Issues exporting a Ubuntu ARM Virtual Machine to OVA on a Mac with the M4 processor

[Robert Bierman]

I have in the past using the ovftool, exported an ARM based VM to a OVA, that others on Apple Silicon have been able to load.  The OVA hangs while trying to import into Fusion on the Mac with an M4.

I rebuilt the VM from scratch on the M4 with the hope to export that to an OVA that could then work for importing.  But, the ovftool (after getting rosetta 2 installed and allowing everyone of the dynamic libraries to "run anyway" generates an error:

./ovftool --acceptAllEulas ~/Virtual\ Machines.localized/OperatingSystemsSU25.04ARM.vmwarevm/OperatingSystemsSU25.04ARM.vmxf ~/Downloads/OperstingSystemsSU25.04ARM.ova
Opening OVF source: /Users/bierman/Virtual Machines.localized/OperatingSystemsSU25.04ARM.vmwarevm/OperatingSystemsSU25.04ARM.vmxf
Error:
 - Line 2: Incorrect namespace '' found.
Warning:
 - No manifest file found.
Completed with errors

Does anyone have any ideas why OVA's made on the M1 hangs the M4 (works on M1, M2, and M3)?  Or why I can not export the VM on an M4?

[Technogeezer]

I've reproduced this on an M1 Mac.:

/Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/VMware\ OVF\ Tool/ovftool --acceptAllEulas /Volumes/Virtual\ Machines/Fusion/OpenSUSE\ Tumbleweed.vmwarevm/OpenSUSE\ Tumbleweed.vmxf foobar.ova
Opening OVF source: /Volumes/Virtual Machines/Fusion/OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.vmwarevm/OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.vmxf
Error:
 - Line 2: Incorrect namespace '' found.
Warning:
 - No manifest file found.
Completed with errors

I think that you want to be pointing to the .vmx file, not the .vmxf file. I ran this same command against the .vmx file of this VM and it "worked".

I say "worked" because ovfool (OVA/OVF import/export) isn't supported on Apple Silicon. It doesn't understand the ARM architecture guest operating system types, so the resulting virtual machines would have to tweaked once you import them. 

I'm curious. Why are you using ovftool?

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------

[Robert Bierman]

Thank You Paul!!

I was originally trying .vmf, but there was no vmf, and so I thought is was vmxf, when all along I should have been using the .vmx

Actually the ovftool is the only support for exporting from the Apple Silicon as far as I know.  That is why I have always used it.  There is no export in the Apple Silicon version.

Now this OVA does work on the M4, i.e. I can import it (just as I used to with the M1, M2 and M3).  You are correct about one other point, which I already knew, is after you import, you have to go to the general settings and change the operating system type from "other" to Ubuntu 64bit ARM BEFORE launching the VM.

Is there another way to export an OVA from the apple silicon?

Thanks.

[Technogeezer]

TL;DR No.

The Fusion documentation explicitly says that OVA/OVF import/export is for Intel Macs only. Also see https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/315609/features-of-windows-11-vm-on-mac-with-in.html

Unless you are attempting to transfer a guest from Fusion on Apple Silicon to some other hypervisor that runs on an ARM CPU and has OVA/OVF import capabilities, there's no need to create an OVA package to move the VM to another system. The VM bundle can be zipped/tarred up and moved to another system runnung Fusion on Apple Silicon.

Trying to move a Fusion VM on ARM to another hypervisor is not for the faint of heart because of the unsupported nature of the conversion and the differences in virtual hardware on ARM hypervisors. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------

[Robert Bierman]

If you zip the VM bundle, then how does someone else install it?  They would have a different user names and file locations.

[Technogeezer]

If you create a zip file by using the macOS Finder's File > Compress on the .vmwarevm bundle (which is in actuality a folder/directory), uncompressing that zip file will set the ownership of the file to the user that's decompressing it. I believe that the command line zip utility works similarly. 

With two exceptions, the file names within the bundle (.vmdk, .vmx, .vmem. ,vmxf, .nvram,  are relative to the bundle's path. The two exceptions are:

• If the virtual CD/DVD is set to an ISO file. That path will be carried over in the copied virtual machine. You probably should disconnect the virtual CD/DVD device and set it to "Autodetect" before zipping up the VM to work around this.
• If you have a virtual disk configured for the VM whose files do not reside in the VM's bundle folder. The virtual machine configuration will point to the path of the .vmdk file and that will carry over to the copied vm. My recommendation is to make sure that all configured virtual disk files are present in the VM's bundle folder so that you don't have to worry about this. 

Once the VM is unzipped/uncompressed in the desired location (note: not in a folder that's sync'd to the cloud), the simply open Fusion and open the VM.   You will see the "moved or copied" dialog the first time that it's powered on. I'd test both answers out on the zipped file before letting others use the zip file to provide proper guidance on how to answer that question. Contrary to what the dialog says, "Moved" is the safest answer.

If this is a Windows VM, take into account the licensing legalities of Windows as well as nuances around copying virtual machines.

One other thought: I'd keep the virtual machine's networking configured to one of the default networking configurations (Bridged, NAT, or host-only) unless you provide instructions on how to configure virtual networking in Fusion to support the custom configuration your VM will need. 

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
------------------------------