VMware VirtualCenter 1.1 Support Documentation

This chapter describes how to move a virtual machine from one host to another. Moving a virtual machine from one host to another is called migrating. Migrating a powered off virtual machine is a migration. Migrating a powered up virtual machine is a migration with VMotion. Migration with VMotion requires VMotion licensing and specific configuration. Refer to Installing VMware VirtualCenter for VMotion requirements. You cannot migrate a virtual machine when a virtual machine is in a suspended state.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Understanding the Migration Options
• Migrating Powered Off Virtual Machines
• Enabling VMotion
• Moving Powered On Virtual Machines

You need a Virtual Machine Administrator role assigned to both the hosts in the migration to perform the activities described in this chapter.

Note: Copying a virtual machine is creating a new virtual machine. It is not a form of migration. Refer to Copying Virtual Machines for additional information.

Note: You cannot migrate a virtual machines with raw, clustered, undoable, or append mode disks. You cannot migrate with VMotion, virtual machines with raw, clustered, and non-persistent mode. If you have clustered disks, you can store them on separate VMFS volumes from the virtual machines prior to migrating them using VMotion. Also you cannot migrated GSX Server virtual machines with IDE disks to an ESX Server host.

Note: Migration occurs between hosts on the same farm. Only migrations between GSX Server version 3.1 and ESX Server version 2.1.1 are supported. Migrations of virtual machines with IDE disks from GSX Server hosts to ESX Server hosts are not supported.