Which method for importing a virtual machine (VM) is the fastest?

Registering the VM in-place is the fastest method for importing a virtual machine because it involves pointing the hypervisor directly to the existing VM files without requiring any additional data transfer or file copying. This method essentially tells the virtualization platform to recognize and use the VM that already exists at a specified location on disk. It minimizes the overhead associated with creating new configurations or copying data, allowing users to have the VM available for use almost immediately.

In contrast, creating a new VM and attaching an existing disk involves additional steps of setting up the new VM configuration and then linking it with the existing virtual hard disk, which takes more time. Importing the virtual machine as a new one often includes copying configurations and possibly data, which can slow down the process significantly. Finally, manually copying the VM files not only requires significant time for the actual file transfer but also necessitates proper registration of the VM in the management interface afterwards. This multi-step approach contributes to a longer import time compared to the in-place registration method.