Take a minute to tell us about Converter!

[arnaudov]

Dear VMware Customer,

We're gathering feedback about your VMware Converter usage. This feedback will help us make Converter a better product!

It will take you only a minute to participate - all you have to do is answer on this short survery:

http://www.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?7F5B372E7D3B2E287F

Thank You,

Antoan Arnaudov

(Product Manager, VMware)

[richardOST]

I wish that the survey had a comments section or additional fields related to features used/missing. I'm currently using Converter to P2V an entire datacenter in preparation for a datacenter move. The lack of GPT support has caused unexpected expenses for the end client. That, and the lack of old OS support is causing me to determine alternative solutions, even using unsupported software in order to make it work.

I think it'd be beneficial for VMware to put forward additional work on the Converter product, and ask current customers what they would like to see in the product.

Thanks,

Richard

[continuum]

Hi Antoan -

I looked at your survey and noticed that I would probably lie when answering question 1 - 6.
I wonder if you will get any useful results from it.

If I were in your shoes I would ask questions like ....

What is your favorite P2V procedure ?
- hotclone
- coldclone
- I use third party images and import them with Converter
- I use whatever suits the special case best

VMware no longer offers a Coldclone procedure. What do you do to work around this ?
- I still have the old Coldclone CD from the original download
- I use a PE-LiveCD with Converter 3.0.3
- I use Thirdparty Coldclone CDs
- I use a pirated copy of the VMware Coldclone CD downloaded from obscure sources
- I use other Coldclone procedures that do not need Converter
- I use the hotclone procedure instead
- I dont need to do Coldclones

Which versions of Converter do you use ?
- always the latest
- the latest 5.* version and 3.0.3
- the latest 5.* version, 3.0.3 and a ColdcloneCD

Where do you install Converter ?
- on the vCenter host
- on a physical machine
- various versions in several different VMs

Current Converter no longer supports old Windows- versions. What do you do if you need to P2V NT4 or Win2000 ?
- I do not import NT4 and other old versions
- I use thirdparty tools instead
- I would use older versions if they were still available
- I use older Converter-versions and do not care if I have to download them from obscure sources

Converter uses a wizard to guide you through the configuration.
- I do not care about the selections the wizard presets. I know exactly what I want and do not need the wizard.
- I do not know what options are good for me - so I have to rely on the wizard.

How do you rate the Converter User Interface ?
- oh dear - I only have a vague idea of what all those options are good for
- the user interface is ok - it does all that I want
- the user interface is over simplyfied - I wish there were more options

What do you do if the Converter fails at 98% ?
- you think "I must have misconfigured something" and start over
- you think "good - the first part is done" and  fix the results manually
- you give up

What do you do when Converter fails between 5% and 98%
- I start over and try again - if necessary several times
- I read the logs and try to fix the reason of the failure
- I read the logs but do not find out what was wrong so I start over
- I do not troubleshoot Converter errors and give up
- I do not troubleshoot Converter errors - instead I go to plan B
- I post in the forum or use google

Converter uses SSL per default.
- good - I need SSL for security reasons
- bad - I dont care about encrypted file transfer - speed is more important

Converter displays error messages when a task fails. Please rate the usefulness of the messages.
- useful - if I see the message I know what to do against the problem
- not helpful - I do not understand the messages
- poor - the messages are missguiding

Converter claims to be able to handle third party images like Acronis tib files. What do you think about this feature ?
- very useful - I need it
- nice to have but not necessary at all
- that must be a bluff - it never worked for me

Please do not lie 😉
Did you read the manual ?
- yes - I always read the manual before using a new tool
- I only read the manual when I run into problems
- this is supposed to be a simple tool - if it is necessary to read the manual this is poor UI-design

Converter did not work when ESXi 5.1 was released.
Converter still can not handle GPT disks though they are getting more and more common.
Converter support for Linux is not as good as the release notes say.

What do you think about that ?

- it is a free tool so I do not complain
- this things do not affect my work
- problems like that have an influence on our decision to use vSphere at all

Does the quality of Converter influence your plans for investments in VMware virtualisation ?
- no - I regard it as  free give away
- a bit
- yes
- yes - absolutely - if I cant import my physical machines I dont need vSphere

Would you pay for a Converter with additional features like Coldclones, better Linux-support ...
- no - I dont need any features that are not yet included
- I already pay for vSphere licenses and Converter is a must-have tool of the whole suite - I already pay enough
- yes - I would buy a Converter Pro-version

Why do you use Converter ?
- I have to import physical machines and dont know any other way to do that
- I use it for V2V  - for tasks that Datastorebrowser and Storage-vMotion cant handle
- I do  P2V and V2V from commandline if necessary - I only use Converter because it is more convenient

Converter can not have success in 100% of the cases. What do you prefer - lets assume 1 out of 10 attempts will fail.

- always try to do the job = this means you will get 9 successful imports and waste time for the tenth
- dont run jobs that may fail = this means you may get 8 successful imports only but never waste time

Have a look at the list of additional features - select the ones you miss the most
- GPT-support
- support for old Windows versions
- scheduled hotclones
- scheduled coldclones
- Coldclone BootCD
- import more Linux variants
- import Linux without the need of an ESXi host as target
- use the contents of a external disk connected via SATA, USB, iSCSI ... as a p2v source
- use a standalone vmdk-file as source

...

[arnaudov]

We wanted to start small with a brief survey which takes only a minute to complete so people can fill it up quickly. The main purpose is to highlight the Converter usage among different customer segments and different customer environments - therefore the questions about the company size, hosts count, etc.

Thank you for participating in the survey and for your ideas about future questionnaires. By doing so, you already helped us make Converter a better product!

Thanks,

Antoan

(Product Manager, VMware)

[richardOST]

Antoan,

If you could take some comments to your uplines and those that work on converter:

1. Bring GPT support into the latest version - to support this project I've had to have a customer purchase PlateSpin in order to make it work.

2. Allow the software to work as broadly as possible - to support this project I've had to use versions 4.01, 4.3, 5.01, and PlateSpin. I should only need to use one version.

3. Improve error reporting. If the reason for failure is because of a boot.ini issue, then tell me! I tried converting a 2003 x64 server three times w/ version 5.01 and it failed at 96% each time. I used PlateSpin because it just worked without a single issue. After searching these forums it sounds like the reason might be the boot.ini /3GB switch, and most people found that using version 4.3 or 4.01 they were able to convert without issue. New versions of Converter should not regress in features or capability.

4. There is a serious issue when migrating with 5.01 and Windows 7 - twice now it converted 100%, then I received a BSOD on boot. The resolution has been to not allow converter to automatically select the disk controller, and instead manually select LSI SCSI Logic (NOT SAS). Each time that converter fails for what sounds like a known issue causes a waste of time and energy.

I know this is a free product, and we get what we pay for, but some of these issues are common sense that should never have gotten through QA or beta testing. If there is going to be a push for further development then I hope some of these comments can make it to the development team.

Thanks,

Richard

[arnaudov]

Many thanks for your comments Richard! I'm forwarding them to the engineering team.

--Antoan

(Product Manager, VMware)

[depping · Accepted solution]

Just tweeted it to drive the number of responses up

[arnaudov]

Thanks!

[continuum]

The survey does not fit well for those folks that work as VMware consultants.
A consultant company may have a small number of hosts and VMs but may work for customers with high numbers of hosts and VMs

[arnaudov]

The survey allows multiple responses from the same person, so if you know the data for your customers you can feel free to respond multiple times for each of your customers.

This will give us a more objective picture.

Many Thanks,

Antoan