Reusing Existing Images

A vSphere Lifecycle Manager image can be distributed within the same vCenter Server instance where vSphere Lifecycle Manager runs or across vCenter Server instances. You can reuse an image that you already set up by exporting it from its cluster and importing it to the target cluster.

To reuse an existing image for a cluster in the same vCenter Server system, you must export the image as a JSON file and then import the JSON file to the target cluster.

However, when you want to use an existing image for a cluster in another vCenter Server instance, exporting the image as a JSON file might not be enough. You might also need to export the image as a ZIP file. At the target location, you must import the JSON file as an image to the target cluster. You might also need to import the ZIP file to the target vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot to make sure that all components included in the image are available to the target vSphere Lifecycle Manager instance.