Creating the Virtual Disk Image (VMDK)¶
This phase walks you through the process of creating the clone of the virtual machine in a VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) format.
Step 1: Create a Raw Image of the OS Disk¶
This command makes a perfect, bit-for-bit photocopy of your main OS disk and saves it to the helper disk.
Important Note
This step will take a significant amount of time due to the size of the disk. Please let it run to completion.
Command Explanation:
if=/dev/sda: The input file is your main OS diskof=/mnt/imagedisk/ubuntu-vm.img: The output file is a new file on your helper disk
This command will read your entire 50 GB OS disk (/dev/sda) and write a raw image file to your new 120 GB disk (/mnt/imagedisk).
Step 2: Verify the Raw Image¶
After the dd command finishes, it is critical that we verify the file is the correct size:
Step 3: Convert the Raw Image to the Optimized VMDK Format¶
The raw image is huge. This step converts it into a smaller, more efficient VMDK format that Google Cloud prefers.
Pro Tip
The -O option below is an uppercase letter O (for Output), not the number zero (-0). This is a very common and hard-to-see typo.
Step 4: Verify that the VMDK and Image Files are Created¶
Check that the conversion was successful:
You should see the large .img file and a much smaller .vmdk file. The .vmdk is what you will upload to a Google Cloud Storage Bucket.
Congratulations!
You have successfully completed the most difficult part of the process! The VMDK file is now ready for upload to Google Cloud.