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WDGNet
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Can vmware converter be used to migrate vCenter 6.5 VCSA?

I am considering using vmware converter to migrate my vCenter 6.5 VCSA appliance to another cluster.  Has anybody tried this?  Successfully?

I would be going from a host with vSS to a host with vDS.  Any help is appreciated.

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Finikiez
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OK. That's the case.

Upgrade one of your hosts in Cluster A and migrate VCSA using the same steps.

View solution in original post

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WDGNet
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I would be shutting the appliance down prior to migrating also.

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Finikiez
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Do you want to migrate between hosts in the same vcenter?

If so you can change network connection during vmotion operation without any problem.

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WDGNet
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Yes I am trying to migrate to another host/storage in the same datacenter/vcenter.  The problem I'm having is going from vSS to vDS along with the network names not matching up.

When I attempt to migrate using "move to", I get a networking error about the network not existing on the destination host, which is true.  The management dPG has a different name that the management network name on the vSS (source).

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Finikiez
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You can change destination network in migration wizard

Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource

Select a destination network for all VM network adapters connected to a valid source network and click Next.

Or ob which version of vsphere are you?

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WDGNet
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ESX hosts are running 6.5.

When I select a destination network and leave it as it is from the source host, I get this:

Currently connected network interface "Network Adapter 1" uses network "Management VM Network", which is not accessible

When I select the vDP which the new hosts use, I get this:

Changing the network and host of a virtual machine during vMotion is not supported on the source host "host name"

So - I'm just trying to figure out if I rename my dPG to match my vSS name of "manaagement vm network", will I be able to migrate at that point?

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Finikiez
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You should do this if you have shared datastore between hosts.

1. Right click on VM and click Migrate.

2. Click Change compute resource only

3. Select destination host (which is connected to distributed switch)

4. Select destination netwrork port group on distributed switch.

5. Next.

6. Finish.

Does it work?

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WDGNet
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No.  The hosts on my new cluster don't appear in the list of hosts to choose from.

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WDGNet
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The new hosts and storage only appear if I use the "Move to" rather than the "Migrate" option when right clicking the VCSA VM.

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Finikiez
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Do they have vmkernel interface configured for vmotion?

Also do they have access to the same datastore where your VM is running?

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WDGNet
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Do they have vmkernel interface configured for vmotion?

Yes.  Cluster A has vmotion between all it's hosts.  Cluster B has vmotion between all it's host.  Clusters A and B don't vmotion between each other.

Also do they have access to the same datastore where your VM is running?

Cluster A uses a traditional SAN.  Cluster B uses vSAN.  These two storages systems are not linked.

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Finikiez
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Ok.

Edited the second point in the action plan

1. Right click on VM and click Migrate.

2. Click Change both compute resource and storage

3. Select destination host (which is connected to distributed switch)

4. Select destination netwrork port group on distributed switch.

5. Next.

6. Finish.

Try this.

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WDGNet
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When I go through this process, here is when I get the network errors mentioned above:

When I select a destination network and leave it as it is from the source host, I get this:

Currently connected network interface "Network Adapter 1" uses network "Management VM Network", which is not accessible

When I select the vDP which the new hosts use, I get this:

Changing the network and host of a virtual machine during vMotion is not supported on the source host "host name"

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WDGNet
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Source esx host is 5.5

Destination esx host is 6.5

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Finikiez
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OK. That's the case.

Upgrade one of your hosts in Cluster A and migrate VCSA using the same steps.

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WDGNet
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really?  it's the esx version that's hampering this all up?

I will do that ASAP.

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Finikiez
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Yes.

Changing VM network feature is available starting from 6.0 version.

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WDGNet
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great!  I will reply back with results.  Thanks so much - hope this is it!!

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WDGNet
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I have upgraded a host to 6.5.  When I go through the "move to" process, I am no longer getting the network error!!

I just have one issue I'm not sure about and that's regarding HA.  See below message I'm receiving:

If this operation is performed, the virtual machine will lose vSphere HA protection.  If you proceed with this operation and it completes successfully, vSphere will not attempt to restart the VM after a subsequent failure.  vSphere HA protection will be restored when any network partitions or disk accessibility issues are resolved.

Is it safe to assume this is just a warning and that no drama will be created by moving forward?

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WDGNet
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I tried it, and it failed:

The vMotion failed because the destination host did not receive data from the source host on the vMotion network. Please check your vMotion network settings and physical network configuration and ensure they are correct.

The vMotion networks are different subnets.  Ugh.

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