Passing the OVF descriptor is unable to pass XML element envelope

Products

• VMware
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Importing and deploying a virtual appliance using the vSphere Client fails with the error:

An error occurred while passing the OVF descriptor 'unable to pass XML element envelope'

• Using Ovftool 1.0 to extract the OVA file is successful; but fails to import the OVF.
• Using Converter to deploy the file you receive the following error in the wizard:

A general system error occurred: internal error

Cause

This issue can be cause by a corrupted OVA file.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, test the OVA file to ensure that package is not corrupt using the Ovftool:

1. Download the OVF Tool and install this program. For more information, see OVF Tool Installation Guide
2. On the server where the OVF Tool is installed, execute:
   
   Note: Extract the OVA file before running this command
   
   ovftool --datastor<wbr style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></wbr>e=<name_of_datastore> <path to the extracted OVF>.ovf vi://root: <wbr style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></wbr><password>@<name_of_esx>
   
   
3. Read and accept the End User License Agreement and click deploy the virtual applicance.
4. Register the deployed virtual machine by executing:
   
   vmware-cmd -s register <path to VMX>.vmx.
   
   

Note: A newer version of the OVF Tool has been released, to download see Broadcom Support Portal .

 

Additional Information

Compatibility issues may occur when using the Ovftool 1.0 to extract an OVA to deploy to a non-vSphere environment, such as Virtual Infrastructure 2.5 using the File > Import option on the client.