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POWERCONVERT
User Manual
61 pgs2.52 Mb0

Platespin POWERCONVERT User Manual

PlateSpin PowerConvert
User Guide
PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide - 1 –
Copyright 2005
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................. 3
PowerConvert Server Requirements ............................................................... 5
PowerConvert Client Requirements ................................................................ 5
Source Server Requirements ............................................................................. 6
PowerConvert Image Server Requirements ..................................................... 6
Target Virtual Server Requirements ............................................................... 6
PowerConvert Server Installation Instructions.......................................................... 7
PowerConvert Client Installation Instructions........................................................... 8
Product Activation and License Management ................................................... 9
Discovering Source Servers, Target Virtual Servers and Target Image Servers ....15
Discovering Servers Through Automatic Network Discovery..............................16
Discovering target physical servers ...............................................................17
Analyzing Discovered Servers ......................................................................20
Converting to Virtual Servers .......................................................................22
Converting to Physical Servers..........................................................................35
Creating a PlateSpin Image Server .....................................................................43
Capturing a PlateSpin Flexible Image ............................................................44
Creating Images Using Existing Volume Data .................................................46
Using Raw Volume Data ..............................................................................49
Deploying a PlateSpin Flexible Image..................................................................51
Saving Jobs ...............................................................................................53
Manually Starting Saved Jobs.......................................................................53
Scheduling Saved Jobs................................................................................54
Installation................................................................................................57
Discovery..................................................................................................57
Peer-to-Peer Conversions ............................................................................58
Using Images ............................................................................................59
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Introduction
Welcome to the PlateSpin® PowerConvert™ User Guide.
PlateSpin PowerConvert is a powerful, fully automated Operating System Portability™ solution that enables the complete interchange of data, applications, and operating systems (the software layer) across Intel infrastructure in the data center, breaking the dependency between hardware infrastructure and server software.
PlateSpin PowerConvert's OS Portability technology provides you with the flexibility to best match software and applications with the hardware infrastructure unique to your data center, all from a single point of control. Freely move the software layer in any direction, between any physical server, virtual server, or image, without ever having to be in physical contact with the source or target machines.
This guide contains step-by-step instructions to get you converting in no time at all.
Please contact our support team at support.PowerConvert@platespin.com regarding any questions or feedback.
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Terminology
PowerConvert Server The central server which controls all server discovery,
image capture and conversion jobs. The PowerConvert Server also hosts the database for which all information regarding discovered servers and jobs is stored.
PowerConvert Client An interface to the PowerConvert Server. It is
through the PowerConvert Client where the user will perform their work.
PlateSpin Image Server An image repository for PlateSpin Images. Images
can be captured to or deployed from an Image Server. A PlateSpin Image Server is comprised of a PlateSpin “Controller” and an image list file. While any discovered Windows server can be configured as a PlateSpin Image Server, a simple way to get started is to designate the PowerConvert Server as a PlateSpin Image Server.
Source Server A server which will be converted to a virtual machine,
moved to a physical server or used to create a flexible image.
Target Server The server which will host the result of the source
server’s conversion. This can be a virtual server (VMware GSX Server, VMware ESX Server, Microsoft Virtual Server), a PlateSpin Image Server or a physical server.
Server Discovery By discovering a server, PowerConvert gathers
configuration data for use during the conversion process. The collected data can be seen through a properties dialog in the PowerConvert Client.
PlateSpin Controller A small service allowing communication between the
systems involved during the conversion process. The controller is automatically deployed as required and is removed automatically when a server is undiscovered.
Volume Data A resource that contains a set of files that makes up a
volume. Currently PowerConvert supports Acronis True Image, Symantec LiveState and PlateSpin Packages as volume data
Raw Volume Data A directory containing a set of file that makes up a
volume. Raw volume data sources can be created by extracting data from an image or backup archive such as Ghost, a LUN on a SAN or simply a file system on a local hard drive.
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PowerConvert Overview
There are three main steps to performing a server conversion:
1) Discover the source and target servers
2) Configure and create the conversion job
3) Execute the conversion job
When the conversion completes, a fully functional server will have been created. Configurable options provide full customization of settings for the converted server. Files on the original source server are left untouched, allowing it to continue working in the environment if desired.
Volume data can also be captured and deployed, allowing for easy provisioning of physical and virtual servers.
PowerConvert Server Requirements
IIS and the .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 (including ASP.NET) must be installed prior to installing the PowerConvert Server.
The PowerConvert Server can be installed on the following platforms.
• Windows 2000 Server (SP4)
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4)
• Windows 2003 Server
Disk requirements: 1.5 GB of free disk space Memory requirements: Minimum 512 MB of RAM
PowerConvert can be installed within a virtual machine that meets the above specifications.
For more information about installing IIS and .NET refer to KB article 20008
PowerConvert Client Requirements
The .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 must be installed on servers running the PowerConvert Client. This can be obtained from the Microsoft website.
The PowerConvert Client can be installed on the following platforms.
• Windows 2000 Server (SP4)
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4)
• Windows XP
• Windows 2003 Server
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Source Server Requirements
The following source operating systems are supported when performing conversions to virtual servers, or capturing images.
• Windows NT Server (SP4, SP6a)
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2003 Server
• Redhat Linux (7, 8, AS 3.0, ES 3.0)
The following source operating systems are supported when performing conversions to physical servers.
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2003 Server
Windows based source servers require that WMI be installed. Windows NT Server does not include WMI as part of the default installation. The WMI Core distributable can be obtained through the Microsoft website. If WMI is not installed, discovery of the server will fail.
Linux based source servers must be running SSHD.
PowerConvert Image Server Requirements
The .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 must be installed prior to installing the PowerConvert Image Server.
The PowerConvert Image Server can be installed on the following platforms.
• Windows 2000 Server (SP4)
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4)
• Windows 2003 Server
Target Virtual Server Requirements
The following virtual infrastructure platforms are supported by PowerConvert.
• VMware GSX Server for Windows 3.0 and higher
• VMware ESX Server 2.1 and higher
• Microsoft Virtual Server
Please see knowledge base article #20002 for the most recent list of supported virtual infrastructure platforms.
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The PowerConvert Server
PlateSpin PowerConvert ships as a single executable. This executable will install the PowerConvert Server and make the PowerConvert Client installer available.
PowerConvert Server Installation Instructions
1. Double-click PowerConvertServerSetup-####.EXE as downloaded from the PlateSpin website to begin the installation
2. If this is the first time PowerConvert has been installed, the MSDE installation will begin
NOTE: It is required to reboot after the MSDE installation if prompted.
3. When prompted, select the directory where the PowerConvert Server will be installed (default: C:\Program Files\PlateSpin PowerConvert Server)
4. Click ‘Finish’ when prompted, to complete the installation
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The PowerConvert Client
Once the PlateSpin PowerConvert Server is installed, the PowerConvert Client will be available.
PowerConvert Client Installation Instructions
1. Open a web-browser and go to http://localhost/powerconvert
NOTE: If installing the PowerConvert Client on a remote system, replace ‘localhost’ with the hostname or IP address of the PowerConvert Server
2. Click the link to download the PlateSpin PowerConvert Client and choose “Open” to begin the installation
3. When prompted, select the directory where the PowerConvert Client will be installed (default: C:\Program Files\PlateSpin PowerConvert Client) and choose whether the PowerConvert Client will be installed for all users on the system or only the current user
4. Click ‘Finish’ when prompted, to complete the installation
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Product Activation and License Management
When the PowerConvert Client is launched for the first time, the License Wizard is displayed.
Online Activation
Using online activation will obtain a PowerConvert license over the internet.
1. Select the ‘Online Activation’ option and click ‘Next’
2. Enter the e-mail address and activation code and click ‘Next’ to obtain the PowerConvert License
3. The PowerConvert Client will now obtain the required license from the internet and activate the PowerConvert Server
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Offline Activation
Using offline activation requires the use of a PowerConvert license file.
1. Select the ‘Offline Activation’ option and click ‘Next’
2. When prompted, enter the path to the PowerConvert license file
3. The PowerConvert Client will activate the PowerConvert Server based on the provided license file
Information regarding product activation can be found at the PlateSpin website
Managing Licenses
The License Manager can be accessed by selecting TOOLS -> LICENSE MANAGER from the PowerConvert Client toolbar. From here, all applied PowerConvert licenses will be shown, along with the functionality provided by each.
Additional licenses can be added at any time by clicking the ‘Add’ button.
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Customer Experience Improvement Program
When starting the PowerConvert Client for the first time, a prompt will appear to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program.
By participating in this program, anonymous usage statistics regarding PowerConvert will be periodically sent to PlateSpin in order to assist in the continual improvement of the product.
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The Server View
The server view allows for easy management of servers to be used with PowerConvert. Two panes make up the main portion of the view. The left pane lists all discovered source servers, while the right pane lists all discovered target servers. Image servers and virtual infrastructure servers are shown on both panes, as they can be used as both source and as a target.
Each pane can be filtered by using the ‘Group By’ and ‘Sort’ pull-down menus. Within seconds the lists can be filtered based on operating system, domain, machine name and machine type.
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The Jobs View
The jobs view displays all discovery, conversion and image capture jobs run by the PowerConvert Server.
Using the ‘Show’ pull-down menu the jobs view can be easily filtered to display the desired information. Within seconds, jobs can be filtered based on their current state.
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Server Discovery
A server discovery must be performed to gather information regarding the source and target servers prior to performing a conversion. The discovery process gathers detailed information about the servers, which is used by PowerConvert to perform the conversion.
WMI must be available on Windows based servers prior to performing a server discovery. PowerConvert uses WMI to obtain information about the server.
For Linux and VMware ESX Servers, sshd must be installed and running.
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Discovering Source Servers, Target Virtual Servers and Target Image Servers
1. Select Discover | Server Details on the tool bar
2. Enter the host name or IP address of the source server
NOTE: Multiple servers can be discovered by entering multiple host names or IP addresses, separated with a comma
3. Select the Operating System of the source server
4. Enter administrator credentials for the server being discovered and click OK
5. After discovery is complete, the server will be available as a source for conversions
ALTERNATE METHOD
1. In the right pane of the server view, right-click the desired source server
NOTE: Undiscovered servers will only appear in the right pane if ‘Network Discovery’ is turned enabled. To do this, double click Network Discovery in the bottom right corner of the client. If a large number of servers exist on the network, enabling this option may take a long time and will not be practical in the environment.
2. In the context menu, select Discover Server Details
3. Select the Operating System of the source server
4. Enter administrator credentials for the server being discovered and click OK
5. After discovery is complete, the server will be available as a source for conversions
Enable “Save (Encrypted Locally)” for PowerConvert to store the entered credentials for use at during conversions.
For more information about discovering source server details, please see the PowerConvert Knowledge Base article 20042
NOTE: Prior to discovering VMware GSX Servers, the VMware GSX Server API must be installed on the PowerConvert Server and the target server. The API can be obtained from the VMware GSX Server download site.
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Discovering Servers Through Automatic Network Discovery
The PowerConvert Client’s automatic Network Discovery option allows for easy browsing of all servers within a given domain or workgroup. Details are not gathered during this process, requiring a full discovery prior to performing conversions.
The Network Discovery feature can be enabled or disabled by right-clicking the bottom-right corner of the PowerConvert Client.
There are two methods for discovering servers which are seen through the automatic network discovery.
Discovering Individual Servers
1. Right-click the server to be discovered and select Discover
2. Enter administrator credentials for the server being discovered and click OK
3. After discovery is complete, the server will be available as a source for conversions
Discovering All Servers in a Domain
1. Expand the domain listing which contains the servers to be discovered
2. Once the servers are seen in the PowerConvert Client, right-click the domain name and select Discover All Servers
3. Enter administrator credentials which are valid for all servers in the domain and click OK
4. After discovery is complete, the servers will be available as a sources for conversions
NOTE: The DISCOVER ALL SERVERS option is only available if there are no previously discovered servers in the domain.
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Discovering target physical servers
Different steps must be performed to discover target physical servers.
To begin the discovery process, download WINPE.ISO from the PlateSpin website and burn it to a CD. Use this CD to boot the physical server which will be used as the destination for the conversion.
Follow these steps to perform the discovery process for a physical target server.
1. Once the server boots from the CD, a command prompt window will appear stating the registration process is about to begin. Press any key to start the process.
2. A second command prompt window will appear, prompting for the PowerConvert URL. It must be entered using the following syntax
HTTP://<POWERCONVERTSERVER>/PowerConvert Replace <POWERCONVERTSERVER> with the IP address of the server where PowerConvert is installed.
3. Enter administrator credentials for the PowerConvert server (be sure to specify an authority, for example domain\admin or hostname\admin)
4. Enter the password for the provided credentials
5. Available network cards will be detected and displayed by their MAC address. If DHCP is available on the NIC to be used, simply press ENTER to continue.
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If DHCP is not available, select the desired NIC to configure with a static IP address
a. Enter the desired IP address b. Enter the desired subnet mask c. Enter the desired gateway
6. Enter a host name for the physical server, or press ENTER to accept the default
7. Enter the PowerConvert network where the discovered server should be placed. If unsure what to value to use, keep the default setting by pressing ENTER
The network configuration will initialize and the server registration process will complete. Once the second command prompt window has closed, click the ‘Refresh’ button within the PowerConvert Client to see the discovered server. It will be available in the Target Server pane.
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Server Analysis
After discovering source and target servers, an analysis can be performed to find potential causes of failure. Doing so can be beneficial when beginning any large scale conversion project.
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