6.5.1

You can perform several types of migration according to the virtual machine resource type.
Change compute
resource only
Moving a virtual machine but not its storage to another compute resource,
such as a host, cluster, resource pool, or vApp. You use vMotion to move a
powered on virtual machine to another compute resource. You can move the
virtual machine to another host by using cold migration or hot migration.
Change storage only
Moving a virtual machine and its storage, including virtual disks,
conguration les, or a combination of these, to a new datastore on the same
host. You can change the datastore using cold or hot migration. You use
Storage vMotion to move a powered on virtual machine and its storage to a
new datastore .
Change both compute
resource and storage
Moving a virtual machine to another host and moving its disk or virtual
machine folder to another datastore. You can change the host and datastore
using cold or hot migration. When you move a virtual machine network
between distributed switches, the network conguration and policies that are
associated with the network adapters of the virtual machine are transferred
to the target switch.
In vSphere 6.0 and later, you can move virtual machines between vSphere sites by using migration between
these types of objects.
Migrate to another
virtual switch
Moving the network of a virtual machine to a virtual switch of a dierent
type. You can migrate virtual machines without reconguring the physical
and virtual network. While performing cold or hot migration, you can move
the virtual machine from a standard to a standard or distributed switch and
from a distributed switch to another distributed switch.
Migrate to another data
center
Moving virtual machines between data centers. While performing cold or hot
migration, you can change the data center of a virtual machine. For
networking in the target data center, you can select a dedicated port group
on a distributed switch.
Migrate to another
vCenter Server system
Moving virtual machines between two vCenter Server instances that are
connected in Enhanced Linked Mode.
You can also move virtual machines between vCenter Server instances that
are located across a long distance from each other.
For information about the requirements about vMotion across
vCenter Server instances, see “Requirements for Migration Between vCenter
Server Instances,” on page 123.
To migrate virtual machines with disks larger than 2 TB, the source and destination ESXi hosts must be
version 5.5 and later.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Cold Migration,” on page 115
n
“Migration with vMotion,” on page 116
n
“Migration with Storage vMotion,” on page 124
n
“CPU Compatibility and EVC,” on page 125
n
“Migrate a Powered-O or Suspended Virtual Machine,” on page 132
n
“Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource,” on page 134
n
“Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource and Storage,” on page 135
vCenter Server and Host Management
114 VMware, Inc.