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vCenter Converter Standalone - 6.0
User’s Guide
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VMware vCenter Converter Standalone - 6.0 User’s Guide

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
User's Guide
vCenter Converter Standalone 6.0
This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-001794-00
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
docfeedback@vmware.com
Copyright © 1998–2015 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
VMware, Inc.
3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.

Contents

About This Book 7
Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 9
1
Migration with Converter Standalone 9
Converter Standalone Components 10
Cloning and System Configuration of Physical and Powered On Virtual Machines 10
Hot Cloning of Physical and Virtual Powered On Machines 11
Remote Hot Cloning of Powered On Source Machines That Are Running Windows 11
Remote Hot Cloning of Powered On Source Machines That Are Running Linux 13
Types of Data Cloning Operations 14
Volume-Based Cloning 14
Disk-Based Cloning 15
Full and Linked Clones 15
Using Converter Standalone with Virtual Machine Sources and System Images 15
System Settings Affected by Conversion 16
Changes to Virtual Hardware After Virtual Machine Migration 16
System Requirements 19
2
Supported Operating Systems 19
Supported Firmware Interfaces 20
Supported Source Types 21
Supported Destination Types 22
Supported Source Disk Types 23
Supported Destination Disk Types 24
Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone 25
Installation Space Requirements 25
Screen Resolution Requirements 26
Configuring Permissions for vCenter Users 26
TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion 26
Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems 28
Ensure that Windows Firewall Does Not Block File and Printer Sharing 28
Prepare the Guest Operating System for Customization 29
VMware, Inc.
Conversion Limitations 31
3
Conversion Limitations for Powered On Machines 31
Conversion Limitations for VMware Virtual Machines 31
Conversion Limitations for Third-Party Virtual Machines or System Images 32
Limitations Related to Creating Snapshots of Windows Sources 33
Installing and Uninstalling Converter Standalone 35
4
Perform a Local Installation on Windows 35
3
Perform a Client-Server Installation in Windows 36
Perform a Command-Line Installation in Windows 38
Command-Line Options for Windows Installation 38
Modify Converter Standalone in Windows 39
Repair Converter Standalone in Windows 40
Uninstall Converter Standalone in Windows 41
Connect to a Remote Converter Standalone Server 41
Convert a Physical or Virtual Machine 43
5
Start the Wizard for a Conversion 44
Select a Source Machine to Convert 44
Select a Powered On Windows Machine to Convert 45
Select a Powered On Linux Machine to Convert 46
Select an ESX/ ESXi or vCenter Server Virtual Machine to Convert 46
Select a VMware Hosted Virtual Machine to Convert 48
Select a Backup Image or a Third-Party Virtual Machine to Convert 48
Select a Hyper-V Server Virtual Machine to Convert 49
Select a Destination for the New Virtual Machine 50
Select a Managed Destination 50
Select a Hosted Destination 52
Configure the Hardware of the Destination Virtual Machine 53
Organize the Data to Be Copied on the Destination Machine 53
Edit the Number of Processor Sockets and Cores 63
Allocate Memory for the Destination Virtual Machine 63
Select a Disk Controller for the Destination Virtual Machine 64
Configure the Network Settings of the Destination Virtual Machine 65
Configure the Network for the Helper Virtual Machine 65
Configure the Software on the Destination Virtual Machine 66
Customize the Windows Guest Operating System 66
Install VMware Tools on the Destination Virtual Machine 70
Remove System Restore Checkpoints 70
Configure the Conversion Job 71
Set the Startup Mode for Destination Services 72
Stop Services Running on the Source Machine 73
Synchronize the Destination Machine with Changes Made to the Source Machine 73
Power Off the Source Machine After Conversion 74
Power On the Destination Virtual Machine After Conversion 75
Limit the Amount of Resources Used by the Conversion Job 75
Uninstall Converter Standalone Agent from the Source Machine 76
Review the Summary and Submit the Conversion Job 76
Configure Virtual Machines 79
6
Save Sysprep Files 79
Start the Configuration Wizard 80
Select a Source Machine to Configure 80
Select a vSphere Virtual Machine to Configure 81
Select a VMware Desktop Virtual Machine to Configure 82
4 VMware, Inc.
Select the Options to Configure 83
Install VMware Tools on a Virtual Machine 83
Customize the Windows Guest Operating System 83
Remove System Restore Checkpoints 87
Reconfiguring a Virtual Machine To Boot Properly 87
Review and Submit the Configuration Job 87
Contents
Manage Conversion and Configuration Jobs and Tasks 89
7
Manage Jobs in the Job List 89
Add a Job to the Job List 90
View the Running Task of a Job 90
Deactivate a Job 90
Delete a Job 91
Create a Job by Copying an Existing Job 91
Filter the Jobs in the Jobs List 91
Add a Synchronization Task to a Conversion Job 92
Manage Tasks in the Task List 93
Control the Number of Tasks Running Concurrently 93
Set the Number of Data Connections per Task 94
View the Job to Which a Task Belongs 94
Cancel a Task 95
Filter the Tasks in the Task List 95
Verify Jobs and Tasks Progress and the Log Files 96
View Task Progress 96
Export the Log Files for a Job 97
Export the Log Files for a Task 97
Back-End and Client Log Files Locations 97
Index 99
VMware, Inc. 5
6 VMware, Inc.

About This Book

The VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide provides information about installing and using VMware®vCenter Converter Standalone.
Intended Audience
This book is intended for users who want to perform the following tasks:
Install, upgrade, or use Converter Standalone
n
Convert physical and virtual machines into VMware virtual machines
n
The material is written for information systems engineers, software developers, QA engineers, trainers, salespeople who run demonstrations, and anyone who wants to create virtual machines.
VMware Technical Publications Glossary
VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.
Technical Support and Education Resources
The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone Support
VMware, Inc. 7
To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product and contract information, and register your products, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for the fastest response on priority 1 issues. Go to
http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.
Support Offerings
VMware Professional Services
To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools. Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual environment. To access information about education classes, certification programs, and consulting services, go to
http://www.vmware.com/services.
8 VMware, Inc.
Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter
Standalone 1
VMware® vCenter Converter Standalone is a product to convert virtual and physical machines to VMware virtual machines. You can also configure existing virtual machines in your vCenter Server environment.
Converter Standalone eases the exchange of virtual machines among the following products.
VMware hosted products can be both conversion sources and conversion destinations.
n
VMware Workstation
n
VMware Fusion™
n
VMware Player
n
Virtual machines running on an ESX or ESXi instance that vCenter Server manages can be conversion
n
sources and the corresponding ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server instances can be conversion destinations.
Virtual machines running on unmanaged ESX or ESXi hosts can be conversion sources and the
n
corresponding ESX or ESXi hosts can be conversion destinations.
This chapter includes the following topics:
“Migration with Converter Standalone,” on page 9
n
“Converter Standalone Components,” on page 10
n
“Cloning and System Configuration of Physical and Powered On Virtual Machines,” on page 10
n
“Types of Data Cloning Operations,” on page 14
n
“Using Converter Standalone with Virtual Machine Sources and System Images,” on page 15
n
“System Settings Affected by Conversion,” on page 16
n
“Changes to Virtual Hardware After Virtual Machine Migration,” on page 16
n

Migration with Converter Standalone

Migration with Converter Standalone involves converting physical machines, virtual machines, and system images for use in VMware hosted and managed products.
You can convert virtual machines that vCenter Server manages for use in other VMware products. You can use Converter Standalone to perform a number of conversion tasks.
Import running remote physical and virtual machines as virtual machines to standalone ESX/ESXi or to
n
ESX/ESXi hosts that vCenter Server manages.
Import virtual machines hosted by VMware Workstation or Microsoft Hyper-V Server to ESX/ESXi
n
hosts that vCenter Server manages.
Import third-party backup or disk images to ESX/ESXi hosts that vCenter Server manages.
n
VMware, Inc.
9
Export virtual machines managed by vCenter Server hosts to other VMware virtual machine formats.
n
Configure virtual machines managed by vCenter Server so that they are bootable, and install VMware
n
Tools or customize their guest operating systems.
Customize guest operating systems of virtual machines in the vCenter Server inventory (for example,
n
change the host name or network settings).
Reduce the time needed to set up new virtual machine environments.
n
Migrate legacy servers to new hardware without reinstalling operating systems or application software.
n
Perform migrations across heterogeneous hardware.
n
Readjust volume sizes and place volumes on separate virtual disks.
n

Converter Standalone Components

The Converter Standalone application consists of Converter Standalone server, Converter Standalone worker, Converter Standalone client, and Converter Standalone agent.
Converter Standalone server
Converter Standalone agent
Converter Standalone client
Enables and performs the import and export of virtual machines. The Converter Standalone server comprises two services, Converter Standalone server and Converter Standalone worker. The Converter Standalone worker service is always installed with the Converter Standalone server service.
The Converter Standalone server installs the agent on Windows source machines to import them as virtual machines. You can choose to remove the Converter Standalone agent from the source machine automatically or manually after the import is complete.
The Converter Standalone server works with the Converter Standalone client. The client component consists of the Converter Standalone user interface, which provides access to the Conversion and the Configuration wizards, and lets you to manage the conversion and the configuration tasks.

Cloning and System Configuration of Physical and Powered On Virtual Machines

When you convert a source machine, Converter Standalone uses cloning and system reconfiguration steps to create and configure the destination virtual machine so that it works successfully in vCenter Server and hosted environments. Because the migration process does not delete or modify the source, you can continue to use the original source machine after the conversion completes.
Cloning is the process of copying the source disks or volumes for the destination virtual machine. Cloning involves copying the data on the source machine’s hard disk and transferring that data to a destination virtual disk. The destination virtual disk might have a different size, file layout, and other characteristics, and thus might not be an exact copy of the source disk.
System reconfiguration adjusts the migrated operating system so that it to functions on the new virtual hardware .
If you plan to run an imported virtual machine on the same network as the source machine, you must modify the network name and IP address on one of the machines so that the source and destination machines can coexist. Besides, you must make sure that the Windows source machine and the destination virtual machine have different computer names.
NOTE Before converting a Windows machine, verify that you have the proper Windows license.
10 VMware, Inc.
powered on
machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
snapshot
source
volumes
agent
vCenter Converter Standalone running on Windows machine
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone

Hot Cloning of Physical and Virtual Powered On Machines

With Converter Standalone, you can perform hot cloning.
Hot cloning, also called live cloning or online cloning, requires converting the source machine while it is running its operating system. Hot cloning lets you clone machines without shutting them down.
Because processes continue to run on the source machine during conversion, the resulting virtual machine is not an exact copy of the source machine.
When converting Windows sources, you can set Converter Standalone to synchronize the destination virtual machine with the source machine after hot cloning. Synchronization is performed by transferring from the source to the destination the blocks that were changed during the initial cloning period. To avoid loss of data on the destination virtual machine, Converter Standalone can shut down certain Windows services before the synchronization. Based on your settings, Converter Standalone shuts down the selected Windows services so that no critical changes occur on the source machine while destination is being synchronized.
Converter Standalone can shut down the source machine and power on the destination machine when the conversion process is complete. When combined with synchronization, this action allows seamless migration of a source machine to a virtual machine destination. The destination machine takes over the source machine operations with the least possible downtime.
NOTE When you hot clone dual-boot systems, you can clone only the default operating system to which the
boot.ini file or the BCD points. To clone the nondefault operating system, change the boot.ini file or the
BCD to point to the other operating system and reboot. After the other operating system is booted, you can hot clone it. If your second operating system is Linux, you can boot it and clone it using the standard procedure for cloning Linux powered on source machines.

Remote Hot Cloning of Powered On Source Machines That Are Running Windows

You can use the Conversion wizard to set up conversion tasks and Converter Standalone components perform all of the cloning tasks.
The following workflow is an example of remote hot cloning in which the powered on machine being cloned experiences no downtime.
1 Converter Standalone prepares the source machine for the conversion.
Converter Standalone installs the agent on the source machine and the agent takes a snapshot of the source volumes.
VMware, Inc. 11
copied
volumes
powered on
machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
snapshot
source
volumes
agent
vCenter Converter Standalone running on Windows machine
VM
VM
reconfiguration
customization (optional)
powered on
machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
snapshot
source
volumes
agent
vCenter Converter Standalone running on Windows machine
2 Converter Standalone prepares the virtual machine on the destination machine.
Converter Standalone creates a virtual machine on the destination machine and the agent copies volumes from the source machine to the destination machine.
If the proxy mode feature is off, the data traffic passes from the source machine directly to the destination server.
If the proxy mode feature is on, the data traffic passes from the source machine through the Converter Standalone server to the destination server. The proxy mode feature enables conversion processes when the source machine does not have direct access to the destination ESXi server.
NOTE The proxy mode feature is available only for conversion of powered on Windows sources to managed destinations.
3 Converter Standalone completes the conversion process.
The agent installs the required drivers to allow the operating system to boot in a virtual machine and personalizes the virtual machine (changes the IP information, for example).
4 Optionally, Converter Standalone uninstalls the agent from the source machine.
The virtual machine is ready to run on the destination server.
12 VMware, Inc.
powered on
Linux machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
source
volumes
vCenter Converter Standalone server
Helper
VM
Converter Standalone server deploys helper virtual machine
powered on
Linux machine
ESX/ESXi
source
destination
network
source
volumes
vCenter Converter Standalone server
Helper
VM
data copied to the helper virtual machine
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone

Remote Hot Cloning of Powered On Source Machines That Are Running Linux

The conversion process of powered on machines that are running Linux operating systems differs from that of Windows machines.
In Windows conversions, the Converter Standalone agent is installed on the source machine and the source information is pushed to the destination.
In Linux conversions, no agent is deployed on the source machine. Instead, a helper virtual machine is created and deployed on the destination ESX/ESXi host. The source data is then copied from the source Linux machine to the helper virtual machine. After the conversion is complete, the helper virtual machine shuts down to become the destination virtual machine the next time you power it on.
Converter Standalone supports conversion of Linux sources only to managed destinations.
The following workflow demonstrates the principles of hot cloning powered on source machines that run Linux to managed destinations.
1 Converter Standalone uses SSH to connect to the source machine and retrieves source information.
Converter Standalone creates an empty helper virtual machine based on your conversion task settings. The helper virtual machine serves as a container for the new virtual machine during conversion. Converter Standalone deploys the helper virtual machine on the managed destination, an ESX/ESXi host. The helper virtual machine boots from a *.iso file that is located on the Converter Standalone server machine.
2 The helper virtual machine powers on, boots from the Linux image, connects to the source machine
through SSH, and starts retrieving the selected data from the source. While you set up the conversion task, you can select which source volumes to be copied to the destination machine.
VMware, Inc. 13
3 Optionally, after data is copied, the destination virtual machine is reconfigured to allow the operating
system to boot in a virtual machine.
4 Converter Standalone shuts down the helper virtual machine. The conversion process is complete.
You can configure Converter Standalone to power on the newly created virtual machine after the conversion is complete.

Types of Data Cloning Operations

Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning, volume-based cloning, and linked-cloning modes.
Table 1‑1. Cloning Modes
Data Copy Types Application Description
Volume based Copy volumes from the source
machine to the destination machine.
Disk based Create copies of the powered off
source machines, for all types of basic and dynamic disks.
Linked clone Use to quickly check compatibility of
non-VMware images
Volume-based cloning is relatively slow. File-level cloning is slower than block-level cloning. Dynamic disks are converted into basic volumes on the target virtual machine.
You cannot select which data to copy. Disk-based cloning is faster than volume-based cloning.
For certain third-party sources, the linked clone is corrupted if you power on the source machine after the conversion. Linked cloning is the fastest (but incomplete) cloning mode that Converter Standalone supports.

Volume-Based Cloning

During volume-based cloning, volumes from the source machine are copied to the destination machine. Converter Standalone supports volume-based cloning during hot cloning, and during the import of existing virtual machines.
During volume-based cloning, all volumes in the destination virtual machine, except LVM2 logical volumes, are converted to basic volumes, regardless of their type in the corresponding source volume. LVM2 logical volumes can be preserved as logical volumes during conversion.
Volume-based cloning is performed at the file level or block level, depending on the destination volume size that you select.
Volume-based cloning at the file level
Volume-based cloning at the block level
Performed when you select a size smaller than the original volume for NTFS volumes or you choose to resize a FAT volume.
For FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, and ReiserFS file systems, Converter Standalone preserves the file system type during a volume-based cloning at the file level.
Dynamic source disks are read but not preserved during volume-based conversions. Dynamic disks are converted into basic volumes on the target virtual machine. Volume-based cloning of dynamic source disks at the file level is supported only for Windows.
Performed when you choose to preserve the size of the source volume or when you specify a larger volume size for NTFS source volumes. Volume­based cloning at the block level is supported only for Windows.
14 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone

Disk-Based Cloning

Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning to import existing virtual machines.
Disk-based cloning transfers all sectors from all disks and preserves all volume metadata. The destination virtual machine receives partitions of the same type, size, and structure, as the partitions of the source virtual machine. All volumes on the source machine's partitions are copied as they are.
Disk-based cloning supports all types of basic and dynamic disks.

Full and Linked Clones

Clones can be full or linked depending on the amount of data copied from the source to the destination machine.
A full clone is an independent copy of a virtual machine that shares nothing with the parent virtual machine after the cloning operation. Ongoing operation of a full clone is separate from the parent virtual machine.
Because a full clone does not share virtual disks with the parent virtual machine, full clones generally perform better than linked clones. Full clones take longer to create than linked clones. Creating a full clone can take several hours or even days if the files involved are large.
You can create a full clone by using any disk clone type other than the linked clone type.
A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an ongoing manner. A linked clone is a fast way to convert and run a new virtual machine. You can create a linked clone from the current state, or snapshot, of a powered off virtual machine. This practice conserves disk space and lets multiple virtual machines use the same software installation.
All files available on the source machine at the moment of the snapshot continue to remain available to the linked clone. Ongoing changes to the virtual disk of the parent do not affect the linked clone, and changes to the disk of the linked clone do not affect the source machine. If you make changes to a source Virtual PC and Virtual Server machines, or to LiveState images, the linked clone is corrupted and cannot be used anymore.
A linked clone must have access to the source. Without access to the source, you cannot use a linked clone.
For more information about how to create a linked clone, see “Create a Linked Clone,” on page 62.

Using Converter Standalone with Virtual Machine Sources and System Images

With Converter Standalone, you can convert virtual machines and system images, and configure VMware virtual machines.
Converting virtual machines
You can convert VMware virtual machines from and to Workstation, VMware Player, VMware Fusion, Hyper-V, ESX, ESXi Embedded, and ESXi Installable. You can also import virtual machines from Microsoft Virtual Server and Virtual PC.
VMware, Inc. 15
To be able to run an imported VMware virtual machine and its source virtual machine on the same network, you must modify the network name and IP address on one of the virtual machines. Modifying the network name and IP address lets the original and new virtual machines to coexist on the same network.
Configuring virtual machines
If the VMware virtual machines have disks that have been populated by using a backup of a physical host, Converter Standalone prepares the image to run on VMware virtual hardware. If you have used third-party virtualization software to create a virtual machine on an ESX host, you can use Converter Standalone to reconfigure it. You can also reconfigure any operating system installed on a multiboot machine if you have imported the virtual machine to an ESX host. Before you reconfigure a multiboot machine, you must change the boot.ini file or the BCD.

System Settings Affected by Conversion

A VMware virtual machine that Converter Standalone creates contains a copy of the disk state of the source physical machine, virtual machine, or system image. Some hardware-dependent drivers and sometimes the mapped drive letters might not be preserved.
The following source computer settings remain unchanged:
Operating system configuration (computer name, security ID, user accounts, profiles, preferences, and
n
so on)
Applications and data files
n
Volume serial number for each disk partition
n
Because the target and the source virtual machines or system images have the same identities (name, SID, and so on), running them on the same network might result in conflicts. To redeploy the source virtual machine or system image, make sure that you do not run the source and target images or virtual machines on the same network at the same time.
For example, if you use Converter Standalone to test whether you can run a Virtual PC virtual machine as a VMware virtual machine without first decommissioning the original Virtual PC machine, you must first resolve the duplicate ID problem. You can resolve this problem by customizing the virtual machines in the Conversion or the Configuration wizard.

Changes to Virtual Hardware After Virtual Machine Migration

After conversion, most applications function correctly on the VMware virtual machine because their configuration and data files have the same location as on the source virtual machine. However, applications might not work if they depend on specific characteristics of the underlying hardware, such as the serial number or the device manufacturer.
Several hardware changes might occur after you migrate a virtual machine.
Table 1‑2. Hardware Changes After Virtual Machine Migration
Hardware Behavior
CPU model and serial numbers Might change after migration. They correspond to the physical computer
hosting the VMware virtual machine.
Ethernet adapters Might change for AMD PCNet or VMXnet and get different MAC addresses.
The IP address of each interface must be individually reconfigured.
USB adapters Might be updated during the cloning process.
Graphics cards Might change after migration (VMware SVGA card).
16 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
Table 1‑2. Hardware Changes After Virtual Machine Migration (Continued)
Hardware Behavior
Disks and partitions The number of disks and partitions might change during the cloning process.
Each disk device might have a different model and different manufacturer strings.
Primary disk controllers Might differ from the source machine.
Applications that depend on devices that are not available within a virtual machine might not work after you migrate the virtual machine.
VMware, Inc. 17
18 VMware, Inc.

System Requirements 2

You must consider the compatibilities and the interoperabilities among the systems on which and with which the Converter Standalone components work.
This chapter includes the following topics:
“Supported Operating Systems,” on page 19
n
“Supported Firmware Interfaces,” on page 20
n
“Supported Source Types,” on page 21
n
“Supported Destination Types,” on page 22
n
“Supported Source Disk Types,” on page 23
n
“Supported Destination Disk Types,” on page 24
n
“Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone,” on page 25
n
“Installation Space Requirements,” on page 25
n
“Screen Resolution Requirements,” on page 26
n
“Configuring Permissions for vCenter Users,” on page 26
n
“TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion,” on page 26
n
“Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems,” on page 28
n

Supported Operating Systems

You can install Converter Standalone components only on Windows operating systems. Converter Standalone supports Windows and Linux operating systems as sources for powered-on-machine conversions and virtual-machine conversions. You cannot reconfigure Linux distributions.
Table 2‑1. Supported Operating Systems
Converter Standalone
Supported Operating Systems
Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit and 64-bit) SP2
Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) SP2
Windows Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit) SP2
Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
VMware, Inc. 19
Support
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Source for Powered On Machine Conversions
Source for Virtual Machine Conversions
Configuration Source
Table 2‑1. Supported Operating Systems (Continued)
Converter Standalone
Supported Operating Systems
Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Windows Server 2012 (64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Windows Server 2012 R2(64-bit) Yes Yes Yes Yes
CentOS 6.x (32-bit and 64-bit) No Yes Yes No
CentOS 7.0 (64-bit) No Yes Yes No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.x (32­bit and 64-bit)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x (32­bit and 64-bit)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x (32­bit and 64-bit)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x (64­bit)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
Ubuntu 12.04 (32-bit and 64-bit) No Yes Yes No
Ubuntu 14.x (32-bit and 64-bit) No Yes Yes No
Support
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
No Yes Yes No
Source for Powered On Machine Conversions
Source for Virtual Machine Conversions
Configuration Source

Supported Firmware Interfaces

With Converter Standalone you can perform conversions from BIOS and UEFI sources.
Converter Standalone preserves the firmware interface during the conversion. You cannot convert BIOS sources to UEFI destinations and the reverse.
For UEFI sources, the supported destination types are Workstation 10.0 and later, ESXi 5.0 and later, and vCenter Server 5.0 and later.
Table 2‑2. Supported Sources Based on Operating System and Firmware Interface
Operating System BIOS 64-Bit UEFI
Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 Yes No
Windows Vista SP2 Yes Yes
Windows Server 2008 SP2 Yes Yes
Windows Server 2008 R2 Yes Yes
Windows 7 Yes Yes
Windows 8 Yes Yes
Windows 8.1 Yes Yes
Windows Server 2012 Yes Yes
20 VMware, Inc.
Table 2‑2. Supported Sources Based on Operating System and Firmware Interface (Continued)
Operating System BIOS 64-Bit UEFI
Windows Server 2012 R2 Yes Yes
CentOS 6.x Yes Yes
CentOS 7.x Yes Yes
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.x Yes No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x Yes No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x Yes Yes
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x Yes Yes
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
10.x
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11.x
Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS Yes Yes
Ubuntu 14.x Yes Yes

Supported Source Types

Chapter 2 System Requirements
Yes No
Yes No
With Converter Standalone, you can convert remote powered on machines, powered off VMware virtual machines, Hyper-V Server virtual machines, and other third-party virtual machines and system images.
Table 2‑3. Supported Sources
Source Type Sources
Powered on machines
VMware vCenter virtual machines
VMware virtual machines Powered off hosted virtual machines running on the following VMware products:
Remote Windows physical machines
n
Remote Linux physical machines
n
Local Windows physical machines
n
Powered on VMware virtual machines
n
Powered on Hyper-V Server virtual machines
n
Powered on virtual machines running under Red Hat KVM or RHEL XEN
n
Powered off virtual machines managed by the following servers:
vCenter Server 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0
n
ESX 4.0 and 4.1
n
ESXi 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0
n
VMware Workstation 10.x and 11.0
n
VMware Fusion 6.x and 7.0
n
VMware Player 6.x and 7.0
n
VMware, Inc. 21
Table 2‑3. Supported Sources (Continued)
Source Type Sources
Hyper-V Server virtual machines
Third-party virtual machines or system images
For Hyper-V Server versions distributed with Windows Server 2008 R2, powered off virtual machines with the following guest operating systems:
Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64) SP1 and SP2
n
Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64) R2 SP1 and SP2
n
Windows Server 2008 (x86 and x64) SP2
n
Windows Server 2008 (x64) R2 and R2 SP1
n
Windows 7 (except Home editions)
n
Windows Vista SP1 and SP2 (except Home editions)
n
For other Hyper-V Server sources, perform the procedure for powered on source machines.
Acronis True Image Echo 9.1 and 9.5, and Acronis True Image Home 10 and 11
n
(.tib).
Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery (formerly LiveState Recovery) 6.5, 7.0, 8.0,
n
and 8.5, and LiveState Recovery 3.0 and 6.0 (.sv2i format only).
n
Norton Ghost version 10.0, 12.0, and 14.0 (.sv2i format only).
n
Parallels Desktop 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0 (.pvs and .hdd). Compressed disks are not supported.
n
Parallels Workstation 2.x (.pvs). Compressed disks are not supported. Parallels Virtuozzo Containers are not supported.
StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop, ShadowProtect Server, ShadowProtect Small
n
Business Server (SBS), ShadowProtect IT Edition, versions 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2 (.spf).
The Microsoft VHD format for the following sources:
n
n
Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 and Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (.vmc)
n
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 and 2005 R2 (.vmc)

Supported Destination Types

With Converter Standalone, you can create virtual machines compatible with VMware hosted and managed products.
Table 2‑4. Supported Destinations
Destination Type Supported Versions
VMware vCenter virtual machines Managed destinations
VMware hosted virtual machines Hosted destinations
For UEFI sources, the supported destination types are Workstation 10.0 and later, ESXi 5.0 and later, and vCenter Server 5.0 and later.
ESX 4.0 and 4.1
n
ESXi 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0
n
vCenter Server 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0
n
VMware Workstation 10.x and 11.0
n
VMware Fusion 6.x and 7.0
n
VMware Player 6.x and 7.0
n
22 VMware, Inc.

Supported Source Disk Types

Converter Standalone supports conversions from master boot record (MBR) and GUID partition table (GPT) disks with some limitations that depend on the selected data cloning mode.
NOTE Converter Standalone preserves the partitioning scheme during the conversion. You cannot convert an MBR source disk to a GPT destination disk and the reverse.
Converter Standalone supports all types of basic and dynamic disks for disk-based conversions with the exception of GPT/MBR hybrid disks.
Table 2‑5. Supported and Nonsupported Source Volumes and Disks
Source Supported Volumes and Disks Nonsupported Volumes and Disks
Virtual machine
Powered on machine
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Basic volumes
All types of dynamic volumes
Master boot record (MBR) disks
GUID partition table (GPT) disks
All types of source volumes that the operating system recognizes
GUID partition table (GPT) disks
Master boot record (MBR) disks
Chapter 2 System Requirements
RAID
n
GPT/MBR hybrid disks
n
RDM disks
n
RAID
n
GPT/MBR hybrid disks
n
Linux volumes mounted by Device
n
Mapper multipath
VMware, Inc. 23

Supported Destination Disk Types

Several destination disk types might be available for the selected destination.
Table 2‑6. Destination Disk Types
Destination Available Disk Types
VMware vSphere virtual machine
VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine
Thick
Thin
Managed destinations of virtual machine version 10 and later support disks up to 62TB in size. Earlier virtual machine versions support up to 2TB disks.
Pre­allocated
Not pre­allocated
Split pre­allocated
Split not pre­allocated
Copies the entire source disk size to the destination, regardless of its used and free space.
For managed destinations that support thin provisioning through GUI, creates an expanding disk on the destination. For example, if the source disk size is 10GB, but only 3GB is used, the created destination disk is 3GB but can expand to 10GB.
Copies the entire source disk size to the destination, regardless of its used and free space.
Creates an expanding disk on the destination. For example, if the source disk size is 20GB, but only 5GB is used, the created destination disk is 5GB but can expand to 20GB. Take this expansion into account when you calculate the free disk space on the destination datastore.
For disks smaller than 2TB, splits the source disk into 2GB sections on the destination.
For disks larger than 2TB, splits the source disk into 2TB sections on the destination.
For disks smaller than 2TB, creates 2GB sections on the destination that include only the real used space on the source disk. As the destination disk grows, new 2GB sections are created to accommodate the new data until the size reaches that of the original source disk.
For disks larger than 2TB, creates 2TB sections on the destination that include only the real used space on the source disk. As the destination disk grows, new 2TB sections are created to accommodate the new data until the size reaches that of the original source disk.
24 VMware, Inc.
Table 2‑6. Destination Disk Types (Continued)
Destination Available Disk Types
Hosted destinations of virtual machines support up to 8TB disks.
Hosted destinations support disks sizes larger than 2040GB only if the Split not pre-allocated disk type is selected.
To support destination virtual disks on FAT file systems, split the source data into 2GB files.

Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone

Converter Standalone supports both IPv4 and IPv6 Internet protocols with several limitations.
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6 or IPng) is the successor to Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which is the currently used protocol for assigning IP addresses to computers on the Internet. IPv6 was adopted to overcome the expected exhaustion of IPv4 addresses that might be caused by the constantly increasing number of computers on the Internet.
While IPv4 uses 32bit addresses, IPv6 uses 128bit. IPv6 addresses can have different formats or notations.
1040:0:0:0:0:0:0:1
n
1040::1
n
Chapter 2 System Requirements
21DA:00D3:0010:2F3B:02AA:00FF:FE28:9C5A
n
[2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7344]:443
n
Converter Standalone supports all IPv6 notations for all components of the system.
Converter Standalone installer
n
Converter Standalone client
n
Converter Standalone agent
n
All destinations supported in Converter Standalone
n
Along with the higher security level and much larger address space, IPv6 brings about some compatibility tasks that have not been resolved yet. For example, IPv4-only nodes cannot communicate directly with IPv6 nodes and need additional routing. This makes the end-to-end support of mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environments precarious.

Installation Space Requirements

During installation, you can select the Converter Standalone components that you want to install. All components require different amounts of free disk space to install.
Table 2-7 shows the disk space required to install Converter Standalone and its components.
Table 2‑7. Installation Space Requirements
Installation Component Disk Space Required
Installation file 100MB 100MB
vCenter Converter client 25MB 25MB
vCenter Converter server 120MB 300MB
vCenter Converter agent 25MB 100MB
Disk Space Requirement for Decompressed Files
VMware, Inc. 25

Screen Resolution Requirements

To display wizards properly, Converter Standalone requires a screen resolution of at least 1024x768 pixels.

Configuring Permissions for vCenter Users

To convert virtual machines to vCenter Server machines with Converter Standalone, you must have certain vCenter Server permissions set at the datacenter level.
To start using Converter Standalone, you need to set a number of minimum privileges at the datacenter level.
Datastore.Allocate space
n
Datastore.Browse datastore
n
Host.Local operations.Create virtual machine
n
Host.Local operations.Delete virtual machine
n
Host.Local operations.Reconfigure virtual machine
n
Network.Assign network (required only if you plan to connect the destination virtual machine to a
n
network)
Resource.Assign virtual machine to resource pool
n
Virtual machine.Configuration
n
Virtual machine.Interaction.Power On (required only if you choose to power on the destination virtual
n
machine after conversion)
Virtual machine.Inventory
n
Virtual machine.Provisioning.Allow disk access
n
Virtual machine.Provisioning.Allow read-only disk access
n
Converting Linux and powered on Windows machines might require a number of additional vCenter Server privileges.
Virtual machine.Interaction.Configure CD media (required only if you need to boot a converted Linux
n
virtual machine to install media after the conversion)
Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Create snapshot (required only if you want to synchronize
n
changes between the source and destination Windows virtual machine)
Virtual machine.Snapshot management.Remove Snapshot (required only if you want to synchronize
n
changes between the source and destination Windows virtual machine)
For more information about setting permissions, see the vSphere Datacenter Administration Guide.

TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion

To enable conversion, the Converter Standalone server and client must be able to send data to each other, to remote machines, and to vCenter Server. Also, the source and destination hosts must receive data from each other. Designated ports are reserved for this communication.
If any of these ports is blocked, the corresponding conversion task fails.
Ports Used When Converting a Powered On Machine Running Windows
Table 2-8 contains a list of the ports that must be open during the conversion of powered on source
machines running Windows.
26 VMware, Inc.
Table 2‑8. Ports Required During Windows P2V
Communication
Communication Paths
Converter Standalone server to powered on source machine
Converter Standalone server to vCenter Server
Converter Standalone client to vCenter Server
Converter Standalone server to the destination ESX/ESXi
Powered on source machine to ESX/ESXi
Ports Notes
TCP - 445, 139, 9089
UDP - 137, 138
TCP - 443 Required only if the conversion destination is a
TCP - 443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
TCP - 902 Converter server always requires access to ESX/ESXi at port
TCP - 443, 902 If the conversion destination is vCenter Server, only port 902 is
Chapter 2 System Requirements
If the source computer uses NetBIOS, port 445 is not required. If NetBIOS is not being used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not required. When in doubt, make sure that none of the ports are blocked.
NOTE Unless you have installed Converter Standalone server or agent on the source computer, the account used for authentication to the source computer must have a password, network file sharing must be enabled on the source computer, and Simple File Sharing must not be used.
vCenter Server.
components are on different machines.
902.
required.
If the proxy mode feature is on, port 902 is not required.
Ports Used When Converting a Powered On Machine Running Linux
Table 2-9 contains a list of the ports that must be open during the conversion of powered on source
machines running Linux.
Table 2‑9. Ports Required During Linux P2V
Communication Paths TCP Ports Notes
Converter Standalone server to powered on source machine
Converter Standalone client to Converter Standalone server
Converter Standalone server to vCenter Server
Converter Standalone server to ESX/ESXi
Converter Standalone server to helper virtual machine
Helper virtual machine to powered on source machine
22 Used to establish an SSH connection between the
Converter Standalone server and the source machine.
443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
components are on different machines.
443 Required only if the conversion destination is a vCenter Server.
443, 902 If the conversion destination is a vCenter Server, only port 902 is
required.
443
22 Used to establish an SSH connection between the helper virtual
machine and the source machine. By default, the IP address of the helper virtual machine is assigned by DHCP. If no DHCP server is available on the destination network, you must manually assign the helper virtual machine an IP address.
Ports Used When Converting Virtual Machine Sources
Table 2-10 contains a list of the ports that must be open during the conversion of virtual machines.
VMware, Inc. 27
Table 2‑10. Ports Required During V2V
Communication
Communication Paths
Converter Standalone server to Fileshare path
Converter Standalone client to Converter Standalone server
Converter Standalone server to vCenter Server
Converter Standalone server to ESX/ESXi
Ports Notes
TCP - 445, 139
UPD - 137, 138
TCP - 443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
TCP - 443 Required only if the conversion destination is a
TCP - 443, 902 If the conversion destination is a vCenter Server, only port
Required only for standalone virtual machine sources or destinations. If the computer hosting the source or destination path uses NetBIOS, port 445 is not required. If NetBIOS is not being used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not required. When in doubt, make sure that none of the ports are blocked.
components are on different machines.
vCenter Server.
902 is required.

Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems

To avoid problems related to permissions and network access, ensure that simple file sharing is turned off and that Windows Firewall does not block file and printer sharing. Also, to access file and printer sharing ports, you might need to change the scope of the IP addresses that the firewall allows.
To ensure successful remote hot cloning of Windows platforms, verify the following conditions on the source machine before you start the application:
Ensure that simple file sharing is turned off.
n
Ensure that file and printer sharing is not blocked by Windows Firewall.
n
You must allow incoming file share connections in the following situations:
When you use the machine to host standalone images
n
When you use the machine as a standalone destination
n
When you hot clone the machine remotely
n
For Windows Vista and later, you must either use an administrator account for Converter Standalone when logging to the source machine, or disable UAC on the source machine.
To enable customization of the guest operating system, install Sysprep files on the machine where Converter Standalone server runs.

Ensure that Windows Firewall Does Not Block File and Printer Sharing

If Converter Standalone fails to connect to a remote Windows machine and issues a bad username/password error message, ensure that file and printer sharing is not blocked by Windows Firewall.
Procedure
1 Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
2 In the Security Settings list on the left, select Local Policies > Security Options.
3 In the policies list on the right, select Network access: Sharing and Security model for local accounts.
4 Verify that Classic – local users authenticate as themselves is selected.
28 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 2 System Requirements
What to do next
For troubleshooting information about file and printer sharing, search the Microsoft TechNet Web site.
For information about setting file and printer sharing on other Windows systems, see the documentation for your system.

Prepare the Guest Operating System for Customization

To customize the guest operating system of a virtual machine that runs Windows Server 2003, you must save the Sysprep files to the specified locations on the machine where Converter Standalone server runs.
If Sysprep files are missing from the server machine, the Customize Guest OS option is not accessible in the Converter Standalone wizards.
Prerequisites
Make sure you have obtained the Sysprep files that correspond to the source operating system. You can download the Sysprep files from the Microsoft Download Center.
Procedure
Save the Sysprep files that correspond to the source operating system on the machine where
u
Converter Standalone server runs.
If you have downloaded a .cab file, you need to extract its contents. If you have downloaded an .exe file, double-click the downloaded file to start the Sysprep installation.
Operating System Action
Windows Server 2003 (32bit)
Windows Server 2003 (64bit)
Save the Sysprep files in %ALLUSERSPROFILE %\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\sysprep\svr2003
Save the Sysprep files in %ALLUSERSPROFILE %\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\sysprep\svr2003-64
What to do next
You can now customize Windows Server 2003 (32bit and 64bit) guest operating system by using the Conversion or the Configuration wizard.
VMware, Inc. 29
30 VMware, Inc.
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