Sangfor NGAF VM in the QEMU hypervisor

Hi, NGAF VMware images are not supported in the Qemu environment. The NGAF driver/kernel/licensing module is built explicitly for the VMware platform, which cannot work in Qemu images.
Btw, the backend login credential is confidential and only could be access via Sangfor staff.

In order to keep true to the FLOSS philosophy, I prefer to virtualize things using QEMU KVM. This also allows me to practice with the tools used in a lot of Linux environments for virtualization. Although it is a great tool for deploying your own virtual machines, it gets in the way when I want to open up a VM image for a security lab or some pre-made tool such as SIFT Workstation since they usually come in either virtual box or VMware images. While I could just download those tools, I prefer not to add more programs to my computer unless it is absolutely necessary. Of course, I also just like to find new ways of doing things. I hate seeing people online responding with "just download XYZ program and be done with it". Yes I can download VMware workstation if I needed it at work for something really quick and it will most likely work, but when it comes doing things at home, that mindset is soooo boring.

Normally, VMware images come in a *.ova file. The first thing to realize is that if you run file on the ova, you will notice that it is simply seen as a tar archive. The ova holds multiple files inside including the actual image, normally in a. The ova holds multiple files inside including the actual image, normally in a *.vmdk file, and a *.ovf file which is an XML file with information pertaining to the VM, comparable to the QEMU XML used to configure your VM settings. You may also find other files in there such as an ISO or a file with hashes. The only file we care about though is the *.vmdk file as that is the one with the actual image. If there are more than one, the file which has the name most comparable to the original *.ova filename should be the correct one. If it turns out this one does not work after the following process, you can always try the other one.

We will be converting the vmdk to qcow2. I chose this format simply because its the one I use with my other images and it works well with this conversion process. To convert it, you need to use the qemu-img and its convert function. After this point, we will be able to load the qcow2 image as a regular disk image in QEMU. You can do this through virt-manager, virt-install or copy another VM's XML and change the source for the disk as well as other options like the name, the UUID, and the MAC address. Something else you can try for a quick test is qemu-system-x86_64 but this can sometimes be very slow unless you set a ton of argument options.

Here are the actual steps:

tar -xvf original.ova
qemu-img convert -O qcow2 original.vmdk original.qcow2
Run the qcow2 image in QEMU
If it does not boot, try the other vmdk file if there is one
As you can see, it is pretty simple to do this and so far have used it on 3 different VMware images flawlessly. However, you have to realize it may take some experimentation. Do not give up on it right away and you will be able to avoid downloading extra software and avoid looking for the correct free trial version or getting an expensive license.

Please double-check that the ova file was correctly converted.

To make sure the ova file was converted correctly, please check.

Maybe the QEMU is not supported

Please make sure the ova file was converted correctly.

Regarding the network problem, it's possible that your QEMU environment's network configuration is incompatible with it. The network settings in the Sangfor NGAF image might need to be checked and modified to work with your QEMU environment.

Check this link https://foswiki.org/Support/HowToRunVirtualMachineImageOnKvmQemu

Please verify that the ova file was properly converted.

To run an image in QEMU, you would need to follow these steps:

• Install QEMU on your system.
• Download the image you want to run.
• Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where the image is saved.
• Run the following command:

  [backcolor=rgba(0,0,0,var(--tw-bg-opacity))][color=rgba(217,217,227,var(--tw-text-opacity))][backcolor=rgba(52,53,65,var(--tw-bg-opacity))][size=0.75]arduinoCopy code
  

  qemu-system-x86_64 -hda /path/to/image

  
  

  This command will launch QEMU and start the virtual machine using the image you specified.
  
  

To get access to the VM, you will need to use a console or remote desktop connection to access the running VM. The method for doing this will depend on the guest operating system running on the VM.

Please note that running virtual machines requires a certain level of technical expertise and may not be suitable for beginners.