Chapter 7 Migrating and Importing Virtual Machines
The process of building a virtual infrastructure is at its peak with the conversion of existing systems into virtual machines. Consolidating physical systems provides significant intrinsic savings in the areas of physical space, power consumption, and hardware costs. In this chapter, we'll look at the native tools available for performing a server consolidation by migrating physical computers into virtual machines.
In this chapter you will learn to:
♦ Use the VirtualCenter 2.5 Consolidation feature.
♦ Perform physical-to-virtual migrations of running computers
♦ Perform physical-to-virtual migrations of computers that are powered off
♦ Import virtual appliances
Guided Consolidation
VMware VirtualCenter 2.5 includes a new feature called Consolidation that provides a simple-to-use capacity-planning utility. This utility allows administrators to monitor physical computers as potential virtualization candidates. As the monitoring period goes on, the guided Consolidation capacity planner becomes increasingly confident about its recommendations for virtualization.
Before consolidation can begin, there must be a datacenter object and a host added to the VirtualCenter inventory. The Consolidation feature is accessible from the Consolidation button on the top menu of VirtualCenter 2.5. The feature is installed as part of VirtualCenter 2.5 and has its own corresponding Windows service called the VMware Capacity Planner Service. The service must run under the context of a user account with the following settings on the VirtualCenter Server:
♦ Membership in the local administrators group
♦ The Log On as a Service right
The Log On as a Service right can be configured through the Local Security Policy on the VirtualCenter Server computer or via a Group Policy Object (GPO) in Windows Active Directory. You can find the Log On as a Service right in the following location in the Group Policy Object Editor (gpedit.msc): Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Local Policies | User Rights Assignment.
While VMware has a more robust product in the VMware Capacity Planner, this light version is a perfect fit for the small- and medium-sized businesses. The Consolidation feature can scan systems that exist as members of a workgroup or part of a domain. A set of default credentials can be configured when scanning systems with similar administrator account settings, while at the same time custom credentials can be set for the nondomain systems or those with nonstandard administrator account settings.
Perform the following steps to configure the Service and Default.credentials for the VirtualCenter Consolidation feature:
1. Use the Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Client to connect to the VirtualCenter 2.5 Server.
2. Click the Administration menu button and then select the Consolidation Settings option.
3. In the Consolidation Configuration dialog box, shown in Figure 7.1, click the Change button in the Service Credentials section.
Figure 7.1 The Consolidation feature defaults must be configured with accounts that include the appropriate administrative rights.
4. In the Enter Credentials dialog box, shown in Figure 7.2, enter the username and password for a user account with membership in the local administrators group and the Log On as a Service user right. Preface the user account with the appropriate domain name for a domain account or the server name for a nondomain account.
5. Click the OK button.
6. Click the Change button in the Default Credentials section of the Consolidation Configuration dialog box.
7. Enter the username and password with administrative rights on the target systems to be monitored.
8. Click OK.
Figure 7.2 The service account credentials should be prefaced with the domain or server name where the account is stored.
The various services involved in the Consolidation feature can be monitored from the Service Status tab of the Consolidation Configuration dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.3.
Figure 7.3 The Consolidation feature includes several child services that facilitate the data-gathering and recommendation processes.
Once you've set the defaults, you can initiate an analysis of systems from the Analysis tab. As noted earlier, the analysis of target systems becomes more confident as time passes and the amount of data collected increases. Typically, it takes about 24 hours for the analysis algorithms to become confident in the consolidation plan. As the confidence builds, it will be reflected in the Confidence column on the Analysis tab, as shown in Figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4 The Consolidation feature generally takes about 24 hours to gain confidence in its recommendations.
Perform the following steps to begin an analysis with the Consolidation feature of VirtualCenter 2.5:
1. Use the VI Client to connect to the VirtualCenter 2.5 Server.
2. Click the Consolidation menu button and then click the Analysis tab.
3. Click the Add to Analysis button.
4. In the Add to Analysis dialog box, shown in Figure 7.5, click the Show domain drop-down list to view the list of domains and workgroups discovered by the VirtualCenter Consolidation feature.
Figure 7.5 The Consolidation feature discovers domains and workgroups of potential target computers.
5. Select the appropriate domain or workgroup to which the target computers belong.
6. Once the list of computers is displayed, select the computer or computers to be monitored. You can select multiple computer names by holding the Ctrl key while clicking each name.
7. Once you've selected all the desired targets, click the Add to Analysis button.
8. As shown in Figure 7.6, select the custom Username and Password option or the Use the configured default credentials option. If the credentials defined in the default are not appropriate for the system to be monitored, enter the appropriate username and password in the Set Authentication dialog box. If three systems require three different sets of credentials, then you must select each system individually from the list of computer names.
Figure 7.6 Authentication credentials can be customized for nondomain systems, or the default credentials can be passed through to the target systems.
9. Click OK.
Once these steps have been completed, the analysis will begin and will run until the confidence level is sufficient for making a recommendation about virtualizing the physical target system.
Analyzing a physical computer requires the appropriate administrative rights and IP connectivity to the computer. Be sure to disable any software firewalls that might be preventing communication with the physical computer.
After a period of time, the VirtualCenter Consolidation feature gains confidence with the consolidation plan and the status value of the analyzed systems changes, as shown in Figure 7.7.
Figure 7.7 Once the confidence of the Consolidation feature reaches a high level, the analyzed systems will be noted as ready for consolidation.
You can observe a consolidation plan for one or more of the analyzed systems by selecting the system or systems and then clicking the Plan Consolidation button. As shown in Figure 7.8, the Consolidation Plan dialog box will detail the computer name, the recommended destination, and a star rating to identify how likely a candidate the system is for virtualization. The rating system ranges from one to five; with five stars indicating that the system is an excellent virtualization candidate for the given host.
Figure 7.8 A consolidation plan is generated for each of the analyzed systems. The plan includes a recommended destination host and rating.
From the Consolidation Plan dialog box, you can select one or more of the analyzed systems and then click the Consolidate button. Clicking the Consolidate button will cause the VMware Converter to import the system as a virtual machine into the existing VirtualCenter inventory, as shown in Figure 7.9.
Figure 7.9 Multiple systems can be converted to virtual machines with a single click as part of the consolidation plan generated by VirtualCenter.
The Consolidation feature of VirtualCenter will provide many small and medium businesses with a simplified physical-to-virtual migration strategy through its simple and intuitive interface. While it may not be as robust as the full VMware Capacity Planner utility, it is free and does not require any outside experience or assistance. In truth, the best migration plans will come from the intimate knowledge an administrator has about the physical systems that have been deployed over his/her tenure. The Consolidation tools and Capacity Planner tools are an excellent way to provide validated and documented proof of the benefits and capabilities of constructing a virtual infrastructure on VI3.
Performing Physical-to-Virtual Migrations
You can migrate physical machines into virtual machines by performing one of the following:
♦ A hot (or live) migration — the conversion of a running physical computer.
♦ A cold migration — the conversion of a physical computer that is powered off.
Both types of migrations can be performed with the VMware Converter. The VMware Converter has traditionally been a stand-alone product that can be downloaded and installed for free. However, with the release of VirtualCenter 2.5, VMware has made the VMware Converter even more convenient by adding it into VirtualCenter as a plug-in accessible directly from the VirtualCenter 2.5 interface.
Perform the following steps on each VI Client that will manage physical-to-vertical (P2V) migration to enable the VMware Converter Enterprise feature of VirtualCenter 2.5:
1. Use the VI Client to connect to the VirtualCenter 2.5 Server.
2. Click the Plugins menu and select the Manage Plugins option.
3. In the Plugin Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 7.10, click the Download and Install button under VMware Converter Enterprise.
4. Click the Next button on the VMware Converter Enterprise Client installation wizard.
5. Click the Install button to begin the installation.
6. Click OK once the installation is complete.
7. As shown in Figure 7.11, click the Installed tab and enable the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in by selecting the Enabled check box. You may need to exit the VI Client and log back in before the Installed tab displays the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in.
Figure 7.10 The VMware Converter Enterprise feature must be installed on each VI Client that will manage conversions.
Figure 7.11 Once installed, the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in must be enabled.
VMware Converter Stand-alone Enterprise and Starter Editions
The VMware Converter is also available in a stand-alone product that can be installed and used outside the scope of VirtualCenter 2.5. The VMware website at http://www.vmware.com offers the VMware Converter Standalone Enterprise Edition and the VMware Converter Starter Edition.
The VMware Converter Enterprise edition found in VirtualCenter is equal in functionality to the Standalone Enterprise Edition, while the Starter Edition is less functional than both. The VMware Converter Starter Edition provides single-machine conversions by requiring an installation on each virtualization candidate. The end result of all the VMware Converter products is the ability to convert physical systems into virtual machines; the Enterprise Edition just makes it easier to accomplish this by providing a centralized management and operations interface.
The new and improved VMware Converter is a marriage of two older tools: P2V Assistant and VMware Importer. Functionality is enhanced and the interface is simplified, but the result is an easier to use and easier to manage conversion process. All of the following virtual machine types can be imported with the VMware Converter tool:
♦ VMware Workstation 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x
♦ VMware Ace 2.x
♦ VMware Fusion 1.x
♦ VMware Player 1.x and 2.x
♦ ESX Server 3.x
♦ ESX Server 2.5 if managed by VirtualCenter 2.x
♦ GSX Server 3.x
♦ VMware Server 1.x
♦ VirtualCenter 2.x
♦ Microsoft Virtual PC 7 and later
♦ Microsoft Virtual Server
In addition to these virtual machine formats, VMware Converter can import third-party system images created with the following products:
♦ Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery 7 (formerly LiveState Recovery)
♦ Norton Ghost
♦ Acronis True Image 9
VMware Converter and the VMware Converter agent can be run on any of the following operating systems:
♦ Windows Vista 32-bit (experimental on 64-bit)
♦ Windows Server 2003 32-bit and 64-bit
♦ Windows XP Professional 32-bit and 64-bit
♦ Windows 2000
♦ Windows NT with Service Pack 6 and Internet Explorer 5 and later
Greater Than or Equal To
The operating system on which VMware Converter is running must be equal to or greater than the operating system being converted to a virtual machine. For example, if the system running the VMware Converter is Windows NT with Service Pack 6, then it can only handle migrations of source computers running Windows NT with Service Pack 6. If VMware Converter is installed on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista, then the source computer can be any of the listed operating systems.
Windows Activation
Servers that run Windows Server 2003 that are installed using retail media and keys that require activation will require a reactivation after the physical-to-virtual migration. The Windows Activation algorithm tracks changes to hardware specifications in a system, and when the amount of hardware change is deemed significant, the Windows Activation is once again required.
The migration of a physical system to a virtual machine incurs drastic changes to the hardware specifications of the system. Everything from the CPU to network card to video adapter to disk controllers is altered as part of the migration process. It is these changes that force the Windows Activation algorithm to require a reactivation. In addition, do not be surprised if the Internet-based activation procedure is not successful. You may find that you are forced into calling the toll-free Windows Activation phone line to explain that the old system is being decommissioned in favor of the new virtual machine and that you are not in breach of your licensing agreement with Microsoft.
Performing Hot Migrations
Hot migration, or migration of a running physical computer, is ideal for those systems that cannot afford to be taken offline and do not perform consistent changes to local data. Systems like domain controllers, web servers, and print servers are excellent candidates for hot migrations because they generally have a static set of data. Hot migration allows administrators to convert the physical system to a virtual machine and then to cut over to the virtual machine and decommission the physical machine without losing data.
Perform the following steps to conduct a hot migration of a running computer:
1. Use the VI Client to connect to a VirtualCenter 2.5 server.
2. Right-click on a cluster or ESX Server host object in the VirtualCenter inventory and select the Import Machine option.
3. Click the Next button on the Source page of the Import Wizard.
4. As shown in Figure 7.12, select the radio button labeled Physical Computer and click the Next button.
5. Enter the target computer information, including name or IP address and the appropriate user account information, as shown in Figure 7.13, then click the Next button. The user account must have administrative privileges on the target computer being converted to a virtual machine.
Figure 7.12 The VMware Converter Enterprise converts physical computers into virtual machines.
Figure 7.13 In addition to identifying the target computer by name or IP address, you must supply administrative credentials to perform a hot migration.
6. Select to uninstall the VMware Converter Agent automatically or manually in the Remote Installation Required warning dialog box shown in Figure 7.14, then click the Yes button to continue.
Figure 7.14 The VMware Converter Agent can be uninstalled automatically or manually once the conversion is complete.
7. On the Source Data page, shown in Figure 7.15, select the volumes that should be converted as part of the physical-to-virtual migration process. Volumes can be ignored by deselecting the respective check box.
Figure 7.15 The VMware Converter can migrate all, some, or only one of the volumes that exist on the physical server.
As part of the migration process, volumes can be resized. Notice in Figure 7.15 that the total size of volume C: on Disk0 is 42.33GB with 29.03GB used. The default value in the New Disk Space column is equal to the existing total size. Figure 7.16 shows the New Disk Space value has been increased by 10GB to give more space to the volume.
8. Click Next once the Source Data page is configured appropriately for the migration.
Figure 7.16 The VMware Converter allows volumes to be resized (increased or decreased) as part of the migration process.
9. Click Next to begin configuration of the destination details of the migration process.
10. As shown in Figure 7.17, provide a virtual machine name and the location in the inventory where the virtual machine will reside, and then click Next.
Figure 7.17 The new virtual machine can be placed anywhere throughout the Virtual Machines & Templates inventory.
11. As shown in Figure 7.18, select a datastore with ample storage for the new virtual machine disk files, and then click Next.
Figure 7.18 The conversion process details the storage location for the new virtual machine disk files.
Clicking the Advanced button lets you place each new virtual machine disk file in different datastores, as shown in Figure 7.19.
Figure 7.19 The Advanced configuration allows virtual machine files to be spread across different datastores.
12. On the Networks page, shown in Figure 7.20, select the number of network adapters for the new virtual machine and then select the network that each network adapter should be connected to. Then click Next.
Figure 7.20 The new virtual machine can be configured with up to four network adapters on any of the available virtual machine networks.
13. On the Customization page, shown in Figure 7.21, select the check box labeled Install VMware tools, and then click Next.
Figure 7.21 The new virtual machine can be customized by installing VMware tools or by changing the entire identity of the virtual machine.
In the option labeled Customize, the identity of the virtual machine should only be selected if the physical machine and virtual machine will both remain part of the production network. Leave the box unchecked to maintain all existing settings of the physical computer. Selecting the option to customize the wizard includes the following additional pages:
♦ Computer Info
♦ Windows License
♦ Time Zone
♦ Network Settings
♦ Workgroup/Domain
14. On the Schedule Task page, select to perform the migration immediately or schedule it to take place at a later time, and then click Next.
15. To power on the virtual machine after the migration is complete, select the Power check box on the new virtual machine after creation. If you want to wait until the physical box is powered off before using the virtual machine, then leave this check box unselected. Click the Finish button to begin the conversion.
16. The Recent Tasks pane of VirtualCenter will detail the progress of the conversion process, as shown in Figure 7.22.
Figure 7.22 VirtualCenter's Recent Tasks pane will monitor the progress of the physical-to-virtual migration.
Eliminating Excess in a P2V
Often times physical servers are purchased with more hardware than is required simply because the budget is there to support it. For example, it is not uncommon to find simple domain controllers or print servers with hundreds of gigabytes of empty space. While this is not a huge administrative concern in a physical server environment, it is a red flag in the physical-to-virtual migration process. The process of converting a physical machine to a virtual machine should involve an inspection of the resources assigned to the physical server as it is migrated. In this case, when converting a domain controller or print server with hundreds of gigabytes of free storage, it is best to adjust the disk size as part of the conversion process. This ensures that expensive SAN storage is not aimlessly consumed by virtual machines that will never utilize the resource to its full capacity.
The same can be said for memory and CPU resource allocation. As part of the migration, RAM and CPU allocations should be revisited and adjusted to better suit the demands of the virtual machine. For example, a domain controller with two dual-core processors and 4GB of RAM is severely overallocated. While the conversion process does not directly allow these two resources to be adjusted as part of the conversion wizard, they can easily be adjusted after the virtual machine has been created, prior to the first power-on.
Performing Cold Migrations
The process referred to as a cold migration involves the conversion of a physical machine to a virtual machine while the physical machine is not in a running state. This type of conversion is best for servers that have constantly changing data sets. For example, computers that run SQL Server or Exchange Server are good candidates for cold migrations. The downside is that the server must be taken offline as part of a planned outage. Cold migrations are preferable for database and mail servers because the hot migration does not continuously update as the conversion is in progress. Therefore, if a hot migration begins at 9:00 ~PM, the virtual machine would be consistent as of that time. Any updates since the 9:00 ~PM start time would not be captured in the virtual machine.
Naturally, a computer cannot be migrated while powered off completely, so the cold migration is not about migrating a physical computer that is powered off. Rather, it is the migration of a physical computer not booted into the standard default operating system. The cold clone process begins by booting the computer from the CD/DVD-ROM drive with the VMware Converter boot CD installed. You can download the VMware Converter boot CD from VMware's website and then burn it to CD or DVD media.
The target physical computer must be configured with more than 264 MB of RAM to perform a cold migration or an error will be thrown, as shown in Figure 7.23.
Figure 7.23 Target machines to be converted to virtual machines must be configured with more than 264 MB of RAM.
Perform the following steps to cold-migrate a physical computer into a virtual machine:
1. Boot the target computer from the VMware Converter boot CD.
2. Click the I Accept the Terms in the License Agreement radio button and then click OK.
3. If the target computer has less than 364 MB of RAM, a warning message, shown in Figure 7.24, will be thrown. If the target computer has more than 364 MB of RAM, skip to step 4.
Figure 7.24 The VMware Converter will suggest using a temporary directory for target machines with less than 364 MB of RAM.
Click the Yes button to edit the network configuration, as shown in Figure 7.25. This is just a suggestion by the VMware Converter and does not have to be done.
Figure 7.25 A mapped network drive can serve as the temporary directory used by the VMware Converter.
4. After accepting the license agreement, you will be prompted to update the network parameters. Click the Yes button to adjust the network properties shown in Figure 7.26.
5. Click OK once the network properties are adjusted as needed.
6. The VMware Converter window will open. Click the Import Machine button to launch the VMware Converter Import Wizard.
7. Click Next.
Figure 7.26 The network properties of the target system can be adjusted as part of the cold clone process.
8. On the Source Data page of the wizard, select either the Import all disks and maintain size option or the Select volumes and resize to save or add space option, as shown in Figure 7.27. Use the latter option to increase or decrease the amount of space on the volume. Figure 7.27 shows an increase in size on volume C: from 1.99GB to 10GB.
Figure 7.27 The cold clone process allows for increasing or decreasing the space allocated to converted volumes.
9. Once the volumes have been resized as needed, click Next to continue.
10. On the Destination Type page, select the destination for the import. For enterprise physical-to-virtual migrations, the VMware ESX Server or VirtualCenter virtual machine option, shown in Figure 7.28, will be the most appropriate. Click Next.
Figure 7.28 The VMware Converter Import Wizard offers destinations of ESX Server, VirtualCenter, Workstation, Fusion, and Server.
11. On the Destination Login page, provide the name or IP address of the ESX Server or Virtual-Center Server and the appropriate credentials to authenticate, as shown in Figure 7.29. Click Next.
Figure 7.29 Identification and authentication of the destination server require name resolution or the use of an IP address.
12. On the Virtual Machine Name and Folder page, type a display name for the virtual machine and select the desired location in the VirtualCenter inventory. Click Next.
13. On the Host or Cluster page, select the host, cluster, or resource pool under which the virtual machine will run, as shown in Figure 7.30. Click Next.
Figure 7.30 Migrated virtual machines can be placed under a host, cluster, or resource pool.
If a cluster is selected from the inventory list, the next page in the wizard will require the selection of a specific host. If a host is selected, the wizard will move on to the Datastore page.
14. On the Datastore page, select the datastore where the virtual machine disk files will be stored. Use the Advanced button to supply unique datastores for the different virtual machine disk files. Click Next.
15. On the Networks page, select the number of network adapters to include in the new virtual machine, and then select the virtual machine network that each network adapter should be connected to. Click Next.
16. On the Customization page, select the check box Install VMware Tools. If you want to change the identity of the virtual machine to be different from the target system, select the check box Customize the Identity of the Virtual Machine. Selecting this option adds the following pages to the VMware Converter Import Wizard:
♦ Computer Info
♦ Windows License
♦ Time Zone
♦ Network Settings
♦ Workgroup/Domain
17. Click Next to continue.
18. On the Ready to Complete page, select the check box Power On the Virtual Machine after Creation and then click the Finish button. The cold clone process will be detailed in the VMware Converter utility, as shown in Figure 7.31.
Figure 7.31 The VMware Converter provides detailed information about the progress of the cold migration process.
P2V or V2V One and the Same
While all of the samples here discuss the use of the VMware Converter to perform physical-to-virtual migrations, the tool can also be used to perform virtual-to-virtual migrations.
This can be a powerful utility for solving problems regarding the over- or under-allocation of disk space for a virtual machine. By using the VMware Converter, as you have seen in this chapter, the amount of space allocated to a volume can be decreased or increased as needed. This allows administrators to use a nondestructive process to easily manage volume sizes in Windows virtual machines. Typically, doing this requires costly third-party tools and can incur damage to the system if not done properly.
You can migrate physical machines into virtual machines by performing one of the following:
♦ A hot (or live) migration — the conversion of a running physical computer.
♦ A cold migration — the conversion of a physical computer that is powered off.
Both types of migrations can be performed with the VMware Converter. The VMware Converter has traditionally been a stand-alone product that can be downloaded and installed for free. However, with the release of VirtualCenter 2.5, VMware has made the VMware Converter even more convenient by adding it into VirtualCenter as a plug-in accessible directly from the VirtualCenter 2.5 interface.
Perform the following steps on each VI Client that will manage physical-to-vertical (P2V) migration to enable the VMware Converter Enterprise feature of VirtualCenter 2.5:
1. Use the VI Client to connect to the VirtualCenter 2.5 Server.
2. Click the Plugins menu and select the Manage Plugins option.
3. In the Plugin Manager dialog box, shown in Figure 7.10, click the Download and Install button under VMware Converter Enterprise.
4. Click the Next button on the VMware Converter Enterprise Client installation wizard.
5. Click the Install button to begin the installation.
6. Click OK once the installation is complete.
7. As shown in Figure 7.11, click the Installed tab and enable the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in by selecting the Enabled check box. You may need to exit the VI Client and log back in before the Installed tab displays the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in.
Figure 7.10 The VMware Converter Enterprise feature must be installed on each VI Client that will manage conversions.
Figure 7.11 Once installed, the VMware Converter Enterprise Client plug-in must be enabled.
The VMware Converter is also available in a stand-alone product that can be installed and used outside the scope of VirtualCenter 2.5. The VMware website at http://www.vmware.com offers the VMware Converter Standalone Enterprise Edition and the VMware Converter Starter Edition.
The VMware Converter Enterprise edition found in VirtualCenter is equal in functionality to the Standalone Enterprise Edition, while the Starter Edition is less functional than both. The VMware Converter Starter Edition provides single-machine conversions by requiring an installation on each virtualization candidate. The end result of all the VMware Converter products is the ability to convert physical systems into virtual machines; the Enterprise Edition just makes it easier to accomplish this by providing a centralized management and operations interface.
The new and improved VMware Converter is a marriage of two older tools: P2V Assistant and VMware Importer. Functionality is enhanced and the interface is simplified, but the result is an easier to use and easier to manage conversion process. All of the following virtual machine types can be imported with the VMware Converter tool:
♦ VMware Workstation 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x
♦ VMware Ace 2.x
♦ VMware Fusion 1.x
♦ VMware Player 1.x and 2.x
♦ ESX Server 3.x
♦ ESX Server 2.5 if managed by VirtualCenter 2.x
♦ GSX Server 3.x
♦ VMware Server 1.x
♦ VirtualCenter 2.x
♦ Microsoft Virtual PC 7 and later
♦ Microsoft Virtual Server
In addition to these virtual machine formats, VMware Converter can import third-party system images created with the following products:
♦ Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery 7 (formerly LiveState Recovery)
♦ Norton Ghost
♦ Acronis True Image 9
VMware Converter and the VMware Converter agent can be run on any of the following operating systems:
♦ Windows Vista 32-bit (experimental on 64-bit)
♦ Windows Server 2003 32-bit and 64-bit
♦ Windows XP Professional 32-bit and 64-bit
♦ Windows 2000
♦ Windows NT with Service Pack 6 and Internet Explorer 5 and later
The operating system on which VMware Converter is running must be equal to or greater than the operating system being converted to a virtual machine. For example, if the system running the VMware Converter is Windows NT with Service Pack 6, then it can only handle migrations of source computers running Windows NT with Service Pack 6. If VMware Converter is installed on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista, then the source computer can be any of the listed operating systems.
Servers that run Windows Server 2003 that are installed using retail media and keys that require activation will require a reactivation after the physical-to-virtual migration. The Windows Activation algorithm tracks changes to hardware specifications in a system, and when the amount of hardware change is deemed significant, the Windows Activation is once again required.
The migration of a physical system to a virtual machine incurs drastic changes to the hardware specifications of the system. Everything from the CPU to network card to video adapter to disk controllers is altered as part of the migration process. It is these changes that force the Windows Activation algorithm to require a reactivation. In addition, do not be surprised if the Internet-based activation procedure is not successful. You may find that you are forced into calling the toll-free Windows Activation phone line to explain that the old system is being decommissioned in favor of the new virtual machine and that you are not in breach of your licensing agreement with Microsoft.
Performing Hot Migrations
Hot migration, or migration of a running physical computer, is ideal for those systems that cannot afford to be taken offline and do not perform consistent changes to local data. Systems like domain controllers, web servers, and print servers are excellent candidates for hot migrations because they generally have a static set of data. Hot migration allows administrators to convert the physical system to a virtual machine and then to cut over to the virtual machine and decommission the physical machine without losing data.
Perform the following steps to conduct a hot migration of a running computer:
1. Use the VI Client to connect to a VirtualCenter 2.5 server.
2. Right-click on a cluster or ESX Server host object in the VirtualCenter inventory and select the Import Machine option.
3. Click the Next button on the Source page of the Import Wizard.
4. As shown in Figure 7.12, select the radio button labeled Physical Computer and click the Next button.
5. Enter the target computer information, including name or IP address and the appropriate user account information, as shown in Figure 7.13, then click the Next button. The user account must have administrative privileges on the target computer being converted to a virtual machine.
Figure 7.12 The VMware Converter Enterprise converts physical computers into virtual machines.
Figure 7.13 In addition to identifying the target computer by name or IP address, you must supply administrative credentials to perform a hot migration.
6. Select to uninstall the VMware Converter Agent automatically or manually in the Remote Installation Required warning dialog box shown in Figure 7.14, then click the Yes button to continue.
Figure 7.14 The VMware Converter Agent can be uninstalled automatically or manually once the conversion is complete.
7. On the Source Data page, shown in Figure 7.15, select the volumes that should be converted as part of the physical-to-virtual migration process. Volumes can be ignored by deselecting the respective check box.
Figure 7.15 The VMware Converter can migrate all, some, or only one of the volumes that exist on the physical server.
As part of the migration process, volumes can be resized. Notice in Figure 7.15 that the total size of volume C: on Disk0 is 42.33GB with 29.03GB used. The default value in the New Disk Space column is equal to the existing total size. Figure 7.16 shows the New Disk Space value has been increased by 10GB to give more space to the volume.
8. Click Next once the Source Data page is configured appropriately for the migration.
Figure 7.16 The VMware Converter allows volumes to be resized (increased or decreased) as part of the migration process.
9. Click Next to begin configuration of the destination details of the migration process.
10. As shown in Figure 7.17, provide a virtual machine name and the location in the inventory where the virtual machine will reside, and then click Next.
Figure 7.17 The new virtual machine can be placed anywhere throughout the Virtual Machines & Templates inventory.
11. As shown in Figure 7.18, select a datastore with ample storage for the new virtual machine disk files, and then click Next.
Figure 7.18 The conversion process details the storage location for the new virtual machine disk files.
Clicking the Advanced button lets you place each new virtual machine disk file in different datastores, as shown in Figure 7.19.
Figure 7.19 The Advanced configuration allows virtual machine files to be spread across different datastores.
12. On the Networks page, shown in Figure 7.20, select the number of network adapters for the new virtual machine and then select the network that each network adapter should be connected to. Then click Next.
Figure 7.20 The new virtual machine can be configured with up to four network adapters on any of the available virtual machine networks.
13. On the Customization page, shown in Figure 7.21, select the check box labeled Install VMware tools, and then click Next.
Figure 7.21 The new virtual machine can be customized by installing VMware tools or by changing the entire identity of the virtual machine.
In the option labeled Customize, the identity of the virtual machine should only be selected if the physical machine and virtual machine will both remain part of the production network. Leave the box unchecked to maintain all existing settings of the physical computer. Selecting the option to customize the wizard includes the following additional pages:
♦ Computer Info
♦ Windows License
♦ Time Zone
♦ Network Settings
♦ Workgroup/Domain
14. On the Schedule Task page, select to perform the migration immediately or schedule it to take place at a later time, and then click Next.
15. To power on the virtual machine after the migration is complete, select the Power check box on the new virtual machine after creation. If you want to wait until the physical box is powered off before using the virtual machine, then leave this check box unselected. Click the Finish button to begin the conversion.
16. The Recent Tasks pane of VirtualCenter will detail the progress of the conversion process, as shown in Figure 7.22.
Figure 7.22 VirtualCenter's Recent Tasks pane will monitor the progress of the physical-to-virtual migration.
Often times physical servers are purchased with more hardware than is required simply because the budget is there to support it. For example, it is not uncommon to find simple domain controllers or print servers with hundreds of gigabytes of empty space. While this is not a huge administrative concern in a physical server environment, it is a red flag in the physical-to-virtual migration process. The process of converting a physical machine to a virtual machine should involve an inspection of the resources assigned to the physical server as it is migrated. In this case, when converting a domain controller or print server with hundreds of gigabytes of free storage, it is best to adjust the disk size as part of the conversion process. This ensures that expensive SAN storage is not aimlessly consumed by virtual machines that will never utilize the resource to its full capacity.
The same can be said for memory and CPU resource allocation. As part of the migration, RAM and CPU allocations should be revisited and adjusted to better suit the demands of the virtual machine. For example, a domain controller with two dual-core processors and 4GB of RAM is severely overallocated. While the conversion process does not directly allow these two resources to be adjusted as part of the conversion wizard, they can easily be adjusted after the virtual machine has been created, prior to the first power-on.
Performing Cold Migrations
The process referred to as a cold migration involves the conversion of a physical machine to a virtual machine while the physical machine is not in a running state. This type of conversion is best for servers that have constantly changing data sets. For example, computers that run SQL Server or Exchange Server are good candidates for cold migrations. The downside is that the server must be taken offline as part of a planned outage. Cold migrations are preferable for database and mail servers because the hot migration does not continuously update as the conversion is in progress. Therefore, if a hot migration begins at 9:00 ~PM, the virtual machine would be consistent as of that time. Any updates since the 9:00 ~PM start time would not be captured in the virtual machine.
Naturally, a computer cannot be migrated while powered off completely, so the cold migration is not about migrating a physical computer that is powered off. Rather, it is the migration of a physical computer not booted into the standard default operating system. The cold clone process begins by booting the computer from the CD/DVD-ROM drive with the VMware Converter boot CD installed. You can download the VMware Converter boot CD from VMware's website and then burn it to CD or DVD media.
The target physical computer must be configured with more than 264 MB of RAM to perform a cold migration or an error will be thrown, as shown in Figure 7.23.
Figure 7.23 Target machines to be converted to virtual machines must be configured with more than 264 MB of RAM.
Perform the following steps to cold-migrate a physical computer into a virtual machine:
1. Boot the target computer from the VMware Converter boot CD.
2. Click the I Accept the Terms in the License Agreement radio button and then click OK.
3. If the target computer has less than 364 MB of RAM, a warning message, shown in Figure 7.24, will be thrown. If the target computer has more than 364 MB of RAM, skip to step 4.
Figure 7.24 The VMware Converter will suggest using a temporary directory for target machines with less than 364 MB of RAM.
Click the Yes button to edit the network configuration, as shown in Figure 7.25. This is just a suggestion by the VMware Converter and does not have to be done.
Figure 7.25 A mapped network drive can serve as the temporary directory used by the VMware Converter.
4. After accepting the license agreement, you will be prompted to update the network parameters. Click the Yes button to adjust the network properties shown in Figure 7.26.
5. Click OK once the network properties are adjusted as needed.
6. The VMware Converter window will open. Click the Import Machine button to launch the VMware Converter Import Wizard.
7. Click Next.
Figure 7.26 The network properties of the target system can be adjusted as part of the cold clone process.
8. On the Source Data page of the wizard, select either the Import all disks and maintain size option or the Select volumes and resize to save or add space option, as shown in Figure 7.27. Use the latter option to increase or decrease the amount of space on the volume. Figure 7.27 shows an increase in size on volume C: from 1.99GB to 10GB.
Figure 7.27 The cold clone process allows for increasing or decreasing the space allocated to converted volumes.
9. Once the volumes have been resized as needed, click Next to continue.
10. On the Destination Type page, select the destination for the import. For enterprise physical-to-virtual migrations, the VMware ESX Server or VirtualCenter virtual machine option, shown in Figure 7.28, will be the most appropriate. Click Next.
Figure 7.28 The VMware Converter Import Wizard offers destinations of ESX Server, VirtualCenter, Workstation, Fusion, and Server.
11. On the Destination Login page, provide the name or IP address of the ESX Server or Virtual-Center Server and the appropriate credentials to authenticate, as shown in Figure 7.29. Click Next.
Figure 7.29 Identification and authentication of the destination server require name resolution or the use of an IP address.
12. On the Virtual Machine Name and Folder page, type a display name for the virtual machine and select the desired location in the VirtualCenter inventory. Click Next.
13. On the Host or Cluster page, select the host, cluster, or resource pool under which the virtual machine will run, as shown in Figure 7.30. Click Next.
Figure 7.30 Migrated virtual machines can be placed under a host, cluster, or resource pool.
If a cluster is selected from the inventory list, the next page in the wizard will require the selection of a specific host. If a host is selected, the wizard will move on to the Datastore page.
14. On the Datastore page, select the datastore where the virtual machine disk files will be stored. Use the Advanced button to supply unique datastores for the different virtual machine disk files. Click Next.
15. On the Networks page, select the number of network adapters to include in the new virtual machine, and then select the virtual machine network that each network adapter should be connected to. Click Next.
16. On the Customization page, select the check box Install VMware Tools. If you want to change the identity of the virtual machine to be different from the target system, select the check box Customize the Identity of the Virtual Machine. Selecting this option adds the following pages to the VMware Converter Import Wizard:
♦ Computer Info
♦ Windows License
♦ Time Zone
♦ Network Settings
♦ Workgroup/Domain
17. Click Next to continue.
18. On the Ready to Complete page, select the check box Power On the Virtual Machine after Creation and then click the Finish button. The cold clone process will be detailed in the VMware Converter utility, as shown in Figure 7.31.
Figure 7.31 The VMware Converter provides detailed information about the progress of the cold migration process.
While all of the samples here discuss the use of the VMware Converter to perform physical-to-virtual migrations, the tool can also be used to perform virtual-to-virtual migrations.
This can be a powerful utility for solving problems regarding the over- or under-allocation of disk space for a virtual machine. By using the VMware Converter, as you have seen in this chapter, the amount of space allocated to a volume can be decreased or increased as needed. This allows administrators to use a nondestructive process to easily manage volume sizes in Windows virtual machines. Typically, doing this requires costly third-party tools and can incur damage to the system if not done properly.
Importing Virtual Appliances
An interesting new feature of VirtualCenter 2.5 is the ability to import virtual appliances directly from the VMware Virtual Appliance marketplace. A virtual appliance is a specialized virtual machine with a dedicated purpose. If you browse the Virtual Appliance Marketplace at http://www.vmware.com/appliances, you will find that appliances exist across a multitude of categories, including:
♦ Administration
♦ App/Web Server
♦ Communications
♦ Database
♦ Networking
♦ Security
To import a virtual appliance in VirtualCenter 2.5, select File→Virtual Appliance→Import. As shown in Figure 7.32, virtual appliances can be imported from the VMware website, a local file, or a designated URL.
Figure 7.32 Virtual appliances are prebuilt virtual machines with specific purposes and can be imported directly into VirtualCenter 2.5.
The virtual appliances available for import directly from the VMware website are extremely limited, as this feature is so new. At the time of this writing, only three appliances were viable import options from the site.
The ability to import from a file or URL supports the open virtual machine format (OVF). OVF is an attempt to standardize virtual machine formats across various platforms.
The process of importing a virtual appliance continues with the configuration of the following:
♦ Virtual machine name and location.
♦ Host or cluster under which the virtual machine will run.
♦ Resource pool under which the virtual machine will run.
♦ The datastore that will host the virtual machine files.
♦ The network configuration for the virtual machine.
The virtual appliances imported into VirtualCenter 2.5 by whichever means are treated as any other virtual machine in the inventory. While some of the available appliances are production ready and free for use, others are operated under trial conditions and must be purchased for extended production utilization.
The Bottom Line
Use the VirtualCenter 2.5 Consolidation feature. The Consolidation feature of VirtualCenter 2.5 offers a simplified utility for creating a consolidation plan for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Master It Your company has 27 physical servers that it has identified as virtualization candidates. You need to provide a documented effort for determining which systems are ideal candidates and where on the four-node cluster the virtual machine should run.
Perform physical-to-virtual migrations of running computers. A hot migration, or hot clone, is the conversion of a running computer into a virtual machine. The hot cloning process is ideal for systems with relatively static data sets to ensure time-consistent conversions of the target computer.
Master It Your company's business hours are 8:00 ~AM to 6:00 ~PM. There are four physical servers that function as domain controllers. You want to convert three of them to virtual machines running in your new three-node ESX Server cluster.
Master It You have an existing virtual machine that has a 10GB C drive with only 1 MB of space remaining. You need to provide an additional 20GB of space to the C drive.
Perform physical-to-virtual migrations of computers that are powered off. A cold migration, or cold clone, is the conversion of a computer into a virtual machine while booted from the VMware Converter boot CD. The cold cloning process is ideal for systems that rely on frequently changing data sets since the data cannot be modified during the conversion process.
Master It Your company has a computer that runs Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The IT staff has identified the system as a good target for becoming a virtual machine. You need to plan the conversion of the SQL Server 2005 computer into a virtual machine.
Import virtual appliances. The ability to import virtual appliances is a new feature of VirtualCenter 2.5. Appliances can be pulled directly from VMware or can be imported from a local file or URL.
Master It You need to deploy the remote command-line management tool as a virtual appliance in your VirtualCenter 2.5 inventory.
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