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telecastle
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Storage vMotion on ESXi 5.0 without vSphere Server

I have installed an evaluation copy of ESXi 5.0 and want to migrate VMs that are currently on the local datastore to iSCSI datastores. I cannot see the "Migrate" line item when I right-click on a VM running from the local datastore. The evaluation license enables vMotion for 60 days, and I configured a 1Gbps port on the ESXi host for vMotion. Is vMotion available only when ESXi hosts are managed by the vSphere server? I do not have a vSpherer server inmy environment and manage the ESXi server directly from the vSphere Client.

Thanks.

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15 Replies
Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

The "migrate" function is a feature of vCenter.  You will not have this option on a stand alone ESX(i) Host.

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telecastle
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

So, does it mean there's no Storage vMotion on a stand-alone ESXi host?

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arturka
Expert
Expert

telecastle wrote:

So, does it mean there's no Storage vMotion on a stand-alone ESXi host?

exactly

Artur

VCDX77 My blog - http://vmwaremine.com
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telecastle
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Thank you. Now, if I need to move VMs currently located on the local ESXi datastore - the local RAID - to an iSCSI-based datastore, what are my optoins?

I once tried to do this by shutting the VM (on ESXi 4.0), browsing the local datastore, selecting the directory where the VM files were located, and then selecting "move" from the context menu. However, I recall that even though my VMs had "thin disk provisioning," the copy on the iSCSI datastore took the maximum provisioned size and not the actual "thin" size.

Are there any other options to move VMs from the local datastore to an iSCSI-based datastore on a stand-alone ESXi host so that the storage space taken by the VMs remains "thin"?

Thanks again!

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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

Yes

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telecastle
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

And what are they?

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weinstein5
Immortal
Immortal

Not really - you can cold migrate the VM - power the VM off - Richt click the VM and select migrate and you will be given the opportunity to move it to another datastore -

Other options include using Converter and unregistering the VM and manually the directory to the new datastore and reregister 

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telecastle
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

The problem is that I don't have the "Migrate" line item in the context menu when I right-click on the VM, regardless of its state - running or powered down.

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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

as stated, without vCenter you have no "migrate" function.  I would suggest you look a VMware vCenter Converter Standalone

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spacebass5000
Contributor
Contributor

or simply export as template, delete the original, and then import back into the correct datastore.

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Linjo
Leadership
Leadership

Why not install a vCenter Server? Its really simple and has the same 60-day eval as your ESX and then you can do all the vMotion you want.

// Linjo

Best regards, Linjo Please follow me on twitter: @viewgeek If you find this information useful, please award points for "correct" or "helpful".
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vinod_reddy
Contributor
Contributor

You should be able to migrate using Veeam Backup and Replication tool.

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ch1ta
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Yep, Veeam free tool called Quick Migration might do the trick for you. Just add ESX(i) host to backup console, select required VM and quick migrate them.

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Extrasphere
Contributor
Contributor

Hi,

Apologies for bumping an old thread, but hope this information will be useful for anyone who reads it.

The case of hot migration of VM disks without downtime can be solved by using Extrasphere app for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theblackbriefcase.extrasphereExtrasphere - Android Apps on Google Play) - it's made basing on vSphere ESXi console API, and allows migration even without vCenter involved, i.e. it works for standalone ESXi hosts (including ESXi free). You can check it out and see if it fits your needs. I'm representing developers of this app, so sorry for this purely marketing message, though I believe you should be aware that there are solutions on market which can do exactly what you need for reasonable price (the app is priced on per-migration basis). During the disks migration the app can convert them from thick to thin and vice versa for better alignment with your storage needs.

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Stromilov
Contributor
Contributor

Yes, Extrasphere is helpful in this case.

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