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Table Of Contents
Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource
and Storage in the vSphere Web Client
You can move a virtual machine to another compute resource and move its disks or virtual machine folder
to another datastore. With vMotion, you can migrate a virtual machine and its disks and files while the
virtual machine is powered on.
Simultaneous migration to a new compute resource and datastore provides greater mobility for virtual
machines by eliminating the vCenter Server boundary. Virtual machine disks or contents of the virtual
machine folder are transferred over the vMotion network to reach the destination host and datastores.
To make disk format changes and preserve them, you must select a different datastore for the virtual
machine files and disks. You cannot preserve disk format changes if you select the same datastore on
which the virtual machine currently resides.
Prerequisites
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Verify that your hosts and virtual machines meet the requirements for live migration. See
Requirements and Limitations for vMotion Without Shared Storage.
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For migration across vCenter Server instances, verify whether your system meets additional
requirements. See Requirements for Migration Between vCenter Server Instances
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Required privilege: Resource.Migrate powered on virtual machine
Procedure
1 Right-click the virtual machine and select Migrate.
a To locate a virtual machine, select a data center, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.
b Click the Virtual Machines tab.
2 Select Change both compute resource and storage and click Next.
3 Select a destination resource for the virtual machine, and click Next.
Any compatibility problems appear in the Compatibility panel. Fix the problem, or select another host
or cluster.
Possible targets include hosts and fully automated DRS clusters. If your target is a non-automated
cluster, select a host within the non-automated cluster.
vCenter Server and Host Management
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