33 Votes

VirtualBox: Difference between OVA and OVF file

Question by Guest | 2015-01-11 at 15:13

I would like to export a virtual machine from VirtualBox. However, in the export window I am asked whether I would like to export using the OVF or OVA file format.

Can someone explain the difference between these formats? Which format is better?

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5Best Answer5 Votes

When exporting as OVF, you are getting your virtual machine exported in multiple files. Usually, that is an XML file with the file extension OVF containing the description of the machine and the disk image having the file extension VMDK. In order to be able to import this machine again, both files have to be stored into the same directory.

When exporting as OVA, you get a single file as export. This file is a TAR archive containing the OVF and VMDK file. It is possible to open this OVA file using an archive manager such as 7 Zip.

So, in principle, both files are the same, but if you like only having one exports file, I would recommend the export as OVA.
2015-01-11 at 17:22

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