# Utilizing Existing QCOW & ISO Images from an NFS File Share

Integrated NFS shares can be used both as a repository for HVM cluster images and as a target for saving new images from existing VMs. This offers benefits of greatly expanding the available storage compared to what’s available on the VM Essentials manager VM, insulates you from issues that can arise from images completely filling the manager storage, and allows for the same images to be easily integrated with multiple VM Essentials appliances.

To begin, we need the NFS file share integrated with VM Essentials. This is done in the Infrastructure > Storage section of the UI. This guide assumes the NFS file share is pre-existing and the VM Essentials manager can reach it. Actually setting up an NFS file share goes beyond the scope of this guide. From the File Shares tab, check to see the desired file share is already integrated. If needed, you can add one by clicking + ADD and then selecting “NFSv3”.

When adding a new file share, configure the following:

- **NAME:** A friendly name for the file share within VM Essentials
- **HOST:** The IP address or hostname for the NFS file share server
- **EXPORT FOLDER:** The path to the folder that should be mounted to the manager
- **ACTIVE:** Must be checked to be able to consume this file share elsewhere in VM Essentials manager UI
- **DEFAULT VIRTUAL IMAGE STORE:** (Optional) Select if you wish this file share to be the default store for newly uploaded or generated images

When done, click Save changes.

![../../_images/editFileshare.png](https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/sd00008058en_us/GUID-CD1D4AB9-1183-4739-8E61-1FB428D244B9-high.png)

IMPORTANT

You must configure the NFS share to give VM Essentials manager read and write access if you want to be able to read images from and write images to the file share. Configuring NFS file shares goes beyond the scope of this guide. Deleting files from an integrated file share deletes the actual file and not just the representation of the file in VM Essentials. This includes Virtual Images. Deleting a Virtual Image that is backed by a QCOW or an ISO image files stored in an integrated file share will also cause the file itself to be deleted in addition to the Virtual Image object within VM Essentials.

With the file share integrated, we can now create Virtual Images which are backed by QCOW or ISO images that are pre-existing in the file share. Navigate to Library > Virtual Images and click + ADD. From the dropdown, select “QCOW2” or "ISO". Make the configurations specified below. Those not mentioned can often be left on the default value. For a deeper explanation of configurations not mentioned here, see the dedicated section of VM Essentials documentation on Virtual Images.

- **NAME:** A friendly name for the image in VM Essentials
- **OPERATING SYSTEM:** Specify the operating system of the image
- **MINIMUM MEMORY:** Enter a minimum memory value and VM Essentials will not allow the image to be provisioned using a plan with lower memory
- **BUCKET:** Select the NFS share integrated in the previous step
- **CREATE IMAGE ID:** Set to “URL/PATH”
- **URL:** Enter the path to a QCOW or an ISO image within the file share. See the next paragraph for a deeper explanation of how to enter the path properly

The entered path to the QCOW or an ISO image should not include the name of the NFS share or the name of the file itself. See the portion highlighted in the screenshot:

![../../_images/viewQcow.png](https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/sd00008058en_us/GUID-5EB8987F-1490-43A7-84A4-875FBCE66FEB-high.png)

It also should only be the path to the folder containing the QCOW or an ISO image. The file name itself should not be part of the path. For example, `templates/qcow/ubuntu/server/2204/011025`. Click Save changes.

With the NFS file share integrated and the Virtual Image created, the image is now usable from the provisioning wizard. This guide won’t fully cover the use of the provisioning wizard but from the Configure tab of the wizard, the image is now selectable (assuming you’ve selected a compatible provisioning target). Additionally, we can now click into the detail page for running Instances and save them to images backed by the NFS file share. From the Instance detail page, click Actions, then “Import as Image.” You’ll be able to set a name for the new image and specify the NFS file share as the target bucket.
