Convert Physical Machines to Virtual Machines – Free!

VMware Converter supports conversions from sources such as physical machines, VMware and Microsoft virtual machine formats and certain 3rd party disk image formats.

VMware Converter can import virtual machines created in:

Workstation 5.x and Workstation 4.x
VMware Player 1.x
VMware ESX 3.x
ESX Server 2.5.x (if the virtual machine is managed by VirtualCenter 2.x)
GSX Server 3.x
VMware Server 1.x
VirtualCenter 2.x
Microsoft Virtual PC version 7 and later
Any version of Microsoft Virtual Server

VMware Converter can currently import system images (Windows operating system only) from Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery (formerly LiveState Recovery) and Norton Ghost versions 9 and higher. It can also import Microsoft Virtual PC 7 and Virtual Server formats.

We will be continually adding support for other 3rd part disk formats in the future releases (including Acronis TIB images and StorageCraft).

VMware Converter can output virtual machines that are compatible with:

Workstation 5.x and Workstation 4.x
VMware Player 1.x
VMware ESX 3.x
ESX Server 2.5.x (when managed by VirtualCenter 2.x server)
GSX Server 3.x
VMware Server 1.x

VMware Converter can run on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4 (SP4 +) and 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

NOTE: Experimental support only is available for Linux-based physical to virtual machine conversions using the Vmware Converter BootCD (cold cloning) if the source physical machine has SCSI disks.

VMware Converter is available in 2 editions: VMware Converter Starter and VMware Converter Enterprise:

VMware Converter Starter is a free product that anyone may download for getting started with virtualization.

VMware Converter Enterprise is licensed as part of valid support and subscription contracts for VCMS (Virtual Center Management Server). The Converter Enterprise product binaries are also available for download. VMware Converter Enterprise will not be sold separately as a standalone product.

View the feature comparison table.

No. There is no upgrade path from VMware P2V Assistant to VMware Converter.

There is no longer the need for a Helper VM to perform P2V or V2V conversions. Management of all conversions is facilitated through the centralized management interface of VMware Converter.

There is no hardware compatibility list for VMware Converter. VMware Converter supports and recognizes most server hardware types. VMware Converter provides for two cloning mechanisms: Hot cloning (live migrations) and cold cloning (cloning using a BootCD).

With hot cloning, VMware Converter communicates directly with the guest operating system running on the source physical machine and as such has no direct hardware level dependencies.

With cold cloning, the VMware Converter Boot CD provides a Windows PE boot environment that provides support for the latest hardware and is thus able to recognize most physical server systems. For instances where the VMware Converter Boot CD does not recognize the source physical hardware, VMware provides a utility that helps administrators download the necessary storage and network adapter drivers from the vendor’s website and inject the downloaded drivers into the BootCD distribution. This can be used to create a new Converter BootCD image that will help recognize the system hardware.

NOTE: Cold cloning (VMware Converter BootCD) is only available as part of VMware Converter Enterprise.

Customers are spending way too much time and effort today doing physical to virtual conversions. With other technologies or methods, customers may spend several hours even doing a single conversion. Majority of the cost of doing a conversion is the manual labor and time spent by the IT professional. VMware Converter rapidly and reliably converts physical machines to virtual machines with the goal of freeing up time for the IT professional.

VMware Converter Enterprise will be available and licensed as part of valid SnS contracts for VirtualCenter Management Server. It will not be sold as a separate standalone product.

You do not require a license key to use the features of VMware Converter Starter. You only need a license file in order to activate the Enterprise features of VMware Converter. This license file will be available and licensed as part of valid support contracts for VCMS 2.x and P2V Assistant.

The eligibility criteria for a free upgrade to VMware Converter Enterprise are as follows:

• New and existing customers with a valid support and subscription contract for VirtualCenter Management Server 2.x
• New and existing customers with a valid support and limited subscription contract for VirtualCenter Management Server 2.x
• Existing customers with a valid support and subscription contract for VMware P2V Assistant (Starter & Enterprise)

A VMTN subscription only entitles customers to P2V Assistant licenses but does not provide SnS for the P2V Assistant product (which is the eligibility criteria for Converter Enterprise). As such, VMTN subscription customers do not qualify for a no-cost upgrade to Converter Enterprise.

VMware Converter Enterprise license keys will be available for download through the new Flex License Redemption Portal. The license key for VMware Converter Enterprise is in standalone host-based FlexLM format.

VMware P2V Assistant product is now end of life. VMware P2V Assistant licenses are no longer available for purchase. Current VMware P2V Assistant customers will still be able to download the product binaries from the archived product pages. Support for VMware P2V Assistant will continue for an additional 18 months through August 8th, 2008.

There is no support and subscription for VMware Converter Starter. However, customers have the option of purchasing pay-per-incident support that will follow a Silver support SLA.

Alternate resources for support and information are available through discussion forums, documentation, knowledgebase (KB) articles, whitepapers and release notes.

There is no support and subscription for Converter Enterprise. Support and subscription/upgrades for VMware Converter will be provided as part of support and subscription contracts for VirtualCenter Management Server.

For existing VMware P2V Assistant customers who do not have support contracts for VirtualCenter Management Server, support and subscription will be provided as part of their existing VMware P2V Assistant support and subscription contracts (until August 8th, 2008).

Since the functionality of VMware P2V Assistant and VMware Virtual Machine Importer have been integrated into VMware Converter, VMware P2V Assistant 2.x will be the last standalone release for this product (not including any future maintenance releases). VMware Virtual Machine Importer 2.0 will be the last standalone release for this product.

Vmware Converter completes our range of solutions that accelerate the benefits people see from virtualization. The free availability of VMware Converter Starter makes the process of converting to virtualization virtually pain-free, low cost and fast. It provides for a great user experience at the best value.