VMware vCenter Converter 3.0 User guide

Brand: VMware

Model: vCenter Converter 3.0

Category: System management software

Type: User guide

User’s Manual

VMware Converter 3

VMware, Inc.

3401 Hillview Ave.

Palo Alto, CA 94304

www.vmware.com

2 VMware, Inc.

User’s Manual

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on our Web site at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:

docfeedback@vmware.com

6,711,672, 6,725,289, 6,735,601, 6,785,886, 6,789,156, 6,795,966, 6,880,022, 6,944,699, 6,961,806, 6,961,941, 7,069,413,

7,082,598, 7,089,377, 7,111,086, 7,111,145, 7,117,481, 7,149,843, 7,155,558, 7,222,221, 7,260,815, 7,260,820, 7,269,683,

7,275,136, 7,277,998, 7,277,999, 7,278,030, 7,281,102, 7,290,253, and 7,356,679; patents pending.

VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware,

Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United

States and other countries. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

User’s Manual

Revision: 20080508

Item: VMC-ENG-Q208-281

VMware, Inc. 3

Contents

AboutThisBook 7

1 Introduction 9

MigrationwithVMwareConverter 9

VMwareConverterEditions 10

CloningandSystemReconfigurationofPhysicalMachines 11

HotandColdCloning 11

LocalandRemoteCloning 11

CloningModes 14

MigratingExistingVirtualMachinesandSystemImages 15

ConvertingVirtualMachines 15

ConfiguringVirtualMachines 15

ConvertingandExportingVirtualAppliances 15

ManagingTasks 15

NewinConverter3.0.3 16

2 SystemRequirements 17

ApplicationRequirements 17

MemoryRequirementsforColdCloning 18

VirtualMachineandSystemImageRequirements 19

RestoringVCBImagesinConverter 20

SupportedDestinations 21

ConfiguringPermissionsforVirtualCenterUsers 21

LevelofInternationalizationSupport 21

HowConvertingAffectsSettings 22

ChangestoVirtualHardware 22

TCP/IPPortRequirements 23

RemoteHotCloningTroubleshootingTips 23

CommonRequirementsforWindowsOperatingSystems 23

3 InstallingandUninstalling 25

InstallingConverter 25

Uninstalling,Modifying,orRepairing 26

InstallingConvertertoRuninInstall‐LessMode 27

AddingorChanginganEnterpriseLicense 27

PerformingaScriptedInstall 27

4 ConvertingMachines 29

SelectingaConversionProcedure 29

ConvertinginInstall‐LessMode 30

CreatingaSeparateDiskforEachVolume 30

VirtualApplianceOverview 30

StarttheWizardforaConversion 32

SelectaSource 32

SelectaPhysicalMachineSource 32

SelectaVMwareInfrastructureVirtualMachineSource 33

VMware Converter User’s Manual

4 VMware, Inc.

SelectaVirtualApplianceSource 34

SelectaStandaloneVirtualMachineorBackupImageSource 35

ChooseaDestinationfortheNewVirtualMachine 36

ChooseanESXServerManagedbyVirtualCenterDestination 36

ChooseanESXServerVirtualMachineDestination 37

ChooseanOVFVirtualApplianceDestination 38

ChooseaStandaloneVirtualMachineDestination 39

ChooseaWorkstationVirtualMachine

Destination 40

CustomizeaNewVirtualMachine’sGuestOperatingSystem 40

InstallVMwareTools 41

CustomizetheIdentityoftheNewVirtualMachine 41

RemoveSystemRestoreCheckpoints 42

CompletetheConversionTaskCreation 42

5 UsingtheConverterBootCDforLocalColdCloning 45

ColdCloningandtheConverterBootCD 45

StarttheWizardforaConversion 45

SelectSourceData 46

ChoosingaDestinationforaNewVirtualMachine 47

UnsupportedClusters 47

ChooseaVirtualCenterServerVirtualMachineDestination 47

ChooseanESXServerVirtualMachineDestination 48

ChooseaStandaloneVirtualMachineDestination 48

CustomizeaNewVirtualMachine’sGuestOperatingSystem 49

Install

VMwareTools 49

CustomizetheIdentityoftheNewVirtualMachine 50

RemoveSystemRestoreCheckpoints 51

CompletetheConvertTaskCreation 51

UsingpeTooltoModifytheConverterBootCD 52

6 ConfiguringVMwareVirtualMachines 55

StartingConfiguration 55

SelectaVMwareInfrastructureVirtualMachineasSource 55

SelectaStandaloneVirtualMachineastheSource 56

CustomizingaNewVirtualMachine’sGuestOperatingSystem 56

CompletetheConfiguration 58

7 ManagingTasks 59

MultipleTasks 59

TaskView 59

TaskList 59

Toolbar 60

DetailsView 61

SummaryTab 61

TaskProgressTab 61

StartingandCancelingTasks 61

ForceaQueuedTasktoRun 62

CancelaTask 62

DeleteaTask 62

LookingatProgressandtheLogs 62

ViewaTask’sProgress 62

ExportandViewtheLog 63

EditingTasks 63

EditaTask 63

VMware, Inc. 5

Contents

EditaFailedTask 64

ManagingHowTasksRun 64

ControltheNumberofTasksRunningConcurrently 64

ChangetheRunOrder 64

ChangetheNumberofTasksDisplayedintheTaskList 65

ChangeWhichTasksAreDisplayedintheTaskList 65

Appendix:Migrationwithp2vToolCommand‐LineInterface 67

UsingtheExperimentalp2vToolCommand‐LineInterface 67

SyntaxandOptions 67

SourceMachinesandDestinationMachines 69

RestoringVCBImages 69

MigrationXMLInputFileExamples 70

‐q[‐‐query]OptionXMLOutputFileExample 74

VCBRestoreXMLInputFileExamples 75

OVFXMLOutputFileExamples 76

Glossary 79

Index 85

VMware Converter User’s Manual

6 VMware, Inc.

VMware, Inc. 7

Thisbook,theVMwareConverterUser’sManual,providesinformationaboutinstallingandusing

VMware™ Converter.

Intended Audience

Thisbookisintendedforanyonewhoneedstoinstall,upgrade,oruseVMwareConverter.VMware Converter

userstypicallyincludepeoplewhodosoftwaredevelopmentandtestingorworkwithmultipleoperating

systemsorcomputingenvironments:softwaredevelopers,QAengineers,trainers,salespeoplewhorun

demos,andanyonewhowantstocreatevirtual

machines.Anothersetofusersincludesanyonewhoneedsto

non‐intrusivelycopyandtransformphysicalsystemsintoVMwarevirtualmachines,eitherlocallyor

remotely.

Document Feedback

VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour

feedbackto:

[email protected]

Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.Toaccessthecurrentversions

ofthisbookandotherbooks,goto:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Online and Telephone Support

Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductandcontractinformation,and

http://www.vmware.com/support

Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseon

priority1issues.Goto:

http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html

Support Offerings

FindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds.Goto:

http://www.vmware.com/support/services

About This Book

User’s Manual

8 VMware, Inc.

VMware Education Services

VMwarecoursesofferextensivehands‐onlabs,casestudyexamples,andcoursematerialsdesignedtobeused

ason‐the‐jobreferencetools.FormoreinformationaboutVMwareEducationServices,goto:

http://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm

VMware, Inc. 9

VMwareConverterprovidesascalablesolutiontomigratephysicaltovirtualandvirtualtovirtualmachines.

Converterisoptimizedformassmigrations,butisequallyeffectiveforsingle‐machineconversions.Converter

importsvirtualmachinesfaster,withfewermanualstepsrequired,andfewersourcehardwarelimitations

thanothermethods.Withitsability

tohotclone,Convertercanconvertavirtualmachinewithnodowntime

onitssourcephysicalmachine.

ConvertercombinesandexpandsthefunctionalityavailableinVMwareP2VAssistantandVirtual Machine

Importer.IteasesinteroperabilityamongVMwarehostedproducts(VMware Workstation,VMware ACE,

VMware Fusion,VMware Server,andVMware Player), VMwareVirtualCenter‐managed

ESX Server3.xand2.5.x,

andunmanagedVMwareESX Server3.x,andVMwareESXServer3i Installableand

VMware ESXServer3iEmbedded.ItalsorestoresVMwareConsolidatedBackup(VCB)imagesintoVMware

virtualmachines.

Thischapterincludesthefollowingsections:

 “MigrationwithVMwareConverter”onpage 9

 “CloningandSystemReconfigurationofPhysicalMachines”onpage 11

 “MigratingExistingVirtualMachinesandSystemImages”onpage 15

 “ManagingTasks”onpage 15

 “NewinConverter3.0.3”onpage 16

Migration with VMware Converter

WithVMwareConverter,youconvertvirtualmachinesfromdifferentsourceformatsintooneofseveral

VMwareproductdestinations.Usetheapplicationtoaccomplishthefollowingtasks:

 ConvertphysicalmachinesforuseacrossdifferentVMwareproductformats.

 ConvertvirtualmachinesforuseacrossdifferentVMwareproductformats.

 MovevirtualmachinesacrossdifferentVMwareproductplatforms.

 ImportandexportofvirtualappliancesfromalocalfilesystemordownloadthemfromaURL

 CreateVMwarevirtualmachinesfromVCBimages.

 CreateVMwarevirtualmachinesfromthird‐partyformats.

 Reducethetimeneededtopopulatenewvirtualmachineenvironments.

 Migratelegacyserverstonewhardwarewithnoneedtoreinstalloperatingsystemsorapplication

software.

 Performmigrationsacrossheterogeneoushardware.

 Proactivelyreadjustdisksizes,types,andpartitionstomaximizeutilizationofstorageresources.

Introduction

User’s Manual

10 VMware, Inc.

 Placevolumesonseparatedisksandmigratethedisksacrossindependentdatastores.

 Startandmanagemultipleconcurrentmigrations.

 Viewaudittrails.

Figure 1‐1illustrateshowVMwareConvertercreatesandmigratesVMwarereadyvirtualmachinesfroma

broadrangeofsources.

Figure 1-1. VMware Converter Source and Destination Machines

VMware Converter Editions

VMwareConvertercomesintwoeditions,StarterandEnterprise.

physical

machines

virtual

machines

third-party

images

*.tib

*.vmc

*.sv2i

*.spf

VMware Consolidated Backup images

source destination

VMware

Converter

virtual

machine

Workstation 6

VMware Fusion

VMware Server 2

virtual

machine

Workstation 4

GSX Server

virtual

machine

Workstation 5

VMware Player

VMware Server 1

ESX Server 2.5.x

host

virtual

machine

ESX Server 3.x

host

virtual

machine

VirtualCenter

Server

Table 1-1. Starter and Enterprise Editions Features

VMware Converter Starter VMware Converter Enterprise

Environment DesignedforsinglemigrationstoVMware

productssuchasVMwareInfrastructure3,

VMwarePlayer,VMwareWorkstation,and

VMwareServer.

Designedformultipleconcurrentmigrations

toVMwareInfrastructure3andhosted

products.

License Freedownload. Licensedasapartofasupportand

subscriptioncontractwiththeVMware

VirtualCenter server.

Cloning Localhotcloningto

hostedproducts

(Workstation,VMwarePlayer,GSXServer,

VMwareServer)andESXServer.Remotehot

cloningtohostedproductsonly.

Localhotcloningtohostedproductsand

ESX Server.Remotehotcloningtohosted

productsandESXServer.Loca lcoldcloning

(VMwareConverterBootCD)tohosted

productsandESX Server.

Job Management Singlemigrationat

atime.Setupand

scheduleaconversion.

Multiple,concurrentmigrations.Setupand

scheduleaconversion.

VMware, Inc. 11

Chapter 1 Introduction

Cloning and System Reconfiguration of Physical Machines

Cloningistheprocessofcreatingacloneddisk,wherethecloneddiskisavirtualdiskthatisanexactcopyof

thesourcephysicaldisk.Thisinvolvescopyingthedataonaphysicalsourcemachine’sharddiskand

transferringthatdatatoatargetvirtualdisk(thenewcloned

disk).

Systemreconfigurationistheprocessofadjustingthemigratedoperatingsystemtoenableittofunctionon

virtualhardware.Thisadjustmentisperformedonthetargetvirtualdiskaftercloningandenablesthetarget

virtualdisktofunctionasabootablesystemdiskinavirtualmachine.

Convertercreates

anewVMwarevirtualmachinebasedonasourcephysicalmachine.Themigrationprocess

isnondestructive,soyoucancontinuetousetheoriginalsourcemachine.However,torunaconverted

VMwarevirtualmachineonthesamenetworkasthesourcephysicalmachine,youmustmodifythenetwork

nameandIP

addressononeofthemachines,sothephysicalandvirtualmachinescancoexist.

Hot and Cold Cloning

Convertersupportshotcloningandcoldcloning.Hotcloning,alsocalledlivecloningoronlinecloning,entails

cloningthesourcemachinewhileitisrunningitsoperatingsystem.Coldcloning,alsocalledofflinecloning,

entailscloningthesourcemachinewhenitisnotrunningitsoperatingsystem.Incoldcloning,

theuserreboots

thesourcemachinefromaCDthathasitsownoperatingsystem,fromwhichtheVMware Converter

applicationruns.Coldcloningleavesnofootprintonthesourcemachine.

Local and Remote Cloning

Forlocalcloning,migrationisperformedwithConverterrunningonthesourcemachine.Withremotecloning,

thesourcemachinecanbeaccessedwithouthavingtophysicallytouchit,aslongasitisrunning.

Remote Hot Cloning Workflow

Thefollowingworkflowisanexampleofhotcloning,inwhichthephysicalmachinebeingclonedexperiences

nodowntime.YouusetheConverterwizardtosetupamigrationtaskandVMware Converterautomatically

performsallofthecloningtasks.

OTEYoucannotmoveOEMmediabetweenphysicalmachines.Thelicenseisattachedtotheserverwhen

purchasedfromtheOEMandcannotbereassigned.OnlyretailandvolumeLicensescanbereassignedtonew

physicalservers.IfyoumigrateanOEMimage,youneedaWindowsServerEnterpriseorDatacenter Edition

licenseontheESXServertorunmultiplevirtualmachines.

NOTEWhenhotcloningdualbootsystems,youcancloneonlythedefaultoperatingsystemtowhich

boot.inipoints.Toclonethenondefaultoperatingsystem,changeboot.initopointtotheotheroperating

systemandreboot.Afteryouarebootedintotheotheroperatingsystem,youcaninstallConverterandhot

cloneit.

User’s Manual

12 VMware, Inc.

Remote Hot Cloning of a Physical Machine

1Converterpreparesthesourcemachineforaconversion.

Converterinstallstheagentonthesourcemachineandtheagenttakesasnapshotofthesourcevolumes.

2Converterpreparesthevirtualmachineonthedestinationmachine.

Convertercreatesavirtualmachineonthedestinationmachineandtheagentcopiesvolumesfromthe

source

machinetothedestinationmachine.

3Convertercompletestheconversionprocess.

Theagentinstallstherequireddriverstoallowtheoperatingsystemtobootinavirtualmachineand

personalizesthevirtualmachine(forexample,changingtheIPinformation).

agent

VMware Converter running

on Windows machine

running

physical machine

ESX Server

source

destination

network

snapshot

source

volumes

agent

VMware Converter running

on Windows machine

running

physical machine

ESX Server

volumes

source

destination

network

snapshot

source

volumes

agent

VMware Converter running

on Windows machine

running

physical machine

ESX Serve

source

destination

network

source

volumes

snapshot

reconfiguration

customization (optional)

VMware, Inc. 13

Chapter 1 Introduction

4Converterremovesalltracesfromthesourcemachine.

Thevirtualmachineisreadytorunonthedestinationmachine.

Local Cold Cloning Workflow

Thefollowingworkflowisanexampleofcoldcloning,inwhichyouclonethesourcemachinewhenitisnot

runningitsoperatingsystem.YousetupamigrationbyusingtheConverterwizardavailableonthe

Converter BootCD.AfteryouboottheConverterBootCDandusetheapplicationon

ittodirectthecourseof

themigration,Converterautomaticallyperformsallofthecloningtasksuntilrebootingthesourcemachineto

returntoitsoriginaloperatingsystem.

Local Cold Cloning of a Physical Machine

1Converterpreparesthesourcemachineimage.

BootthesourcemachinefromtheVMwareConverterBootCDanduseConvertertodefineandstart

the

migration.ConvertercopiesthesourcevolumesintoaRAMdisk.

2Converterpreparesthevirtualmachineonthedestinationmachine.

Convertercreatesavirtualmachineonthedestinationmachineandcopiesvolumesfromthesource

machinetothedestinationmachine.

VMware Converter running

on Windows machine

running

physical machine

source

volumes

ESX Server

source

destination

network

Converter

VMware

Converter Boot CD

physical machine

ESX Server

source

destination

network

copy

source

volumes

image in

RAM disk

ESX Serve

volumes

source

destination

network

source

volumes

Converter

VMware

Converter Boot CD

physical machine

image in

RAM disk

User’s Manual

14 VMware, Inc.

3Convertercompletestheconversionprocess.

Converterinstallstherequireddriverstoallowtheoperatingsystemtobootinavirtualmachineand

personalizesthevirtualmachine(forexample,changingtheIPinformation).

4Convertercleansup.

RemovetheBootCDandrebootthesourcephysicalmachinetoreturnittoitsownoperating

system.

Thevirtualmachineisreadytorunonthedestinationmachine

Cloning Modes

Converterimplementstwocloningmodes:disk‐basedcloningandvolume‐basedcloning.

Volume-Based Cloning

Convertersupportsvolume‐basedcloningforhotandcoldcloningandforimportationofexistingvirtual

machines.

Involume‐basedcloning,allvolumesinthedestinationvirtualmachinearebasicvolumes,regardlessofthe

typeinthecorrespondingsourcevolume.File‐levelorblock‐levelvolume‐basedcloningisperformed,

depending

onyoursizeselections:

 Vol um e‐basedfile‐levelcloning–Performedwhenanysizesmallerthantheoriginalisselected.

 Vol um e‐basedblock‐levelcloning–Performedwhenthevolumesizeismaintainedorextended.

Dependingonthecloningmode,sometypesofsourcevolumesmightnotbesupportedasfollows:

 Coldcloning(ConverterBootCD)supportsalltypesofdynamicvolumes,butdoesn’tsupport

Windows NT 4fault‐tolerantvolumes.WindowsNT4withmirroredvolumesissupported.

 VirtualmachineimportingsupportsbasicvolumesandalltypesofdynamicvolumesexceptRAID.It

doesn’tsupportWindows NT 4fault‐tolerantvolumes.WindowsNT4withmirroredvolumesis

supported.Onlymasterbootrecord(MBR)disksaresupported.GUIDpartitiontable(GPT)disksarenot

supported.

 HotcloningsupportsalltypesofsourcevolumesrecognizedbyWindows,exceptWindows NT 4

fault‐tolerantvolumes.WindowsNT4withmirroredvolumesissupported.

ESX Server

source

destination

network

source

volumes

Converter

VMware

Converter Boot CD

physical machine

reconfiguration

customization

(optional)

image in

RAM disk

ESX Server

source

destination

network

source

volumes

VMware

Converter Boot CD

physical machine

VMware, Inc. 15

Chapter 1 Introduction

Disk-Based Cloning

Convertersupportsdisk‐basedcloningforcoldcloningandforimportationofexistingvirtualmachines.

Disk‐basedcloningtransfersallsectorsfromalldisks,preservingallvolumemetadata.Thedestinationvirtual

machinereceivesthesamevolumes,ofthesametypeasthoseofthesourcevirtualmachine.Disk‐based

cloningsupports

alltypesofbasicanddynamicdisks.

Migrating Existing Virtual Machines and System Images

WithConverter,youcanmovevirtualmachinesbetweenhostedproducts(productsthatrunasapplications

onphysicalmachineswithoperatingsystems)andmanagedproducts(bare‐metalVMwareproductsthat

provideathinsoftwarelayer(thehypervisor)thatenablesthemtorundirectlyonthephysicalmachine).

Converting Virtual Machines

ConverterletsyoumoveVMwarevirtualmachinesbetweenWorkstation,VMware Player,VMware ACE,

VMwareFusion,ESXServer,ESXServer3iEmbedded,ESXServer3iInstallable,GSX Server,andVMware

Server.ItalsoimportsvirtualmachinesfromMicrosoftVirtual ServerandVirtual PC.

Configuring Virtual Machines

ForVMwarevirtualmachineswhosedisksarepopulatedbyrestoringfromabackupofaphysicalhostorby

someotherdirectmeansofcopying,ConverterpreparestheimagetorunonVMwarevirtualhardware.

Converting and Exporting Virtual Appliances

ConvertersupportsconvertingandexportingvirtualappliancesstoredinOpenVirtual MachineFormat(OVF

andOVA).YoucanimportavirtualappliancetoruninanexistingESXServerorWorkstationvirtualmachine,

oryoucanexportanexistingVMwarevirtualmachinetoanOVFvirtualappliancetoshareoverthenetwork.

Managing Tasks

Converterprovidesataskmanagertomanagemigrationsforasingleconversionorformultiple,concurrent

conversions.AfteryoucreateataskbyusingtheConverterwizardtosetuphowyouwanttoimporta

machine,usetheTaskViewofthemanagertodothefollowing:

 Startorstopaconversion.

 Changetherunorder.

 Forceaqueuedtasktorun.

 Controlthenumberofjobsrunningsimultaneously.

 Filtertheviewofwhattasksaredisplayed.

 Editatask.

 Viewatask’sprogress.

 Cancelatask.

 Editandrestartafailedtask.

 Deleteatask.

 Viewanaudittrail.

User’s Manual

16 VMware, Inc.

New in Converter 3.0.3

Thisreleasesupportsthefollowing:

 MicrosoftVista32‐bitand64‐bitoperatingsystems

 VirtualappliancesinOVFversion0.9

 Migrationofvolumesacrossindependentdatastores

VMware, Inc. 17

ThischapterdescribestherequirementstobefulfilledbeforeoperatingConverteranddescribesthe

compatibilitiesandinteroperabilitiesamongthesystemsonwhichandwithwhichitworks.

Thechapterincludesthefollowingsections:

 “ApplicationRequirements”onpage 17

 “MemoryRequirementsforColdCloning”onpage 18

 “VirtualMachineandSystemImageRequirements”onpage 19

 “RestoringVCBImagesinConverter”onpage 20

 “SupportedDestinations”onpage 21

 “ConfiguringPermissionsforVirtualCenterUsers”onpage 21

 “LevelofInternationalizationSupport”onpage 21

 “HowConvertingAffectsSettings”onpage 22

 “ChangestoVirtualHardware”onpage 22

 “TCP/IPPortRequirements”onpage 23

 “RemoteHotCloningTroubleshootingTips”onpage 23

Application Requirements

ConverteranditsagentrunonthefollowingMicrosoftWindowsoperatingsystems:

 Windows NTSP6+(withInternetExplorer5orhigher)

 Windows2000

 Windows200332‐bitand64‐bit

 WindowsXPProfessional32‐bitand64‐bit

 WindowsVista32‐bitand64‐bit

Convertercanruninvirtualmachinesthatusethelistedoperatingsystemsasguestoperatingsystems.

TheVMwareConverterBootCDrunsonitsowncopyofWindowsPreinstallationEnvironment(WinPE).

System Requirements

NOTEAlthoughConverteroperatesonWindowsonly,afterthemigration,youcantransferthevirtual

machinetotheVMwaresupportedhostplatformofyourchoice.

User’s Manual

18 VMware, Inc.

ToconfigurevirtualmachinesonWindows2000andWindowsNT,theoperatingsystemmustbe

Windows 2000orWindowsNT,asshowninTable 2‐1.AlthoughConverterallowsconversionofasource

imagewithalateroperatingsystemversionwhenrunningonthesesystems,(forexample,conversionofa

WindowsXP

sourcetoaWindows2000host),Convertercannotreconfiguretheimages.Similarly,when

exportingtoanOVFvirtualappliance,Convertercannotreconfigurethesourceimage.

Converterhasthefollowingspacerequirementsforinstallation:

Memory Requirements for Cold Cloning

ForcoldcloningwiththeConverterBootCD,thesourcephysicalmachinemusthaveatleast264MBof

memory.VMwarerecommends364MBofmemory.Table 2‐2showsthelimitationsplacedoncoldcloningif

youuselessthantherecommendedmemoryrequirement.

Foracoldclone,theVMwareConverterBootCD

canbestartedfrom,andclone,machineswithstorage

controllersandnetworkadaptersthatMicrosoftlistsassupportedinWindows2003.Withthisrequirement

met,ConvertercanclonemachinesrunningoperatingsystemsnotedintheApplicationRequirementssection.

Table 2-1. Operating System Compatibility

Source Machine OS

Compatible OS on the System Running Converter

Windows NT Server

Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 2003 Windows Vista

WindowsNTServer X X X X X

Windows2000 X X X X

WindowsXP X X X

Windows2003 X X X

WindowsVista XX X

Installation Component Value

Installersize 30.1MB

Installedfiles 65MB

Minimumbootdriverequirement

(ifinstalledonbootdrive)

120MB

Minimumbootdriverequirement

(ifinstalledonanotherdrive)

105MB

Table 2-2. Boot CD Cold Cloning Memory Requirements

Source Physical Machine Memory Converter Boot CD

Lessthan264MB Cannotperformacoldclone.

Greaterthanorequalto264MBbutlessthan296MB Canperformacoldclone,butcannotuseaRAMdisk.

Greaterthanorequalto296MBbutlessthan364MB CanperformacoldclonewithaRAMdisk,althoughusing

networkshareissuggested.

TheRAMdisksizeismemory

minus264MB.

Greaterthanorequalto364MB CanperformacoldclonewithaRAMdisk.

TheRAMdisksizeismemoryminus264MB,uptoalimitof

124MB.

VMware, Inc. 19

Chapter 2 System Requirements

Virtual Machine and System Image Requirements

Convertercanconvertthefollowingvirtualmachinetypes:

 Workstation6.x,Workstation5.x,andWorkstation4.x

 VMwareFusion1.x

 ESXServer3.x

 ESXServer3iversion3.5InstallableandESXServer3iversion3.5Embedded

 ESXServer2.5.x(iftheserverismanagedwithVirtualCenter2.x)

 GSXServer3.x

 VMwareServer1.x,

 VirtualCenter2.x

 MicrosoftVirtual PCversion7andlater

 AnyversionofMicrosoftVirtual Server

ConvertercanconvertthefollowingvirtualmachinetypestoOVForOVAvirtualappliances:

 ESXServeroravirtualmachinethatismanagedbyVirtualCenter

 Workstation

Convertercanconvertthefollowingsystemimagetypes:

 VCB

 AcronisTrueImage9

 SymantecBackupExecSystemRecovery(formerlyLiveStateRecovery)6.5and7.0,

LiveStateRecovery3.0and6.0,andNortonGhostversion9.0,10.0,and12.0(.sv2ifiles)

 StorageCraftShadowProtect

Requirements:

 Virtualmachinesmustbepoweredoffbeforeyouconvertthem.Youcannotconvertsuspendedvirtual

machines.

 VirtualmachinesfromMacintoshversionsofVirtual PCarenotsupported.

 TheoperatingsystemonthesourceVirtual PCorVirtual ServervirtualmachinemustbeaWindows

guestoperatingsystemsupportedbytheintendedVMwareplatform(forexample,Workstation 5or6).

SeetheGuestOperatingSystemInstallationGuideforalistofsupportedoperatingsystems.

ConvertersupportsVirtual PCandVirtual Servervirtualmachineswith

mostWindowsoperating

systemsearlierthanWindows NT4.0andwithnon‐Windowsoperatingsystems(forexample,Linuxand

DOS)forcloningonly.Converterdoesnotsupportconfiguringforthesesystems.

 ConvertercanconvertShadowProtectandBackupExecSystemRecoveryimages,withthefollowing

limitations:

 Dynamicdisksarenotsupported.

 Allimagesforthebackupofamachinemustbeinasinglefolderwithnootherimagesplacedthere.

 Forvolume‐basedcloning,allvolumesinthediskuptotheactiveandsystemvolumesmustbe

backedup.Forexample,ifadiskhasfourpartitions,1–4,withpartition2astheactivevolumeand

partition3asthesystemvolume,thebackupmustinclude1through3.

 Forincrementalimages,upto16incrementalbackupsaresupported.

 Imagesofsystemswithlogicaldrivesarenotsupportedifthelogicaldriveisalsoasystemoractive

volume(ShadowProtectonly).

User’s Manual

20 VMware, Inc.

Restoring VCB Images in Converter

VCBenablesyoutobackupentireESXServervirtualmachines,storingthebackupbyusingWorkstation

disks,a.vmxfile,andacatalogfile.ConvertercanrestoreVCBimagesintoESXServers,andconverttheminto

VMwarestandalonevirtualmachines.

ConvertersupportsrestoringVCBimagesofanyguestoperatingsystem

type.Fortheoperatingsystemslisted

in“ApplicationRequirements”onpage 17,Converterenablesyoutoselectandresizevolumesandcustomize

theidentityfortherestoredvirtualmachine.Forallotherguestoperatingsystems,Convertersupportsonly

restoringthedisks.

Converterdoesnotmaintainthe.nvramfile,northeVMwarelog

files.Onlydisksarepreserved.

Converterdoesnotreadtheoriginallocationsettingsfromthecatalogfile.Torestoretothesamelocation,find

informationsuchasdatastore,hostname,foldername,andresourcepoolinthecatalogfileandenteritinthe

Conversionwizard.Inaddition,Converterdoesnot

readtheoriginaldisplaynamefromthecatalogfile.Ifyou

wanttousethesamenameanddon’trememberit,youcanlookitupinthecatalogfile.Youcanreadthe

catalogfileasaplaintextfile.

Information Not Preserved When Using Converter for Managed Product Destinations

Whenrestoringimagesformanagedproductdestinations(ESXServers,forexample),Converterdoesnot

preservecertainhardwarebackinginformationfromtheoriginalimage,butrathersubstitutesdefaultsettings.

Thesearetheaffectedareas:

 CD‐ROM–Defaultstodevicetype:hostdevice.

 Floppy–Defaultstodevicetype:hostdevice.

 Networkadapters–DefaultstothelistofnetworkadaptersintheGUI.TheMACaddressisnot

preserved.Itisregeneratedbythedestinationhost.

 Serialport–Defaultstophysicalserialportondestinationhostmachine.

 Parallelport–Defaultstophysicalparallelportondestinationhostmachine.

Whenrestoringimages,theConverterGUIdoesnotpreservecertainothervirtualmachinepropertiesfrom

theoriginalimage,butsubstitutesdefaultsettings.Theaffectedareasare

 UUID–Thevirtualmachine’sBIOSandlocation,identifiedbyuuid.biosanduuid.location,arenot

preserved,butregeneratedbythehostmachine.

 Diskresourceallocation–Defaultstothevaluesavailableonthehostwhenthevirtualmachineis

created.

Information Not Preserved for Hosted Product Destinations

WhenimportingaVCBimagetoahostedproductdestination(Workstation,forexample),Convertercannot

guaranteethatvirtualmachinepropertiescanbepreserved.ThisisbecauseConverterhandlesthisasanormal

migration,notarestore.

FormoreinformationaboutVCBimages,seetheVirtualMachineBackupGuide.

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VMware vCenter Converter 3.0 User guide

Brand: VMware

Model: vCenter Converter 3.0

Category: System management software

Type: User guide

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VMware vCenter Converter 3.0 User guide

VMware vCenter Converter 3.0 User guide

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