AWS Migration Hub is no longer open to new customers as of November 7, 2025. For capabilities similar to AWS Migration Hub, explore [AWS Transform](https://aws.amazon.com/transform). # Import virtual machine images to AWS template Import virtual machine images You can use the *Import virtual machine images to AWS* template to convert existing images to Amazon Machine Images (AMI) for Amazon EC2. ## Prerequisites You must meet the following requirements to create a VM import workflow using this template. **AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) requirements** You need to create resources in IAM for both Migration Hub Orchestrator and VM Import/Export: + Create an IAM user and attach the required policies to use Migration Hub Orchestrator. For more information, see [Create an IAM user](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/migrationhub-orchestrator/latest/userguide/setting-up.html#setting-up-create-iam-user) + Create an IAM user and a service role, and attach required policies to use VM Import/Export. For more information, see [Required permissions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/required-permissions.html). **VM Import/Export requirements** You might need to perform additional tasks to prepare your AWS environment before importing your image. For more information, see [VM Import/Export Requirements](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/vmie_prereqs.html). **Upload images to Amazon S3** Create an Amazon S3 bucket, and add the image files you want to import into the bucket. For more information about creating an Amazon S3 bucket, see [Creating a bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/create-bucket-overview.html). The following considerations and limitations apply: + The Amazon S3 bucket must be in the same Region as the AWS account in which you are using Migration Hub Orchestrator. + You must have separate folders for each image file format you want to upload in your S3 bucket. + Migration Hub Orchestrator supports importing the following image file formats: + OVA + RAW + VHD + VHDX + VMDK Each image file type has additional requirements for the S3 bucket, file name, and workflow. ------ #### [ OVA files ] The following considerations apply when you import OVA files: + The folder must be named with the prefix `migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-folder-name` and must only contain one OVA file. + The S3 object must end with `.ova`. + Only one OVA file can be added in one import task. + You can add up to five import tasks in the workflow. ------ #### [ RAW files ] The following considerations apply when you import RAW files: + The folder must be named with the prefix `migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-folder-name` and must only contain one RAW file. + The S3 object must end with `.raw`. + Only one RAW file can be added in one import task. + You can add up to five import tasks in the workflow. ------ #### [ VMDK files ] The following considerations apply when you import VMDK files: + The folder must be named with the prefix `migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-folder-name`. + The S3 object must end with `.vmdk`. + The folder must only contain VMDK files. + The folder can contain up to 21 VMDK files. ------ #### [ VHD files ] The following considerations apply when you import VHD files: + The folder must be named with the prefix `migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-folder-name`. + The S3 object must end with `.vhd`. + The folder must only contain VHD files. + The folder can contain up to 21 VHD files. ------ #### [ VHDX files ] The following considerations apply when you import VHDX files: + The folder must be named with the prefix `migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-folder-name`. + The S3 object must end with `.vhdx`. + The folder must only contain VHDX files. + The folder can contain up to 21 VHDX files. ------ ## Create a workflow 1. Go to [https://console.aws.amazon.com/migrationhub/orchestrator/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/migrationhub/orchestrator/), select **Create migration workflow**. 1. On Choose a workflow template page, select **Import virtual images to AWS** template. 1. Configure and submit your workflow to begin the VM import. + [Details](#details-import-vm-images) + [Source environment configuration](#source-env-config-import-vm-images) + [Target environment configuration](#target-env-config-import-vm-images) **Note** You can customize the migration workflow once it has been created. For more information, see [Migration workflows for Migration Hub Orchestrator](migration-workflows.md). ## Details Enter a name for your workflow. Optionally, you can enter a description and add tags. If you intend to import multiple VM images, we recommend adding tags to enhance searchability. For more information, see [Tagging AWS resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws_tagging.html). ## Source environment configuration You need to specify the following parameters to configure your workflow. + **Server IP** – This is an optional parameter where you can provide the IP address of the on-premises server that needs to be migrated. You must setup the Migration Hub Orchestrator plugin on providing the IP address. This enables Migration Hub Orchestrator to run a validation and detect any failure scenarios before import. + **Disk container** – You must specify the Amazon S3 path to your images that you set up in [Prerequisites](#prerequisites-import-vm-images). See the following examples for more details. ------ #### [ OVA files ] You can use either of the following path style examples for the disk container parameter. s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name* s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name*/*file-name*.ova ------ #### [ RAW files ] You can use either of the following path style examples for the disk container parameter. s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name* s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name*/*file-name*.raw ------ #### [ VMDK files ] You can use either of the following path style examples for the disk container parameter. s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name* s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name*/*file-name*.vmdk ------ #### [ VHD files ] You can use either of the following path style examples for the disk container parameter. s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name* s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name*/*file-name*.vhd ------ #### [ VHDX files ] You can use either of the following path style examples for the disk container parameter. s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name* s3://*bucket-name*/migrationhub-orchestrator-vmie-*folder-name*/*file-name*.vhdx ------ When more than one disk container is added, Migration Hub Orchestrator runs the workflow sequentially. If the first disk container fails, you must recover the failed container or create a new workflow. + **Add new item** – You can add up to five image tasks for the workflow. ## Target environment configuration This section of the Import virtual machine images to AWS template workflow has optional parameters for licensing. For more information, refer to the following documentation. + [Licensing options](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/licensing.html) + [Boot modes](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ami-boot.html)