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jwcrabtree
Contributor
Contributor

VHD to VMDK conversion

I am new at the VMWare stuff, so be gentle please...

I am trying to move a production server from Virtual Server 2005 to ESXi. I have successfully moved 2 machines but am having trouble with the 3rd one. The situation is this. The 3rd server has a 125 GB VHD Drive using 12.5 GB. We only have 20 GB free on the destination storage device (SAN). I have attempted to convert the machine using the Conversion tool but since the source drive is bigger than the destination will allow, how can this be accomplished? Can i choose thin vs flat and let it change the size automatically?

Another question is this..We are adding space to the SAN. If I add another 100 GB to the LUN, will it be recognized by ESXi automatically and leave the machines that are there alone and just add the file system or will I need to do something else?

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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
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I am new at the VMWare stuff, so be gentle please...

I am trying to move a production server from Virtual Server 2005 to ESXi. I have successfully moved 2 machines but am having trouble with the 3rd one. The situation is this. The 3rd server has a 125 GB VHD Drive using 12.5 GB. We only have 20 GB free on the destination storage device (SAN). I have attempted to convert the machine using the Conversion tool but since the source drive is bigger than the destination will allow, how can this be accomplished? Can i choose thin vs flat and let it change the size automatically?

in step 3 you have the ability to resize the disk. However, you should consider leaving 10 - 15% free space on all your LUNs as a best practice. If you have another destination LUN, you should use that. Or free up space on the LUN with 20GB left. Whatever size you decide to resize your guest(s) disk too, you should account for the overhead of 10 - 15%.

Another question is this..We are adding space to the SAN. If I add another 100 GB to the LUN, will it be recognized by ESXi automatically and leave the machines that are there alone and just add the file system or will I need to do something else?

You will have to present that LUN to the ESXi host and then rescan the storage adapters.

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jwcrabtree
Contributor
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Conversion worked, BUT...when I turn the converted machine on, all I get is a solid _ on a black screen. No blinking..nothing. I checked the settings and logs and aside from the video not having enough memory, everything seems to be the same and ok. I know the hardware is a little different but I am not sure what is going on. I converted another machine running the same OS (Server 2003 R2 Web Edition) from the Microsoft Virtual Server with no problems. Matter of fact, this server (the one that fails to boot) is a clone of the base install of the one that works...

Any other ideas? I really hate to have to rebuild this server since it means I have to get a vendor in to rebuild all his sql express scripts and such that retreivs data from a UNIX box. It was a nightmare when he set everything up 3 years ago.

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Troy_Clavell
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I bet you are using IDE for your disk controller? If so, I would do the conversion again and in step 3 change it to SCSI (LSI)

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