Converting the disk image to QCOW2 format

Convert the raw DD image to QCOW2(QEMU Copy On Write version 2) format for use with Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have:

A raw DD image file created from the z/VM disk
The qemu-img package installed
Sufficient storage space for the QCOW2 image

About this task

QCOW2 is the preferred disk image format for OpenShift Virtualization. It provides better compression and snapshot capabilities compared to raw images.

Procedure

Convert the raw image to QCOW2 format by running the following command:
```
qemu-img convert -f raw -O qcow2 -p source_image.img destination_image.qcow2
```
Parameters:
- -f raw: Source format (raw disk image)
- -O qcow2: Output format (QCOW2)
- -p: Display progress information

Verify the converted image by running the following command:

qemu-img info destination_image.qcow2

Example output:

image: zvm_guest_disk.qcow2
file format: qcow2
virtual size: 50 GiB (53687091200 bytes)
disk size: 12.3 GiB
cluster_size: 65536
Format specific information:
    compat: 1.1
    compression type: zlib
    lazy refcounts: false
    refcount bits: 16
    corrupt: false
    extended l2: false

Results

A QCOW2 disk image is created that is ready for upload to OpenShift Virtualization. The QCOW2 format typically results in a smaller file size compared to the raw image due to compression.