OVA import failing

rennis

xo-server 5.60.0
Attempting to import OVA exported from ESX 5.5.
OVA is 21GB

When offering up .ova file to XO web interface I get "Error: Buffer grain directory address is too short, expecting 8 minimum, got 0".

I don't understand the error message. Anyone got any idea what has gone wrong here?

olivierlambert

Ping @nraynaud

nraynaud

Hi, would it be possible to send us the file privately ?

rennis

Its pretty big and also business sensitive but i can try and reproduce the issue with something else first that I can send.

olivierlambert

Bonus question: are you testing on XOA or XO installed from the sources? If the latter, I'd like to rule out a environment issue, so please test with XOA if you can

rennis

Apparently it is XO from sources but we will test with XOA also.

olivierlambert

Okay thanks.

nraynaud

Ok, .ova files are actually tar files.

would you mind listing the content of the tar file and dumping the content of the ovf file that is enclosed in the tar file, please?

This would spill your disk and network, and machine names here, are they sensitive too?

Nicolas.

rennis

We have now tried two things:

We have created a smaller, 4.5GB .ova which does not show the issue on our XO-from-source installation.

We also installed a copy of xo-server 5.57.3 XOA - An import of the original OVA seems to work correctly in this. So I am currently using the temporary XOA installation to work around my issue and get the VM imported.

I get "Unexpected EOF" error when attempting to untar it:
sudo tar -xvf cacti2_200605_111227.ova
cacti2_200605_111227.ovf
cacti2_200605_111227-disk1.vmdk
tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
Forget the above.. it looks like the copy I made to untar was incomplete.

All the same the .ovf file is extracted and looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--Generated by VMware ESX Server, User: root, UTC time: 2020-06-05T14:08:46.702978Z-->
<Envelope vmw:buildId="build-2068190" xmlns="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1" xmlns:cim="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/common" xmlns:ovf="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1" xmlns:rasd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_ResourceAllocationSettingData" xmlns:vmw="http://www.vmware.com/schema/ovf" xmlns:vssd="http://schemas.dmtf.org/wbem/wscim/1/cim-schema/2/CIM_VirtualSystemSettingData" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <References>
    <File ovf:href="cacti2_200605_111227-disk1.vmdk" ovf:id="file1" ovf:size="21387534336" />
    <File ovf:href="cacti2_200605_111227-disk2.vmdk" ovf:id="file2" ovf:size="2012185088" />
  </References>
  <DiskSection>
    <Info>Virtual disk information</Info>
    <Disk ovf:capacity="80" ovf:capacityAllocationUnits="byte * 2^30" ovf:diskId="vmdisk1" ovf:fileRef="file1" ovf:format="http://www.vmware.com/interfaces/specifications/vmdk.html#streamOptimized" ovf:populatedSize="65193312256" />
    <Disk ovf:capacity="80" ovf:capacityAllocationUnits="byte * 2^30" ovf:diskId="vmdisk2" ovf:fileRef="file2" ovf:format="http://www.vmware.com/interfaces/specifications/vmdk.html#streamOptimized" ovf:populatedSize="24077271040" />
  </DiskSection>
  <NetworkSection>
    <Info>The list of logical networks</Info>
    <Network ovf:name="Management">
      <Description>The Management network</Description>
    </Network>
  </NetworkSection>
  <VirtualSystem ovf:id="cacti2_200605_111227">
    <Info>A virtual machine</Info>
    <Name>cacti2_200605_111227</Name>
    <OperatingSystemSection ovf:id="80" ovf:version="6" vmw:osType="rhel6_64Guest">
      <Info>The kind of installed guest operating system</Info>
    </OperatingSystemSection>
    <VirtualHardwareSection>
      <Info>Virtual hardware requirements</Info>
      <System>
        <vssd:ElementName>Virtual Hardware Family</vssd:ElementName>
        <vssd:InstanceID>0</vssd:InstanceID>
        <vssd:VirtualSystemIdentifier>cacti2_200605_111227</vssd:VirtualSystemIdentifier>
        <vssd:VirtualSystemType>vmx-08</vssd:VirtualSystemType>
      </System>
      <Item>
        <rasd:AllocationUnits>hertz * 10^6</rasd:AllocationUnits>
        <rasd:Description>Number of Virtual CPUs</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>8 virtual CPU(s)</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>1</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceType>3</rasd:ResourceType>
        <rasd:VirtualQuantity>8</rasd:VirtualQuantity>
        <vmw:CoresPerSocket ovf:required="false">4</vmw:CoresPerSocket>
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:AllocationUnits>byte * 2^20</rasd:AllocationUnits>
        <rasd:Description>Memory Size</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>8192MB of memory</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>2</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceType>4</rasd:ResourceType>
        <rasd:VirtualQuantity>8192</rasd:VirtualQuantity>
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:Address>0</rasd:Address>
        <rasd:Description>SCSI Controller</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>SCSI Controller 0</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>3</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceSubType>VirtualSCSI</rasd:ResourceSubType>
        <rasd:ResourceType>6</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="slotInfo.pciSlotNumber" vmw:value="160" />
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:Address>1</rasd:Address>
        <rasd:Description>IDE Controller</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>VirtualIDEController 1</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>4</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceType>5</rasd:ResourceType>
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:Address>0</rasd:Address>
        <rasd:Description>IDE Controller</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>VirtualIDEController 0</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>5</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceType>5</rasd:ResourceType>
      </Item>
      <Item ovf:required="false">
        <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>false</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>
        <rasd:ElementName>VirtualVideoCard</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>6</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceType>24</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="enable3DSupport" vmw:value="false" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="enableMPTSupport" vmw:value="false" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="use3dRenderer" vmw:value="automatic" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="useAutoDetect" vmw:value="false" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="videoRamSizeInKB" vmw:value="8192" />
      </Item>
      <Item ovf:required="false">
        <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>false</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>
        <rasd:ElementName>VirtualVMCIDevice</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>7</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceSubType>vmware.vmci</rasd:ResourceSubType>
        <rasd:ResourceType>1</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="allowUnrestrictedCommunication" vmw:value="false" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="slotInfo.pciSlotNumber" vmw:value="32" />
      </Item>
      <Item ovf:required="false">
        <rasd:AddressOnParent>0</rasd:AddressOnParent>
        <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>false</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>
        <rasd:ElementName>CD-ROM 1</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>8</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:Parent>4</rasd:Parent>
        <rasd:ResourceSubType>vmware.cdrom.remoteatapi</rasd:ResourceSubType>
        <rasd:ResourceType>15</rasd:ResourceType>
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:AddressOnParent>0</rasd:AddressOnParent>
        <rasd:ElementName>Hard Disk 1</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:HostResource>ovf:/disk/vmdisk1</rasd:HostResource>
        <rasd:InstanceID>9</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:Parent>3</rasd:Parent>
        <rasd:ResourceType>17</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="backing.writeThrough" vmw:value="false" />
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:AddressOnParent>1</rasd:AddressOnParent>
        <rasd:ElementName>Hard Disk 2</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:HostResource>ovf:/disk/vmdisk2</rasd:HostResource>
        <rasd:InstanceID>10</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:Parent>3</rasd:Parent>
        <rasd:ResourceType>17</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="backing.writeThrough" vmw:value="false" />
      </Item>
      <Item ovf:required="false">
        <rasd:AddressOnParent>0</rasd:AddressOnParent>
        <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>false</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>
        <rasd:Description>Floppy Drive</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>Floppy 1</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>11</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceSubType>vmware.floppy.remotedevice</rasd:ResourceSubType>
        <rasd:ResourceType>14</rasd:ResourceType>
      </Item>
      <Item>
        <rasd:AddressOnParent>7</rasd:AddressOnParent>
        <rasd:AutomaticAllocation>false</rasd:AutomaticAllocation>
        <rasd:Connection>Management</rasd:Connection>
        <rasd:Description>VmxNet3 ethernet adapter on "Management"</rasd:Description>
        <rasd:ElementName>Ethernet 1</rasd:ElementName>
        <rasd:InstanceID>12</rasd:InstanceID>
        <rasd:ResourceSubType>VmxNet3</rasd:ResourceSubType>
        <rasd:ResourceType>10</rasd:ResourceType>
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="slotInfo.pciSlotNumber" vmw:value="192" />
        <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="wakeOnLanEnabled" vmw:value="true" />
      </Item>
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="cpuHotAddEnabled" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="cpuHotRemoveEnabled" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="firmware" vmw:value="bios" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="virtualICH7MPresent" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="virtualSMCPresent" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="memoryHotAddEnabled" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="nestedHVEnabled" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="powerOpInfo.powerOffType" vmw:value="soft" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="powerOpInfo.resetType" vmw:value="soft" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="powerOpInfo.standbyAction" vmw:value="powerOnSuspend" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="powerOpInfo.suspendType" vmw:value="hard" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.afterPowerOn" vmw:value="true" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.afterResume" vmw:value="true" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.beforeGuestShutdown" vmw:value="true" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.beforeGuestStandby" vmw:value="true" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.syncTimeWithHost" vmw:value="false" />
      <vmw:Config ovf:required="false" vmw:key="tools.toolsUpgradePolicy" vmw:value="manual" />
    </VirtualHardwareSection>
    <AnnotationSection ovf:required="false">
      <Info>A human-readable annotation</Info>
      <Annotation>Fro xen</Annotation>
    </AnnotationSection>
  </VirtualSystem>
</Envelope>

olivierlambert

Just to be sure to get it: the original OVA file import is working with XOA? Are you on stable or latest release channel?

Thx for the XML

rennis

Looks like it was installed using git from https://github.com/vatesfr/xen-orchestra
Excuse the possibly stupid sounding question but how do I tell if that's stable or latest?

rennis

To answer your other question. Yes, the original OVA that failed to import with XO managed to import correctly with XOA. It has now finished its import process and appears to have completed the full import process correctly.

olivierlambert

Release channels are only available on XOA (in XOA left menu entry, there's a "card" Release Channel): see https://xen-orchestra.com/docs/updater.html#release-channel

tofaz

I confirm the same exact issue here using XO 5.60.0 from source with an .ova file of 10GB. If I import the file using XOA 5.59.0 stable it works without issues.

olivierlambert

@tofaz and in XOA? I'd like to find where is the issue.

tofaz

@olivierlambert in XOA 5.59.0 stable the import works without issues

olivierlambert

And in latest, does it work?

tofaz

XOA channel latest (5.60.0) reported the same issue as XO 5.60.0. So it looks like its a XOA issue appeared in latest version.

olivierlambert

Do you have an error message @tofaz ?

Okay, ping @julien-f and @nraynaud

Any idea why OVA fails on latest?

tofaz

@olivierlambert Same as the one mentioned by the OP: Error: buffer grain directory address is too short, expecting 8 minimum, got 0

Thank you!