Overview: Importing VMs and vApps into Skytap

You can import preconfigured VMs, vApps, and LPARs into your Skytap account. With each import job, you can transform isolated VM and LPAR files or an entire vApp into a new Skytap virtual environment. During the import process, Skytap retains the operating system and application settings for each VM and LPAR; Skytap also retains the network settings for vApp imports.

Each import job is transformed into a new Skytap virtual environment. An import job can contain:

One or more VMs, LPARs, or vApps.
A mix of supported file types (OVA files, OVF packages, and VMX images, etc.)

The combined, uncompressed file size of the entire import job (regardless of the number of files in the job) must be less than 4 TB.

Overview of the import process

Importing VMs is a multi-step process:

Validate the import files
Check that your VM and/or LPAR files meet the Skytap import requirements (for file size, file type, etc.).

For more information, see:
- Import requirements for x86 VMware VMs and vApps
- Import requirements for Power LPARs
To convert non-VMware-based VMs, see Converting non-VMware-based VMs for import.
Transfer the files
Upload or transfer the VM, vApp, and/or LPAR files to Skytap Using the VM Imports tab

To get started, access the Imports tab in the Environments section of your Skytap account.

If you're a user, an administrator must give you permission to import VMs.
Process the import
Skytap processes the import job and creates a Skytap virtual environment containing the VMs and/or LPARs.

Learn more about what happens during this step