ptg6432687 310 10 Creating Guest Images from Existing Production and Virtual Systems . Copy the hard disk. . Deploy the file (using Background Intelligent Transfer Service, BITS). . Make the operating system virtualizable. . Install the VM components. . Start the VM to install the VM components. . Stop the VM. . Remove the source machine agent. . Remove the VMM agent. Finalizing the P2V Online Conversion After the physical computer has been captured and deployed as a VM, the administrator can turn off the source physical computer and start the new VM. NOTE If the physical computer is using only direct attached storage, take care to copy any data that has changed since the P2V process began, if necessary. How this data is collected depends on the type of data and how it is stored. On local databases, for example, the database may have to be taken offline (quiesced), migrated to temporary storage, and copied to the newly created VM. Performing a V2V Conversion During a V2V conversion, an existing VMware ESX VM configuration file and its associ- ated virtual disk files are converted to Hyper-V VM files. The VMM administrator does not need administrator rights on the VMware VM to perform the conversion because the V2V conversion is just converting files to another type. The VMware VM is turned off, and the files are copied to the VMM library for conversion. NOTE The administrator should perform a disk defragmentation on the source computer’s hard drives to help minimize the time required for the imaging phase. Also, ensure that a fast network connection exists between the source and VMM computers. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 311 Performing a V2V Conversion 10 Performing a V2V Conversion The administrator can use VMM to convert VMs that run on VMware ESX into Windows 2008 Hyper-V VMs. This is known as a virtual to virtual, or V2V, conversion. Ensure that the source VM meets the operating system and additional requirements listed at the beginning of this chapter. Adding VMware VM Files to the VMM Library Before the administrator can perform a V2V operation, the VMware server-based VM files (VMX and VMDK) must be added to a VMM library, as follows: 1. Copy the VMX and VMDK files to the library share on the appropriate VMM library server. 2. Open the VMM Administrator console and display Library view. 3. In the Navigation pane, expand Library Server, and then navigate to the library share where the VMware files were copied. 4. Select the library share and in the Actions pane, and under Library Share, click Refresh Library Server. All files on the share will be immediately indexed by VMM and will be added to the Library view. Running the V2V Wizard The V2V online conversion process is run from the VMM 2008 Administrator console as follows: 1. Open the VMM Administrator console using the shortcut on the Windows desktop or via the Start menu under Microsoft System Center, Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Virtual Machine Manager Administrator Console. A Connect to Server window may open, prompting for the VMM server to connect to. Enter the server name and connection port (the default is port 8100) using the format VMMserver:port. NOTE You may ch oo se to always o pe n a c on ne ct io n t o th is ser ve r by s el ec ti ng th e Ma ke This Server My Default check box. Doing so prevents this connection window from display- ing when the Administrator console is run. 2. Go to the Library view by clicking the Library button, and then select the library group where the files are stored. 3. Click Convert Physical Server in the Actions pane in the Library view. The Convert Virtual Machine Wizard will run. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 312 10 Creating Guest Images from Existing Production and Virtual Systems 4. On the Select Source page, click Browse to open the Select Library Resource, as shown in Figure 10.5. . To search for a file, type the complete filename or the first few letters of the filename in the Look For box. . In the Library Group list, select the library group where the VM files are stored. . To filter the files by group, click a group type in the Group By list. . Click the VMX file to convert, and then click OK. Click Next to continue. 5. On the Virtual Machine Identity page, configure the following: . Virtual Machine Name—Enter a new name for the VM or accept the default name, which is the same as the source computer. NOTE Renaming the virtual machine name only renames the VM as it appears in the Administrator console. It does not rename the actual computer account in Active Directory. FIGURE 10.5 Selecting a resource from the Convert Virtual Machine Wizard. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 313 Performing a V2V Conversion 10 . Owner—Accept the prepopulated domain\username value, enter a new domain\username value or click Browse to choose a new value. The owner account must be a member of Active Directory. . Description—This optional field is used to describe the VM. Click Next. NOTE The owner of a VM is used to identify the owner of the new VM. It does not assign any rights to the VM itself. 6. On the Virtual Machine Configuration page, select the number of processors and the amount of RAM to use on the new VM. 7. On the Select Virtual Machine Host page, select the most suitable host to deploy the new VM on, as shown in Figure 10.6. Each host has a star rating (from zero to five stars) indicating its suitability to host the new VM. FIGURE 10.6 Selecting the VM host. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 314 10 Creating Guest Images from Existing Production and Virtual Systems NOTE If a large number of hosts are listed, the administrator can use the Host Group, Look For, or Group By fields to display a smaller set of possible hosts. The Details tab displays the status, operating system, virtualization software plat- form, virtualization software status, and names of VMs running on the selected host. The Rating Explanation tab explains what the star rating means for the selected host and tells what requirements are met for the VM by this host. The SAN Explanation tab describes the suitability of the host to connect to a SAN for VM storage. Items listed here include Fibre Channel HBAs installed and iSCSI initia- tors installed. NOTE The ratings can be customized using the Customize Ratings button. Here, the adminis- trator can select multiple criteria and assign weights of importance for each compo- nent, such as processor load, memory used, network utilization, and so forth. Select the host on which to deploy the new VM and click Next. 8. On the Select Path page, select the folder where the files associated with the new VM should be placed. The default folder is %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines. Accept the default or click Browse to select a different path. Click Next. 9. On the Select Networks page, the Virtual Network drop-down list will display all the current networks available on the selected host. Select Not Connected or the appro- priate virtual network for the VM to use. Click Next. 10. On the Additional Properties page, configure the following: . Automatic Start Action—Select the action to perform for this VM when the physical host starts. Available actions are as follows: Never automatically turn on the VM. Always automatically turn on the VM. Automatically turn on the VM if it was running when the physical server stopped. . Automatic Stop Action—Select the action to perform for this VM when the physical host shuts down. Available actions are as follows: Save state. This action is similar to the Windows Hibernate function. Turn off VM. This action is equivalent to turning the power off and does not provide a graceful shutdown. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 315 Performing a V2V Conversion 10 Shut down guest OS. This provides a graceful shutdown of the operating system. 11. The Summary page displays a summary of the settings selected in the Convert Physical Server Wizard. Carefully review these settings and click Create to proceed with the V2V conversion or click Previous to go back and change the configuration. An optional check box can be selected to start the VM immediately after deploying it to the host. As with many actions performed from the VMM Administrator console, the Convert Physical Server Wizard offers a View Script button. This option enables the adminis- trator to view, modify, and save the PowerShell commands that the wizard will execute to perform the V2V conversion, as shown in Figure 10.7. 12. In the Jobs view of the Administrator console, the administrator can monitor the progress of the V2V conversion and confirm that the VM is created successfully, as shown in Figure 10.8. If the job fails, read the error message in the Details pane for information about the cause of the failure and the recommended course of action to resolve the issue. FIGURE 10.7 Convert virtual server script. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 316 10 Creating Guest Images from Existing Production and Virtual Systems The V2V process may take several minutes, but is significantly faster than a P2V conver- sion. It consists of the following steps: . Collect the machine configuration information from the VMX file. . Create the VM. . Convert the VMDK file to a VHD file. . Deploy the file (using LAN). . Make the operating system virtualizable. . Install the VM components. . Start the VM to install the VM components. . Stop the VM. . Remove the source VMX machine configuration. Finalizing the V2V Conversion After the VMware ESX VM has been deployed as a Hyper-V VM, the administrator can start the new VM. Further configuration and customization of the VM can be performed from the VMM Administrator console from the Virtual Machines view. Select the VM and click Properties in the Action pane. FIGURE 10.8 Monitoring the V2V conversion job. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 317 Creating a Virtual Lab 10 Creating a Virtual Lab The processes listed in this chapter can be used to create a lab environment for testing and application development. Using P2V to Create a Virtual Copy of Production The P2V conversion functions of VMM 2008 provide a simple, nonintrusive way to create a virtualized copy of the production environment. Because VMM uses the VSS to make online copies of production computers, the P2V process will not disrupt the normal operation of these computers. Furthermore, the script- ing functions of the VMM command shell enable the administrator to automate the P2V process, simplifying the entire lab-creation process. Choosing What to Convert Even complex distributed environments can be virtualized into a lab using the P2V process. For example, a large environment may include many domain controllers, Exchange 2007 servers, file and print servers, and application servers. Depending on the organization’s testing needs, the administrator may be able to create a suitable testing environment with just one of each type of server. In another scenario, the administrator may want to virtualize only the servers necessary to perform a series of tests, such as a domain controller for authentication and two or three application servers to test replication and fault tolerance. CAUTION Care must be taken to ensure that the lab environment is isolated from the production environment to prevent unintended changes to the production environment. This can be achieved by using a separate network, or even better, by physically isolating the lab from the production network. Automating the Lab-Creation Process Using the Command Shell Administrators can leverage the View Script button that is available on the Summary page of the P2V and V2V wizards. The entire P2V or V2V process can be configured using the wizards up to the point where the VMs are actually created. At that point, click the View Script button and save the resulting script to a scripts folder. These scripts can be customized, duplicated, and grouped together to automate the entire lab-creation process. For example, the administrator may have a script called CreateTestDomain.ps1 that will automatically create VMs of a physical domain controller, Exchange 2007 server, and a line-of-business application server, and then deploy it to a Hyper-V host for testing. This script may even be run as a scheduled task for even further automation. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 318 10 Creating Guest Images from Existing Production and Virtual Systems Summary In this chapter, we have discussed the process of creating Hyper-V VMs that were converted from physical servers (P2V). This process can be performed online without disrupting the physical server by using the VSS. This process can be used to reduce the number of physical servers in the organization’s environment. VMware ESX VMs can be converted to Hyper-V VMs using the virtual to virtual (V2V) capabilities built in to VMM 2008. This is a quick and easy way to convert from VMware ESX and realize the benefits of Hyper-V. Both of these processes can be used to create virtual labs for use in testing and application development. Best Practices . Use VMM’s P2V function to convert physical computers to VMs. . Use the VMM V2V function to convert VMs created on VMware ESX to Hyper-V VMs. . Use the online P2V process to convert physical computers to VMs without disrupt- ing the online server. . Use the offline P2V process to convert offline physical computers to Hyper-V VMs. . Know which operating systems can be converted to VMs using the P2V and V2V processes before attempting the conversion. . Use the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT) to convert Windows NT Server 4.0 computers to VMs. . Ensure that source computers are members of the same domain as the VMM server or that there is a full two-way trust with the VMM server’s domain. . Perform a disk defragmentation on the source computer before performing the P2V conversion. . Ensure that a fast network connection exists between the source computer and the VMM server. . Renaming the VM name only renames the VM as it appears in the VMM Administrator console. Be sure to also rename the computer within the operating system. . Use the owner property of a VM to identify the owner or contact person for the VM. . Ensure that the WMI service is running on the source computer and that a firewall is not blocking HTTP and WMI traffic to the VMM server. . Remove the RemoteAdmin firewall exception, if necessary, after the conversion is complete to increase server security. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 319 Best Practices 10 . Increase the size of a dynamic VHD to allocate more space for the VM if necessary. . Ensure that the size of a fixed-size VHD includes enough additional space for addi- tional data. . When selecting which host to deploy to, use the Host Group, Look For, or Group By fields to display a smaller set of possible hosts. . Use the Customize Ratings button to customize the importance of computer and network resources available on hosts. . Use the Jobs view to monitor the progress of P2V and V2V conversions. . Review the details in the Jobs view for errors and to determine the cause of failures and the recommended course of action to resolve issues. . Pay special attention to collect any data that was changed on the source server after the conversion process was begun. . Copy VMware ESX VMX and VMDK files to a VMM library that is closest to the host server to speed VM conversion. . Always refresh the VMM library server after adding files to the library. . Use the P2V process to create a virtual copy of the organization’s production envi- ronment for testing. . Create virtual labs that contain only the servers needed for testing. . Ensure that the lab environment is isolated from the production environment to prevent unintended changes to the production environment. . View, save, and customize the scripts that the P2V and V2V conversion wizards produce. . Automate lab creation using the VMM command shell. Download at www.wowebook.com . created on VMware ESX to Hyper -V VMs. . Use the online P 2V process to convert physical computers to VMs without disrupt- ing the online server. . Use the offline P 2V process to convert offline physical. create virtual labs for use in testing and application development. Best Practices . Use VMM’s P 2V function to convert physical computers to VMs. . Use the VMM V2 V function to convert VMs created. P 2V to Create a Virtual Copy of Production The P 2V conversion functions of VMM 2008 provide a simple, nonintrusive way to create a virtualized copy of the production environment. Because VMM