Start an instance export task - VM Import/Export

Start an instance export task

When you export your instance using VM Import/Export, the exported file is written to the specified S3 bucket using the following S3 key:

prefixexport-i-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.format

For example, if the bucket name is amzn-s3-demo-export-bucket, the prefix is vms/, and the format is OVA, the exported file is written to amzn-s3-demo-export-bucket/vms/export-i-1234567890abcdef0.ova.

For more information about the supported formats, see Considerations for image export.

Important

Your instance might reboot during the export process. Ensure that you are performing this action when some downtime is acceptable.

AWS CLI
To export an instance

Use the create-instance-export-task command.

aws ec2 create-instance-export-task \
    --description "$(date '+%b %d %H:%M') My instance export" \
    --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --target-environment vmware \
    --export-to-s3-task '{
        "ContainerFormat": "ova",
        "DiskImageFormat": "VMDK",
        "S3Bucket": "amzn-s3-demo-export-bucket",
        "S3Prefix": "vms/"
    }'

The following is an example response. The status shown is active, which means that the export task is in progress. The instance export is finished when the status is completed.

{
    "ExportTask": {
        "Description": "Jul 15 14:55 My instance export",
        "ExportTaskId": "export-i-021345abcdef6789",
        "ExportToS3Task": {
            "ContainerFormat": "ova",
            "DiskImageFormat": "vmdk",
            "S3Bucket": "amzn-s3-demo-export-bucket",
            "S3Key": "vms/export-i-021345abcdef6789.ova"
        },
        "InstanceExportDetails": {
            "InstanceId": "i-1234567890abcdef0",
            "TargetEnvironment": "vmware"
        },
        "State": "active"
    }
}
PowerShell
To export an instance

Use the New-EC2InstanceExportTask cmdlet.

New-EC2InstanceExportTask `
    -Description ((Get-Date -Format "MMM dd HH:mm ") + "My instance export") `
    -InstanceId "i-1234567890abcdef0" `
    -TargetEnvironment "vmware" `
    -ExportToS3Task_ContainerFormat "ova" `
    -ExportToS3Task_DiskImageFormat "VMDK" `
    -ExportToS3Task_S3Bucket "amzn-s3-demo-export-bucket" `
    -ExportToS3Task_S3Prefix "vms/"

The following is an example response. The status shown is active, which means that the export task is in progress. The instance export is finished when the status is completed.

Description           : Jul 15 14:53 My instance export
ExportTaskId          : export-i-021345abcdef6789
ExportToS3Task        : Amazon.EC2.Model.ExportToS3Task
InstanceExportDetails : Amazon.EC2.Model.InstanceExportDetails
State                 : active
StatusMessage         : 
Tags                  : {}