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VirtualCenter VMotion Requirements

If you wish to have VirtualCenter perform a migration with VMotion of your virtual machines, you must also have and activate the VirtualCenter VMotion module. You must activate each managed host. Activation requires a specific VMotion license for each managed host. The only managed hosts supported at this time are ESX Server hosts.

In addition, the managed hosts you are planning to migrate between must meet the following requirements. Complete these requirements before you attempt to perform a migration with VMotion.

  • The managed hosts must share a storage area network (SAN) infrastructure.
  • Configure all of your managed hosts to use a single Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) volume.
  • The virtual machine's disks have to be on a VMFS that is accessible by both source and target hosts.
  • The shared VMFS access mode VMFS setting should be public.
  • Set the size of the VMFS volume sufficiently large and spanning enough LUNs to store all of the virtual disks for your virtual machines.
  • Ensure that all VMFS volumes on your managed hosts use volume names, and that the virtual machines use the volume names for specifying the virtual disks.
  • Ensure that the source and destination hosts have a compatible set of processors.

    • Since VMotion transfers the running architectural state of a virtual machine between underlying VMware ESX Servers, VMotion compatibility means that the processors of Host2 must be able to resume execution using the equivalent instructions where the processors of Host1 were suspended.

    Processor clock speeds, cache sizes, and number of `cores' may vary, but in order for two processors to be compatible for migration with VMotion, they must satisfy the following constraints:

  • Same vendor class (Intel vs. AMD)
  • Same processor family (P4 vs. P3 vs. Opteron)

    • Within the Intel P4 and AMD Opteron processor families, VMware also places an additional restriction between processors that do support the SSE3 instructions and processors that do not support the SSE3 instructions.

    VMware, in partnership with CPU and hardware vendors, is working to maintain VMotion compatibility across the widest range of processors. For additional information please contact your VMware representative or check the VMware Knowledge Base:

    Intel VMotion Compatibility KB 1991 at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1991.

    AMD VMotion Compatibility KB 1992 at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1992.

  • The virtual machine configuration file should not reside on a VMFS located on the shared datastore.
  • VMotion does not currently support the migration of clustered applications or raw or undoable virtual disks. If you have clustered applications or raw or undoable disks, store the disks on separate VMFS volumes from the virtual machines you plan to migrate using VMotion.
  • VMotion requires a Gigabit Ethernet network between virtual machines.

    • VMotion requires the setup of a private, Gigabit Ethernet migration network between all of the VMotion-enabled managed hosts. When VMotion is enabled on a managed host, configure a unique network identity object for the managed host and connect it to the private migration network.

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