Hi all
I need to migrate our Exchange Server from our ESX 3.5 Hosts to our new ESXi 5.0 Server
So, if i Copy this Machine it takes about 1 - 1.5 Days for this Job. This is too long because while this time i need to shut down the Server to prevent a mail-loss right? Or am i false?
Now to my question. Is it possible to Jst copy the HDD partition where the E-Mail database is stored and move this vmdk-file to the new Host and then add it there? Will all mails be on the new Server or is this a mistake?
Best regards
Dominik B.
Do you have shared storage?
No, if there would be shared storage, the work would be much easier i think
But the Exchange Server is on a HP Storage Blade and the new Server is a tower.
Best regards Dominik
I would look into using VM convertor to do this, then you could minimise any downtime. Treat the source as a physical machine, and 'convert' it to virtual running on the new ESX machine. Get the convertor to shutdown the exchange services at the relevent time then your downtime will just be the time it takes you to check the new machine, install vm tools etc.
Make sure you have gig connectivity between the two ESX hosts otherwise it will take forever!
So all the VMDK's are stored on the Storage Blade. and is this storage seen from the vSphere 5 box.
Why do you not try to do a vConvert on the box, just close down Exchange services to guarentee mailbox consistancy.
Yes this was my idea first. Going to Test this soon. Thank you for your help!
You can copy the C: disk.
Then add a second disk and just copy all the Exchanges database (of course with service stopped).
You can also use a temp VM to attach the second disk and make the copy (just because you cannot copy across two machine with the same name.
This issue he has is that there is no shared storage.