Before P2V what precautions i have to take??

[MrVmware9423]

Dear VMware Experts,

What precautions/checklist i have to do before p2v. for example physical servers disk size , no of processors / core, Memory, Network, Service / applications running on Physical Server anything else i have to ensure before p2v, if yes please help me with the same.

regards

Mr VMware

[Nikhil_Patwa]

Hello,

Before you start the P2V there are few things you need to check

1. Size of the physical system in terms of disk usage, RAM, processing power - all these needs to be matched in your ESXi host plus more to accomodate additional VMs

2. use of USB, serial connectors

3. ensure your source and destination are in the same LAN as well as your converter workstation

check out the below links for more information

http://www.vminstall.com/vmware-p2v-checklist-for-servers/

http://www.techbiswas.com/2010/04/p2v-checklist_01.html

http://www.vmadmin.co.uk/vmware/38-converter/94-converterprep2vchecklist

Hope the information is useful

Nikhil

[MrVmware9423]

Thanks Nikhil,

I do have an iso of "VMware-VIMSetup-all-4.1.0-259021", in which i have "VMware-Converter.exe", "VMware-Converter-Agent.exe", "VMware-Converter-Client.exe" , which exe i need to install on physical  server to perform P2V????.

I have fetched the attached data from physical PC , will it be sufficient for the same.if anything else is needs to capture please do let me know the same.

regards

Mr VMware

[Nikhil_Patwa · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Well to do P2V I suggest you have a workstation where you install the VMware Converter.exe that install both the server and agent, this becomes your computer from where you initiate the conversion process, thereafter during the conversion you select physical machine option and the converter will install the agent in the physical machine. For destination you can select either the ESXi host of even an external drive or if you have enough space in your computer than that can also be used.

If you do not have additional computer than install the full converter within the same physical machine you want to P2V this means both the client and agent is installed and then attach an external drive as your destination during conversion so the VM gets created there.

Hope this information is useful

Nikhil

[MannyS]

Another word of advice, I learnt this the hard way once. But after the P2V process, you'll see the newly created VM have the same number of vCPU and the same amount of RAM as the physical machine did. So if the physical machine had 8 cores, the new VM will also have 8 vCPU assigned to it. I'd suggest you dont edit the VM and change the number of vCPU's to 1 or 2 or something right away. Scale it down as you go, try 4 cores first. If the VM behaves okay, try 2 cores. I have seen newly P2V'd machines go crazy when the OS realizes it has only 1 CPU to work off when it had 8. Go gradually with the RAM too. You should be fine with 2 vCPU's for most P2V's, or even 1 vCPU - but just something to be mindful of. If the physical machine is a HP Proliant or any server for that matter, watch out for teaming too. Be sure to remove the teaming utility, it's been known to cause problem with networking on the newly created VM.

[MrVmware9423]

Thanks all for ur precious suggestions,

physical pc which i m converting to virtual , physical pc hdds are IDE do i need to select SCSI while conversion and do i also need sysprep folder, if yes then need ur asisstance on the same.

regards

Mr VMware

[sparrowangelste]

you shouldnt need a sysprep folder because you are doing p2v, not setting up a new instance of the server.

let the converter auto sleect the contoller and if it doesnt boot then change it,

here are some items I got for best practices of converting : http://sparrowangelstechnology.blogspot.com/2012/07/best-practices-for-using-vmware.html

[MannyS]

sparrowangels is right, sysprep is used when you are cloning your VM's. What sysprep does is it gets your new VM a completely new SID or identifier so there are no conflicts on the network as a result of the cloning operation. You use sysprep for Guest Customization for example.

And yes the converter will automatically select the right contoller.

Disable any AV services too on the target physical machine. Good luck!

[MrVmware9423]

**** Answer*****(for my info)

followed the friend sugesstion as described in the above post and also taken help from http://ituda.com/vmware-p2v-converter-best-practices/ to complete p2v process sucessfully.

Note: Converter versions after 3.03 will automatically select the best controller for win os , but if we use 4.0.1 converter version then it won't select the best controller for vHDD, we need to manually select "SCSI Bus Logic" if our physical disc controller is IDE, following si the snap of the same.

regards

Mr Vmware