VM /ETC

A large percentage of VMware administrators have already used VMware Converter to conduct physical to virtual (p2v) migrations of their physical servers. For some reason though, VMware Converter always seems to be overlooked as a tool to accomplish virtual to virtual (v2v) conversions to an ESX target. Not only can you accomplish v2v migrations, but you can use VMware Converter to cross multiple vendor or incompatible virtualization host platforms.

For example, any of the following virtualization products running a Windows VM can be v2v -ed to an ESX host  with VMware Converter:

• ESX 2.x
• ESX 3.x / ESXi 3.x
• Virtual Server 1.x or 2.x
• Hyper-V
• XenServer
• any of the hosted desktop products including (but not limited to) VMware Workstation and Fusion, Microsoft Virtual PC, and Sun xVM VirtualBox.

How and why is this possible?

All that needs to be done is install VMware Converter directly on the VM’s operating system, and then make sure that the source VM has network connectivity the target ESX host. Once you’ve worked those hopefully small details out, VMware Converter is basically oblivious to the fact that the source is not physical hardware and conducts the migration as if it was a p2v. Just choose “physical machine” and “this local machine” as the source type options when configuring an “Import Machine” Converter job.

It doesn’t matter if the host of the VM is a Mac, running Linux, or an older ESX 2.x version. All of these operating systems place the Windows VM on your network as a separate server. VMware Converter works with your target ESX host to create a new VM and clone the server to the target. So, yes you can move between Hyper-V and ESX 3.5, between Fusion and ESXi, or even upgrade migrate your VMs between stand alone installations of ESX 2.5 and ESX 3.5.

You do not need VirtualCenter, now named vCenter, either.

VMware Converter can also create VMs from various backup and imaging products such as:

• Symantec Livestate Images
• Acronis True Image backups
• Storagecraft ShadowStor images
• VCB backups

Backup or image your VM with any of the above and use VMware Converter to restore to a new ESX host as another v2v option.

Granted, VMware Converter is not the right tool or option for every v2v scenario, but it can be a simple solution for most of them; especially if you don’t have the budget to purchase licensing for other v2v products. Yes, even the free VMware Converter Standard version can be used for this process!

Just for the record: I realized at the end of this post the recently changed name is VMware vCenter Converter.

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