Migrating a Physical Machine or Virtual Machine to a System

Migrate a physical machine (PM) or virtual machine (VM) to transfer it over an A-link network to a new VM on the system. (You can also import an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) or Open Virtualization Appliance (OVA) file to a system, as summarized in Creating and Migrating Virtual Machines.)

Procedures below describe how to migrate a PM or VM over the network: download the P2V client (virt-p2v) ISO file, boot the P2V client ISO file on the source PM or VM, and then use the client to configure, initiate, and monitor the secure network transfer from source side. No configuration steps are required on the system until after the migration is complete, but you can confirm that the migration is in progress on the Volumes page of the ztC Edge Console as volumes associated with the new VM begin to appear.

Caution: Consider backing up the source PM or VM before preparing to migrate it. To backup a VM, export it (see Exporting a Virtual Machine). For additional information on backing up VMs or PMs, see Security Hardening.

Notes:

You can migrate VMs only if they are running supported guest operating systems, as described in Tested Guest Operating Systems.
For Windows-based VMs that support hibernation or fast startup mode, you must disable these features before the migration process. To fully disable hibernation or fast startup mode, see the instructions to recover from a migration that fails with the error message Failed to mount '/dev/sda1: Operation not permitted below in Troubleshooting.
For Linux-based PMs or VMs, consider editing the /etc/fstab file before the migration process to comment out entries for data volumes and allow only the boot volume to mount. Because Linux-based VMs use different device names on the ztC Edge system, a new VM may boot into single-user mode if it cannot mount volumes with their original device names. You can restore the /etc/fstab entries with the correct device names after the migration, as described below in Troubleshooting.
When migrating a VMware VM, you must shutdown the VM using operating system shutdown commands in addition to powering it off from the VMware console. If you shutdown the VM using only the VMware console, the migration will fail.
The source PM or VM must be offline for the duration of the migration process. Consider scheduling a planned maintenance period for the migration.
While migrating a VM from an everRun or ztC Edge system, it is normal if the source system displays the alert "The VM name has failed to start" during the migration process, because although the source VM is powered on and running the P2V client, the guest operating system does not start.
The time required for the migration depends on the size and number of volumes on the source system as well as the network bandwidth between the source and the target system. For example, transferring a source system with one 20 GB boot volume over a 1Gb network may take about 30 minutes.
You can migrate multiple PMs or VMs at one time, but sharing network bandwidth may increase migration times.
To prevent conflicts with the original PM or VM, the P2V client automatically assigns a new MAC address to each network interface in the new VM; however, you must manually update any IP addresses and host names as needed.
If the system switches from the primary PM to the secondary PM during a migration, the migration process fails. This does not affect the continuous uptime of your system, but you must reboot the P2V client on the source PM or VM and start over. See Troubleshooting below for more information.
After migrating a PM or VM, the network driver might not be properly installed. In this situation, manually install the driver. See Troubleshooting below for more information.

Prerequisite: For a system configured with two nodes, both PMs of the system must be online for the migration process to function properly (you cannot migrate PMs or VMs on a system configured with one node). On the Physical Machines page of the ztC Edge Console, verify that both PMs are in the running state and that neither PM is in maintenance mode or in the process of synchronizing.

Perform the following migration procedures (click drop-down menus, if applicable).

To migrate a PM or VM to the ztC Edge system

Power on the source PM or VM to boot the P2V client. After a minute or so, the virt-p2v window is displayed.
The P2V client automatically obtains network settings through DHCP. Static settings are unnecessary for the migration process, but you can optionally click Configure network to specify the settings. (If necessary, configure the network settings of the target VM later on the ztC Edge system.)
Enter the connection settings for the Conversion server (the ztC Edge system). Enter the hostname or IP address of the system and the Password for the root account. (You must use the root account of the ztC Edge host operating system, as described in Accessing the Host Operating System.)
Click Test connection. If the P2V client connects to the ztC Edge system, click Next to continue. A page appears with sections for Target properties, Fixed hard disks, and other settings.
If the P2V client cannot connect, verify the connection settings and try to connect again.
In the Target properties section, enter the Name for the target VM that will be displayed in the ztC Edge Console. (The name must be different from any existing VMs on the ztC Edge system.)
The # vCPUs and Memory(MB) values are automatically detected and completed, but optionally modify them if you want the VM on the ztC Edge system to have more CPUs or memory than the source PM or VM.
Specify the Virt-v2v output options for the target VM, as follows:
1. Next to Output to, select HA (High Availability) or FT (Fault Tolerant) operation. (For information about operation options, see Creating a New Virtual Machine and Modes of Operation.)
2. Next to Output format, select the disk image format, raw or qcow2.
If you want to save debugging messages from the migration process, optionally select the Enable server-side debugging check box. (The debugging messages are included if you generate a diagnostic file for your authorized Stratus service representative, as described in Creating a Diagnostic File.)
Select which Fixed hard disks (volumes) to include in the migration by activating the check box next to each device.
You must select at least one volume, including the boot volume. (Because the P2V client is a Linux-based utility, all devices are listed by Linux device names, where sda or vda represents the boot volume.)
Select which Network Interfaces to include in the migration by activating the check box next to each device.
If the target ztC Edge system has more than one shared network, you can also select the shared network to connect with each network interface. Double-click the network interface to open the Configure Network dialog box and select the shared network from a drop-down list.
In the Configure Network dialog box, you can also specify a MAC address for a specific network interface. If you do not specify an address, the system automatically sets the MAC address for each network interface.
Click OK when you have finished configuring the network interface.
When you are ready to migrate the PM or VM to the ztC Edge system, click Start conversion. (If you need to cancel the migration for any reason, see Troubleshooting below.)
When the migration is complete, the P2V client displays a success message. If applicable, you can eject the CD or virtual CD and click Power Off to shut down the source PM or VM.

Note: After the migration, the new VM on the ztC Edge system is located on the primary PM, and it remains in a stopped state. Before starting the VM, complete the migration as described in the next procedure.

Troubleshooting

If necessary, use the following information to resolve problems with the migration process.

To cancel the migration process

Power down the source PM or VM running the P2V client.

To clean up after a canceled or failed migration

Open the ztC Edge Console and remove any migrated volumes associated with the source PM or VM. If you want to restart the migration process, reboot the P2V client on the source PM or VM.

To recover from a failed migration

If the migration process fails, an error message is displayed in the P2V client on the source PM or VM. Another message may be displayed on the ztC Edge system. Use these messages to determine the problem.

If the migration continues to fail, and the option is available, enable server-side debugging. After the migration, generate a diagnostic file to send to your authorized Stratus service representative, as described in Creating a Diagnostic File. The diagnostic file includes any server-side debugging messages from the migration process.

To recover from a migration that fails with the error message, Failed to mount '/dev/sda1: Operation not permitted

For Windows-based PMs or VMs, if the migration process fails with the following error message, it may indicate that hibernation or fast startup mode are enabled:

Failed to mount '/dev/sda1': Operation not permitted
The NTFS partition is in an unsafe state. Please resume and shutdown Windows fully (no hibernation or fast restarting), or mount the volume read-only with the 'ro' mount option.

To resolve the issue, disable hibernation and fast startup in the source PM or VM:

Log on to the operating system of the source PM or VM.
Open the Power Options control panel and click Choose what the power buttons do.
Next to When I press the power button, select Shutdown (instead of Hibernate or Sleep, if present).
Under Shutdown Settings, clear the check box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended), if present.
Click Save changes.
Open Administrator Power Shell and execute the following command:
> powercfg /h off
Shut down the operating system and restart the migration process.

To recover when a newly migrated Linux-based VM is stuck in the "booting" state

A Linux-based VM may fail to exit the booting state in ztC Edge Console if the VM's network is offline.

During the migration process, the P2V client attempts to set a new MAC address for each network interface to prevent conflicts with the original VM. Some Linux-based operating systems detect a new MAC address and automatically create a new network interface for it while still retaining the original interface. The guest operating system boots, but the network may remain offline until you manually configure the network settings.

To correct the problem, open the VM console, log on to the guest operating system, and update the network startup scripts. Ensure that you retain only one entry for each network interface, and that each interface uses a unique MAC address and correct network settings for your environment.

To recover missing data volumes in the VM on the ztC Edge system

If the data volumes do not appear in the VM on the ztC Edge system after the import, you may need to manually restore the volumes, as follows:

Shut down the VM, run the Reprovision Virtual Machine wizard, and verify that you have included the volumes on the Volumes page.
For Windows-based VMs, use Disk Management to bring data volumes online.
For Linux-based VMs, edit the /etc/fstab file to reflect the new device names for the storage devices (/dev/vda through /dev/vdh). Device names also may have shifted, for example, if volumes were not included in the import.

To recover missing network devices in the VM on the ztC Edge system

If the network devices do not appear in the VM on the ztC Edge system after the import, you may need to manually restore them, as follows:

Shut down the VM, run the Reprovision Virtual Machine wizard, and verify that you have included the networks on the Networks page.
For Linux-based VMs, reconfigure the network startup script to reflect the new device names for the network interfaces.

To manually install a new network driver

After migrating a PM or VM, the network driver might not be properly installed (for example, Device Manager might list the driver with a warning, ). In this situation, manually install the driver:

In the VM console window, open Device Manager in the guest operating system.
Expand Network adapters and right-click the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter (the driver that does not work correctly).
Select Update Driver Software.
In the pop-up window, click Browse my computer for the driver software.
Click Let me pick from a list of device drivers.
Select Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter.
Click Next to install the network driver.

After the driver is installed, check the VM's state in the ztC Edge Console. If the state is running (), the driver is working properly.