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xybal
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FAILED: Unable to obtain the IP address of the helper virtual machine

Hi,

I've got this message when I use the converter V4. What does it means exactly ? and above all how to work around this ?

thx

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djciaro
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I hope my comments were of help to you, please don´t forget to award points, its the only payback we get for investing valuable helping others in the forum!

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djciaro
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The helper virtual machine needs an IP address, it will attempt to get an address via DHCP. (the error usually means that a DHCP server is not found/availabe)

You can modify the IP when converting the machine and specify your own static IP, the last set of the conversion wizard allows you to modify the settings and one of those settings is the IP configuration.

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xybal
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Hi,

Thx for your attention, but I'm not familiar with the helper. Can you explain me how does it work or is there any doc about it ?

is it to say that I've got to create a VM for this helper ?

thx

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djciaro
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With regards to the network config of the helper, the following is from the Help file:

Setup the Network for Helper Virtual Machine


When converting physical machine sources that run Linux, Converter Standalone creates a Helper virtual machine on the destination host
(ESX or vCenter). The Helper virtual machine needs network access to the source machine in order to clone the source files. Default conversion settings enforce
automatic acquisition of IP address and DNS server for the Helper virtualmachine. The following procedure allows you to setup this network connection manually.


Procedure


1. On the View/Edit


Options page, click Helper VM Network.
The network settings pane opens to the right.


2. (Optional) To assign a static IP address to the Helper virtual machine, select Use the
following IP address: and specify the IP address, subnet mask, and default
gateway. Be sure the IP address you specify for the Helper virtual machine is not already in use on the network.

3. (Optional) To configure the DNS server address manually, select Use the following DNS server
address: and type the preferred DNS server address. Optionally, type and alternate DNS server address.

4. Select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion task.
Converter Standalone uses the IP address and DNS server you specified to copy data from the source Linux machine to the destination virtual
machine during conversion.

<div class="Body">Regarding the use of the helper VM:</div><div class="Body">The helper basically assists in the process of converting a machine. the ins and outs of the VM are not that important.</div>

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xybal
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If I well understand, It creates himself a VM on my VC and that's why it needs an IP address ?

Is it right ? nothing more important to now ?

Thx

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djciaro
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correct it creates a new VM on your VC, I wouldn't worry too much about the VM helper, once you modify the IP it should work fine. best of luck with the conversions.

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djciaro
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I hope my comments were of help to you, please don´t forget to award points, its the only payback we get for investing valuable helping others in the forum!

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!
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xybal
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Ok thank you for your answer,

Now I've launched a convertion but it's at more than 4 days to convert and it seems to increse more and more.

Where can it comes from ?

Thx

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keninem
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&lt;deleted&gt;

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keninem
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&lt;deleted&gt;

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RoelMenting
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Thanks. I did not realize that the helper machine is actually a temporary machine, started on the new VM, that needs a seperate ipaddress (now that I'm thinking about it sounds very logical; it can't use the original machine's ip because that is still in use). It failed at my side because in our DC env, we don't use a DNS server. By manually assigning one, it worked instantly. Thanks,

Greets,

Roel

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kirtus
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This answered my question/solved my problem, thanks!

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nef99
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dj,

i'm having very similar issue.  just started using both ubuntu and vmware so i still got my noob name tape on!

i'm running ubuntu server 12.04ltsx64.  i'm using this as my fog server.

i'm trying to convert my fog server to my virtual environment using vmware converter standalone (v5.0.0).

my workstation is running win7 enterprise edition x64

my esxi has a taget ip of 10.0.10.10, though my management ip is 10.0.10.15

i've tried 7 times now to convert and nothing seems to work.  I am labbed at my desk with my wkstation and the fog server.  i'm using a netgear FS116 switch to network my lab...other than taking out that equipment and and connecting via crossover, i've tried what you've posted.

just seeing if you have any thoughts

all my errors are attached, minus the first few any assistance you may offer is greatly appreciated!!ufog convert.png

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bebetodgi
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did you create a DNS server or u use one IP of any server inside your network?

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comicrebel
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Dear Community,

I am hesitant (dreading actually) to shut down my ESXi server for maintenance because the last time I shut it down, ESXi would not boot due to not being able to connect tot he network. I have forgotten the error now, but is similar to the issue discussed here, which is why I am posting this message. I want to take the machine down to add some drives and set up RAID5, and enable the other two network interfaces on the machine in bios, and also hopefully enable the iSCSI features in the bios. It's a Dell R610. I loaded ESXi on an internally mounted USB, according to the advice of many apparently veteran sysadmins with ESXi experience. I hope it goes smoothly. Does anyone have any friendly advice for me? Anything I should check BEFORE I shut it down. I'm getting superstitious about reboots. Is that common? This is my first exploration with VMware and VM's in general. The server is my business/production server, transitioning out of a lab/learning system, so I am not super keen on rebuilding it again if I can avoid it.

Thank you,

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shamilben
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Thank you for your clear and step by step instructions.  I wasted it so much time trying to convert my machine but no luck until I found your port. Best Regards

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