Deploy OVF directly from local datastore / SAN

When deploying OVF files vCenter allows for either browsing files locally on the client or specifying a URL. The latter can be handy when you want to deploy an OVF file stored somewhere on the VMware cluster’s datastores.

Steps to Deploy OVF from Datastore

1. Access the Datastore Browser

Navigate to any ESXi host in the cluster which has the datastore containing the OVF mounted and select “Browse Datastore”

2. Locate the OVF File

Navigate to the datastore and folder containing the OVF file

3. Prepare the URL

Copy the URL from the browser address bar into a text editor. Then copy and paste the filename of the OVF you want to deploy and insert it in the folder path.

Original URL:

https://10.6.26.1/folder/ISO?dcPath=ha-datacenter&dsName=vmfs1

Modified URL:

https://10.6.26.1/folder/ISO/VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.10100-1123965_OVF10.ova?dcPath=ha-datacenter&dsName=vmfs1

4. Deploy Using the URL

Copy and paste the new URL into the path box in vCenter when deploying the OVF

Note: You may need to enter the credentials for the ESXi server used to provide the file.