5.0
Table Of Contents
- VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
- Contents
- About This Book
- Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
- System Requirements
- Supported Operating Systems
- Installation Space Requirements
- Screen Resolution Requirements
- Supported Source Types
- Supported Destination Types
- Restoring VCB Images in Converter Standalone
- Configuring Permissions for vCenter Users
- Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone
- TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion
- Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems
- Installing and Uninstalling Converter Standalone
- Perform a Local Installation on Windows
- Perform a Client-Server Installation in Windows
- Perform a Command-Line Installation in Windows
- Command-Line Options for Windows Installation
- Modify Converter Standalone in Windows
- Repair Converter Standalone in Windows
- Uninstall Converter Standalone in Windows
- Connect to a Remote Converter Standalone Server
- Convert a Physical or Virtual Machine
- Start the Wizard for a Conversion
- Select a Source Machine to Convert
- Select a Powered-On Windows Machine to Convert
- Select a Powered-On Linux Machine to Convert
- Select an ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server Virtual Machine to Convert
- Select a VMware Hosted Virtual Machine to Convert
- Select a Backup Image or a Third-Party Virtual Machine to Convert
- Select a Hyper-V Server Virtual Machine to Convert
- Select a Destination for the New Virtual Machine
- Configure the Hardware of the Destination Virtual Machine
- Organize the Data to Copy on the Destination Machine
- Resize a Volume
- Change a Volume Cluster Size
- Exclude a Source Volume from the Conversion Process
- Move a Volume to a Different Virtual Disk
- Select the Destination Datastore for a Source Volume
- Add a Virtual Disk
- Set Up a Virtual Disk as a Logical-Volume Group Container
- Move a Disk to a Different Datastore
- Create an Expandable Disk on a Managed Destination
- Create an Expandable Disk on a Hosted Destination
- Exclude a Source Disk from the Conversion Process
- Copy All Disks to the Destination
- Create an Optimized Partition Layout
- Create a Linked Clone
- Edit the Number of Processor Sockets and Cores
- Allocate Memory for the Destination Virtual Machine
- Specify a Disk Controller for the Destination Virtual Machine
- Configure the Network Settings of the Destination Virtual Machine
- Configure the Network for the Helper Virtual Machine
- Organize the Data to Copy on the Destination Machine
- Configure the Software on the Destination Virtual Machine
- Configure the Conversion Job
- Set the Startup Mode for Destination Services
- Stop Services Running on the Source Machine
- Synchronize the Destination Machine with Changes Made to the Source Machine
- Power Off the Source Machine After Conversion
- Power On the Destination Virtual Machine After Conversion
- Limit the Amount of Resources Used by the Conversion Job
- Uninstall Converter Standalone Agent from the Source Machine
- Review the Summary and Submit the Conversion Job
- Configure Virtual Machines
- Save Sysprep Files
- Start the Configuration Wizard
- Select a Source Machine to Configure
- Select the Options to Configure
- Review and Submit the Configuration Job
- Manage Conversion and Configuration Jobs and Tasks
- Index
Remote Hot Cloning of Physical Machine Sources That Are Running Linux
The conversion process of physical machines that are running Linux operating systems differs from that of
Windows machines.
In Windows conversions, the Converter Standalone agent is installed on the source machine and the source
information is pushed to the destination.
In Linux conversions, no agent is deployed on the source machine. Instead, a helper virtual machine is created
and deployed on the destination ESX/ESXi host. The source data is then copied from the source Linux machine
to the helper virtual machine. After the conversion is complete, the helper virtual machine shuts down to
become the destination virtual machine the next time you power it on.
Converter Standalone supports conversion of Linux sources only to managed destinations.
The following workflow demonstrates the principles of hot cloning physical machine sources that run Linux
to managed destinations.
1 Converter Standalone uses SSH to connect to the source machine and retrieves source information.
Converter Standalone creates an empty helper virtual machine based on your conversion task settings.
The helper virtual machine serves as a container for the new virtual machine during conversion. Converter
Standalone deploys the helper virtual machine on the managed destination, an ESX/ESXi host. The helper
virtual machine boots from a *.iso file that is located on the Converter Standalone server machine.
vCenter Converter Standalone
agent and server
Converter Standalone
agent deploys helper
virtual machine
powered-on Linux
machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
Helper
VM
source
volumes
2 The helper virtual machine powers on, boots from the Linux image, connects to the source machine
through SSH, and starts retrieving the selected data from the source. While you set up the conversion task,
you can select which source volumes to be copied to the destination machine.
vCenter Converter Standalone
agent and server
powered-on Linux
machine
data copied to the
helper virtual machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
Helper
VM
source
volumes
3 Optionally, after data is copied, the destination virtual machine is reconfigured to allow the operating
system to boot in a virtual machine.
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
12 VMware, Inc.