=head1 NAME

virt-v2v-output-local - Using virt-v2v to convert guests to local files
or libvirt

=head1 SYNOPSIS

 virt-v2v [-i* options] [-o libvirt] -os POOL

 virt-v2v [-i* options] -o local -os DIRECTORY

 virt-v2v [-i* options] -o qemu -os DIRECTORY [--qemu-boot]

 virt-v2v [-i* options] -o null

=head1 DESCRIPTION

This page documents how to use L<virt-v2v(1)> to convert guests to
local files or to a locally running libvirt instance.  There are four
output modes you can select on the virt-v2v command line:

=over 4

=item B<-o libvirt -os> C<POOL>

=item B<-os> C<POOL>

This converts the guest to a libvirt directory pool call C<POOL>, and
instantiates the guest in libvirt (but does not start it running).
See L</OUTPUT TO LIBVIRT> below.

I<-o libvirt> is the default if no I<-o> option is given, so you can
omit it.

=item B<-o local -os> C<DIRECTORY>

This converts the guest to files in C<DIRECTORY>.  A libvirt XML file
is also created, but unlike I<-o libvirt> the guest is not
instantiated in libvirt, only files are created.

The files will be called:

 NAME-sda, NAME-sdb, etc.      Guest disk(s).
 NAME.xml                      Libvirt XML.

where C<NAME> is the guest name.

=item B<-o qemu -os> C<DIRECTORY>

=item B<-o qemu -os> C<DIRECTORY> B<--qemu-boot>

This converts the guest to files in C<DIRECTORY>.  Unlike I<-o local>
above, a shell script is created which contains the raw qemu command
you would need to boot the guest.  However the shell script is not
run, I<unless> you also add the I<--qemu-boot> option.

=item B<-o null>

The guest is converted, but the final result is thrown away and no
metadata is created.  This is mainly useful for testing.

=back

=head1 OUTPUT TO LIBVIRT

The I<-o libvirt> option lets you upload the converted guest to
a libvirt-managed host.  There are several limitations:

=over 4

=item *

You can only use a local libvirt connection [see below for how to
workaround this].

=item *

The I<-os pool> option must specify a directory pool, not anything
more exotic such as iSCSI [but see below].

=item *

You can only upload to a KVM hypervisor.

=back

=head2 Workaround for output to a remote libvirt instance and/or a
non-directory storage pool

=over 4

=item 1.

Use virt-v2v in I<-o local> mode to convert the guest disks and
metadata into a local temporary directory:

 virt-v2v [...] -o local -os /var/tmp

This creates two (or more) files in F</var/tmp> called:

 /var/tmp/NAME.xml     # the libvirt XML (metadata)
 /var/tmp/NAME-sda     # the guest’s first disk

(for C<NAME> substitute the guest’s name).

=item 2.

Upload the converted disk(s) into the storage pool called C<POOL>:

 size=$(stat -c%s /var/tmp/NAME-sda)
 virsh vol-create-as POOL NAME-sda $size --format raw
 virsh vol-upload --pool POOL NAME-sda /var/tmp/NAME-sda

=item 3.

Edit F</var/tmp/NAME.xml> to change F</var/tmp/NAME-sda> to the pool
name.  In other words, locate the following bit of XML:

 <disk type='file' device='disk'>
   <driver name='qemu' type='raw' />
   <source file='/var/tmp/NAME-sda' />
   <target dev='hda' bus='ide' />
 </disk>

and change two things: The C<type='file'> attribute must be changed to
C<type='volume'>, and the C<E<lt>sourceE<gt>> element must be changed
to include C<pool> and C<volume> attributes:

 <disk type='volume' device='disk'>
   ...
   <source pool='POOL' volume='NAME-sda' />
   ...
 </disk>

=item 4.

Define the final guest in libvirt:

 virsh define /var/tmp/NAME.xml

=back

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<virt-v2v(1)>.

=head1 AUTHOR

Richard W.M. Jones

=head1 COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2009-2025 Red Hat Inc.
