Migrating VMs

overview korgrid offers flexible options for importing workloads from other systems, including tools for bulk migrations and comprehensive support for import from media images (vmdk / vhd / vhdx, ovf / ova, vmx, qcow2, etc ) virtual machines can be transferred directly into the environment, allowing upload and configuration manually or through automated tools this versatility makes it easy to transition from other platforms while maintaining control and continuity migration methods vmware connector recommended for small to large vmware production environments a full backup of source virtual machines into your tenant is performed using the vmware connector incremental backups are then performed to capture only the changes, leveraging vmware's change block tracking (cbt) for efficient transfer once the incremental backup duration stabilizes, indicating minimal ongoing data churn, the system is considered ready for cutover with minimal downtime key features live migration from running vmware environments incremental backup support leveraging vmware cbt batch import capabilities for multiple vms hardware independent data access minimal cutover downtime additional resources docid 5visv8ldsmyl1qgipb20t uploaded files recommended for individual vms and mixed virtualization environments upload vm configuration and disk files (vmx, vmdk, ovf, vhd, qcow2, etc ) to the vsan and import them individually this method provides maximum compatibility across different source platforms key features supports 12+ file formats including vmware, hyper v, virtualbox, and qemu ideal for importing vms from shut down environments complete control over import process and timing works with any virtualization platform that can export standard formats clone utility recommended for physical to virtual (p2v) and cross platform migrations block level migration utility for importing physical machines and vms from various platforms directly into korgrid with minimal downtime key features physical to virtual (p2v) migration support virtual to virtual (v2v) migration from any platform block level data transfer for efficiency supported file formats korgrid supports a wide range of vm file formats format source platform description vmx, vmdk vmware vmware configuration and disk files ovf, ova vmware, virtualbox open virtualization standard vhd, vhdx hyper v microsoft virtualization formats qcow, qcow2 qemu, kvm qemu copy on write formats vdi virtualbox virtualbox disk images img, raw various raw disk image formats migration planning pre migration checklist source environment preparation document vm specifications (cpu, ram, disk sizes, network settings, etc ) remove hypervisor specific tools (vmware tools, etc ) ensure vms are in a clean shutdown state, ready for offline imports verify network connectivity between source and korgrid environment korgrid environment preparation verify sufficient storage capacity within the vsan configure network segments to match source enviroment vlans plan ip address assignments and dns configurations review docid\ szxxejvwtjyrfeznmks2l choosing the right method use vmware connector when source is a production vmware environment need to minimize downtime during migration importing multiple vms simultaneously source vms must remain operational during data migration want to leverage vmware cbt for efficient transfers use media images import when migrating from non vmware platforms (hyper v, virtualbox, kvm, nutanix) source vms can be shut down for export working with mixed virtualization environments need maximum control over individual vm imports use clone utility when migrating physical machines to virtual (p2v) converting vms from non vmware platforms (v2v) need block level migration efficiency working with individual machines that aren't downtime sensitive post import optimization install virtio drivers windows install virtio win guest tools for optimal performance linux most distributions include native virtio support network configuration verify network connectivity and ip assignments update dns and dhcp reservations as needed test inter vm communication storage optimization migrate disks to appropriate storage tiers if needed consider enabling disk compression for space efficiency security and monitoring enable qemu guest agent for enhanced monitoring configure backup policies using snapshots update guest os and applications to latest versions best practices & tips performance optimization use virtio interfaces whenever possible for best performance start with sata/ide interfaces if experiencing boot issues, then migrate to virtio after driver installation preserve mac addresses during import to avoid network reconfiguration troubleshooting common issues boot problems try changing disk interface from virtio scsi to sata or ide install virtio drivers, then switch back to virtio scsi verify efi/bios settings match source vm configuration network issues check if virtio network drivers are installed verify vlan and network segment configurations confirm mac address preservation settings performance issues ensure virtio drivers are installed and updated verify adequate resource allocation (cpu, ram) consider storage optimizations for disk intensive workloads