How to move/migrate a VM with a Fedora-23 custom template from 3.1 to 3.2?

Leeteqxv

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Dec 11, 2016, 12:10:21 PM12/11/16

to qubes-users

I have a previous test installation of Qubes 3.1 on a separate HDD (now
external USB), which cointains a customised (cloned+extra sw installs)
Fedora-23 template used with a dedicated AppVM.

Now I have Qubes 3.2 installed on a new HDD on that machine and before
we move on to Fedora-24 (when F23 "expires" later this month), I would
like to "import" that custom template AND the related VM into the new
(fresh) 3.2 install.

I cannot be sure if I have all the necessary insights into Qubes to
assume I can just copy / paste some folders/files into the new
installation, so I would like to know exactly which folders/files are
involved, and if there are any special order/steps to take, and whatever
else is needed for this. I also think that the resulting How-To list
should be fitted into the documentation somewhere.

(PS. I have not yet upgraded the new 3.2 system to Fedora-24, so that
part is not the question here. I will do the upgrade to F24 after the
migration of the template/VM along with the rest of the system. Hence,
my question here is regarding a "migrate" between two F23-based systems,
from Q3.1 to Q3.2)

I am aware of the following docs:

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/template/fedora/upgrade-23-to-24/
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/upgrade-to-r3.2/

Can someone provide an ordered list of steps for this?

Thanks.

Andrew David Wong

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Dec 11, 2016, 3:48:34 PM12/11/16

to Leeteqxv, qubes-users

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If I understand you correctly, it sounds like the built-in Qubes
backup tool (qvm-backup from the command-line, also available from the
Qubes Manager GUI) is the right tool for the job:

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/backup-restore/

Especially this part:

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/backup-restore/#migrating-between-two-physical-machines

- --
Andrew David Wong (Axon)
Community Manager, Qubes OS
https://www.qubes-os.org
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Leeteqxv

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Dec 12, 2016, 2:04:06 PM12/12/16

to Andrew David Wong, qubes-users

Thanks for the quick response.
That method would work while still having the old system available/bootable.
But in my case, I have replaced the old HDD with a new one (on a
laptop), and need to access the old installation by simply adding that
physical disk as a USB disk into the new system.

So I am really looking for which files/folders I need to copy from the
old system into the new installation, or, alternatively, if I can
"migrate" or point the new system to create a new Template and a new
AppVM by pointing it to a folder on the old disk to use as a template
for the creation.
How can this be done?

Marek Marczykowski-Górecki

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Dec 12, 2016, 4:38:53 PM12/12/16

to Leeteqxv, Andrew David Wong, qubes-users

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> Thanks for the quick response.
> That method would work while still having the old system available/bootable.
> But in my case, I have replaced the old HDD with a new one (on a laptop),
> and need to access the old installation by simply adding that physical disk
> as a USB disk into the new system.
>
> So I am really looking for which files/folders I need to copy from the old
> system into the new installation, or, alternatively, if I can "migrate" or
> point the new system to create a new Template and a new AppVM by pointing it
> to a folder on the old disk to use as a template for the creation.
> How can this be done?

You can copy appropriate directories from /var/lib/qubes/ related to
that VMs into your new installation (make sure to place them in exactly
the same location: appvms/ or vm-templates/), then use qvm-add-template
(for templates) and qvm-add-appvm (for appvms) to register them in
Qubes. Do not override any files, if VM with the same name already
exists, rename or remove it first.
After this operation, proceed to template upgrade procedure you've
already found.

- --
Best Regards,
Marek Marczykowski-Górecki
Invisible Things Lab
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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Andrew David Wong

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Dec 13, 2016, 2:07:32 AM12/13/16

to Marek Marczykowski-Górecki, Leeteqxv, qubes-users

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On 2016-12-12 13:38, Marek Marczykowski-Górecki wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 08:04:00PM +0100, Leeteqxv wrote:
>> So I am really looking for which files/folders I need to copy
>> from the old system into the new installation, or, alternatively,
>> if I can "migrate" or point the new system to create a new
>> Template and a new AppVM by pointing it to a folder on the old
>> disk to use as a template for the creation. How can this be
>> done?
>
> You can copy appropriate directories from /var/lib/qubes/ related
> to that VMs into your new installation (make sure to place them in
> exactly the same location: appvms/ or vm-templates/), then use
> qvm-add-template (for templates) and qvm-add-appvm (for appvms) to
> register them in Qubes. Do not override any files, if VM with the
> same name already exists, rename or remove it first. After this
> operation, proceed to template upgrade procedure you've already
> found.
>

Thanks; I didn't know about these tools. In the case of AppVMs, how is
this different from creating a new AppVM with the same name as the old
one, then replacing the new private.img with the old one? Or do both
methods achieve the same effect?

- --
Andrew David Wong (Axon)
Community Manager, Qubes OS
https://www.qubes-os.org

Marek Marczykowski-Górecki

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Dec 13, 2016, 11:28:01 AM12/13/16

to Andrew David Wong, Leeteqxv, qubes-users

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On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 11:07:23PM -0800, Andrew David Wong wrote:
> On 2016-12-12 13:38, Marek Marczykowski-Górecki wrote:
> > On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 08:04:00PM +0100, Leeteqxv wrote:
> >> So I am really looking for which files/folders I need to copy
> >> from the old system into the new installation, or, alternatively,
> >> if I can "migrate" or point the new system to create a new
> >> Template and a new AppVM by pointing it to a folder on the old
> >> disk to use as a template for the creation. How can this be
> >> done?
> >
> > You can copy appropriate directories from /var/lib/qubes/ related
> > to that VMs into your new installation (make sure to place them in
> > exactly the same location: appvms/ or vm-templates/), then use
> > qvm-add-template (for templates) and qvm-add-appvm (for appvms) to
> > register them in Qubes. Do not override any files, if VM with the
> > same name already exists, rename or remove it first. After this
> > operation, proceed to template upgrade procedure you've already
> > found.
> >
>
> Thanks; I didn't know about these tools. In the case of AppVMs, how is
> this different from creating a new AppVM with the same name as the old
> one, then replacing the new private.img with the old one? Or do both
> methods achieve the same effect?

It's mostly the same. Most of the files (besides private.img) are
generated anyway.

- --
Best Regards,
Marek Marczykowski-Górecki
Invisible Things Lab
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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