What Is Open Virtualization Format (OVF)?
In the past, if you wanted to use a virtual machine, you couldn't just take it with you and use it on another computer. You had to buy an entirely new copy of the software for the other computer, which was a huge hassle and cost way more money than it should have. Now we have OVF! OVF is an open-standard format for packaging and distributing software for virtual machines. It's secure, efficient, portable and extensible, meaning that no matter what kind of computer you're using or who made it or sold it, you can still run your virtual machines quickly. It's like having a built-in universal translator that allows all machines to understand each other and communicate regardless of where they came from or what language they speak! Not only that, but OVF is independent of any particular hypervisor or processor architecture. That means no matter what kind of hardware you're running on top of (or inside) your operating system, be it Intel or AMD, Windows 7 or Linux, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or whatever comes next, OVF will work with all these different platforms seamlessly! When traveling, you want to ensure you have everything you need, which means packing light. The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) helps you do just that. It's a standard for packaging virtual machines that lets you move your VM between different hypervisors, containers and cloud platforms. OVF also allows customers to experience the enhanced flexibility, portability, platform independence, verification, versioning, signing and licensing terms that virtualization provides. Enterprise software is built to be flexible, secure and efficient. When you're talking about distributing it across multiple platforms, it's easy to get stuck in the mud. OVF solves this problem by providing virtual machine mobility across virtualization platforms. Customers and vendors can deploy a virtual machine following OVF specifications on any platform. So stop packing your bags full of extra stuff! With OVF, you can take everything with you on your next trip and leave the rest at home.
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