Hi, On 03.10.2013 03:17, Fei Wang wrote: > Hi, > > I'm very sorry reply so late. > >>Exactly - if a OVF import would not create a new UUID then VirtualBox would >>e.g.refuse to import the same OVF file twice. > >>VirtualBox uses the VM UUID to distinguish VMs (we don't require the VM name >>to be unique, of couse it's a good idea to keep them unique for practical >>reasons) > >> > >>Can you explain a little more why you need to be able to check the identity, > >>or how you/the used software checks for identity? There might be >>possibilities, > >>but without context it's impossible to guess what might be interesting for >>you. > > [context] > > In our software, we need update OVA file on line, so we want to know the > OVA unique identifier.
There really is no completely unique element in a OVF file (no version or UUID), and even if one assumes that the OVA archive is created by VirtualBox it isn't possible to distinguish two exports reliably unless one digs very deep, by looking at the "modified uuids" of the disk images, which VirtualBox maintains. > If the local OVA file is identical with the remote OVA on http server, > we needn’t download the remote OVA. Two OVF files for the same VM (which was modified in the mean time by running it and the like) will look the same unless some VM config change has been made. Sorry. > If the local OVA file isn’t identical with the romote OVA, we need > download the remote OVA to local PC automatically. If you compare OVA files wholesale then you would see differences, but this defeats the purpose of not downloading it all the time, only to find out if there is any change or not. > It's embarrassing if there is no any attribute to identify a OVA file. Feel free to propose such improvements to the DTMF... > Maybe we have no choice but to use the name byconventionto identify the > OVA file. That's always a way to bend the rules :) Klaus > > Thanks, > > Wang Fei > _______________________________________________ vbox-dev mailing list [email protected] https://www.virtualbox.org/mailman/listinfo/vbox-dev
