Create QCOW2 Image of a Running Instance

Problem

• A running instance (i.e. a Windows or Linux VM) that has been customized or otherwise re-configured needs to be persisted into an image file to capture its current state.

Environment

• Platform9 Managed OpenStack - v4.0 and Higher

Procedure

1. Stop the instance from either the UI or CLI.

$ openstack server stop [instance UUID]

2. Take a snapshot of the running instance.

$ openstack server image create --name [snapshot name] [instance UUID]

3. List the images and identify the UUID of the snapshot using the name given during creation.

$ openstack image list

4. Download the snapshot.

# glance image-download --file [FILE] [snapshot UUID]

5. Verify the format of the downloaded image.

# qemu-img info [FILE]

6. If the image format is not qcow2, convert it by referring to the OpenStack image conversion guide.