Convsa 62 Guide
Convsa 62 Guide
Convsa 62 Guide
Converter Standalone
User's Guide
vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:
https://docs.vmware.com/
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to
[email protected]
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Copyright © 1998–2018 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
2 System Requirements 18
Supported Operating Systems 18
Supported Firmware Interfaces 19
Supported Source Types 20
Supported Destination Types 21
Supported Source Disk Types 22
Supported Destination Disk Types 22
Change the Default Destination Provisioning Disk Type from Thick to Thin 24
Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone 24
Screen Resolution Requirements 25
Configuring Permissions for vCenter Server Users 25
TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion 26
Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems 27
Ensure that Windows Firewall Does Not Block File and Printer Sharing 28
3 Conversion Limitations 29
Conversion Limitations for Powered On Machines 29
Conversion Limitations for Virtual Machines 29
Limitations Related to Creating Snapshots of Windows Sources 30
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Synchronize the Destination Machine with Changes Made to the Source Machine 80
Power Off the Source Machine After Conversion 81
Power On the Destination Virtual Machine After Conversion 81
Limit the Amount of Resources Used by the Conversion Job 82
Uninstall Converter Standalone Agent from the Source Machine 83
Review the Summary and Submit the Conversion Job 83
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VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
User Guide
The VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User Guide provides information about installing and using
®
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone.
Use the navigation on the left to browse through documentation. All our documentation also comes in
PDF format, which you can access by selecting the PDF download icon while reading a page or viewing a
search result.
Intended Audience
This guide is intended for users who want to perform the following tasks:
This guide is written for information systems engineers, software developers, QA engineers, trainers, and
anyone who wants to create virtual machines.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your
feedback to [email protected].
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VMware vCenter Converter Standalone User's Guide
Online and Telephone To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your
Support product and contract information, and register your products, go to
https://www.vmware.com/support.html.
Support Offerings To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business
needs, go to https://www.vmware.com/support/services.html.
VMware Professional VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case
Services study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job
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Introduction to
VMware vCenter Converter
Standalone 1
®
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone provides an easy-to-use solution that automates the process of
creating VMware virtual machines from physical machines (running Windows and Linux) and from other
virtual machine formats.
Converter Standalone eases the exchange of virtual machines among the following products:
n VMware hosted products can be both conversion sources and conversion destinations.
n VMware Workstation™
®
n VMware Fusion Pro
n Virtual machines running on an ESXi instance that vCenter Server manages can be conversion
sources and the corresponding ESXi and vCenter Server instances can be conversion destinations.
n Virtual machines running on unmanaged ESXi hosts can be conversion sources and the
corresponding ESXi hosts can be conversion destinations.
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You can convert virtual machines that vCenter Server manages for use in other VMware products. You
can use Converter Standalone to perform various types of conversion tasks.
n Import running remote physical and virtual machines as virtual machines to standalone ESXi hosts or
to ESXi hosts that vCenter Server manages.
n Import virtual machines hosted by VMware Workstation or Microsoft Hyper-V Server to ESXi hosts
that vCenter Server manages.
n Export virtual machines managed by vCenter Server hosts to other VMware virtual machine formats.
n Configure virtual machines managed by vCenter Server so that they are bootable, and install
VMware Tools or customize their guest operating systems.
n Customize guest operating systems of virtual machines in the vCenter Server inventory (for example,
change the host name or network settings).
n Reduce the time that is necessary to set up new virtual machine environments.
n Migrate legacy servers to new hardware without reinstalling operating systems or application
software.
Converter Standalone Enables and performs the import and export of virtual machines. The
server Converter Standalone server comprises two services,
Converter Standalone server and Converter Standalone worker. The
Converter Standalone worker service is always installed with the
Converter Standalone server service.
Converter Standalone The Converter Standalone server installs the agent on Windows source
agent machines to import them as virtual machines. You can choose to remove
the Converter Standalone agent from the source machine automatically or
manually after the import is complete.
Converter Standalone The Converter Standalone server works with the Converter Standalone
client client. The client component consists of the Converter Standalone user
interface, which provides access to the Conversion and the Configuration
wizards, and lets you to manage the conversion and the configuration
tasks.
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Cloning is the process of copying the source disks or volumes for the destination virtual machine. Cloning
involves copying the data on the source machine’s hard disk and transferring that data to a destination
virtual disk. The destination virtual disk might have a different size, file layout, and other characteristics,
and therefore might not be an exact copy of the source disk.
System reconfiguration adjusts the migrated operating system so that it to functions on the new virtual
hardware.
If you plan to run an imported virtual machine on the same network as the source machine, you must
modify the network name and IP address on one of the machines so that the source and destination
machines can coexist. Besides, you must make sure that the Windows source machine and the
destination virtual machine have different computer names.
Note Before converting a Windows machine, verify that you have the necessary Windows license.
Hot cloning, also called live cloning, or online cloning, consists in converting the source machine while it
is running its operating system. Hot cloning lets you clone machines without shutting them down.
During conversion, processes continue to run on the source machine, so the resulting virtual machine is
not an exact copy of the source machine.
When converting Windows sources, you can set Converter Standalone to synchronize the destination
virtual machine with the source machine after hot cloning. Synchronization is performed by transferring
from the source to the destination the blocks that were changed during the initial cloning period. To avoid
loss of data on the destination virtual machine, Converter Standalone can shut down certain Windows
services before the synchronization. Based on your settings, Converter Standalone shuts down the
selected Windows services so that no critical changes occur on the source machine while destination is
being synchronized.
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Converter Standalone can shut down the source machine and power on the destination machine when
the conversion process is complete. When combined with synchronization, this action allows seamless
migration of a source machine to a virtual machine destination. The destination machine takes over the
source machine operations with the least possible downtime.
Note When you hot clone dual-boot systems, you can clone only the default operating system to which
the boot.ini file or the BCD points. To clone the nondefault operating system, change the boot.ini file
or the BCD to point to the other operating system and reboot. After the other operating system is booted,
you can hot clone it. If your second operating system is Linux, you can boot it and clone it using the
standard procedure for cloning Linux powered on source machines.
The following workflow is an example of remote hot cloning in which the powered on machine that is
being cloned experiences no downtime.
Note With Converter Standalone 6.2, you can convert source Windows machines that have no direct
access to the destination ESXi server by using the proxy mode feature. The feature is available only for
conversion of powered on Windows sources to managed destinations.
Converter Standalone installs the agent on the source machine and the agent takes a snapshot of the
source volumes.
source destination
powered on ESX/ESXi
machine network
agent
source
volumes
snapshot
Converter Standalone creates a virtual machine on the destination machine and the agent copies
volumes from the source machine to the destination machine.
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source destination
powered on ESX/ESXi
machine network
agent VM
copied
source volumes
snapshot
volumes
If the proxy mode feature is off, the data traffic passes from the source machine directly to the
destination server.
If the proxy mode feature is on, the data traffic passes from the source machine through the
Converter Standalone server to the destination server.
The agent installs the drivers required for the operating system to start in a virtual machine and
personalizes the virtual machine (changes the IP information, for example).
source destination
powered on ESX/ESXi
machine network
agent reconfiguration VM
customization (optional)
source snapshot
volumes
4 Optionally, Converter Standalone uninstalls the agent from the source machine.
In Windows conversions, the Converter Standalone agent is installed on the source machine and the
source information is pushed to the destination.
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In Linux conversions, no agent is deployed on the source machine. Instead, a helper virtual machine is
created and deployed on the destination ESXi host. The source data is then copied from the source Linux
machine to the helper virtual machine. After the conversion is complete, the helper virtual machine shuts
down to become the destination virtual machine the next time you power it on.
The following workflow demonstrates the principles of hot cloning powered on source machines that run
Linux to managed destinations.
1 Converter Standalone uses SSH to connect to the source machine and retrieves source information.
Converter Standalone creates an empty helper virtual machine based on your conversion task
settings. The helper virtual machine serves as a container for the new virtual machine during
conversion. Converter Standalone deploys the helper virtual machine on the managed destination, an
ESXi host. The helper virtual machine boots from a *.iso file that is located on the
Converter Standalone server machine.
vCenter Converter
Standalone server
Converter Standalone
server deploys helper
source virtual machine destination
powered on ESX/ESXi
Linux machine network
Helper
VM
source
volumes
2 The helper virtual machine powers on, boots from the Linux image, connects to the source machine
through SSH, and starts retrieving the selected data from the source. While you set up the conversion
task, you can select which source volumes to be copied to the destination machine.
vCenter Converter
Standalone server
source destination
powered on ESX/ESXi
Linux machine network
3 Optionally, after data is copied, the destination virtual machine is reconfigured to allow the operating
system to start in a virtual machine.
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4 Converter Standalone shuts down the helper virtual machine. The conversion process is complete.
You can configure Converter Standalone to power on the newly created virtual machine after the
conversion is complete.
Volume based Copy volumes from the source machine Volume-based cloning is relatively slow.
to the destination machine. File-level cloning is slower than block-
level cloning. Dynamic disks are
converted into basic volumes on the
target virtual machine.
Disk based Create copies of the powered off source You cannot select which data to copy.
machines, for all types of basic and Disk-based cloning is faster than
dynamic disks. volume-based cloning.
Linked clone Use to quickly check compatibility of Linked cloning is the fastest (but
VMware images. incomplete) cloning mode that
Converter Standalone supports.
Volume-Based Cloning
During volume-based cloning, volumes from the source machine are copied to the destination machine.
Converter Standalone supports volume-based cloning during hot cloning, and during the import of
existing virtual machines.
During volume-based cloning, all volumes in the destination virtual machine, except LVM2 logical
volumes, are converted to basic volumes, regardless of their type in the corresponding source volume.
LVM2 logical volumes can be preserved as logical volumes during conversion.
Volume-based cloning is performed at the file level or block level, depending on the destination volume
size that you select.
Volume-based cloning Performed when you select a size smaller than the original volume for
at the file level NTFS volumes or you choose to resize a FAT volume.
For FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, and ReiserFS file systems,
Converter Standalone preserves the file system type during a volume-
based cloning at the file level.
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Dynamic source disks are read but not preserved during volume-based
conversions. Dynamic disks are converted into basic volumes on the target
virtual machine. Volume-based cloning of dynamic source disks at the file
level is supported only for Windows.
Volume-based cloning Performed when you choose to preserve the size of the source volume or
at the block level when you specify a larger volume size for NTFS source volumes. Volume-
based cloning at the block level is supported only for Windows.
Disk-Based Cloning
Converter Standalone supports disk-based cloning to import existing virtual machines.
Disk-based cloning transfers all sectors from all disks and preserves all volume metadata. The destination
virtual machine receives partitions of the same type, size, and structure, as the partitions of the source
virtual machine. All volumes on the source machine's partitions are copied as they are.
A full clone is an independent copy of a virtual machine that shares nothing with the parent virtual
machine after the cloning operation. Ongoing operation of a full clone is separate from the parent virtual
machine.
Because a full clone does not share virtual disks with the parent virtual machine, full clones generally
perform better than linked clones. Full clones take longer to create than linked clones. Creating a full
clone can take several hours or even days if the files involved are large.
You can create a full clone by using any disk clone type other than the linked clone type.
A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an
ongoing manner. A linked clone is a fast way to convert and run a new virtual machine. You can create a
linked clone from the current state, or snapshot, of a powered off virtual machine. This practice conserves
disk space and lets multiple virtual machines use the same software installation.
All files available on the source machine at the moment of the snapshot continue to remain available to
the linked clone. Ongoing changes to the virtual disk of the parent do not affect the linked clone, and
changes to the disk of the linked clone do not affect the source machine.
A linked clone must have access to the source. Without access to the source, you cannot use a linked
clone.
For more information about how to create a linked clone, see Create a Linked Clone.
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Converting virtual You can convert VMware virtual machines from and to
machines VMware Workstation, VMware Workstation Player, VMware Fusion,
ESXi Embedded, and ESXi Installable. You can also convert virtual
machines that Hyper-V Server manages into VMware virtual machines.
To run an imported VMware virtual machine and its source virtual machine
on the same network, you must modify the network name and IP address
on one of the virtual machines.
Configuring virtual If the VMware virtual machines have disks that have been populated by
machines using a backup of a physical host, Converter Standalone prepares the
image to run on VMware virtual hardware. If you have used third-party
virtualization software to create a virtual machine on an ESXi host, you can
use Converter Standalone to reconfigure it. You can also reconfigure any
operating system installed on a multiboot machine if you have imported the
virtual machine to an ESXi host. Before you reconfigure a multiboot
machine, you must change the boot.ini file or the BCD.
n Operating system configuration (computer name, security ID, user accounts, profiles, preferences,
and so on)
Because the target and the source virtual machines have the same identities (name, SID, and so on),
running them on the same network might result in conflicts. To redeploy the source virtual machine, make
sure that you do not run the source and target virtual machines on the same network at the same time.
For example, if you use Converter Standalone to test whether you can run a Hyper-V Server virtual
machine as a VMware virtual machine without first decommissioning the original Hyper-V Server
machine, you must first resolve the duplicate ID problem. You can resolve this problem by customizing
the virtual machines in the Conversion or the Configuration wizard.
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Several hardware changes might occur after you migrate a virtual machine.
CPU model and serial numbers Might change after migration. They correspond to the physical computer hosting the
VMware virtual machine.
Ethernet adapters Might change for AMD PCNet or VMXnet and get different MAC addresses. The
IP address of each interface must be individually reconfigured.
Disks and partitions The number of disks and partitions might change during the cloning process. Each
disk device might have a different model and different manufacturer strings.
Applications that depend on devices that are not available within a virtual machine might not work after
you migrate the virtual machine.
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System Requirements 2
You must consider the compatibilities and the interoperabilities among the systems on which and with
which the Converter Standalone components work.
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Converter Standalone preserves the firmware interface during the conversion. You cannot convert BIOS
sources to UEFI destinations and the reverse.
For UEFI sources, the supported destination types are Workstation 10.0 and later, ESXi 5.5 and later, and
vCenter Server 5.5 and later.
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Table 2‑2. Supported Sources Based on Operating System and Firmware Interface
Operating System BIOS 64-Bit UEFI
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VMware vCenter virtual For information about the interoperability between powered off VMware vCenter virtual
machines machines and vCenter Converter Standalone, see VMware Product Interoperability Matrices.
Note Converter Standalone 6.2.x does not support Virtual Hardware versions above 11. For
selected hardware versions above 11, features are limited to the features in version 11.
VMware virtual machines For information about the interoperability between vCenter Converter Standalone and
powered off hosted VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion virtual machines, see VMware
Product Interoperability Matrices.
Hyper-V Server virtual machines For Hyper-V Server versions distributed with Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server
2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016, powered off virtual
machines with the following guest operating systems:
n Windows Vista SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit) (except Home editions)
n Windows Server 2008 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit) (except Home editions)
n Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) (except Home editions)
n Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) (except Home editions)
n Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
n Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
n Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
n Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
n Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) (except Home editions)
n Windows Server 2016 (64-bit)
For other Hyper-V Server sources, perform the procedure for powered on source machines.
Managed Destinations
You can create a virtual machine to use with an unmanaged ESXi host or with an ESXi host that
vCenter Server manages. For information on the compatibility between Converter Standalone and current
or earlier versions of ESXi and vCenter Server, see VMware Product Interoperability Matrices.
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Hosted Destinations
You can create a virtual machine for use with VMware Workstation or VMware Fusion. For information on
the interoperability between Converter Standalone and VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion, see
VMware Product Interoperability Matrices.
Note Converter Standalone 6.2.x does not support Virtual Hardware versions above 11. For selected
hardware versions above 11, features are limited to the features in version 11.
Note Converter Standalone preserves the partitioning scheme during the conversion. You cannot
convert an MBR source disk to a GPT destination disk and the reverse.
Converter Standalone supports all types of basic and dynamic disks for disk-based conversions except
for GPT/MBR hybrid disks.
Converter Standalone supports source and destination disk drives with 512B (512e and 512n) disk sector
size only. 4K native (4Kn) disk drives are not supported.
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To support destination virtual disks on FAT file systems, split the source data into 2 GB files.
Note Converter Standalone supports destination disk drives with 512B (512e and 512n) disk sector size
only. 4K native (4Kn) disk drives are not supported.
Procedure
This change affects all future conversions until the value is restored to false and the service is restarted.
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6 or IPng) is the successor to Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which is
the currently used protocol for assigning IP addresses to computers on the Internet. IPv6 was adopted to
overcome the expected exhaustion of IPv4 addresses.
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses and IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses. IPv6 addresses can have different formats
or notations.
n 1040:0:0:0:0:0:0:1
n 1040::1
n 21DA:00D3:0010:2F3B:02AA:00FF:FE28:9C5A
n [2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7344]:443
Converter Standalone supports all IPv6 notations for all components of the system.
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While providing higher security level and much larger address space, IPv6 brings about some
compatibility tasks that have not been resolved yet. For example, IPv4-only nodes cannot communicate
directly with IPv6 nodes and need additional routing, which makes the end-to-end support of mixed IPv4
and IPv6 environments precarious.
To start using Converter Standalone, you must set various minimum privileges at the data center level.
n Datastore.Allocate space
n Datastore.Browse datastore
n Network.Assign network (required only if you plan to connect the destination virtual machine to a
network)
n Virtual machine.Configuration
n Virtual machine.Inventory
Converting Linux and powered on Windows machines might require additional vCenter Server privileges.
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For more information about setting permissions, see vSphere Permissions and User Management Tasks.
Converter Standalone server to TCP - 445, 139, If the source computer uses NetBIOS, port 445 is not required. If
powered on source machine 9089 NetBIOS is not being used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not
UDP - 137, 138 required. When in doubt, make sure that none of the ports are
blocked.
Converter Standalone server to TCP - 443 Required only if the conversion destination is vCenter Server.
vCenter Server
Converter Standalone client to TCP - 443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
vCenter Server components are on different machines.
Converter Standalone server to the TCP - 902 Converter server always requires access to ESXi at port 902.
destination ESXi
Powered on source machine to ESXi TCP - 443, 902 If the conversion destination is vCenter Server, only port 902 is
required.
If the proxy mode feature is on, port 902 is not required.
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Converter Standalone server to powered 22 Used to establish an SSH connection between the
on source machine Converter Standalone server and the source machine.
Converter Standalone client to 443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
Converter Standalone server components are on different machines.
Converter Standalone server to 443 Required only if the conversion destination is a vCenter Server.
vCenter Server
Converter Standalone server to ESXi 443, 902 If the conversion destination is a vCenter Server, only port 902 is
required.
Helper virtual machine to powered on 22 Used to establish an SSH connection between the helper virtual
source machine machine and the source machine. By default, the IP address of the
helper virtual machine is assigned by DHCP. If no DHCP server is
available on the destination network, you must manually assign the
helper virtual machine an IP address.
Converter Standalone server to TCP - 445, 139 Required only for standalone virtual machine sources or
Fileshare path UPD - 137, 138 destinations. If the computer hosting the source or destination
path uses NetBIOS, port 445 is not required. If NetBIOS is not
being used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not required. When in
doubt, make sure that none of the ports are blocked.
Converter Standalone client to TCP - 443 Required only if the Converter Standalone server and client
Converter Standalone server components are on different machines.
Converter Standalone server to TCP - 443 Required only if the conversion destination is a vCenter Server.
vCenter Server
Converter Standalone server to ESXi TCP - 443, 902 If the conversion destination is a vCenter Server, only port 902
is required.
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To ensure successful remote hot cloning of Windows platforms, verify the following conditions on the
source machine before you start the application:
n Ensure that Windows Firewall is not blocking file and printer sharing.
n If you are running Windows 8 or later on the source machine, turn off Remote UAC. For more details,
see Prerequisites for Converting a Powered On Windows Machine.
You must allow incoming file share connections in the following situations:
For Windows Vista and later, you must either use an administrator account for Converter Standalone
when logging to the source machine, or disable UAC on the source machine.
To enable customization of the guest operating system, install Microsoft Sysprep files on the machine
where Converter Standalone server is running.
Ensure that Windows Firewall Does Not Block File and Printer
Sharing
If Converter Standalone fails to connect to a remote Windows machine and issues a bad
username/password error message, ensure that file and printer sharing is not blocked by Windows
Firewall.
Procedure
1 Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
2 In the Security Settings list on the left, select Local Policies > Security Options.
3 In the policies list on the right, select Network access: Sharing and Security model for local
accounts.
What to do next
For troubleshooting information about file and printer sharing, search the Microsoft TechNet Web site.
For information about setting file and printer sharing on other Windows systems, see the documentation
for your system.
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Conversion Limitations 3
When you are aware of the conversion limitations of Converter Standalone, you might be able to avoid
conversion and post-conversion problems, and handle them more easily.
Windows n When you convert UEFI sources, Converter Standalone does not copy any UEFI variables
to the destination.
n Synchronization is supported only for volume-based cloning at the block level.
You must power off source virtual machines before you convert them. You can convert running virtual
machines if you follow the procedure for converting powered on machines.
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For volume-based conversions of virtual machine sources that run Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012,
Converter Standalone does not preserve storage pools on the destination.
For volume-based conversions of UEFI sources, Converter Standalone does not preserve the UEFI
settings. The UEFI settings are preserved during disk-based conversions.
When you convert a virtual machine with snapshots, the snapshots are not transferred to the destination
virtual machine.
For volume-based conversions of powered-off virtual machine sources at file level, the
Converter Standalone server host operating system must support the file system of the source volume.
For example, when the Converter Standalone is running on Windows Server 2008, you cannot convert
source volumes with ReFS.
Certain limitations are applicable when you convert Linux virtual machine sources.
Read the limitations listed in Table 3‑2 before you initiate a conversion task.
If your conversion task fails with an VSS-related error message, you can check the table for possible
reasons and workarounds.
VSS under Windows Vista and Deselect all FAT and FAT32
later does not support FAT and volumes on the View/Edit Options
FAT32. page of the vCenter Converter
wizards.
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Installing and Uninstalling
Converter Standalone 4
You can install Converter Standalone on a physical or a virtual machine. You can also modify or repair a
Converter Standalone installation.
The Local setup installs the Converter Standalone server, Converter Standalone agent, and
Converter Standalone client for local use.
Note Local installation of Converter Standalone complies with the following security restrictions:
n After the initial setup, the use of an administrator account requires physical access to the product.
n You can manage Converter Standalone only from the machine where it is installed.
During the client-server installation, you can select the Converter Standalone components that you want
to install on your system. You can also choose to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program.
See Chapter 5 Configuring the Customer Experience Improvement Program
When you install the Converter Standalone server and Remote access, the local machine becomes a
server for conversions, which you can manage remotely. When you install the Converter Standalone
server and the Converter Standalone client, you can use the local machine to access remote
Converter Standalone servers or create conversion jobs locally.
If you install only Converter Standalone client, you can connect to a remote Converter Standalone server.
You can then use the remote machine to convert hosted virtual machines, managed virtual machines, or
remote physical machines.
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If you install Converter Standalone in local mode, you can create and manage conversion tasks only from
the machine on which you installed the application. During the installation you can choose to join the
Customer Experience Improvement Program. See Chapter 5 Configuring the Customer Experience
Improvement Program.
Prerequisites
Verify that your system meets the Converter Standalone system requirements.
If you have an earlier version of Converter Standalone agent on the system, uninstall
Converter Standalone agent.
Procedure
1 Download the latest version of Converter Standalone from the VMware Web site.
2 In the folder that contains the installer file you downloaded, double-click the VMware-
converter-6.2.x-<xxxxx>.exe file, where <xxxxx> is the number of the build.
3 Follow the prompts till the End-User License Agreement page appears.
4 Select I agree to the terms in the License agreement and click Next.
5 On the Destination Folder page, select the location to install Converter Standalone and click Next.
6 On the Setup Type page, select Local installation and click Next.
7 (Optional) On the User Experience Setting page, you can select the check box to join the Customer
Experience Improvement Program, and click Next.
Note If you do not want to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program, deselect the check
box instead.
9 (Optional) On the Installation Completed page, deselect Run VMware vCenter Converter
Standalone Client now if you want to start the application later.
Converter Standalone is installed on the local machine and is ready for use.
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What to do next
You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine
destinations.
During the client-server installation, you can select the Converter Standalone components that you want
to install on your system. You can also choose to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program.
See Chapter 5 Configuring the Customer Experience Improvement Program
Prerequisites
Verify that your system meets the Converter Standalone system requirements.
If you have an earlier version of Converter Standalone agent on the system, uninstall
Converter Standalone agent.
Procedure
1 Download the latest version of Converter Standalone from the VMware Web site.
2 In the folder that contains the installer file you downloaded, double-click the VMware-
converter-6.2.x-<xxxxx>.exe file, where <xxxxx> is the number of the build.
3 Follow the prompts till the End-User License Agreement page appears.
4 Select I agree to the terms in the License agreement and click Next.
5 On the Destination Folder page, select the location to install Converter Standalone and click Next.
6 On the Setup Type page, select Client-Server installation (advanced) and click Next.
7 On the Custom Setup page, select the components that you want to install and click Next.
Option Description
Converter server Converter Standalone server manages the conversion tasks. It handles the
communication between the Converter Standalone clients and Converter
Standalone agents. You cannot install Converter server alone. You must install
Converter Standalone server together with Remote access or with the Converter
Standalone client, or with both.
Remote access If you install Remote access, local and multiple remote Converter Standalone
clients can connect to the local Converter Standalone server. With Remote
access you can create and manage conversion tasks remotely. For remote
access, you must perform a client-server installation.
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Option Description
Converter agent Install Converter Standalone agent so that the local machine can be a source
machine for conversions.
Converter client If you install only Converter Standalone client, you can connect to a remote
Converter Standalone server. You can then use the remote machine to convert
hosted virtual machines, managed virtual machines, or remote physical
machines.
When you install the Converter Standalone server and Remote access, the local machine becomes a
server for conversions, which you can manage remotely. When you install the Converter Standalone
server and the Converter Standalone client, you can use the local machine to access remote
Converter Standalone servers or create conversion jobs locally.
8 (Optional) If you decided to install Remote access or Converter Standalone agent, modify the Web
service ports on the Port Settings page.
9 (Optional) On the User Experience Setting page, you can select the check box to join the Customer
Experience Improvement Program, and click Next
Note If you do not want to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program, deselect the check
box instead.
11 (Optional) If you installed the Converter Standalone client, deselect Run Converter Standalone
Client now to complete the installation without starting the application at this time.
The selected Converter Standalone components are installed on the local machine and are ready for use.
What to do next
You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine
destinations.
Prerequisites
Verify that your system meets the Converter Standalone system requirements.
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If you have an earlier version of Converter Standalone agent on the system, uninstall
Converter Standalone agent.
Procedure
1 Download the latest version of Converter Standalone from the VMware Web site.
3 At the command line, navigate to the local directory to which you downloaded the installer.
4 To install Converter Standalone silently with the log file written to the temp directory, enter:
For more command-line options, see Command-Line Options for Windows Installation.
What to do next
You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine
destinations.
VMCE_HTTP_PORT Sets the HTTP port. The default is 80. Remote machines
connect to the server through this port to download the
Converter Standalone client.
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Prerequisites
Close the Converter Standalone application before you start the installer wizard.
Procedure
1 To start the Converter Standalone installer, perform one of the following actions:
n Go to the folder that contains the installer file and double-click the VMware-converter-6.2.x-
<xxxxx>.exe file, where <xxxxx> is the number of the build. Check the number of the build to
see if it matches the build you installed.
n Select Add or Remove Programs from Control Panel, select Converter Standalone from the list,
and click Change.
4 On the Custom Setup page, select the components that you want to install and click Next.
Option Description
Converter server Converter Standalone server manages the conversion tasks. It handles the
communication between the Converter Standalone clients and Converter
Standalone agents. You cannot install Converter server alone. You must install
Converter Standalone server together with Remote access or with the Converter
Standalone client, or with both.
Remote access If you install Remote access, local and multiple remote Converter Standalone
clients can connect to the local Converter Standalone server. With Remote
access you can create and manage conversion tasks remotely. For remote
access, you must perform a client-server installation.
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Option Description
Converter agent Install Converter Standalone agent so that the local machine can be a source
machine for conversions.
Converter client If you install only Converter Standalone client, you can connect to a remote
Converter Standalone server. You can then use the remote machine to convert
hosted virtual machines, managed virtual machines, or remote physical
machines.
When you install the Converter Standalone server and Remote access, the local machine becomes a
server for conversions, which you can manage remotely. When you install the Converter Standalone
server and the Converter Standalone client, you can use the local machine to access remote
Converter Standalone servers or create conversion jobs locally.
5 (Optional) If you decided to install Remote access or Converter Standalone agent, modify the Web
service ports on the Port Settings page.
7 (Optional) If you installed the Converter Standalone client, deselect Run Converter Standalone
Client now to complete the installation without starting the application at this time.
The selected Converter Standalone components are installed on the local machine and are ready for use.
What to do next
You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine
destinations.
Prerequisites
Close the Converter Standalone application before you start the installer wizard.
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Procedure
1 To start the Converter Standalone installer, perform one of the following actions:
n Go to the folder that contains the installer file and double-click the VMware-converter-6.2.x-
<xxxxx>.exe file, where <xxxxx> is the number of the build. Check the number of the build to
see if it matches the build you installed.
n Select Add or Remove Programs from Control Panel, select Converter Standalone from the list,
and click Change.
What to do next
You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine
destinations.
Prerequisites
Close the Converter Standalone application before you start the installer wizard.
Procedure
1 To start the Converter Standalone installer, perform one of the following actions:
n Go to the folder that contains the installer file and double-click the VMware-converter-6.2.x-
<xxxxx>.exe file, where <xxxxx> is the number of the build. Check the number of the build to
see if it matches the build you installed.
n Select Add or Remove Programs from Control Panel, select Converter Standalone from the list,
and click Change.
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Prerequisites
Ensure that the Converter Standalone server and agent are installed on the remote machine.
Procedure
Option Action
Local installation a Select Administration > Connect to another server.
b On the Converter Standalone login page, select Enter the IP address or
host name of the Converter Standalone server.
c Provide the IP address and Administrator credentials, and click Login.
Client-server installation with remote a On the Converter Standalone login page, select Enter the IP address or
access host name of the Converter Standalone server.
b Provide the IP address and Administrator credentials, and click Login.
What to do next
You can now use the remote Converter Standalone server to set up and manage conversion tasks.
By default, vCenter Converter Standalone uses TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 security protocols. TLS 1.0, SSLv2,
and SSLv3 security protocols are disabled. You can enable the TLS 1.0 protocol manually.
Procedure
Note If you run Converter Standalone on a 64-bit edition of Windows, the VMware\VMware vCenter
Converter Standalone directory is located in %ProgramFiles(x86)%.
3 Locate the <sslOptions> tag in the file and change its value from 123422720 to 56313856.
Note If you change the value to 391858176, you disable all protocols except for TLS 1.2.
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Note If you install Converter Agent on a remote machine, you must repeat this procedure by using
the converter-agent.xml file on the remote machine.
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Configuring the Customer
Experience Improvement
Program 5
When you choose to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), VMware
receives anonymous information to improve the quality, reliability, and functionality of VMware products
and services.
Details regarding the data collected through CEIP and the purposes for which it is used by VMware are
set forth at the Trust & Assurance Center at https://www.vmware.com/trustvmware/ceip.html.
To join or leave the CEIP for this product, please see Join or Leave the Customer Experience
Improvement Program.
Note You can join the CEIP during the installation of Converter Standalone.
Procedure
1 From the Administration menu on the toolbar, select Customer Experience Improvement
Program.
2 Select the check box to enable CEIP or deselect the check box to disable the program and then click
OK.
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Convert a Physical or Virtual
Machine 6
You can create a conversion job to convert a physical or virtual machine to a variety of destinations. You
can convert powered on physical machines, VMware virtual machines, and Hyper-V Server virtual
machines into VMware standalone virtual machines or virtual machines that vCenter Server manages.
The approach you take for creating the conversion job is determined by the type of source and the type of
destination that you select.
For a complete list of supported source types and product versions, see
Supported Source Types.
Destination type ESXi host, ESXi host that vCenter Server manages, or a VMware
standalone virtual machine.
Procedure
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Procedure
What to do next
Prerequisites
Before you select a source machine to convert, verify that it is listed in the list of supported source types.
See Supported Source Types.
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n Make sure that the Windows version installed on the powered on machine is supported. For a list of
supported operating systems, see Supported Operating Systems.
n Make sure that the Converter Standalone server machine has network access to the Windows source
machine.
n Turn off User Account Control (UAC) or use local administrator account on the source machine.
n If you are running Windows 8 or later on the source machine, turn off Remote UAC.
n If you are logged in as a member of the local Administrators group, you must disable the User
Account Control: Use Admin Approval Mode for the built-in Administrator account policy in
the Security Options folder of the Local Group Policy Editor. You must reboot for the
changes to take effect.
n If you are logged in as the Administrator, you must disable the User Account Control: Turn on
Admin Approval Mode policy in the Security Options folder of the Local Group Policy
Editor. You don't need to reboot for the changes to take effect.
n Make sure that no other conversion job is using the source you select.
n Remove any Converter Standalone 4.x and Converter Standalone 5.x installations manually from the
source machine.
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Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select the Powered on radio button.
2 From the drop-down menu, select a menu item that corresponds to your source machine location.
Note If you have connected to a remote Converter Standalone server by IP address, the menu item
This local machine is not available and you can convert the local machine only as a remote
machine.
Remote Click Remote Windows machine and provide the IP address or name of the
machine and administrator credentials.
Note You can provide the user name in the domain\user credentials format.
Alternatively, you can enter a user name without a domain name and
Converter Standalone will attempt to log you in to the remote machine by using
the machine\user format.
3 (Optional) Click View source details to see the hardware and software information about the source
machine.
4 Click Next.
If you convert a remote machine and the Converter Standalone agent is not already installed on the
source machine, a dialog box prompts you to confirm the installation and select an uninstallation
method for the Converter Standalone agent.
5 (Optional) Select the uninstallation procedure for Converter Standalone agent and click Yes.
What to do next
On the Destination System page, you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
You can convert powered on machines that run Linux only if GRUB is installed as the boot loader on the
source. LILO boot loader is not supported.
Prerequisites
Before you continue with the conversion, you must prepare the source Linux machine.
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n Make sure that you use the root account or account with sudo privileges for all commands to convert
a powered on Linux machine.
n Make sure that the Converter Standalone server machine has network access to the Linux source
machine.
n Make sure that no other conversion job is using the source you select.
Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select the Powered on radio button.
3 Provide the IP address or DNS name and select authentication method. Provide the IP address or
DNS name and root credentials for the Linux machine you want to convert.
Option Description
Password Enter the root credentials for the Linux machine you want to convert.
Private key file Select the private key file and enter the passphrase.
4 Click Next.
Converter Standalone connects to the powered on Linux machine and prepares it for conversion.
What to do next
On the Destination System page, you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
If the Linux policy does not allow running code as a privileged user from the /tmp directory, you can
configure Converter Standalone to place its temporary files in another directory during Linux conversions.
Procedure
4 Change the value of the <sysinfoTmpRoot> tag to a proper directory and save the change.
This change affects all future Linux conversions until the value is restored and the service is restarted.
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You cannot convert a running or suspended virtual machine by using this procedure. For powered on
virtual machines, use the procedures for powered on source machines.
If you connect to a vCenter Server that is part of an environment that contains multiple vCenter Server
instances, Converter Standalone displays only ESXi hosts managed directly by the currently connected
vCenter Server.
Prerequisites
If the source machine that you want to convert resides on a VMware DRS cluster that vCenter Server
manages, set VMware DRS Power Management (DPM) to manual so that DPM does not power off the
ESXi hosts used by Converter Standalone. When the conversion process completes, restore DPM to its
original settings. For information about how to change DPM settings, see vSphere Resourse
Management.
Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select the Powered off radio button and then
select VMware Infrastructure virtual machine from the Select source type drop-down menu.
2 Provide the IP address or host name and credentials for authentication with the ESXi host or the
vCenter Server, and click Next.
The Source Machine page appears, displaying the host name or IP address and the inventory of the
ESXi host or the vCenter Server.
What to do next
On the Source Machine page of the Conversion wizard, you can browse the virtual infrastructure
inventory and select the virtual machine to convert.
Prerequisites
On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select VMware Infrastructure virtual machine
as the conversion source and click Next to proceed to the Source Machine page.
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Procedure
1 (Optional) If you are connected to a vCenter Server, select a virtual machine view from the Specify
machine with drop-down menu.
Option Description
Hosts and Clusters The Inventory tree pane provides a view of hosts, clusters, resource pools, and
vApps. If you select a host managed by a cluster, you see the full list of virtual
machines and templates in the virtual machine list view. If you select a standalone
host or a cluster, you see only the virtual machines that are not deployed in the
resource pools of that host or cluster.
VMs and Templates The Inventory tree pane provides a view of datacenters and virtual machine
folders.
2 (Optional) If you are connected to a vCenter Server, select an object from the Inventory tree pane.
Option Description
Hosts and Clusters Select cluster, ESXi host, resource pool, or vApp.
3 From the virtual machines list, select the virtual machine you want to convert.
You can search for virtual machines in the virtual machine list by typing one or more letters of their
names in the Search for name with text box. You can clear your search by clicking Clear.
Note You cannot select a virtual machine from an ESXi host that is powered off, connected to
another vCenter Server, or in maintenace mode.
5 (Optional) To view more details about a machine, select it and click View source details.
What to do next
On the Destination System page, you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Verify that your source machine is a supported VMware Desktop products virtual machine. For more
information, see Supported Source Types.
If you plan to use a network path to locate the source, verify that the machine where
Converter Standalone server runs has access to that network path.
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Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select the Powered off radio button and then
select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine from the Select source type drop-
down menu.
n If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, provide a network path to the
source virtual machine file (.vmx) in the Virtual machine file text box. For
example, \\server\virtual_machines\virtual_machine.vmx.
n If you are connected to a local Converter Standalone server, provide a network path or a local
path to the .vmx file.
By default, only VMware virtual machine *.vmx files are displayed.
3 If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, type user credentials for accessing
the source virtual machine.
You do not have to provide user credentials if you are connected to a local Converter Standalone
server. In such cases, Converter Standalone uses the Windows credentials to connect to the source
machine.
4 (Optional) To view more information about the selected source, click View source details.
What to do next
On the Destination System page, you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Procedure
1 On the Source System page, select the Powered off radio button and then select Hyper-V Server
from the Select source type drop-down menu.
2 Provide the IP address or DNS name and administrative credentials to authenticate with the Hyper-V
Server and click Next.
If Converter Standalone agent is not already installed on the Hyper-V Server, a dialog box appears. In
it, you confirm the installation of Converter Standalone agent.
3 (Optional) Select an uninstallation procedure for Converter Standalone agent and click Yes.
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What to do next
On the Source Machine page, browse the Hyper-V Server inventory to locate the source virtual machine
to convert.
Prerequisites
On the Source System page, select Hyper-V Server as the source type and navigate to the Source
Machine page.
Procedure
1 On the Source Machine page, select the virtual machine you want to convert.
You can search for virtual machines in the inventory by typing one or more letters of their names in
the Search for name with text box. You can clear your search by clicking Clear.
Note You can select only powered off virtual machines. To convert a running machine, on the
Source System page select Powered on machine as the source type. To convert a suspended
machine, power it off and convert it as a Hyper-V Server virtual machine, or power it on and convert it
as a powered on source.
3 (Optional) To view more details about the virtual machine to convert, click View source details.
The Converter Standalone agent prepares the Hyper-V source machine for conversion.
What to do next
On the Destination System page, you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
There are two ways to perform a conversion of an Amazon EC2 Windows virtual machine to a VMware
virtual machine. You can either import the source virtual machine directly into an ESXi host that
vCenter Server manages, or convert the Amazon EC2 Windows instance to a VMware Workstation virtual
machine and then import it to a vSphere host.
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For more information on conversion of remote Windows sources, see Remote Hot Cloning of Powered Оn
Source Machines That Are Running Windows.
Prerequisites
Ensure that the source Amazon EC2 Windows instance has a temporary volume that is large enough to
accommodate the image of your Amazon EC2 Windows instance. This temporary drive must be excluded
from the conversion.
Procedure
1 Install Converter Standalone on the Amazon EC2 Windows instance that you want to convert.
2 Create a conversion task to import the Amazon EC2 Windows instance as a Workstation destination.
b Click Convert Machine in the application menu to start the Conversion wizard.
c On the Source System page, select Powered on from the Select source type menu and click
This local machine.
e On the Destination System page, select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual
machine from the drop-down menu and select a suitable VMware Workstation version from the
VMware product list.
h Deselect the check box in front of the temporary volume to exclude it from the conversion task.
3 On the temporary volume of the Amazon EC2 Windows instance, locate the VMware Workstation
virtual machine files that were created during the conversion (the *.vmx and the *.vmdk files).
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4 Transfer the VMware Workstation virtual machine files to a location that is accessible to your virtual
infrastructure and to Converter Standalone. You have several options to transfer the files:
n Upload the files to a local FTP server using an FTP client that runs inside the Amazon EC2
Windows instance.
n Upload the files from the Amazon EC2 Windows instance to Amazon S3 and download them to a
location that is accessible to your virtual infrastructure and to Converter Standalone.
n Upload the files from the Amazon EC2 Windows instance to Amazon S3 and use Amazon AWS
Import/Export to retrieve the data on a physical storage device. For more information about this
procedure, see Amazon Web Services.
What to do next
To import the Workstation virtual machine image to an ESXi host, follow the procedures described in
Select a VMware Hosted Virtual Machine to Convert and in Select a Managed Destination.
When you use a VMware DRS cluster as the destination, you must set VMware DRS Power Management
(DPM) to manual. This setting ensures that DPM does not power off the ESXi hosts that
Converter Standalone uses. When the conversion process completes, restore DPM to its original settings.
For information about how to change DPM settings, see vSphere Resource Management.
Note For conversions of powered on source machines that run Linux, the only supported destination is a
vSphere destination.
Procedure
1 On the Destination System page, select VMware Infrastructure virtual machine from the Select
destination type drop-down menu.
2 Provide the IP address or host name and credentials for authentication with the ESXi host or
vCenter Server.
3 (Optional) If you want the data traffic to pass through the Converter Standalone server machine,
select the Use proxy mode check box.
What to do next
On the Destination Virtual Machine page, you can specify the name of the destination virtual machine and
select the folder in which it should reside.
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If you connect to an ESXi host directly, you can view only the list of virtual machines. Therefore, you
cannot select a destination folder.
Prerequisites
On the Destination System page of the Conversion wizard, select VMware Infrastructure virtual
machine as the destination type.
Procedure
1 On the Destination Virtual Machine page, select the datacenter to accommodate the destination
virtual machine.
If you use folders in your virtual environment to manage groups of virtual machines, you can select a
folder to accommodate the destination virtual machine.
2 In the Name text box, enter a name for the destination virtual machine.
By default, Converter Standalone assigns the source machine name in this text box.
Note Search the list of virtual machines in the datacenter or folder you selected to ensure that the
name you assign to the destination virtual machine does not exist. Virtual machines are filtered as
you type. You can clear your search by clicking Clear.
What to do next
On the Destination Location page, you can modify the destination environment for the new virtual
machine. This includes selecting a host, resource pool, or cluster to accommodate the destination virtual
machine, selecting a datastore to hold the files of the destination virtual machine, and selecting the virtual
hardware version to install on the destination virtual machine.
Prerequisites
On the Destination Virtual Machine page, name the destination virtual machine. If the destination is a
vCenter Server, select the destination folder.
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Procedure
1 On the Destination Location page of the Conversion wizard, select a datacenter object from the
inventory to accommodate the destination virtual machine.
n Select a cluster.
On the selected cluster, if DRS is not running in the automated mode, you can select an ESXi
host that belongs to the selected cluster from the Host drop-down menu.
2 (Optional) From the Datastore drop-down menu, select the datastore to hold the destination virtual
machine files.
3 (Optional) From the Virtual machine version drop-down menu, select the virtual hardware version
for the destination virtual machine.
Option Description
The Virtual machine version drop-down menu lists only the virtual hardware versions that are
compatible with the destination location.
Note Converter Standalone 6.2 does not support Virtual Hardware versions above 11. For selected
hardware versions above 11, features are limited to the features in version 11.
What to do next
On the Options page, you can set up the parameters of the conversion task. These settings include data
layout, network settings, and guest operating system customization.
Prerequisites
If you plan to use a network path to locate the destination, verify that you have access to that network
path.
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Procedure
1 On the Destination System page, select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine
from the Select destination type drop-down menu.
2 Select the destination VMware hosted product from the Select VMware product drop-down menu.
3 Provide a name for the destination virtual machine in the Name text box.
n If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, provide a network path to the
destination directory. For example, \\server\virtual_machines\.
n If you are connected to a local Converter Standalone server, provide a network path or a local
path to the destination directory.
You do not have to provide user credentials if the destination location is on the local storage of the
machine where Converter Standalone server runs.
What to do next
On the Options page, you can set up the parameters of the conversion task. These settings include data
layout, network settings, and guest operating system customization.
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If you selected a source with multiple disks and volumes, you can set Converter to start concurrent data
transfers. For details, see Set the Number of Data Connections per Task.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
u In the Data to copy pane, select a copy mode from the Data copy type drop-down menu.
Option Description
Copy all disks and maintain layout Results in disk-based cloning. You can preserve the source disk layout in the
destination virtual machine. This option is not available for powered on source
machines.
Select volumes to copy Results in volume-based cloning. Volume-based cloning is performed at file or
block level. You can select the volumes to be copied to the destination virtual
machine. You can also resize and reorganize the volume layout. This option is
available for powered on source machines that run Windows and Linux, and for
all other supported sources that run Windows.
Linked clone Results in creating a VMware virtual machine that shares the virtual disk of the
source machine. This option is available only for hosted sources and hosted
destinations.
What to do next
The destination that you select determines the destination disk types that are available to you. To support
destination virtual disks on FAT file systems, divide the source data into 2 GB files. For detailed
information about destination virtual disks types, see Supported Destination Disk Types.
Resize a Volume
To manage disk space on the destination datastore, you can resize the disk volumes before you begin the
conversion.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
2 In the Destination size column, select an option to specify the size of a destination volume.
Option Description
Note If the volume is nearly full, Converter Standalone allocates a buffer amount
and displays a volume amount greater than the source volume.
Min size Copies only the used space of the source volume.
Type size in GB Allows you to type a custom size in GB for the destination volume. The value
cannot be smaller than the used space on the source volume, but can be larger
than the total size of the source volume. The maximum allowed volume size for
the destination is 999999 GB.
Type size in MB Allows you to type a custom size in MB for the destination volume. The value
cannot be smaller than the used space on the source volume, but can be larger
than the total size of the source volume. The maximum allowed volume size for
the destination is 999999 GB.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
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Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
3 Select the volume for which you want to change the cluster size.
4 In the Cluster size column, select an option to specify the cluster size of the destination volume.
Option Description
Default cluster size Applies a default cluster size to the destination volume.
Keep source cluster size Preserves the cluster size of the original source volume.
Select a predefined size Allows you to select a cluster size for the destination volume from a list of
supported values.
In the Copy type column, you can verify that the cloning operation type is set to file level.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
The source virtual machine must have more than one volume to be able to deselect existing volumes.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
2 Deselect the volumes that you do not want to copy to the destination virtual machine.
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Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
The deselected volumes are ignored during the conversion process and do not appear on the destination
virtual machine.
The number of virtual disks you can create depends on the number of volumes that exist on the source
virtual machine. For example, if you have only one volume on the source virtual machine, you cannot add
a virtual disk to the destination virtual machine.
You cannot move the system volume where the guest operating system is installed. For example, if your
Windows operating system is installed on C:, you cannot move the C: volume.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
4 Select a source volume and use the Move up or Move down buttons to accommodate the volume in
the new virtual disk.
The partitioning scheme of the first source volume that you move will determine the type of the new
virtual disk on the destination virtual machine.
If you leave the virtual disk empty, Converter Standalone does not create the virtual disk on the
destination virtual machine.
The selected source volume is copied to a new virtual disk on the destination virtual machine.
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You can select the destination datastore for a volume only for managed destinations with more than one
datastore.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
4 Select a source volume and use the Move up or Move down buttons to accommodate the volume in
the new virtual disk.
The partitioning scheme of the first source volume that you move will determine the type of the new
virtual disk on the destination virtual machine.
If you leave the virtual disk empty, Converter Standalone does not create the virtual disk on the
destination virtual machine.
5 Highlight the new virtual disk and select a different datastore from the Destination datastore drop-
down menu.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
The virtual disk file (.vmdk) that contains the volume is stored in the selected datastore.
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The number of virtual disks on the destination virtual machine depends on the number of volumes that
exist on the source virtual machine . For example, if you have only one volume on the source virtual
machine, you cannot add a virtual disk to the destination virtual machine.
Prerequisites
You must have more than one volumes on the source machine to be able to add an additional virtual disk.
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
You can manage logical volumes and logical-volume groups in the same way as basic volumes and disks.
Logical-volume groups are listed together with virtual disks and are marked with a different icon.
Prerequisites
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
You can change the destination datastore for a disk only for managed destinations with more than one
datastore.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout.
2 Click the name of the virtual disk to relocate and select a different datastore from the Destination
datastore drop-down menu.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
You can create expandable disks on managed destinations that support thin provisioning through their
GUI.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
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Procedure
a From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout.
b Click a virtual disk and select Thin from the Type drop-down menu.
c To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
a From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy and click
Advanced.
b Select the Destination layout tab, click a virtual disk, and select Thin from the Type drop-down
menu.
c To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
Converter Standalone copies only the existing data to the destination datastore. The empty disk space
from the virtual disk is not copied to the datastore. As you use the destination virtual machine and write
new data to the disk, the size of the destination disk grows.
Prerequisites
You must select a hosted destination, such as VMware Workstation, to use the Not pre-allocated disk
option.
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
a From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout.
c To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
a From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy and click
Advanced.
b Select the Destination layout tab, select a virtual disk, and select Not pre-allocated from the
Type drop-down menu.
c To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
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Converter Standalone copies only the existing data to the destination datastore. The empty disk space
from the virtual disk is not copied to the datastore. As you use the destination virtual machine and write
new data to the disk, the size of the destination disk grows.
Prerequisites
The source machine must have more than one hard disk.
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
Option Description
Preserve the volumes associated with a Click Advanced and select the Destination layout tab.
the disk b Move the volumes from the disk that you want to delete to another virtual
disks.
c Highlight the empty disk and click Remove disk.
Delete the volumes associated with the a Click Advanced and select the Source volumes tab.
disk b Deselect the volumes associated with the disk that you want to delete.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
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Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout.
2 (Optional) If the destination datastore is low on disk space, click a virtual disk and select a different
datastore from the Destination datastore drop-down menu.
Note You must have access to more than one datastore to move a disk to a different datastore.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Converter Standalone copies the disks to the selected datastores and preserves the source disk layout.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Data to copy in the options list.
Procedure
1 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Creating an optimized partition layout aligns the partitions on a 1MB boundary for Windows sources and
on a 64KB boundary for Linux sources.
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You can create linked clones only when you convert a virtual machine to a hosted destination.
Prerequisites
To verify that your source type is a supported source, see Supported Source Types.
Procedure
1 On the Destination System page, select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine as
a destination and click Next.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Prerequisites
Make sure the destination host and the guest operating system support the number of processor cores
you assign to the destination virtual machine.
Note You can change the number of cores per socket on virtual hardware version 8 and later.
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Devices in the options list.
Procedure
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2 From the Number of virtual sockets drop-down menu on the CPU Settings panel, select the number
of virtual sockets for the destination virtual machine.
3 From the Number of cores per socket drop-down menu on the CPU Settings panel, select the
number of cores per socket for the destination virtual machine.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
The destination virtual machine is configured with the number of virtual processor sockets and cores that
you selected. If Converter Standalone shows a message that the destination hardware does not support
the number of cores you selected, you must select a supported number of sockets and cores.
By default, Converter Standalone recognizes the amount of memory on the source machine and allocates
it to the destination virtual machine.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Devices in the options list.
Procedure
2 In the Memory panel, use the slider or the spin-box to specify the amount of memory for the
destination virtual machine.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
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Converter Standalone validates the amount of memory. A warning appears if you set the memory amount
to more than the maximum supported or to less than the required minimum.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Devices in the options list.
Procedure
2 From the Disk controller drop-down menu, select a disk controller for the destination virtual disk or
retain the selected recommended type.
Option Description
SCSI Bus Logic Use SCSI virtual disks in the destination virtual machine.
SCSI LSI Logic Use LSI Logic SCSI virtual disks in the destination virtual machine.
SCSI LSI Logic SAS Use LSI Logic SCSI (SAS) virtual disks in the destination virtual machine.
Preserve source Use the same types of disk controllers as those installed on the source machine.
If they are not supported on the destination virtual machine, replace them with
supported ones. This option is not available for powered on Linux sources.
Note When converting Linux virtual machines on ESX and vCenter Server
earlier than 4.1, the system might not retrieve the full list of supported controllers.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
For managed destinations, you can also select the controller type for each network adapter.
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Procedure
1 On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, select Networks from the options list.
2 From the Network adapters to connect drop-down menu, select the number of network adapters to
be used by the destination virtual machine.
Option Description
For managed destinations a From the Network drop-down menu, select the network that the adapter
connects to.
b From the Controller type drop-down menu, select the controller type.
For hosted destinations From the Connection type drop-down menu, select the connection type.
4 To connect an adapter when you power on the destination virtual machine, select the Connect at
power-on check box.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Procedure
2 (Optional) To assign a static IPv4 address to the Helper virtual machine, on tab IPv4 select Use the
following IP address and specify the IPv4 address, subnet mask, and default gateway.
Make sure that the IP address you specify for the Helper virtual machine is not already in use on the
network.
3 (Optional) If you want the Helper virtual machine to use only IPv4 address, on tab IPv6 deselect the
Use IPv6 check box.
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4 (Optional) To assign a static IPv6 address to the Helper virtual machine, on tab IPv6 select Use the
following IPv6 address and specify the IPv6 address, subnet prefix length, and default gateway.
Make sure that the IP address you specify for the Helper virtual machine is not already in use on the
network.
5 (Optional) If you want the Helper virtual machine to use only IPv6 address, on tab IPv4 deselect the
Use IPv4 check box.
6 (Optional) Select Use the following DNS server address and type the preferred DNS server
address to configure the DNS server address manually.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Converter Standalone uses the IP address and DNS server you specify to copy data from the source
Linux machine to the Helper virtual machine during conversion.
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Prerequisites
n On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion
tab, and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and
adjust the available customization options.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion tab,
and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and adjust the
available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Computer information from the options list.
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a In the Computer Name text box, type a computer name to identify the virtual machine on the
network.
Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-). The underscore (_) is nonstandard, but
Converter Standalone permits it. The recommended length for most languages is 15 characters
or less. Computer names cannot consist only of numerals.
b In the Owner Name text box, type the name of the owner of the virtual machine.
Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-). The underscore (_) is nonstandard, but
Converter Standalone permits it. The owner name cannot have more than 63 characters or
consist only of numerals.
Valid characters include all printable characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, symbols, and space). The limit is
63 characters.
3 (Optional) To create a new security identifier, select Generate New Security ID (SID).
By default, the Generate New Security ID (SID) check box is selected for source systems that run
Windows Vista or later and cannot be deselected.
The identifiers of the destination virtual machine are assigned according to your settings.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion tab,
and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and adjust the
available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Windows license from the options list.
2 In the Product ID text box, type the licensing information for the destination virtual machine.
3 (Optional) If the guest operating system is Windows Server 2008, select Include server license
information.
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Option Description
Per server For a concurrent user license. When you select this option, you need to type a
value in the Maximum connections text box.
The Windows license information is saved to the destination virtual machine after the conversion.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion tab,
and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and adjust the
available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Time zone from the options list.
2 Select the target time zone from the Time zone drop-down menu.
The time zone is set on the destination virtual machine after the conversion.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
The option for configuring network adapters is available for all supported destinations.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion tab,
and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and adjust the
available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Network interface settings from the options list.
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a On the IPv4 tab, type the IPv4 address and DNS server address.
b On the IPv6 tab, type the IPv6 address and DNS server address.
c On the DNS tab, configure the DNS connections by adding DNS suffixes.
e If you have provided multiple DNS suffixes, use Move up and Move down to set the order in
which the guest operating system uses the connections.
f On the WINS tab, type the primary and secondary WINS IPv4 address in the text box.
When powered on, the destination virtual machine uses the network settings that you configured.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options, click the Post-conversion tab,
and select Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine. Click Next to view and adjust the
available customization options.
Procedure
Option Description
Workgroup The text box must have a value. Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, space,
and the hyphen (-). The maximum length is 15 characters.
Windows server domain The text box must have a value. Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, space,
period, and the hyphen (-). The maximum length is 64 characters. User
credentials are required.
The destination virtual machine connects to the specified workgroup and domain server.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options in the options list.
Procedure
2 In the Post-conversion processing section, select the Install VMware Tools on the destination
virtual machine check box.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Converter Standalone installs VMware Tools on the destination machine when the destination machine is
powered on for the first time after the conversion job.
System Restore is enabled on Windows systems by default. If you are performing volume-based file-level
cloning, System Restore checkpoints are removed automatically from the destination virtual machine,
regardless of whether the Remove System Restore checkpoints on destination check box is selected
or deselected. If you are performing disk-based cloning or volume-based block-level cloning, deselecting
the check box instructs Converter Standalone to keep the System Restore checkpoints in the destination
virtual machine.
Removing System Restore checkpoints prevents the target machine from reverting to a preconversion
state. In the target virtual machine, restoring a checkpoint that was created before you cloned the source
machine can damage the system and prevent the destination virtual machine from starting up.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options in the options list.
Procedure
2 In the Post-conversion processing section, select the Remove System Restore checkpoints on
destination check box.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n Synchronize the Destination Machine with Changes Made to the Source Machine
When you convert a powered on Windows machine, Converter Standalone copies data from the
source machine to the destination machine while the source machine is still running and generating
changes. This process is the first transfer of data. You can transfer data for the second time by
copying only the changes made during the first transfer of data. This process is called
synchronization.
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You can change the settings for the destination services only when you convert source machines that run
Windows.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Services in the options list.
Procedure
1 If you are converting a powered on source machine, click the Destination services tab.
If the source machine is powered off, the Services pane displays no tabs. You can modify only the
starting mode of destination services.
2 On the services list, select the startup mode for each service.
Option Description
Automatic The service starts automatically after the destination machine is powered on.
Manual The service does not start after the destination machine is powered on, but you
can start it manually.
Disabled The service is disabled and does not start after the destination machine is
powered on.
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Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
You can stop services on the source only when you convert a powered on Windows machine.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Services in the options list.
Procedure
2 To stop a service on the source machine before synchronization, highlight a service and select the
Stop check box to the right.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Converter Standalone stops the selected source services before it synchronizes the destination machine
with the source machine.
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Synchronization is available only for Windows source operating systems and managed destinations.
If you resize FAT volumes or shrink NTFS volumes, or change the cluster size on the destination volume,
you cannot use the synchronization option.
You cannot add or remove volumes on the source machine between two cloning tasks of a
synchronizable job because it might cause conversion to fail.
Prerequisites
Stop various source services to make sure they do not generate additional changes during the final
synchronization, as that might lead to data loss.
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options in the options list.
Procedure
Option Description
Click Run immediately after cloning Synchronization is performed immediately after the cloning is complete.
Click Schedule Synchronization is performed at the scheduled time and date. Use the Run at text
box to specify the start date and time for the synchronization.
4 Select Perform final synchronization if you do not plan to make further synchronizations between
the source and the destination.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options in the options list.
Procedure
2 In the Post-conversion power state panel, select Power off source machine.
This option appears in the Post-conversion power state panel only if the conversion source is a
remote powered on machine.
Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Converter Standalone powers off the source machine after the conversion is complete.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options in the options list.
Procedure
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Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
A powered on source machine runs its own conversion job. You can limit the impact of the conversion job
on other workloads running on the powered on machine.
For source machines that are not powered on, you can limit the resources used on the machine where
Converter Standalone server is installed.
Throttling controls the CPU and network resources that the conversion process uses. You cannot throttle
disk I/O from the Converter Standalone interface, but can throttle it indirectly by throttling the network
bandwidth.
Note You cannot throttle conversion jobs for powered on source machines that run Linux. You cannot
throttle conversion jobs for powered off virtual machines to VMware hosted destinations.
Procedure
2 From the CPU throttling drop-down menu, select the priority of the conversion task.
Option Description
Light The priority of the current conversion task is reduced slightly below normal.
Note Converter Standalone reduces the thread priorities of conversion tasks to control the CPU
resources they consume.
3 (Optional) Select Network bandwidth throttling and specify the maximum network bandwidth at
which Converter Standalone performs the conversion jobs.
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Option Description
Select another option from the options Saves your settings and displays the pane for the selected option.
list
Click Next Saves your settings and displays the next page of the Conversion wizard.
n The Customizations page is displayed if you select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
n The Summary page is displayed if you do not select Customize guest
preferences for the virtual machine in the Advanced options pane.
Use Add or Remove Programs on the source machine to uninstall the Converter Standalone agent.
Procedure
2 In the list of installed programs, locate and click VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Agent.
3 Click Remove.
Windows installer uninstalls the Converter Standalone agent from the source machine.
The summary includes information about the source machine, the destination virtual machine, and
destination customization settings (if any). Converter Standalone performs job validation at this stage.
Prerequisites
You must complete all steps in the Conversion wizard to access the Summary page.
Procedure
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Converter Standalone validates the job parameters. This might take several minutes. If the validation
succeeds, the conversion job appears in the Job View list in the main application window. You can find
information about the tasks of the job in the Task View. If the validation fails, you must click Back and
correct the invalid parameters as prompted.
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Configure Virtual Machines 7
You might need to configure a virtual machine after you convert it so that it is ready to run in the
destination virtual environment. You might also need to configure virtual machines if their virtual
environment changes or if you need to improve their performance.
Note You can configure only VMware virtual machines that run Windows. You cannot configure virtual
machines that run operating systems other than Windows.
Unlike the conversion process, which is nondestructive to the source machine, the configuration process
affects the source. When you create a configuration job, your settings are applied to the configuration
source machine and cannot be reverted.
Procedure
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Procedure
What to do next
Procedure
u On the Source System page of the Configuration wizard, select a source type from the drop-down
menu.
What to do next
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, you can select the required configuration options.
Prerequisites
In the main application window of Converter Standalone, click Configure machine to open the
Configuration wizard.
Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Configuration wizard, select VMware Infrastructure virtual
machine from the Select source type drop-down menu.
2 Provide the IP address or host name and credentials for authentication with the ESXi host or the
vCenter Server, and click Next.
The Source Machine page appears, displaying the host name or IP address and the inventory of the
ESXi host or the vCenter Server.
What to do next
On the Source Machine page of the Configuration wizard you can browse the virtual infrastructure
inventory and select the virtual machine to configure.
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Prerequisites
On the Source System page of the Configuration wizard, select VMware Infrastructure virtual
machine as the configuration source and click Next to proceed to the Source Machine page.
Procedure
1 (Optional) If you are connected to a vCenter Server, select a virtual machine view from the Specify
machine with drop-down menu.
Option Description
Hosts and Clusters The Inventory tree pane provides a view of hosts, clusters, resource pools, and
vApps. If you select a host managed by a cluster, you see the full list of virtual
machines and templates in the virtual machine list view. If you select a standalone
host or a cluster, you see only the virtual machines that are not deployed in the
resource pools of that host or cluster.
VMs and Templates The Inventory tree pane provides a view of datacenters and virtual machine
folders.
2 (Optional) If you are connected to a vCenter Server, select an object from the Inventory tree pane.
Option Description
Hosts and Clusters Select cluster, ESXi host, resource pool, or vApp.
3 From the virtual machines list, select the virtual machine you want to configure.
You can search for virtual machines in the virtual machine list by typing one or more letters of their
names in the Search for name with text box. You can clear your search by clicking Clear.
Note You cannot select a virtual machine from an ESXi host that is powered off, connected to
another vCenter Server, or in maintenace mode.
5 (Optional) To view more details about a machine, select it and click View source details.
What to do next
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, you can select the required configuration options.
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Prerequisites
If you plan to use a network path to locate the source, verify that the machine where
Converter Standalone server runs has access to that network path.
In the main application window of Converter Standalone, click Configure machine to open the
Configuration wizard.
Procedure
1 On the Source System page of the Configuration wizard, select VMware Workstation or other
VMware virtual machine.
n If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, provide a network path to the
source virtual machine file (.vmx) in the Virtual machine file text box. For
example, \\server\virtual_machines\virtual_machine.vmx.
n If you are connected to a local Converter Standalone server, provide a network path or a local
path to the .vmx file.
By default, only VMware virtual machine *.vmx files are displayed.
3 If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, type user credentials for accessing
the source virtual machine.
You do not have to provide user credentials if you are connected to a local Converter Standalone
server. In such cases, Converter Standalone uses the Windows credentials to connect to the source
machine.
4 (Optional) To view more information about the selected source, click View source details.
What to do next
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, you can select the required configuration options.
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Procedure
u On the Options page, select one or more configuration steps to perform and click Next.
Option Description
Install VMware Tools on the destination Installs VMware Tools to enhance the performance of the destination virtual
virtual machine machine.
Customize guest preferences for the Lets you customize Windows guest operating systems so that you can prevent
virtual machine and resolve licensing and networking issues.
Remove System Restore checkpoints Removes System Restore checkpoints from the destination virtual machine.
on destination
Reconfigure destination virtual Modifies the configuration of the virtual machine so that it is prepared to boot and
machine work properly in the destination virtual environment.
What to do next
On the basis of the configuration options you selected, you can either customize the guest operating
system of the source virtual machine or view the Summary page of the Configuration wizard.
Procedure
u On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Install VMware Tools on the destination
virtual machine and click Next.
vCenter Converter Standalone installs VMware Tools on the configured virtual machine.
What to do next
You can customize the guest operating system or view the Summary page of the Configuration wizard.
Prerequisites
n On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the
virtual machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the virtual
machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Computer information from the options list.
a In the Computer Name text box, type a computer name to identify the virtual machine on the
network.
Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-). The underscore (_) is nonstandard, but
Converter Standalone permits it. The recommended length for most languages is 15 characters
or less. Computer names cannot consist only of numerals.
b In the Owner Name text box, type the name of the owner of the virtual machine.
Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the hyphen (-). The underscore (_) is nonstandard, but
Converter Standalone permits it. The owner name cannot have more than 63 characters or
consist only of numerals.
Valid characters include all printable characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, symbols, and space). The limit is
63 characters.
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3 (Optional) To create a new security identifier, select Generate New Security ID (SID).
By default, the Generate New Security ID (SID) check box is selected for source systems that run
Windows Vista or later and cannot be deselected.
The identifiers of the configured virtual machine are assigned according to your settings.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the configuration job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the virtual
machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Windows license from the options list.
2 In the Product ID text box, type the licensing information for the destination virtual machine.
3 (Optional) If the guest operating system is Windows Server 2008, select Include server license
information.
Option Description
Per server For a concurrent user license. When you select this option, you need to type a
value in the Maximum connections text box.
The Windows license information is saved to the configuration source machine when the configuration
task is completed.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the configuration job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the virtual
machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Time zone from the options list.
2 Select the target time zone from the Time zone drop-down menu.
The time zone is set on the destination machine when the configuration job completes.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the configuration job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
The options for configuring network adapters are available for all supported customization sources.
Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the virtual
machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
Procedure
1 On the Customizations page, select Network interface settings from the options list.
a On the IPv4 tab, type the IPv4 address and DNS server address.
b On the IPv6 tab, type the IPv6 address and DNS server address.
c On the DNS tab, configure the DNS connections by adding DNS suffixes.
e If you have provided multiple DNS suffixes, use Move up and Move down to set the order in
which the guest operating system uses the connections.
f On the WINS tab, type the primary and secondary WINS IPv4 address in the text box.
When powered on, the configured virtual machine uses the network settings that you specified.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the configuration job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
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Prerequisites
On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Customize guest preferences for the virtual
machine and click Next to view and modify the available customization options.
Procedure
Option Description
Workgroup The text box must have a value. Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, space,
and the hyphen (-). The maximum length is 15 characters.
Windows server domain The text box must have a value. Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, space,
period, and the hyphen (-). The maximum length is 64 characters. User
credentials are required.
The configured virtual machine connects to the specified workgroup and domain server.
What to do next
You can select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the configuration job. If the Next
button is inactive, check the Current settings list for other settings that need your attention on this page.
Procedure
u On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Remove System Restore checkpoints on
the destination and click Next.
The System Restore checkpoints are deleted from the configuration source machine.
What to do next
You can customize the guest operating system or view the Summary page of the Configuration wizard.
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Problem
A number of configuration issues might prevent a newly created virtual machine from starting properly.
For example, Converter Standalone might need to disable some legacy drivers to allow the virtual
machine to operate. If the operating system on the source machine is not on the default drive, the
boot.ini file or the BCD might need to be modified so that the destination virtual machine can start.
Solution
u On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, select Reconfigure destination virtual machine
and click Next.
Converter Standalone reconfigures the destination virtual machine so it can boot in the virtual
environment.
What to do next
You can customize the guest operating system or view the Summary page of the Configuration wizard.
Procedure
1 Review the summary of the settings for the source virtual machine.
The job appears in the jobs list in the Job View list of the main application window. You can view the
progress of the current task on the Task progress tab in Task View.
What to do next
To view details about the configuration task, click the Summary tab.
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Manage Conversion and
Configuration Jobs and Tasks 8
Converter Standalone provides a manager for managing conversion and configuration jobs and tasks.
After you create a conversion or configuration job by using the Converter Standalone wizards, you can
use the Task View and the Job View of the Converter Standalone manager to monitor and manage the
existing jobs and their tasks.
Prerequisites
You must submit a conversion or configuration job to view it in the job list.
You must be in the Job View of the Converter Standalone manager to access the application menus for
job managing.
n Add a Job to the Job List
With Converter Standalone you can create and run conversion and configuration jobs.
n Deactivate a Job
You can deactivate an active job without applying any changes to the destination machine.
n Delete a Job
You can delete a job and all its tasks.
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Procedure
u On the Summary page of the Conversion or the Configuration wizard, make sure no settings need
adjustment, and click Finish to add a conversion or configuration job.
The job appears at the beginning of the job list in the Job View and its tasks appear in the Task View.
What to do next
In the job list, you can view the job status, which task of the job is currently running, and other details. You
can also delete a job, and perform other job operations.
Procedure
The Converter Standalone manager switches to Task View and preselects the currently running task of
the job you selected in Job View. If none of the job's tasks is running, no selection is made.
Deactivate a Job
You can deactivate an active job without applying any changes to the destination machine.
Prerequisites
Note You can deactivate a job only if none of its tasks is currently running.
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Procedure
2 From the job list, select the job you want to deactivate.
The job state changes to inactive and no changes are applied to the destination.
Delete a Job
You can delete a job and all its tasks.
Prerequisites
Procedure
2 From the job list, select the job you want to delete.
The job is removed from the job list, and all the tasks of the job are removed from the task list.
Note You can copy only jobs that were created with the Converter Standalone client.
Procedure
2 From the job list, select the job you want to copy.
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Procedure
2 On the main menu, click View > History Filter and select a level of filtering.
Only jobs that correspond to selected filtering level remain in the job list.
Procedure
If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, you can select My own to view only
jobs that you have created.
Procedure
2 Use the drop-down menus in the toolbar to select the status and the history criteria.
The two filtering conditions combine to show only jobs that comply with both conditions.
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Note You can add synchronization tasks only to jobs that were created with the Converter Standalone
client.
Prerequisites
Procedure
2 From the job list, select the conversion job to which you want to add a synchronization task.
Prerequisites
You must submit a conversion or configuration job to view its tasks in the task list.
You must be in the Tasks View of the Converter Standalone manager to access the application menus for
managing task.
n Control the Number of Tasks Running Concurrently
You can set the number of tasks that can run concurrently to improve the conversion speed. Limiting
the number of concurrent tasks helps you reduce the network resources required for the conversion
tasks. Limiting the number of concurrent tasks also helps to limit the CPU load on the machine
where the Converter Standalone server runs.
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n Cancel a Task
You can cancel a task that is in the queue or in progress.
You can set the number of concurrent tasks to any number from 1 to 12. The default number of
concurrent tasks is set to Maximum.
Procedure
3 Click OK.
The setting takes effect immediately for all newly added tasks. See Example: Limiting the Number of
Concurrent Tasks.
When the number of running tasks drops to 5, a new task from the wait list starts.
When you clone multiple disks and volumes in parallel, each data transfer uses a separate TCP
connection.
Note For managed sources and destinations, the number of the concurrent data connections within a
conversion task must not exceed the TCP connections limit of the corresponding ESXi host. Otherwise,
the conversion task might not complete successfully.
The source conversion completes and the task of configuring the destination starts only when all data
transfers are complete.
Procedure
1 On the main menu, select Administration > Data Connections per Task.
Option Description
Select the Maximum check-box . All disks and volumes of the source are cloned simultaneously.
In the Custom spin-box, select a Only a specific number of disks and volumes are cloned simultaneously. The
number between 1 and 12. default number of concurrent data connections per task is set to 1.
3 Click OK.
The setting takes effect immediately for all newly added tasks.
Procedure
The Converter Standalone manager switches to Job View. The job that contains the task you selected in
Task View is preselected in the list and complies with the current filter of the Job View.
Cancel a Task
You can cancel a task that is in the queue or in progress.
When you cancel a conversion task that is running, the task is stopped. When you cancel a conversion
task that is queued, the task is removed from the queue. When you cancel a task that is not a
synchronization task, the job to which the task belongs is deactivated. Canceled tasks cannot be
restarted.
Procedure
2 From the task list, select the task you want to cancel.
3 Click Cancel.
The task is now stopped or removed from the queue, and the time of cancellation appears in the End
Time column.
This option does not affect tasks in progress. Tasks in progress always appear in the task list.
Procedure
2 On the main menu, click View > History Filter and select a level of filtering.
Only tasks that correspond to the selected filtering level remain in the task list.
Procedure
If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, you can select My own to view only
tasks of jobs that you create.
Procedure
2 Use the drop-down menus to select the status and history criteria.
The two filtering conditions combine to show only tasks that comply with both conditions.
If certain problems cause a job or task to fail, you can also review information in the log files.
You can obtain a general indication of a task's progress by looking at its row in the task list of the Task
view. You can view the Task progress tab in the Details view for more information.
Procedure
2 Select the row in the task list for the task to view.
The information for that task appears in the Details pane below the tasks list.
3 To view the task status and log highlights, click the Task progress tab.
Procedure
4 Select a location to which you want to save the files and click Save.
The log files for all tasks of the selected job are saved to the selected location.
Procedure
5 Select a location to which you want to save the files and click Save.
The log files for this task are saved to the selected location.
Table 8‑1 lists the default locations where log files are saved. You can view the log files or send them to
VMware support, if necessary.
If you are running a remote hot clone, these file locations are also the file locations on the remote
machine. To send these log files from a remote machine to VMware support, you must manually
compress and send them.
Converter Standalone server and agent log files %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter
Standalone\