6.0

Migrating Virtual Machines in the
vSphere Client 13
You can move virtual machines from one host or storage location to another location using hot or cold
migration. For example, with vMotion you can move powered on virtual machines away from a host to
perform maintenance, to balance loads, to collocate virtual machines that communicate with each other, to
move virtual machines apart to minimize fault domain, to migrate to new server hardware, and so on.
You can use cold or hot migration to move virtual machines to different hosts or datastores.
Cold Migration
You can move a powered off or suspended virtual machine to a new host.
Optionally, you can relocate configuration and disk files for powered off or
suspended virtual machines to new storage locations. You can also use cold
migration to move virtual machines from one datacenter to another. To
perform a cold migration, you can move virtual machines manually or set up
a scheduled task.
Hot Migration
Depending on the type of migration you are using, vMotion or Storage
vMotion, you can move a turned on virtual machine to a different host, or
move its disks or folder to a different datastore without any interruption in
the availability of the virtual machine. vMotion is also referred to as live
migration or hot migration.
You cannot move a powered on virtual machine from one datacenter to
another.
NOTE Copying a virtual machine creates a new virtual machine. It is not a form of migration. Cloning a
virtual machine or copying its disks and configuration file creates a new virtual machine. Cloning is not a
form of migration.
VMware, Inc.
123