vCenter and the need to get an image of the server

[vipersl65]

I built a RHEL5 server with an application running on it called Wowza.  Now, what I need is to create a vmx or ova of that physical server. I downloaded VMWare vCenter Converter Standalone.  I need an image to run in my VMWare Worktation 7.1.4

Is this what I need to get the image I want?  Or, there is another way to get an image of that Linux server? When I first ran it, it says it can convert a physical machine into a virtual image.  Is my thinking correct that  I

1)Click on Convert Machine

2)Select "A Remote Machine" and enter the credentials for my Linux server and in the field OS Family, I select "Linux"

Will this work over VPN as the Linux server is located remotely

Thanks

[Virtualinfra]

Yes that should work. Over VPN also no problem, but see if required port opened 9090 & 9089 for sources and destination.Also make sure there shouldnt be any network disturance or latency.. over VPN usaully should be very slow. so run from any server that is located near by the server.

Refer VMware convertor user manual:

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/convsa_43_guide.pdf

[DSTAVERT]

I would try the conversion locally first then transfer if at all possible. Connect through the VPN to a management workstation and run converter from there or export an ovf from the vSphere Client.

[vipersl65]

I tried it locally on my PC running win 7 64-bit and it wasnt able to connect.  Do I need to enable or disable anything in my Win 7 to make this work?

[DSTAVERT]

I didn't make my post very clear and I appologize. Use RDP to connect to the remote location and use Converter installed on that machine. Once you have completed the clone then copy the clone to your local machine.

If you need to try Converter from your local machine make sure the Windows Firewall isn't blocking the connection. Also make sure the VPN isn't restricting the connection.  http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010056

[vipersl65]

Dstavert..thanks.

The remote machine is RHEL 5 box so I cannot RDP into it and also I cannot install vconverter in that remote Linux box.

Are you saying that I need to install converter in that remote Linux box?

[DSTAVERT · Accepted solution]

You must have a Windows machine at the remote location? Install converter there and run it against the Linux machine. Even though my environment is primarily Linux I do have a Windows Workstation. From my office I RPD to that Windows machine and can run converter and clone a VM. Once cloned I can copy it back to the office with scp etc.

Running intense service like Converter remotely means that if your connection drops or some other glitch happens it won't affect the conversion. You may loose the VPN connection and your RDP connection but converter will still run. If your connection drops during an scp copy you can just start up and resume the partial download.