Pull live machines into VM?

[JBruyet]

Hey all,

I just downloaded VMWare to see how it will work for us and I have a question--is it possible to pull a working computer into VMWare and make a virtual machine out of it? I've been going over the manual and can't find an answer. Googling hasn't helped either.

Thanks,

Joe B

 

[mrdenny]

Yes you can. You will need the VMware converter.

http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/

It's available as a free download, put can not deploy the virtual machine to an ESX server. If you have Virtual Center for VMware ESX servers you get a license for the VMware Converter which allows you to deploy the virtual machines to an ESX server.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

My Blog

 

[JBruyet]

mrdenny, thanks for the "direction" to go. I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Is there a FAQ somewhere that details what programs are needed for an agency to pull servers into VMWare and make them available from there for production usage? I'm guessing that VMWare server and ESX server are two, and I'm also guessing that Virtual Center is a part of one of the two server programs.

Thanks,

Joe B

 

[mrdenny]

Some people use VMware Server. It runs as a service under Windows or Linux. I prefer ESX, as it is its own operating system. Virtual Center isn't needed, but it makes it much easier to manage several ESX servers at once by turning the ESX servers into a pool of resources which you can use instead of having to manage each server.

I don't know of any FAQs which cover this. There is plenty of info on VMware's webpage.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

My Blog

 

[JBruyet]

Ok, thanks!

Joe B

 

[ArizonaGeek]

While VMWare's P2V software works great for Windows it does have its limitations with Linux servers. There are a couple of third party P2V (that also offer V2V, P2P, V2P) software companies out there. Platespin being one and Storagecraft being another solution. Though, those will cost you.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[JBruyet]

Now I'm back to my issue of pulling a computer into VMware. I successfully pulled in a workstation, but VMware Server isn't able to start it. When I start VMware and the VMware Server Console pops up I enter the information for the new VM I "converted" and I get the following error message:

There was a problem connecting.

Host address lookup for server \\Server\Share\Vmachine failed. The requested name is valid, but no data of the requested type was found.

Once the console is running, if I try to "Open Virtual Machine..." I get the following error:

Unable to add virtual machine “C:\Share\Vmachine\Vmachine.vmx” to the inventory.

Configuration file was created by a VMware product with more features than this version.

SO, am I not able to use VMware Converter with the free version of VMware Server? Did I miss a step somewhere? Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe B

 

[mrdenny]

When you converted the machine there should have been a screen which asked you what you were going to import the machine into. If you don't set those options correctly VMware Server won't fire up the VM correctly.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

My Blog

 

[TheLad]

If you have the option, set it to Workstation 5.x otherwise it will convert the image to only be used on ESX rather than VMWare Server.

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"Insert funny comment in here!"
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[JBruyet]

mrdenny & TheLad, I redid the options and set it to... I believe it was Workstation 4.x and it worked just fine.

Thanks for the tips.

Joe B