Vmware powerconvert and vmware server

slinuxuzer

Ok, I need to take some win2k production machines, that can not be rebooted, can not even have a chance to be harmed, and P2V them with Vmware power convert into Vmware server.

p.s. I do have power convert as part of my ESX enterprise edition that have purchased.

Why? I need to run test upgrades to server 2003 on them and see if they break.

Questions.

1. Can I do this?

2. What are the chances of the source/production machine being damaged, taken offline, or production being interrupted (this is a 24x7x365 manufacturing facility, unplanned downtime is not an option)

3. Is there a better way to test this?

MentholMoose

PowerConvert is not a VMware product, so just to confirm, are you talking about vCenter Converter?

vCenter Converter can do a P2V conversion of a Windows 2000 source machine. Windows 2000 is old so I haven't done a P2V conversion of it with the current vCenter Converter, but I have done it successfully with an older version (the standalone version). The conversion process requires software to be temporarily installed on the source, which could be a problem, though it won’t require a reboot, and it’s automated.

The conversion process uses resources on the source, so there could be production impact if it cannot handle that additional load. If the hardware is flaky the source machine could crash, but under normal circumstances the source won't crash. I’ve seen the conversion process fail, but there was no impact on the source. Overall I would say the risk of catastrophe is low. I would recommend trying to P2V a non-production physical machine that is similar to the production machines in order to get familiar with the process, see how well it works, and to determine the effect on load.

Are you planning on upgrading the physical 2000 machines to 2003, and just want to test in a VM (i.e. the VMs are test only, and won’t ever be production)? If this is the case, the test upgrades won’t be representative of the actual upgrade, since the hardware is not the same on the VM as it is on the physical machine. The upgrade might work fine in a VM because the hardware is totally supported on both 2000 and 2003, but it could fail on the physical machines if 2003 doesn’t like the hardware. If you just want to test how an application is affected, it should be fine.

astorrs

MentholMoose wrote: »

The conversion process requires software to be temporarily installed on the source, which could be a problem, though it won’t require a reboot, and it’s automated.

Actually it may require a reboot to setup for an online P2V depending on the service pack/hotfixes and other supporting components present on the machine.

MentholMoose

astorrs wrote: »

Actually it may require a reboot to setup for an online P2V depending on the service pack/hotfixes and other supporting components present on the machine.

Well that's good to know, thanks!

Hyper-Me

As they say, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Either be prepared for at the very least a few minutes down, or just stay away from installing whatever it is you are installing.

Whatever you do, I would make it very clear to your superiors that it may require even just a few minutes of downtime. I think you are on the right track doing a P2V and then testing the installs first.

blargoe

If you can't risk installing anything on your production server your only option might be doing a restore to a different server (preferably similar hardware.. do you have spare hardware for your critical systems?)

slinuxuzer

We are mainly concerned with software, as the new hardware is sure to be supported by 2003. I think I can get some downtime with the machine, it just cant be unexpected. As far as the conversion tool, I am pretty new to virtualization and that may not be the correct name, I know we bought it bundled with Vsphere 4 within the last month.

Also, I think installing the P2v software piece is fine.

How do the conversion tools handle the source and destination servers having the same host name?

I am wanting to place the virtual box inside Vmware server on a test physical server with test clients etc and let my developers and process control guys have at the upgraded variant for testing purposes.

P.s. you guys have great answers and are the reason I keep coming back to this site, I just hope I am giving enough back, I surely try to.

astorrs

Just want to clarify something, you say this is a "24x7x365 manufacturing facility", the server you want to P2V isn't involved in any process control functions is it?

blargoe

slinuxuzer wrote: »

We are mainly concerned with software, as the new hardware is sure to be supported by 2003. I think I can get some downtime with the machine, it just cant be unexpected. As far as the conversion tool, I am pretty new to virtualization and that may not be the correct name, I know we bought it bundled with Vsphere 4 within the last month.

Also, I think installing the P2v software piece is fine.

How do the conversion tools handle the source and destination servers having the same host name?

I am wanting to place the virtual box inside Vmware server on a test physical server with test clients etc and let my developers and process control guys have at the upgraded variant for testing purposes.

P.s. you guys have great answers and are the reason I keep coming back to this site, I just hope I am giving enough back, I surely try to.

If your intention is to just test an upgrade to 2003 and you're not going to leave it on VM, just put the VM on an isolated VM network, and the name being the same won't matter, unless not being on the production network will break the application.

slinuxuzer

@Astorrs Some of these servers will be involved in process control, this is actually about 15-20 servers we are talking about.

P.s. I had alot going on this morning, and I meant Vmware convert or whatever the Vmware P2V tool is.