Reference Guide

vConverter v4.1 Chapter 1 Introduction 3
The transition from physical to virtual is seamless. A virtual infrastructure affords
maximum flexibility, allowing you to treat VMs as if they were physical hardware and
software. VMs can be moved easily between hosts. They can be run in isolation or in
groups. Their workloads can be reconfigured as demand requires. This flexibility is
supported by management tools.
VMware VirtualCenter (VC) and ESX Server are, respectively, the management server
and software components that lend order in a virtual environment. VC orchestrates the
configuring and provisioning. VC’s database stores all of the information shared between
the physical hosts and the VMs. Without compromising security, VC makes it possible to
connect to a host remotely from a standard Windows computer.
As its own host OS, ESX Server allows you to establish VMs, configure and manage
their shared resources, and make ongoing adjustments to increase performance. Each VM
is configured with its own virtual hardware—for example, central processing unit (CPU),
random access memory (RAM), and universal serial bus (USB) ports. The work of the
VM’s physical counterpart is run in its native OS. Because VMs require neither
redundant hardware nor physical space, virtualization can mean significant cost savings.
3BvConverter Overview
vConverter is an enterprise-level consolidation/migration application that is task based. It
allows you to capture a live physical or virtual Windows system and transfer its data
directly to a Windows shared folder, Xen™, Virtual Iron™, or ESX host. vConverter’s
physical to virtual (P2V) and virtual to virtual (V2V) approaches ensure consistent
results: The converted image will mirror the source. There is no additional software to
install on the source. Nor are any helper components required. You need not be present at
the source during the conversion process. Both physical and virtual machines can be used
as the source, but only a VM can be a target.
With vConverter, configuration is easy—from creating target VMs to controlling services
on the source. Many processes are automated, including installation of VMware/Xen
Tools, powering off and on source and target, and registering VMs.
Use vConverter to complete individual or multiple conversions immediately or to
schedule them. Run conversion jobs from a client machine or from a Command Line
Interface (CLI). Resize volumes at the target—to be larger or smaller than they were on
the source. vConverter automatically limits the resize to accommodate the existing source
data.
A single Virtual Machine Disk Format (VMDK) can hold all source volumes or you can
create individual files to hold each volume. You can configure separate locations for each
volume. For ESX, VC aligns the partitions on the 64k boundary.
By specifying alternative folder locations for each volume, you can balance the VMDK
workload across multiple Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) volumes and multiple
storage paths.