咨询SoftLayer是否支持从Swift对象存储导入压缩镜像文件（缩短上传耗时）

1. Does SoftLayer support creating images from compressed files in Swift Object Storage? #

Yes, SoftLayer does support creating virtual server images from compressed image files stored in your Swift Object Storage.

Here are key details to keep in mind:

• Supported compression formats include gzip, bzip2, and zip (make sure the image file itself is directly compressed, not wrapped inside a folder structure within the archive).
• The underlying image file must still be a format SoftLayer recognizes, such as VHD, VMDK, or RAW.
• When initiating the image creation process (via the SoftLayer portal or API), you can directly specify the path to your compressed file in Swift Object Storage—SoftLayer will handle the decompression automatically during the import.

2. Can I import compressed images to reduce upload time? #

Absolutely! Using compressed image files is actually a recommended approach to cut down on upload duration, especially for large VHD files like you mentioned.

To make this work smoothly:

• Compress your VHD (or supported image format) using one of the approved compression tools (e.g., gzip for fast compression, bzip2 for higher compression ratios).
• Upload the compressed file to your Swift Object Storage bucket—since the file size is smaller, this will significantly reduce transfer time compared to uploading the uncompressed VHD.
• When creating the image through SoftLayer, point to the compressed file instead of the uncompressed one. The platform will decompress it during the image import process, so you don’t need to do this manually beforehand.

A quick tip: Always verify the integrity of your compressed file after upload (using checksums like MD5 or SHA-256) to avoid issues during image creation—corrupted files can lead to failed imports.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Edward