Server Cloning

[contsi]

I have a server that I need to make another identical. I have already purchased the second identical hardware.
Can someone provide a step by step or link to do this using VM? I guess I need to pull the image from the current server and then migrate to the new hardware. Will all my drive configuration remain the same on the new machine?

Thank You

 

[TechyMcSe2k]

Need to clarify that your are moving a physical server to VM environment?

 

[nhidalgo]

you can use platespin to move from p2p or p2v.

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Platespin or Storagecraft would do the trick. They both offer solutions for p2v, v2p, p2p, v2v etc...

I am using Storagecraft and love it's ability to do v2p or p2p to any hardware. It doesn't care Dell to HP, IBM to Dell, Dell 1750 to a Dell 2950 ... it doesn't care.

I only tested Platespin for a few days and didn't get a full feel of it, we got a better deal for Storagecraft.

Good luck!

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[contsi]

I'm using Storagecraft and getting the following fatal error. Can you help?
Thanks

05Feb-2009 13:47:27 Fatal I/O error on \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy5 offset 278ba0600 on read (-31 A device attached to the system is not functioning.)

 

[victorv]

hi,
I believe you need to clone ESX server, not a VM.

How many disks has yor HW? Have you a RAID1 for basic VMware?
You can take disk2 of raid1 and put it in 2nd server,
then mirror them with 2nds spare disks.

After if you have VM images on a RAID5, you can build a new RAID 5 on the new machine, and ftp VM from 1st to 2nd.

To be exact, we need know your Array/raid cfg, to follow this way. Probably the previous posts are better, but I have suggested this way, to give you another way, which does not need other tools that can complicate your problem.

ciao
vittorio