Import machine images

Console

To import a machine image to Compute Engine using the Google Cloud console, use the following steps.

1. Open the Migrate to Virtual Machines page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to the Migrate to Virtual Machines page

2. Select the Machine Image Imports tab.

3. Click Create a machine image.

4. Define the characteristics of the image. The following table lists the parameters that you can set for your machine image.

   Section title	Field name	Description
   General	Name	The name of the machine image that you want to create. For more information on the naming rules, see Naming convention.
   	Machine image import ID	An ID that represents the machine image import resource. When you import a machine image to Compute Engine, Migrate to Virtual Machines first creates a machine image import resource. The machine image import resource represents the machine image import job. You can use the Machine Image import ID to get the link to the machine image that was imported as part of the machine image import process.
   	Source file input	The file from which you want to import the machine image. Click Browse to view the list of buckets in your current project, and select the file from which you want to import the machine image. If you want to import a machine image from a bucket from another project, you must enter the path in the format bucket/folder/file. To get the path of an object inside a bucket, see View object metadata. When you copy the path, ensure that you don't copy the gs:// prefix. Note that you can only import machine images from .ova and .ovf files.
   	Region	The region in which you want to create the machine image. For a list of supported regions, see Regions and zones.
   	Target project	The target project in which you want to create the machine image. If you've not already added a target project, do so using the instructions given in Add a target project.
   	Auto-select Compute Engine machine type	Automatically selects the machine type from the source file. This option is enabled by default. If you want to manually select the machine type series and machine type, click this field to the off position.
   	Machine type series	Select the machine type series for the machine image. This field is visible only when the Auto-select GCE machine type option is disabled. Note that the machine type series available for selection is dependent on the region you've selected. For more information, see Predefined machine types.
   	Machine type	Select the machine type.
   	Description	(Optional) Add a description for the machine image.
   	Skip OS adaptation	To skip OS adaptation, click the Skip OS adaptation toggle to the on position. To function properly on Google Cloud, VMs created from imported machine images require changes to be made to their configuration. These changes are referred to as OS adaptations. Migrate to Virtual Machines performs OS adaptations automatically in the machine image import process. For more information, see Adapt VM instances to run on Google Cloud.
   	Generalize	To generalize the machine image, click the Generalize toggle to the on position. When you create an instance from a machine image, Windows adds some unique information to the instance. Generalize is a process that removes this information so that you can create multiple instances from the same machine image.
   Licenses	License type	Compute Engine supports pay as you go (PAYG) licenses and bring your own licenses (BYOL) for your deployed VMs. The default license type for a migrated VM is assigned by Migrate to Virtual Machines based on the migrated operating system, as described in Supported operating systems. If your operating system supports multiple license types, you can override the default license type to explicitly specify a license type of PAYG or BYOL.
   Additional licenses	Additional licenses	You can add up to 10 additional licenses to the VM instance created from the imported machine image using a valid URL format. For example, you can add additional licenses using the following URL format: https://www.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2012-enterprise
   	Labels	To organize your project, add labels as key-value pairs to your resources. See Organize resources using labels.
   Encryption	Google-managed encryption key	Choose this option to use Google-owned and Google-managed encryption key to encrypt your data during the import process. For more information, see encrypts data when it is at rest.
   	Customer managed encryption key	Choose this option to use customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) to encrypt your data during the import process, and the data of the image created by the import process. If you have specific compliance or regulatory requirements related to the keys that protect your data, you can use CMEK to encrypt and decrypt your data. These encryption keys are created, managed, and owned by you. For more information, see Protect resources by using Cloud KMS keys. When you add a CMEK, you must grant permissions as described in the following table. Role Permissions required Description Cloud VM Migration Service Account roles/vmmigration.serviceAgent Grant this permission to the Compute Engine service account to encrypt data of the machine image created during the import process. Compute Engine Service Agent roles/compute.serviceAgent Grant this permission to the Migrate to Virtual Machines service agent to encrypt the data during the import process.

5. Select Create.

gcloud

To import a machine image to Compute Engine using the Google Cloud CLI, use the following request.

gcloud migration vms machine-image-imports create IMAGE_NAME \
--source-file=SOURCE_FILE \
--location=REGION_ID \
--target-project=projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT

Replace the following:

• IMAGE_NAME: the name of the machine image that you want to create. For more information on the naming rules, see Naming convention.
• SOURCE_FILE: the file from which you want to import the machine image. Enter the path in the format gs://bucket/folder/file. To get the path of an object inside a bucket, see View object metadata. Note that you can only import images from .ovf and .ova files.
• REGION_ID: the region in which you want the machine image import process to run. The machine image is created in the closest multi-region. If you want the machine image to be created in a region, ensure that singleRegionStorage is set to true. For a list of supported regions, see Regions and Zones.
• HOST_PROJECT_ID: the name of the host project from which you want to migrate the machine image.
• TARGET_PROJECT: the target project in which you want to create the machine image. If you've not already added a target project, do so using the instructions given in Add a target project.

For more information, see gcloud migration vms image-imports

REST API

To import a machine image to Compute Engine using the REST API, use the following steps.

1. Create a machine image import resource using the following request.

   POST https://vmmigration.googleapis.com/v1/projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/REGION_ID/imageImports?imageImportId=IMPORT_NAME
   {
   "cloudStorageUri": "SOURCE_FILE",
   "machineImageTargetDefaults": {
   "imageName": "IMAGE_NAME",
   "targetProject": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT",
   ...
   }
   }
   

   Replace the following:

   • HOST_PROJECT_ID: the name of the host project from which you want to migrate the machine image.
   • REGION_ID: the region in which you want the machine image import process to run. The machine image is created in the closest multi-region. If you want the machine image to be created in a region, ensure that singleRegionStorage is set to true. For a list of supported regions, see Regions and Zones.
   • SOURCE_FILE: the file from which you want to import the machine image. Enter the path in the format gs://bucket/folder/file. To get the path of an object inside a bucket, see View object metadata. Note that you can only import machine images from .ova and .ovf files.
   • IMAGE_NAME: the name of the machine image that you want to create. For more information on the naming rules, see Naming convention.
   • TARGET_PROJECT: the target project in which you want to create the machine image. If you've not already added a target project, do so using the instructions given in Add a target project.

   In this example, IMPORT_NAME is an ID that represents the machine image import resource. When you import an machine image to Compute Engine, Migrate to Virtual Machines creates an first creates an machine image import resource. The machine image import resource represents the machine image import process. You can use the IMPORT_NAME to get the link to the machine image that was imported as part of the machine image import process.

   See the following table for the full list of machine image import create request fields supported fields.

   Field name	Description
   cloudStorageUri	The path of the file from which you want to import the machine image. Enter the path in the format gs://bucket/folder/file. To get the path of an object inside a bucket, see View object metadata. Note that you can only import machine images from .ovf and .ova files.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.targetProject	The target project in which you want to create the machine image. For more information, see target project API reference. For example, projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT In the example, replace the following: HOST_PROJECT_ID: the name of the host project from which you want to migrate the machine image. TARGET_PROJECT: the target project in which you want to create the image.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.machine_image_name	The name of the machine image to be created. For more information on the naming rules, see resource naming convention.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.description	(Optional) A description of the machine image.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.machine_type	(Optional) The machine to create the machine image with. If you don't specify the machine type, Migrate to Virtual Machines chooses a relevant machine type based on the information from the source machine image.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.labels	To organize your project, add labels as key-value pairs to your resources. See Labeling resources.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.tags	Add any tags that you want to attach to the machine image. See Manage tags for resources.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.additionalLicenses	You can add up to 10 additional licenses to the VM instance created from the imported machine image using a valid URL format. For example, you can add additional licenses using the following URL format: https://www.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2012-enterprise
   machineImageTargetDefaults.service_account	Specify the service account on the target project used by the machine image. By default, no service account is assigned to the machine image. If you create a Compute Engine instance from a machine image and plan to run an application on it, the instance might need access to other gcloud CLI services and APIs. Create a service account in the target project with the necessary permissions to access these services and APIs before creating the Compute Engine instance. Then, specify that service account here. For more information, see set up a VM to run as a service account. To attach the service account to the Compute Engine instance, your user account on the Migrate to Virtual Machines host project requires the necessary permissions. For more information, see Configuring permissions on target project service account.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.shielded_instance_config	(Optional) Enable Shielded VM on this instance. Shielded VMs are hardened by a set of security controls that help defend against rootkits and bootkits. See What is Shielded VM?
   machineImageTargetDefaults.singleRegionStorage	Set this flag to true if you want the machine image storageLocations to be a region. If you set this flag to false, the closest multi-region is selected.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.skip_os_adaptation	Set this flag to true if you want to skip OS adaptation. To function properly on Google Cloud, VMs created from imported machine images require changes to be made to their configuration. These changes are referred to as OS adaptations. Migrate to Virtual Machines performs OS adaptations automatically in the machine image import process. For more information, see Adapt VM instances to run on Google Cloud.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.osAdaptationParameters.licenseType	The license type you want to use for your machine image. Compute Engine supports pay as you go (PAYG) licenses and bring your own licenses (BYOL) for your deployed VMs. The default license type for a migrated VM is assigned by Migrate to Virtual Machines based on the migrated operating system, as described in Supported operating systems. If your operating system supports multiple license types, you can override the default license type to explicitly specify a license type of PAYG or BYOL.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.osAdaptationParameters.network_interfaces	Migrate to Virtual Machines lets you optionally create a machine images with multiple network interfaces (NICs). Each interface is attached to a different VPC network, giving that machine image access to different VPC networks in gcloud CLI. Before you add additional network interfaces, be aware of the following considerations: Attaching multiple network interfaces to the same VPC network is not supported. While the configuration might get save, the instantiation of the VM will fail. After a Compute Engine instance is instantiated from a machine image, you cannot add or remove a network interface on the created instance. To add or remove a network interface: Select Add network interface to add an additional network interface to the Compute Engine instance. You can set all of the same options as you do with the initial network interface. For more information, see Creating instances with multiple network interfaces.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.osAdaptationParameters.generalize	Set this flag to true if you want to generalize the machine image. When you create an instance from an machine image, Windows adds some unique information to the instance. Generalization is a process that removes this information so that you can create multiple instances from the same machine image.
   machineImageTargetDefaults.encryption	The Google-owned and Google-managed encryption key that you want to use to encrypt your data during the import process. For more information, see Default encryption at rest. Use customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) to encrypt the data of the machine image. These encryption keys are created, managed, and owned by you. For more information, see Protect resources by using Cloud KMS keys. When you add a CMEK, you must grant permissions as described in the following table. Role Permissions required Description Cloud VM Migration Service Account roles/vmmigration.serviceAgent Grant this permission to the Compute Engine service account to encrypt data of the machine image created during the import process. Compute Engine Service Agent roles/compute.serviceAgent Grant this permission to the Migrate to Virtual Machines service agent to encrypt the data during the import process.

   You should see a response similar to the following sample response.

   {
     "name": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/REGION_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID",
     "metadata": {
       "createTime": "2023-10-31T09:12:26.94928636Z",
       "target": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME",
       "verb": "create",
       "apiVersion": "v1",
       "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.vmmigration.v1.OperationMetadata"
     }
   }
   

2. Check if the machine image import job is complete by polling the operation using the following command.

   GET https://vmmigration.googleapis.com/v1/projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/REGION_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID
   

   Replace the following:

   • HOST_PROJECT_ID: the name of the host project from which you are migrating the machine image.
   • REGION_ID: the region in which you want the machine image import process to run. The machine image is created in the closest multi-region. If you want the machine image to be created in a region, ensure that singleRegionStorage is set to true. For a list of supported regions, see Regions and Zones.
   • OPERATION_ID: the operation ID of the migrate job.

   You should see an operation completion response similar to the following sample response.

     {
       "done": true,
       "name": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/REGION_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID",
       "response": {
         "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.vmmigration.v1.ImageImport",
         "name": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME",
         "cloudStorageUri": "SOURCE_FILE",
         "createTime": "2023-10-31T09:04:04.413664947Z",
         "machineImageTargetDefaults": {
           "imageName": "IMAGE_NAME",
           "targetProject": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT"
         },
         "recentImageImportJobs": [
           {
             "name": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME/imageImportJobs/image-import-job",
             "diskImageTargetDetails": {
              "imageName": "IMAGE_NAME",
              "targetProject": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT"
           },
            "state": "PENDING"
          }
         ]
       },
       "metadata": {
         "createTime": "2023-10-31T09:04:04.416740716Z",
         "endTime": "2023-10-31T09:05:36.79987142Z",
         "target": "projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME",
         "verb": "create",
         "apiVersion": "v1",
         "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.vmmigration.v1.OperationMetadata"
       }
     }
   

3. Monitor the machine image import job for completion using the following command.

   GET https://vmmigration.googleapis.com/v1/projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/REGION_ID/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME/imageImportJobs/image-import-job
   

   Replace the following:

   • HOST_PROJECT_ID: the name of the host project from which you are migrating the machine image.
   • REGION_ID: the region in which you want the machine image import process to run. The machine image is created in the closest multi-region. If you want the machine image to be created in a region, ensure that singleRegionStorage is set to true. For a list of supported regions, see Regions and Zones.
   • IMPORT_NAME: the ID that represents the machine image import resource. When you import an machine image to Compute Engine, Migrate to Virtual Machines creates an first creates an machine image import resource. The machine image import resource represents the machine image import process. You can use the IMPORT_NAME to get the link to the machine image that was imported as part of the machine image import process.

   You should see a job completion response similar to the following sample response.

   {
     "createTime":"2023-10-31T09:12:27.053788394Z",
     "createdResources":[
       "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/USER_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE_NAME"
     ],
     "diskImageTargetDetails": {
       "imageName":"IMAGE_NAME",
       "targetProject":"projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/global/targetProjects/TARGET_PROJECT"
     },
     "endTime":"2023-10-31T09:16:50.224865783Z",
     "name":"projects/HOST_PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/imageImports/IMPORT_NAME/imageImportJobs/image-import-job",
     "state":"SUCCEEDED"
   }