To be able to deploy virtual machines on your cluster, you will need images that are available to launch your installations and here is the procedure to follow.

Before you start

An image uploaded via Prism Element can be imported to Prism Central. The reverse is not possible.

An image uploaded or imported via Prism Central is visible but not editable on Prism Element.

An image uploaded via Prism Element can only be used by the cluster to which it was uploaded.

An image downloaded via Prism Central can be used by all clusters managed by this Prism Central

Nutanix provides compatibility with images in the following formats:

• RAW
• VHD
• VHDX
• VMDK
• VDI
• OVA
• ISO
• QCOW2

Download via Prism Element

To upload an image via Prism Element, connect to the web interface using your credentials, then navigate to the “Settings > Image Configuration” menu:

Click Upload Image:

Complete the “Name”, “Image Type”, “Storage Container” fields, select the image you wish to transfer then click on “Save”:

Wait during the transfer and then while your image is processed by the cluster. Its status must be “ACTIVE” for it to be operational:

Download via Prism Central

The process for transferring an image through Prism Central is essentially identical to that of Prism Element.

Connect to the web interface then navigate to “Compute & Storage > Images” and click on “Add Image”:

Click on “Add File”, select the image you want to transfer, fill in the description then click on “Next”:

On the next screen, select the image placement mode based on your environment. In most cases, the default method “Place image directly on clusters” will do the trick, click “Next”:

Wait while the cluster transfers and processes the image.

Import images from Prism Element to Prism Central

On the image management page on Prism Central, click “Import Images”:

Then select the transfer method that suits you:

“All images” will repatriate all the images from all the clusters managed by Prism Central

“Images on a cluster” will allow you to select the cluster(s) and source image(s) on a case-by-case basis.

Official Nutanix documentation

Link to official documentation: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v6_7:wc-image-configure-acropolis-wc-t.html