Yesterday I migrated for my first time a hardware server to a virtual server in VMWare Esxi 4.0 update 1. I used theP2V tool to complete this migration. P2V migration went very good no issues.
Well the server I was migrating from hardware to virtual was an HP Proliant ML370 G3 server. After the P2V migrationi started the VMware server and i wanted to install the VMware tools. During this installation it took so many time to complete that I had to kill some installation processes.
Well no I have found for my self an easy list as check-list to use for a p2v migration
- start a cold clone with the p2v-cd on the server you want to migrate.
- check the IP address if you got a dynamic ip or you need a static IP address.
- start a new task ( no automatic installation of VMware tools )
- wait till the migration is finished.
- shut down the old server
- check on the Esx server the virtual server you just cloned.
- logon to the server ( ctrl+alt+ins)
- right-click on “computer”
- select services
- disable all services of the manufacture ( HP / DELL / IBM )
- install the VMware tools
Now you have to follow the next steps to complete the reconfiguration of the server
First – Remove Old Physical Hardware from the New Windows VM (picture shows “grayed” disk drives)
Log into the VM
Open a command prompt
- Start > Run
- CMD
- Enter
- At the prompt type:
- set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
- Enter
- Type: start devmgmt.msc
- Enter
- Wait for the Device Manager to open, then click on View > Show Hidden Devices
- Expand each category and search for “grayed” hardware
- Right click and click uninstall when “grayed” hardware is located
- Don’t worry about the System Devices category
- When all the hardware devices are gone, close the Device Manager and reboot
Second – Uninstall Old Hardware Specific Software
- Log into the VM
- Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
- Carefully find and uninstall programs from IBM/Dell/HP/other that are used for drive arrays, networking, ILO or any other similar application that is specific to the physical hardware. Note: These items are not required now that the server hardware has been virtualized.
- Done – When all the applications have been uninstalled, close the Control Panel and reboot