VM Import and Export

This functionality enables the migration of virtual machines into and out of the aSV environment using standard Open Virtualization Format (OVF). It is essential for workload mobility, allowing businesses to onboard existing VMs from other platforms or to archive VMs for long-term storage. The process packages the VM's configuration, disk files, and metadata into a single, portable entity.

P2V and V2V Deployment

Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) and Virtual-to-Virtual (V2V) migration tools facilitate the consolidation of physical servers or the transition of VMs from other hypervisors into the aSV environment. The Sangfor Cloud Migration Tool (SCMT) provides multiple migration pathways, including point-to-point transfer with or without a proxy server, high-availability protected migration, and backup-based migration, ensuring minimal downtime during infrastructure modernization projects.

Template-Based Deployment

Administrators can create standardized VM templates from a configured reference virtual machine. This capability dramatically accelerates the provisioning of new VMs that require identical configurations, such as in development environments or for scalable application deployments. Once a template is created, new VMs can be deployed from it in minutes rather than undergoing manual installation and configuration.

Specifying IP Addresses or Hostnames

During VM creation, administrators can assign specific IP addresses or hostnames directly through the aSV management interface. This eliminates the need for post-deployment network configuration and ensures critical servers maintain consistent network identities, which is particularly important for infrastructure services and applications with hard-coded network dependencies.

VM Scheduling Policy

aSV provides granular control over VM placement through scheduling groups, application groups, host groups, and security groups. These policies enable administrators to enforce affinity or anti-affinity rules, ensuring VMs are distributed according to performance, availability, or security requirements rather than leaving placement to chance.

Space Release upon Data Deletion

For storage efficiency, aSV can reclaim physical storage space after data is deleted within VMs. This works for both internal aSAN storage and external storage systems. The mechanism involves the guest OS issuing TRIM or UNMAP commands, which aSV then translates into instructions to the underlying storage system to deallocate the blocks previously occupied by the deleted data.

VM Application Deployment Wizard

This guided workflow simplifies the deployment of complex multi-tier applications. Instead of provisioning individual VMs and configuring their networking separately, administrators can define the entire application topology—including web, application, and database tiers—and deploy them as a cohesive unit with pre-established network connectivity.

Full Clone

A full clone creates a complete, independent copy of a source VM that shares no underlying storage with the original after the cloning process completes. This is ideal for creating permanent, performance-isolated copies of production VMs for development, testing, or debugging purposes without impacting the source environment.