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
4 Converter Standalone shuts down the helper virtual machine. The conversion process is complete.
You can configure Converter Standalone to power on the newly created virtual machine after the
conversion is complete.
Prepare for Cold Cloning
Because Converter Standalone 4.3 and later do not support cold cloning, you must use the Boot CD of an earlier
vCenter Converter edition. The features supported on the Boot CD depend on the product version you choose.
When you cold clone a machine, you reboot the source machine from a CD that has its own operating system
and also includes the vCenter Converter application. You can find a detailed description of the cold cloning
process in the documentation of the Boot CD you decide to use.
VMware vCenter Converter 4.1.x is not a free software product.
Procedure
1 To obtain a Boot CD, go to the VMware Download Web site and download the vCenter Converter 4.1.x
installation package.
2 Extract the Boot CD .iso file from the installation package.
3 Write the Boot CD .iso file on a CD.
What to do next
Follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with cold cloning.
Types of Data Cloning Operations
Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning, volume-based cloning, and linked-cloning modes.
IMPORTANT Converter Standalone cannot detect any source volumes and file systems that are located on
physical disks larger than 2TB.
Table 1-2. Cloning Modes
Data Copy Types Application Description
Volume based Copy volumes from the source
machine to the destination machine.
Volume-based cloning is relatively
slow. File-level cloning is slower than
block-level cloning. Dynamic disks are
converted into basic volumes on the
target virtual machine.
Disk based Create copies of the source machines,
for all types of basic and dynamic
disks.
You cannot select which data to copy.
Disk-based cloning is faster than
volume-based cloning.
Linked clone Use to quickly check compatibility of
non-VMware images
For certain third-party sources, the
linked clone is corrupted if you power
on the source machine after the
conversion. Linked cloning is the fastest
(but incomplete) cloning mode that
Converter Standalone supports.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
VMware, Inc. 13