Migrating Older ESX Server Virtual Machines

VMware ESX Server 2.1
Features | Documentation | Knowledge Base | Discussion Forums

You can use virtual machines created with versions of ESX Server older than 2.1. Virtual machines created in ESX Server 1.5 can work as is; however, to take advantage of the new features of ESX Server 2.0, there are steps you need to take to upgrade your virtual machines.

If you created the virtual machine under ESX Server 1.5 and do not want to upgrade the virtual machine, you can run it in legacy mode. See Running ESX Server 1.5 Virtual Machines in Legacy Mode below.

Note: Virtual machines created under ESX Server 1.0 or ESX Server 1.1 must be upgraded to ESX Server 1.5 before they can be migrated to ESX Server 2.1. Once these virtual machines run under ESX Server 1.5, you can migrate them to ESX Server 2.1. See the upgrade instructions at www.vmware.com/support/esx15/doc/install_esx.html.

First, you need to upgrade the virtual machine's hardware. This must be done for any virtual machine created under ESX Server 1.0, 1.1 or 1.5. To upgrade the virtual machine's hardware, make sure the virtual machine is powered off. On the Status Monitor page in the management interface, click the arrow to the right of the terminal icon ( ) and choose Configure Hardware. On the Hardware tab, click Upgrade Virtual Hardware, then click OK to upgrade the hardware.

Then, assign disk bandwidth shares to the virtual machine. For more information, see See Managing Disk Bandwidth from the Management Interface.

Upgrading Windows Server 2003 Guest Operating Systems Created by ESX Server 1.5.2

If you used ESX Server 1.5.2 to create a virtual machine with a Windows Server 2003 guest operating system, then you must update the guestOS configuration parameter in the virtual machine's configuration file. Otherwise, this virtual machine will not run properly with ESX Server 2.1.

Complete the following steps to update the guestOS configuration parameter:

Log into the VMware Management Interface as the owner of the virtual machine, or as the root user.
Click the arrow to the right of the terminal icon for the Windows Server 2003 virtual machine and choose Configure Options.
Click the Options tab, then under Verbose Options, click the link.
Change the value of the guestOS configuration parameter to one of the following:
- winNetWeb (Windows Server 2003 Web Edition)
- winNetStandard (Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition)
- winNetEnterprise (Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition)
Click OK to save your changes.

Running ESX Server 1.5 Virtual Machines in Legacy Mode

You can choose to not upgrade an ESX Server 1.5 virtual machine and run it in legacy mode. This allows you to use the virtual disk as is. Changes can be written to the virtual disk file. You can add any virtual hardware to a legacy virtual machine, including upgrading VMware Tools. However, any virtual machines created before ESX Server 2.1 can only have a single virtual processor. Multiprocessor virtual machines must be created under ESX Server 2.0.

Using the LSILogic SCSI Adapter

Prior to ESX Server 2.1, virtual machines only used BusLogic SCSI adapters. Now you can choose to use either the BusLogic SCSI adapter or the LSI Logic SCSI adapter for your virtual machines.

If you are upgrading an older ESX Server virtual machine, you should make sure you upgraded the virtual machine hardware before proceeding. Install the latest version of VMware Tools. If necessary, power off the virtual machine and upgrade the virtual hardware. Make sure the guest operating system boots completely. Power off the virtual machine and back it up. Now you are ready to add the LSI Logic adapter.

To add the LSI Logic SCSI adapter to the virtual machine, see Configuring a Virtual Machine to Use the LSI Logic SCSI Adapter.

Prev Contents Last Next

Support Resources