Backup, Export and Import

QuantaBox can package a VM for safekeeping or transfer. This chapter covers exporting and importing VMs, the available formats, and encrypted backups.

Export Formats #

Exporting a VM #

GUI: select the VM, then choose Machine > Export to OVA..., or right-click and select Export, then choose a destination.

CLI

# Plain package
quantabox package export my-ubuntu my-ubuntu.tar

# Post-quantum encrypted package
quantabox package export my-ubuntu my-ubuntu.tar --encrypted

A package bundles the VM's config.json and its disk image(s) into one file. With --encrypted, the disk data is encrypted sector-by-sector with AES-256-GCM as it is written, so the package is protected in transit and at rest. See Post-Quantum Encryption.

Importing a VM #

GUI: choose File > Import Appliance..., then select the file. QuantaBox supports importing .ova, .ovf, .qcow2, .vmdk, .vdi, and .img.

CLI

quantabox package import my-ubuntu.tar

On import, QuantaBox assigns the VM a new unique ID, places its disks in a fresh VM folder, and adjusts the configuration paths automatically. If the package was exported encrypted, the matching key material is used to restore it.

Backups #

A backup is a separate, compressed copy of a VM's disk: your safety net against disk loss or corruption (as opposed to a snapshot, which lives inside the disk image).

QuantaBox backups:

• Are written as .qvbk files with a manifest.json describing the backup (source VM, type, checksum, size, timestamp).
• Are compressed with LZ4 to save space.
• Can be encrypted with AES-256-GCM. A random nonce is stored with the data, and the original disk's integrity is verified with a SHA3-256 checksum recorded in the manifest.

Restoring a backup decrypts (if needed), decompresses, and writes the disk back out to a destination you choose.

Snapshot, Backup, Export: Which to Use? #

Encryption and Recoverability #

Next Steps #

Continue to the Command-Line Interface to automate any of these operations, or jump to Troubleshooting.