# Virtual Images

The most common provisioning method within VM Essentials involves Virtual Machines, and the most important part of provisioning a VM is the Virtual Image. When provisioning a VM, VM Essentials will need to do a few things depending on the location of the Virtual Image and if agent install and console access are desired.

Synced Images need to be properly configured
:   VM Essentials gathers as much metadata for synced images as possible, but depending on the target (HVM cluster or VMware vCenter), OS, image configuration, or agent install settings, the synced Virtual Images may not be ready to provision without some configuration within VM Essentials. The Virtual Image is already at the target Cloud, but datastore selection, credentials, cloud-init settings, networks, and security settings on the Virtual Image can cause provisioning issues.

Local/Uploaded Virtual Images
:   Images uploaded to VM Essentials are configured during the Add Virtual Image process, however VM Essentials in most scenarios will still need to copy the Virtual Image to the target Hypervisor/Cloud upon the first provision to the target Cloud. In addition to the requirements for provisioning a synced Virtual Image, copying an uploaded Virtual Image to the target Cloud is required. Network and image configurations can cause upload failures, resulting in provisioning issues.

**Subtopics**  

- **[Synced Images](https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/sd00008058en_us/render?page=GUID-429877DA-255E-41FC-86B6-E7069B0EE7A6.html)**
- **[Local Virtual Images](https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/sd00008058en_us/render?page=GUID-ECD5EC3F-BA9F-4E74-908E-A6C85C1C94AA.html)**
