5.1
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
- Supported Firmware Interfaces
- Supported Source Types
- Supported Destination Types
- Supported Source Disk Types
- Supported Destination Disk Types
- Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone
- Installation Space Requirements
- Screen Resolution Requirements
- Configuring Permissions for vCenter Users
- TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion
- Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems
- Conversion Limitations
- 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
- Select 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
When you convert a virtual machine with snapshots, the snapshots are not transferred to the destination virtual
machine.
Certain limitations are applicable when you convert Linux virtual machine sources.
n
Only disk-based cloning is supported for Linux guest operating systems.
n
Configuration or customization is not supported for Linux guest operating systems.
n
Installing VMware Tools is not supported on Linux guest operating systems.
Conversion Limitations for Third-Party Virtual Machines or System
Images
Converter Standalone can convert third-party virtual machines, system images, ShadowProtect images, and
BackupExec System Recovery images. These conversions have limitations.
Third-Party Virtual Machines and System Images
Third-party virtual machines and system images have the following limitations.
n
Virtual machines created with Macintosh versions of Virtual PC are not supported.
n
The operating system on the source Virtual PC or Virtual Server virtual machine must be a Windows guest
operating system supported by the destination VMware platform (for example, Workstation 8.x or 9.0).
For a list of supported operating systems, see the Guest Operating System Installation Guide.
Converter Standalone 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) only for cloning. Converter Standalone does not support these systems as configuration
sources.
n
Parallels Virtuozzo containers are not supported.
ShadowProtect and Backup Exec System Recovery
ShadowProtect and Backup Exec System Recovery have the following limitations.
n
Dynamic disks are not supported.
n
All images for the backup of a machine must be in a single folder. The source folder must not contain
images that are not part of the backup.
n
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 through 4, with partition 2 as the active volume and
partition 3 as the system volume, the backup must include partitions 1 through 3.
n
For incremental images, up to 16 incremental backups are supported.
n
ShadowProtect images of systems with logical drives are not supported if the logical drive is also a system
or active volume.
Limitations Related to Creating Snapshots of Windows Sources
Converter Standalone uses VSS snapshots to save the state of source volumes during hot cloning of physical
and virtual machines that run Windows. VSS snapshots are also used to synchronize the destination virtual
machine with the source machine after the initial conversion. Some of the VSS-related issues are inherited in
Converter Standalone and can prevent the proper completion of your conversion tasks.
Read the limitations listed in Table 3-2 before you initiate a conversion task.
If your conversion task fails with an VSS-related error message, you can check the table for possible reasons
and workarounds.
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
30 VMware, Inc.