Copying VMs from ESX 3 server to a remote PC

[PaulGap]

I have ESX 3 running with a number of VMs. I want to take a copy of some of the VMs and run them locally on a separate PC. My problem is how can I transfer the VMDK files from the host to a separate & remote server?

Or can I copy the VMDK files onto one of my Windows VMs (where I can get remote access to enable me to copy the VM files)

Thanks

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Take a look at this link and specifically this section: Exporting ESX Server Virtual Disk Files to Non-VMFS File Systems

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=900&sliceI...

Once you have create the copy of the VM disk file, you can use SCP to copy the file to your remote PC. If you use windows you can use an application called WinSCP. Once you have copied the file to your PC, create a new VM and use the existing disk file.

[MR-T · Accepted solution]

This is what you want:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=900

[Jordan_Williams]

So i've followed the above links, and i've got *.vmdk files sitting here from my ESX 3.0.1 server.

My question now is how does one go about loading this into workstation or regular server? Do I somehow need to extract a .vmx file? Or do I create a new virtual machine, and then copy over the .vmdk files to the stock image?

I appreciate any input...

Regards,

Jordan W.

[admin]

Use VMware Converter.

[Jordan_Williams]

I have tried using converter with mixed results.

Converter seems to have issues every step through the wizard for me, and if I do manage to queue the job, it will always fail.

Someone said to check my connection between the converter host and esx server, however if I run a constant ping with the esx server, I never miss a beat.

Any ideas?

Regards,

Jordan W.

[admin]

You need ports 902 and 443 open.

[Jordan_Williams]

These ports need to be open on the Converting client or on the ESX server?

If it's the ESX server, how do I confirm the ports are open or closed?

Regards,

Jordan W.

[Jordan_Williams]

As for the ESX server, everything looks open to me:

jordan@jordan-laptop:~$ telnet 10.1.2.80 902

Trying 10.1.2.80...

Connected to 10.1.2.80.

Escape character is '^]'.

220 VMware Authentication Daemon Version 1.10: SSL Required, ServerDaemonProtocol:SOAP, MKSDisplayProtocol:VNC

jordan@jordan-laptop:~$ telnet 10.1.2.80 443

Trying 10.1.2.80...

Connected to 10.1.2.80.

Escape character is '^]'.

Any other reason the converter would be having so much troubles?

Regards,

Jordan W.