as an Amazon Machine Image (AMI). You can launch EC2 instances from your AMI any time.

  • The ability to import a VM from your virtualization environment to Amazon EC2 as an EC2 instance. The instance is initially in a stopped state. You can create an AMI from the instance.

  • The ability to export a VM that was previously imported from your virtualization environment.

  • The ability to import disks as Amazon EBS snapshots.

How to Get Started with VM Import/Export

First, you must decide whether you will import your VMs as AMIs or instances. To get started, read about how image import and instance import work. You can also read through the prerequisites and limitations of each method. For more information, see:

Accessing VM Import/Export

You can access VM Import/Export using the following interfaces:

AWS Command Line Interface (CLI)

Provides commands for a broad set of AWS products, and is supported on Windows, Mac, and Linux. To get started, see AWS Command Line Interface User Guide. For more information about the commands for Amazon EC2, see ec2 in the AWS CLI Command Reference.

AWS Tools for Windows PowerShell

Provides commands for a broad set of AWS products for those who script in the PowerShell environment. To get started, see the AWS Tools for Windows PowerShell User Guide. For more information about the cmdlets for Amazon EC2, see the AWS Tools for PowerShell Cmdlet Reference.

Amazon EC2 API

Amazon EC2 provides a Query API. These requests are HTTP or HTTPS requests that use the HTTP verbs GET or POST and a Query parameter named Action. For more information about the API actions for Amazon EC2, see Actions in the Amazon EC2 API Reference.

AWS SDKs and Tools

If you prefer to build applications using language-specific APIs instead of submitting a request over HTTP or HTTPS, AWS provides libraries, sample code, tutorials, and other resources for software developers. These libraries provide basic functions that automate tasks such as cryptographically signing your requests, retrying requests, and handling error responses, making it is easier for you to get started. For more information, see AWS SDKs and Tools.

Pricing

With Amazon Web Services, you pay only for what you use. There is no additional fee to use VM Import/Export. You pay the standard fees for the S3 buckets and EBS volumes used during the import and export processes, and for the EC2 instances that you run.

VM Import/Export works with the following services: