When you need to move a virtual machine (VM) from a vCenter/ESXi environment (like ESXi 5.5) to VMware Workstation for local development or testing, the OVF Tool is the most reliable method. Many users struggle with locating or using the OVF Tool effectively, especially when transitioning between enterprise and local environments.

• VMware OVF Tool installed on your local machine (Windows/Linux)
• vCenter/ESXi credentials with VM export permissions
• Enough disk space for the exported VM

Here's how to export a VM from vCenter to VMware Workstation:

# Example OVF Tool command for exporting a VM
ovftool --noSSLVerify \
"vi://username:password@vcenter-server-IP/Datacenter/vm/VM-Name" \
"C:\Local\Path\Output-Folder\VM-Name.ova"

Key parameters explained:

• --noSSLVerify: Bypasses SSL certificate validation (useful for lab environments)
• vi://: Specifies vCenter/ESXi as the source
• Format can be OVA (single file) or OVF (multiple files)

Problem: OVF Tool not found after installation
Solution: Add it to your PATH or use full path (typically: C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool\ovftool.exe)

Problem: SSL certificate errors
Solution: Use --noSSLVerify flag or properly configure certificates

If OVF Tool doesn't work for your scenario, consider:

1. Using vCenter's "Export OVF Template" feature (right-click VM → Template → Export OVF Template)
2. For large VMs, consider exporting to shared storage first

Once you have the OVA/OVF file:

# VMware Workstation command line import (optional)
"C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmware-vmx.exe" -I "C:\path\to\vm.ova"

Or simply double-click the OVA file in Windows Explorer.

• For better transfer speeds, run OVF Tool on the vCenter server when possible
• Compress the OVF files if network bandwidth is limited
• Remove unnecessary virtual devices before export

When migrating VMs from enterprise vSphere environments to local development setups, the OVF format becomes crucial. Here's why the standard vCenter export options might not suffice for developer workflows:

// Typical pain points developers face
1. Need for portable VM images
2. Compatibility with Workstation Pro/Player
3. Maintaining network configurations
4. Preserving custom hardware profiles

You mentioned installing OVFtool but not seeing it in menus. That's expected behavior - it's a command-line utility. Here's how to verify installation:

C:\> ovftool --version
VMware ovftool 4.4.3 (build-18663434)

For your ESXi 5.5 environment, use this command structure from any machine with network access:

ovftool vi://username@vcenter-server-IP/Datacenter/vm/VM-Name \
"C:\Local\Path\output.vmx" --acceptAllEulas

To ensure optimal compatibility with VMware Workstation 16/17:

ovftool --diskMode=thin --compress=9 --name=DevVM \
--overwrite vi://admin@10.0.1.100/DevCluster/TestVM \ 
"C:\VMs\Development\testvm.vmx"

ESXi 5.5 specific gotchas:

• Add --noSSLVerify if certificate warnings appear
• Use --powerOffSource for running VMs
• Include --skipManifestCheck for large VMs

For developers needing regular exports, here's a PowerShell wrapper:

param (
    [string]$vcenter,
    [string]$vmPath,
    [string]$localDest
)

$ovfPath = "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool\ovftool.exe"
& $ovfPath vi://$vcenter $localDest 
    --powerOffSource 
    --diskMode=thin 
    --compress=6 
    --overwrite

After importing to Workstation, developers should:

1. Adjust vCPU/RAM allocations for local hardware
2. Convert network adapters to NAT/Bridged
3. Install VMware Tools if needed