Virtualization Nation: How to V2V

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Q: Does SCVMM convert VMware virtual machines (V2V)? A: Yes. You must put the following files from the source VMware virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Manager library:

  • A .vmx file, which is a VMware virtual machine configuration file. A .vmx file is the text file that describes the properties and structure of a virtual machine, including name, memory, disk assignments, network parameters, and so on.
  • One or more .vmdk files, which are not passed directly as input to the wizard but are listed in the .vmx file. A .vmdk file is a VMware virtual hard disk that contains the virtual machine's guest operating system, applications, and data. Supported VMWare virtual hard disk formats include the following:
    • monolithicSparse
    • monolithicFlat
    • vmfsSparse
    • vmfs
    • twoGbMaxExtentSparse
    • twoGbMaxExtentFlat

During the conversion process, the Convert Virtual Machine Wizard converts the .vmdk files to .vhd files and makes the operating system on the virtual machine compatible with Microsoft virtualization technologies. The virtual machine created by the wizard matches VMware virtual machine properties, including name, description, memory, disk-to-bus assignment, CD and DVD settings, network adapter settings and parameters, and so on.

The Convert Virtual Machine Wizard supports the conversion of VMware virtual machines that are running any of the following guest operating systems:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later
  • Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later
  • Windows XP SP1 or later

If you use the Convert Virtual Machine Wizard to convert a VMWare-based virtual machine running any operating system not in the preceding list, the virtual machine might not start up or might not function correctly. To ensure a successful conversion, you must first modify the guest operating system to one of the listed supported operating systems.

Some conversions of a VMWare-based virtual machine whose guest operating system is Windows might require that additional system files and drivers be added to the internal cache. In this case, when you run the Convert Virtual Machine Wizard, if additional files or drivers are required, do the following:

  • Use information provided in an error message that appears when you run the wizard to identify what updates or drivers are required.
  • Obtain a copy of those update or driver files and copy the files to the Patch Import directory on the Virtual Machine Manager server (the default path is <C>:\Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007\Patch Import).
  • Run the Add-Patch cmdlet to extract those patches and populate the patch cache.
  • Run the Convert Virtual Machine Wizard again (or use the New-V2V cmdlet).

Depending on the configurations of the source and destination machines, this process may take some time to complete. To review the progress and results of the conversion, open the Jobs window. By default, the Jobs window opens when the wizard closes. To open the Jobs window at any time, click the Jobs button on the toolbar in the VMM Administrator Console.

And, of course, since everything in VMM can be done in PowerShell (get-command | where {$_.implementingtype -like "*VirtualMachineManager*"}), here you go:

$c = get-VMMserver localhost
$vmhost = get-vmhost -VMMServer $c  -ComputerName hostname

$vm = $c | new-V2V -vmxpath \\machine\share\vmx_path -VMHost $vmhost -Path
d:\vm\ [-Name vmname]
or
$vmx = $c | new-VMXMachineConfig -vmxpath \\machine\share\vmx_path
$vm = $c | new-V2V -MachineConfig $vmx -VMHost $vmhost -Path d:\vm\ [-Name
vmname]

or
$vhd = $c | copy-VMDK -Path d:\vm\ -VMHost $vmhost -vmdkpath
\\machine\share\vmdk_path

for more details:

help <cmdlet>, e.g. help new-v2v
or
get-command new-v2v| format-list
(get-command new-v2v).definition