vCenter Converter Standalone agent and server

network

data copied to the helper virtual machine
Optionally, when data copying is complete, the target virtual machine is reconfigured to allow the operating system to boot in a virtual machine. The Converter Standalone agent shuts down the helper virtual machine. The conversion process is complete.
Optionally, you can configure Converter Standalone to power on the newly created virtual machine after the conversion is complete.

Cloning Modes

Converter Standalone implements volume-based cloning, disk-based cloning, and linked cloning. Table 1-3. Cloning Modes
Cloning Mode Volume based Application Selects the volumes to copy from the source machine to the destination machine. Description Volume-based cloning is relatively slow. File-level cloning is slower than block-level cloning. Dynamic disks are converted into basic volumes on the target virtual machine. You cannot select which data to copy. Disk-based cloning is faster than volume-based cloning. For certain third-party sources, the linked clone is corrupted if you power on the source machine. Linked cloning is the fastest (but incomplete) cloning mode that Converter Standalone supports.

Disk based

Creates exact copies of the source machines, for all types of basic and dynamic disks. Use to quickly check compatibility of non-VMware images

Linked clone

Volume-Based Cloning Converter Standalone supports volume-based cloning for hot and cold cloning and to import existing virtual machines. In volume-based cloning, all volumes in the destination virtual machine are converted to basic volumes, regardless of their type in the corresponding source volume. Volume-based cloning at the file or block level is performed, depending on the volume size you select. 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 at the file level Volume-based cloning at the block level Performed when any size smaller than the original is selected. Performed when the volume size is maintained or extended.
Depending on the cloning mode, Converter Standalone might not support some types of source volumes. Table 1-4 shows the supported and unsupported source volume types. Table 1-4. Supported and Unsupported Source Volumes

Cloning Mode Virtual machine importing Source Volumes Supported
Source Volumes Not Supported
Basic volumes All types of dynamic volumes Windows NT 4 with mirrored volumes Only master boot record (MBR) disks
RAID Windows NT4 fault-tolerant volumes GUID partition table (GPT) disks

Hot cloning

All types of source volumes that Windows recognizes
Any volumes that reside on Windows NT operating systems
Volume-based cloning at the file level is supported only for FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, and ReiserFS file systems.
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 the same volumes, of the same type as the volumes of the source virtual machine. Disk-based cloning supports all types of basic and dynamic disks. Full and Linked Clones Clones can be full or linked according to the amount of data copied from the source to the destination machine. 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 minutes if the files involved are large. You can create a full clone by using any disk clone mode other than the linked clone mode. 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 allows multiple virtual machines to 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. If you make changes to a source Virtual PC and Virtual Server machines, or to LiveState images, the linked clone is corrupted and you cannot use it anymore. A linked clone must have access to the source. Without access to the source, you cannot use a linked clone at all. To quickly convert a virtual machine, create a linked clone. See Create a Linked Clone, on page 53.
Migrating Existing Virtual Machines and System Images
You can move virtual machines between hosted products and managed products. A hosted product runs as an application on physical machines with an operating system. A managed product is a bare-metal VMware product that provides a thin software layer (the hypervisor) that enables it to run directly on the physical machine. Converting virtual machines You can move VMware virtual machines between Workstation, VMware Player, VMware ACE, VMware Fusion, ESX, ESXi Embedded, ESXi Installable, and VMware Server. You can also import virtual machines from Microsoft Virtual Server and Virtual PC. For VMware virtual machines with disks set up by restoration from a backup of a physical host or by some other direct means of copying, Converter Standalone prepares the image to run on VMware virtual hardware. If you used a third-party virtualization software to create a virtual machine on an ESX host,

Configuring virtual machines
you can use Converter Standalone to reconfigure it. You can also reconfigure any operating system installed on a multiboot machine if you imported the virtual machine to an ESX host. Before you reconfigure a multiboot machine, you must change the boot.ini file. Converting and exporting virtual appliances You can convert and export virtual appliances stored in Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF and OVA). You can import a virtual appliance to run in an existing ESX host or Workstation virtual machine, or you can export an existing VMware virtual machine to an OVF virtual appliance to share over the network.
Virtual Appliance Overview
Converter Standalone supports importing virtual appliances stored in OVF 0.9 or OVF 1.0 and creating virtual appliances stored in OVF 1.0. An appliance is a preconfigured virtual machine that typically includes a preinstalled guest operating system and other software. Importing virtual appliances allows you to add preconfigured virtual machines to your vCenter, ESX Server, or Workstation inventory. Importing a virtual appliance is similar to deploying a virtual machine from a template. You can import a virtual appliance from any local file system accessible from the source machine or from a remote Web server. Local file systems can include local disks (such as C:), removable media (such as CDs or USB key chain drives), and shared network drives. OVF is not a bootable format. You cannot boot the file in a virtualization platform in its current state. You must import the appliance to either a hosted or managed destination to boot it. In addition to importing virtual appliances with Converter Standalone, you can also import OVF virtual appliances to ESX Server or a VirtualCenter server by using VI Client 2.5. Every OVF virtual appliance contains a.ovf file with metadata that describes the virtual appliance. An OVF virtual appliance can be packaged as a.ovf file where the.ovf file is a tarred file that contains all of the files in the OVF virtual appliance.

Managing Tasks

Converter Standalone provides a task manager to manage conversion tasks and configuration tasks. After you create a task to import or configure a machine, use the Task View of the task manager to perform the following tasks:

n n n n n n n

Control the number of concurrent conversion or configuration tasks. Create a copy of a task and edit it. Cancel a task. Delete a task. View a tasks progress. Export and view the log files for a task or for all tasks. Filter tasks that are displayed in the task list.

System Requirements

This information describes the requirements you must fulfill before you operate VMware vCenter Converter Standalone and describes the compatibilities and interoperabilities among the systems on which and with which Converter Standalone works. This chapter includes the following topics:

Because the target and the source virtual machines or system images have the same identities (name, SID, and so on), running both machines on the same network can result in conflicts. To redeploy the source virtual machine or system image, ensure that you do not run the source and target images or virtual machines on the same network at the same time. For example, if you use Converter Standalone to test the viability of running a Virtual PC virtual machine as a VMware virtual machine without first decommissioning the original Virtual PC machine, you must resolve the duplicate ID problem. To resolve this problem, use the optional View/Edit step in the Conversion wizard.
Changes That Conversion Causes to Virtual Hardware
Most migrated applications function correctly in the VMware virtual machine because their configuration and data files have the same location as the source virtual machine. Applications might not work if they depend on specific characteristics of the underlying hardware such as the serial number or the device manufacturer. The following hardware changes might occur after virtual machine migration:
CPU model and serial numbers (if activated) can be different after the migration. These numbers correspond to the physical computer hosting the VMware virtual machine. Ethernet adapter can be different (AMD PCNet or VMXnet) with a different MAC address. Each interface IP address must be individually reconfigured. Graphics card can be different (VMware SVGA card). The number of disks and partitions remains the same, but each disk device can have a different model and different manufacturer strings. Primary disk controllers can be different from the source machines controllers. Applications might not work if they depend on devices that are not available from within a virtual machine.
TCP/IP Port Requirements for Conversion
Converter Standalone uses specific ports in the conversion process. For a list of required TCP/IP ports during conversion, see Table 2-9. Table 2-9. Converter Standalone Port Requirements
Communication Path Converter Standalone server to remote Windows powered-on machine Converter Standalone server to remote Linux powered-on machine Helper virtual machine to remote Linux powered-on machine Converter Standalone to a VMware vCenter Server Converter Standalone to ESX 3.x Converter Standalone server to a helper virtual machine Powered-on machine to a VMware vCenter Server Powered-on machine to ESX 3.x Port 445, 139, 443 443, 902

VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine
Preallocated Not preallocated
2GB Split preallocated 2GB Split not preallocated
Distribute Disks over Several Datastores For managed destinations, disk-based cloning allows you to copy virtual disks to different datastores within your virtual environment. Prerequisites The destination for the virtual machine must have more than one datastore. The target datastores must be online and connected when the target virtual machine starts up. Disk-based cloning is not supported for physical machine sources. For Linux hosts, you can perform only disk-based cloning. Procedure On the View/Edit Options page, click Data to copy in the left pane. From the Data to copy drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout. A list of all virtual disks in the source machine appears. 3 In the Disk column, select a source virtual disk.
In the Type column, select the disk type from the drop-down menu. The options depend on the source machine you select.
Available Disk Type Flat Thin Description Copies the entire source disk size to the destination, regardless of its used and free space. Creates a thin provisioned disk. This option is available for managed destinations that support thin provisioning.
In the Target Datastore column, use the drop-down menus to select a destination datastore for each disk. (Optional) To change the datastore to accommodate the *.vmx destination configuration file, click Back and select the datastore from the drop-down menu. This menu appears only for virtual machine destinations in a VMware virtual infrastructure.
Click Next to view a summary of the conversion task. Click Finish to add the task to the task list.
The target virtual disks are saved to the datastores you specified in the conversion task. Distribute Volumes over Several Datastores To ease storage management, you can use the View/Edit Options page to migrate to separate disks all volumes except the active and system volumes. You can convert individual volumes and corresponding virtual disks and place the individual disks on different datastores. This ability allows you to have more direct control over storage limitations. You can create a separate virtual disk for each volume for all sources, except.ovf source images. Volume-based cloning depends on the operating system of the host machine. It is not supported for Linux hosts. Volume-based cloning is also the only possible cloning type for physical machine sources. Volume-based cloning allows you to choose which volumes to copy to the destination virtual disks, and to store separate source volumes in separate virtual disks. When you use managed destinations, you can select different datastores for the destination virtual disks. Prerequisites To change datastores, the virtual machine destination must have more than one datastore. Procedure On the View/Edit Options page, click Data to copy in the left pane. From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy. A list of all source volumes appears. 3 (Optional) To change the datastore to accommodate the *.vmx destination configuration file, click Back and select the datastore from the drop-down menu. This menu appears only for virtual machine destinations in a VMware infrastructure. Modify the settings in the source volumes list. (Optional) To save disk space on the destination, select Ignore page file and hibernation file. This optimization depends on the source operating system. This optimization saves disk space on the destination virtual machine by not copying to it the page file and hibernation file.

Yellow exclamation marks indicate settings that need your attention. If you do not edit the remaining options, Converter Standalone applies the default source values. Red cross marks indicate settings you must edit. Otherwise, you cannot navigate to the next page. Synchronize the Source with the Destination Machine You can synchronize source and destination machines after the conversion of a powered-on machine is complete. When cloning is complete, services are shut down and the source and destination machines are synchronized. Synchronization is available only for MS Windows XP or later source operating systems, managed destinations, and unmanaged ESX hosts. Synchronization is not available for OVF destinations. Procedure On the View/Edit Options page, click Advanced options. Select Synchronize changes that occur to the source during cloning. (Optional) VMware recommends that you select Power off source machine as well and specify the services to stop on the source during conversion. Select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion task.
Converter Standalone synchronizes the destination machine with the source machine after the conversion is complete. Adjust the Post-Conversion Power State Depending on the selected source machine and destination type, you can control the power state after the conversion. Prerequisites For all sources except virtual appliance sources, you can power off the source machine as soon as the conversion is complete, immediately after synchronization. For virtual infrastructure destinations, you can power on the target machine immediately after the conversion. Doing so allows quicker introduction of the new virtual machine into your virtual environment. Procedure 1 On the View/Edit Options page, click Advanced options. The list of advanced settings appears to the right. 2 In the Post-conversion power state panel, select one or both of the power state control options:
Option Power on target machine Power off source machine Description Appears for VMware Virtual Infrastructure destinations. Starts the newly created machine as soon as the conversion is finished. Appears for physical machines and virtual machine sources that are powered on during conversion setup. VMware recommends that you power off the source machine or stop the source services after you select Synchronize changes that occur to the source during cloning.
After the conversion, Converter Standalone powers off the source machine and/or powers on the destination machine based on your settings. Install VMware Tools On the Advanced Customization page, you can install VMware Tools. VMware Tools enhance the performance of your destination virtual machine. You can install VMware Tools to ESX, vCenter Server, Workstation 6.0 and 6.5, VMware Fusion 1.0 and 2.0, VMware Player 2.0 and 2.5, and ACE 2.0 and 2.5 destinations. Procedure 3 On the View/Edit Options page, click Advanced options. Select Install VMware Tools on the imported virtual machine. Select another option to set or click Next to view a summary of the conversion task.

You created a conversion task to produce a new virtual machine that ESX or vCenter Server runs.
Customize a Standalone or Workstation Virtual Machine
When you convert to a standalone virtual machine, you can adjust some of its attributes. If you do not adjust the virtual machine attributes, Converter Standalone applies the default conversion settings. Some of the options might vary depending on the selected destination Desktop Virtualization product type.
Procedure 1 From the Data to copy drop-down menu, select the data copy type.
Option Select volumes to copy Select disks to copy Linked clone Description Performs volume-based copying. Performs disk-based copying. Creates a virtual machine that shares the virtual disks of the source machine.
The options that appear in the drop-down menu depend on the selected source. Depending on the selected copy type, adjust the disk types, sizes, and locations. Click Devices to choose the number of processors to appear on the new virtual machine, the disk controller type, and the amount of memory allocated to this machine. The number of processors and the disk controller type depend on the selected source and the destination product type. 4 Click Networks to change the number of network adapters to connect on the destination machine. Use the drop-down menus to change the connection type. Select or deselect the check box next to each network connection to control its connection status when the destination machine powers on. Click Services to change the status of the source services and to set up the starting mode of the destination services. Click Advanced conversion options to customize the guest operating system, postconversion power state, postconversion synchronization, and VMware Tools installation. Click Next to view a summary of the conversion task. Click Finish to add the conversion task to the task list.
You created a conversion task to produce a new standalone virtual machine or VMware Workstation virtual machine.
Customize a Virtual Appliance
You can edit the target attributes when you convert a virtual machine source to a virtual appliance. Prerequisites You must complete the destination setup to access the target attributes. Procedure On the Destination page, click Next to go to the View/Edit Options page. Click Data to Copy to view information about the target virtual disks. Select Create a Manifest File to create a text file that contains a SHA1 digest of each of the files in the OVF package. Click Edit Product Information to edit the product name, URL, version, vendor, and vendor URL to include in the destination OVF or OVA package. The Product Information fields appear to the right. (Optional) To add custom properties to the target OVF package, click Product Properties in the left pane. Click Annotation to add any notes to be included in the target OVF or OVA package.

Click Edit Networks to create your own networks for the new virtual appliance. By default, Converter Standalone creates a network called VMNetwork.
Create a network and map it to a network adapter. a b c d e Click Add. Enter the name and description in the Network properties window and click OK. Repeat for each network to add to the list. From the Network adapters to connect drop-down menu, select a number. (Optional) On the Network adapters list, use the drop-down menus to map the new network to the network adapters. To remove a network from the list, select it and click Remove. If it is mapped to a network adapter, its network changes to the default network. The default network appears in the uppermost row of the networks list.
Click Edit EULAs to add end-user license agreements to the target virtual appliance. a b c Click Add and browse for the EULA files to include in the destination package. You can select multiple licenses. Click the up or down arrows to change the order in which the licenses are listed. Click Remove to remove a EULA file from the list.
Click Next to view a summary of the conversion task. Click Finish to add the conversion task to the Converter Standalone task list.
You created a conversion task to produce a new virtual appliance.
Configure the Product Properties of an Exported Virtual Appliance
For virtual appliance destinations, you can add custom product properties to the target OVF package. Property elements specify application-level customization parameters and are particularly relevant to appliances that must be customized with specific settings during deployment. Prerequisites All product properties are added to one product section. You cannot add or remove product sections in Converter Standalone. Procedure 1 On the View/Edit Options page, click Product Properties. The properties list appears to the right. You can sort any column by clicking its header. 2 (Optional) To add a new product property, click New. The Property Settings dialog box appears. a Type a category and a label for the new property. By default, the label value is copied in the ID text box, but you can change it if necessary. NOTE The ID of the property must be unique and the ID text box cannot be empty. b (Optional) Type a string in the Default value text box. The Type text box is read-only. Converter Standalone supports only the string property type. c (Optional) Type a description of the new property in the corresponding text box.

Cancel a Task

You can cancel a task in the queue or a task that is in progress. When you cancel a task, the task loses its place in the queue. To complete a canceled task, you must resubmit it to the task list. Canceling a task in progress does not suspend it. Canceling a task removes it from the conversion and reverts the source machine to its original state. You cannot restart a canceled task, but you can create a copy of the canceled task and add it to the task list to run it again. Procedure From the task list of the Task view, select a task. Click Cancel. The task is now out of the queue, the Start Time in the task list appears as three hyphens (---), and the time of cancellation appears in the End Time column. 3 (Optional) Right-click the canceled task and select Copy As New. The Conversion wizard opens. Complete the wizard to add the conversion task to the task list.

Delete a Task

The Delete option removes a task from the task list. The Delete option works on any task except for a task in progress. Prerequisites To delete a running task, cancel it and perform the following procedure. Procedure From the task list of the Task view, choose a task to remove. Click Delete.
The task is removed from the task list.
Check the Task Progress and Log Files
The Task list and the Task Details pane show the progress of tasks. If problems arise that cause the task to fail, you can also review information in the log files.
View Task Progress on page 76 The Task view and the Details view show the progress of tasks. You can check the estimated time left to the completion of a conversion task in the End Time column.
Export the Log Files for a Task on page 76 If problems arise that cause a task to fail, you can review information about the task in the log files or send a copy of log files to VMware technical support. You can export the log files for a specific task in the task list.
Export All Log Files on page 77 You can export the log files of all tasks that are present in the current server log files. UFAD and Client Log Files Locations on page 77 Converter Standalone saves log files as it operates.

View Task Progress

The Task view and the Details view show the progress of tasks. You can check the estimated time left to the completion of a conversion task in the End Time column. You can obtain a general sense of a tasks progress by looking at its row in the task list of the Task view. View the Task Progress tab in the Details view for more complete information. Procedure 1 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. 2 Click the Task Progress tab to view the conversion status and log highlights.
Export the Log Files for a Task
If problems arise that cause a task to fail, you can review information about the task in the log files or send a copy of log files to VMware technical support. You can export the log files for a specific task in the task list. Procedure Select the task in the task list. In the Details pane, click the Task Progress tab. Click Export Logs. Select a location to which to save the files and click Save.
The log files for this task are saved to the selected location. NOTE Windows Explorer does not allow you to view the logs if you are logged in with restricted (nonadministrator) user credentials. To avoid this situation, save the log files in a public folder rather than in a home directory.

Export All Log Files

You can export the log files of all tasks that are present in the current server log files. Procedure Select File > Export Logs. Select a location to which to save the files and click Save. All current server log files are saved to the selected directory. 3 Open the log files with a text editor.
UFAD and Client Log Files Locations
Converter Standalone saves log files as it operates. Table 6-1 lists the default locations where log files are saved. You can view the log files or send them to VMware support, if necessary. These file locations are also the file locations on the remote machine if you are running a remote hot clone. To send these log files from a remote machine to VMware support, you must manually compress and send them. Table 6-1. Log Files Locations
Log Files UFAD server and agent log files System Windows File Path %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\logs* /var/log/vmware-vcenterconverter-standalone/ %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings \Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone \Logs* $HOME/.vmware/VMware vCenter Converter Standalone/Logs/
UFAD server and agent log files Converter Standalone client log files

file allocation table (FAT) An area on a disk that stores information about the location of each piece of every file on the disk and about the location of unusable areas of the disk.
folder A managed entity used to group other managed entities. Folder types are determined by the types of child entities they contain. See also child. full clone A complete copy of the original virtual machine, including all associated virtual disks. See also linked clone. GOS (guest operating system) See guest operating system. growable disk A type of virtual disk in which the disk space is not preallocated to its full size. The disk files begin small and grow as data is written to the disk. See also preallocated disk. guest operating system An operating system that runs inside a virtual machine. See also host operating system. guest user An unauthenticated user who can log in to a system with a temporary user name and password. A guest user has restricted access to files and folders and has a set of restricted permissions host A computer that uses virtualization software to run virtual machines. Also called the host machine or host computer. The physical computer on which the virtualization (or other) software is installed.
host agent Software that performs actions on behalf of a remote client when installed on a virtual machine host. host computer The physical computer on which VMware vCenter Converter Standalone software is installed. hosted machine The physical computer on which the VMware Workstation software is installed. The hosted machine hosts the VMware Workstation virtual machines. hosted products VMware products (including Workstation, VMware Player, VMware Server, VMware ACE, and Lab Manager) that run as applications on physical machines with operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or Linux. See also hypervisor. host-only networking In hosted products, a type of network connection between a virtual machine and the host. With host-only networking, a virtual machine is connected to the host on a private network, which normally is not visible outside the host. Multiple virtual machines configured with host-only networking on the same host are on the same network. See also bridged networking, vCenter Converter Boot CD (VMware vCenter Converter Boot CD), custom networking, NAT (network address translation). host operating system An operating system that runs on the host machine. See also guest operating system. hot cloning In VMware vCenter Converter Standalone, cloning a local or remote physical machine while it is running in its own operating system. See also cold cloning. hot fix An installable file that resets a users password, renews an expired virtual machine, or enables a copyprotected virtual machine to run from a new location. hypervisor A platform that allows multiple operating systems to run on a host computer at the same time.
(1) Acronym for integrated drive electronics, a standard electronic interface used to connect mass storage devices to a computer. The ANSI name for IDE is Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA). See also SATA (serial advanced technology attachment). (2) Acronym for integrated development environment.

virtual machine configuration The specification of which virtual devices, such as disks and memory, are present in a virtual machine and how they are mapped to host files and devices. In vConverter, VMware virtual machines whose disks have been populated by restoring from a backup or by some other direct means of copying undergo configuration to enable them to boot in VMware products. See also virtual machine. virtual machine settings editor A point-and-click control panel used to view and modify the settings of a virtual machine setting. virtual memory An extension of a systems physical memory, enabled by the declaration of a page file. See also page file. virtual network A network connecting virtual machines that does not depend on physical hardware connections. For example, you can create a virtual network between a virtual machine and a host that has no external network connections. You can also create a LAN segment for communication between virtual machines on a team. See also LAN segment, team. virtual switch A virtualized network switch used by ESX server to manage traffic between virtual machines, the service console, and the physical network adapters on the ESX server machine. VM (acronym for virtual machine) Restricted use. A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and applications. A virtual machine is also referred to as a VM. Use the acronym VM when the screen or controls do not have sufficient space to use the complete term virtual machine.
Acronis True Image, source 21, 40 adding tasks 74 advanced customization guest operating system 56 installing VMware Tools 56 overview 55 powering machines on and off 56 removing system restore checkpoints 60 synchronizing source and destination 55
changing the number of tasks displayed 77, 78 cloning cloning modes 46 defined 10 disk cloning modes 16 disk-based cloning 17, 48 full clones 17 hot cloning 13 linked clones 17, 53 local cloning, defined 13 remote cloning, defined 13 volume-based cloning 16, 49 cold cloning, boot CD 12 command-line commands 31 configuring guest operating system 68 moving volumes to target virtual disk 50 new target disks 50 options 67 overview 65 selecting a source 67 selecting the options 67 selecting VMware Fusion source 67 selecting VMware Player source 67 selecting VMware Server source 67 selecting Workstation source 67 starting the Wizard 65 Sysprep files locations 66 target datastore 51 view summary 64, 72 viewing task summary 64, 72 connect to a remote Converter Standalone server 35
controlling the number of concurrent tasks 74 conversion, starting 38 conversion limitations Linux guest limitations 22 powered-on machine limitations 22 reconfiguration limitations 22 third-party images limitations 22 third-party virtual machines or system images 23 virtual appliances 23 virtual machines 22 windows guest limitations 22 conversion options for a standalone virtual machine 39 conversion tasks editing 75 managing 73 maximum running 74 conversion wizard, starting 38 conversion, selecting a procedure 37 Converter Standalone components 10 Converter Standalone agent 10 Converter Standalone client 10 Converter Standalone server 10 Introduction 9 Converter Standalone agent 10 Converter Standalone client 10 Converter Standalone server 10 converting, powered-on machines 55 copy source machine changes to destination 13 creating thin provisioned disks 52 customization cloning modes 46 data copy types 46 customizing advanced options 55 datastore folder 46 destination attributes 46 disk controllers 53 disk-based cloning 48 memory 53 network adapters 54 network connections 54 number of networks 54

Windows services, shut down 54 Windows XP, checking Windows Firewall blocks 27 Windows, Simple File Sharing 27 Workstation destination 23, 44 source 21 support 21

Xen, source 21

This book is intended for users who want to do the following:
Install, upgrade, or use Converter Standalone Nonintrusively copy and transform physical machines into VMware virtual machines that VMware vCenter manages
The material in this book is written for information systems engineers, software developers, QA engineers, trainers, salespeople who run demonstrations, and anyone who wants so create virtual machines.
VMware Technical Publications Glossary
VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Document Feedback

VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.
Technical Support and Education Resources
The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs. Online and Telephone Support To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product and contract information, and register your products, go to http://www.vmware.com/support. Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for the fastest response on priority 1 issues. Go to http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html. Support Offerings VMware Professional Services To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services. VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools. Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual environment. To access information about education classes, certification programs, and consulting services, go to http://www.vmware.com/services.
Introduction to VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone is a scalable solution to convert virtual and physical machines to VMware virtual machines. You can also configure existing virtual machines in your vCenter Server environment. Converter Standalone 4.3 eases the exchange of virtual machines among the following products.
VMware hosted products can be both conversion sources and conversion destinations.

n n n n

VMware Workstation VMware Fusion VMware Server VMware Player
Virtual machines running on an ESX instance that vCenter Server manages can be both conversion sources and conversion destinations. Virtual machines running on unmanaged ESX hosts can be both conversion sources and conversion destinations.
This chapter includes the following topics:

The following workflow demonstrates the principles of hot cloning physical machine sources 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 ESX/ESXi host. The helper virtual machine boots from a *.iso file that is located on the Converter Standalone server machine.
vCenter Converter Standalone agent and server Converter Standalone agent deploys helper virtual machine network ESX/ESXi

powered-on Linux machine

Helper VM
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 agent and server

network

data copied to the helper virtual machine
Optionally, after data is copied, the destination virtual machine is reconfigured to allow the operating system to boot in a virtual machine. 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.

Prepare for Cold Cloning

Because Converter Standalone 4.3 does not support cold cloning, you must use the Boot CD of an earlier vCenter Converter edition. The features supported on the Boot CD depend on the product version you choose. When you cold clone a machine, you reboot the source machine from a CD that has its own operating system and also includes the vCenter Converter application. You can find a detailed description of the cold cloning process in the documentation of the Boot CD you select to use. VMware vCenter Converter 4.1.x is not a free software product.

System Settings Affected by Conversion
A VMware virtual machine that Converter Standalone creates contains a copy of the disk state of the source physical machine, virtual machine, or system image. Some hardware-dependent drivers and sometimes the mapped drive letters might not be preserved. The following source computer settings remain unchanged:
Operating system configuration (computer name, security ID, user accounts, profiles, preferences, and so on) Applications and data files Volume serial number for each disk partition
Because the target and the source virtual machines or system images 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 or system image, make sure that you do not run the source and target images or virtual machines on the same network at the same time. For example, if you use Converter Standalone to test whether you can run a Virtual PC virtual machine as a VMware virtual machine without first decommissioning the original Virtual PC 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.
Changes to Virtual Hardware
After conversion, most applications function correctly on the VMware virtual machine because their configuration and data files have the same location as on the source virtual machine. However, applications might not work if they depend on specific characteristics of the underlying hardware, such as the serial number or the device manufacturer. Table 1-5 contains hardware changes that might occur after virtual machine migration. Table 1-5. Hardware Changes After Virtual Machine Migration
Hardware CPU model and serial numbers Ethernet adapters Graphics cards Behavior Might change after migration if they are activated. They correspond to the physical computer hosting the VMware virtual machine. Might change (AMD PCNet or VMXnet) and have a different MAC address. The IP address of each interface must be individually reconfigured. Might change after migration (VMware SVGA card).
Table 1-5. Hardware Changes After Virtual Machine Migration (Continued)
Hardware Disks and partitions Behavior The number of disks and partitions might change if you rearrange volumes during the cloning process. Each disk device might have a different model and different manufacturer strings. Might differ from the source machine.

Primary disk controllers

Applications might not work if they depend on devices that are not available within a virtual machine.

System Requirements

You must consider the compatibilities and the interoperabilities among the systems on which and with which the Converter Standalone components work. This chapter includes the following topics:

n n n n n n n n

Supported Operating Systems, on page 21 Installation Space Requirements, on page 22 Supported Source Types, on page 23 Supported Destination Types, on page 25 Configuring Permissions for VirtualCenter Users, on page 26 Support for IPv6 in Converter Standalone, on page 26 TCP/IP and UDP Port Requirements for Conversion, on page 27 Requirements for Remote Hot Cloning of Windows Operating Systems, on page 28

Chapter 3 Installing and Uninstalling Converter Standalone
In the Choose Setup Language dialog box, select the language for the install process and click OK. On the Setup Type page, select Client-Server installation (advanced) and click Next. On the Custom Setup page, select the components that you want to install and click Next.
Option Converter server Description 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. 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. Install Converter Standalone agent to allow the local machine to be a source machine for conversions. If you install only Converter Standalone client, you can connect to remote Converter Standalone server. You can then use the remote machine to convert hosted virtual machines, managed virtual machines, or remote physical machines.

Remote access

Converter agent Converter client
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 tasks locally. 6 (Optional) If you decided to install Remote access or Converter Standalone agent, modify the Web service ports on the Port Settings page.
Type the HTTPS port service number. Type the HTTP port service number. Type the Agent port service number.
On the Ready to Install page, click Install. (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. On the Installation Completed page, click Finish. A prompt might ask you to restart your system.
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.

Perform a Command-Line Installation in Windows
You can install Converter Standalone from the MS-DOS command prompt or by writing a Windows batch file (.bat) to automate the installation process. Prerequisites Make sure your system meets the Converter Standalone system requirements. Make sure that you have Administrator privileges.
If you have Converter 3.0.x installed and your machine runs Windows Vista, uninstall Converter 3.0.x manually before you install Converter Standalone 4.3. If you have an earlier version of Converter Standalone agent on the system, uninstall Converter Standalone agent. Procedure 3 Download the latest version of Converter Standalone from the VMware Web site. In the local directory to which you downloaded the installer, check the number of the build, which is a part of the installer filename. At the command line, install Converter Standalone silently with the log file written to the temp directory.
VMware-converter-<build>.exe /s /v"/qn ADDLOCAL=ALL /l*v %TEMP%\vmconvservermsi.log"
For more command-line options, see Command-Line Options for Windows Installation, on page 36. What to do next You can use Converter Standalone to convert physical or virtual machine sources to virtual machine destinations.
Command-Line Options for Windows Installation
You can use the command-line installation options when you install Converter Standalone from the MS-DOS command prompt in Windows or by writing a Windows batch file (.bat). For a list of options to perform command-line installation, see Table 3-1. Table 3-1. Command-Line Options
Option /s /v"<params>" /qn /qb /qf /l*v <Logfile> /x ADDLOCAL="ALL" PROPERTY=<property value> VMCE_HTTP_PORT Action Does not display the Windows Installer version check. Passes parameters to the msiexec.exe file. Runs the msi command in silent mode. Runs the msi command in basic mode. Runs the msi command in full mode. Records login information in the file provided in <Logfile>. Uninstalls VMware vCenter Converter Standalone. Installs full package. The parameter is case-sensitive. Sets the value of a property to <property value>. Sets the HTTP port. The default is 80. Remote machines connect to the server through this port to download the Converter Standalone client. Set the HTTPS port. The default is 443. Remote Converter Standalone clients connect to this port on the server and submit conversion tasks. Sets an Agent port. The default is 9089. Remote Converter Standalone servers connect to this port to convert this machine.

VMCE_HTTPS_PORT

VMCE_AGENT_PORT

Converter Standalone agent prepares the source machine for conversion. What to do next On the Destination System page you can select the destination type for the new virtual machine.
Select a Powered-On Linux Machine to Convert
You can select a powered-on Linux machine to convert. The source machine can be a physical or 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, you must prepare the source machine for conversion.
Enable SSH on the source Linux machine. Make sure that you use the root account to convert a Linux powered-on machine. Make sure that vCenter Converter server machine has network access to the Linux source machine. Make sure that no other conversion task is using the source you select. To be able to convert multiboot virtual machines, make sure to install GRUB as the boot loader. LILO is not supported.
Procedure On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select Powered-on machine from the Select source type drop-down menu. Provide the IP address or DNS name and root credentials for the Linux machine you want to convert. From the OS Family drop-down menu, select Linux. 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.
Select an ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server Virtual Machine to Convert
You can convert a powered-off virtual machine that is located on an ESX/ESXi host, or on an ESX/ESXi host managed by vCenter Server. 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 ESX 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 ESX 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 the Resource Management Guide. Power off the source machine before the conversion.
Procedure On the Source System page of the Conversion wizard, select VMware Infrastructure virtual machine from the Select source type drop-down menu. Provide the IP address or host name and credentials for authentication with the ESX host or the vCenter Server, and click Next.

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. If you are connected to a local Converter Standalone server, provide a network path or a local path to the.vmx file.
The file type choices are limited to VMware Workstation *.vmx files. 3 If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, enter 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. (Optional) To view more information about the selected source, click View source details Click Next to proceed to the Destination System page.
Select a Backup Image or a Third-Party Virtual Machine to Convert
You can select a backup image or a third-party virtual machine as the conversion source. Prerequisites Verify that your machine is a supported backup image or third-party virtual machine here Supported Source Types, on page 23. 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. Power off the source machine before the conversion.
Procedure On the Source System page, select Backup image or third-party virtual machine from the Select source type drop-down menu. Locate the source backup image or virtual machine file.
If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, provide a valid network path to the source backup image or virtual machine file in the Virtual machine file text box. For example, \\server\backup_images\backup_image.pvs. If you are connected to a local Converter Standalone server, provide a network path or a local path to the source backup image or virtual machine file.
If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, enter 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.
(Optional) To view more information about the selected source, click View source details Click Next to proceed to the Destination System page.
Select a Hyper-V Server Virtual Machine to Convert
You can convert virtual machines that Hyper-V Server manages. Prerequisites Power off the source Hyper-V virtual machine. Procedure On the Source System page, select Hyper-V Server from the Select source type drop-down menu. 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.

Use volume-based cloning to create an expandable disk. a b c From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy and click Advanced. Select the Destination layout tab, click a virtual disk, and select Thin from the Type drop-down menu. 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.
Create an Expandable Disk on a Hosted Destination
To save space on the destination, you can copy only the existing data from a source virtual disk. Later, as you use the destination virtual machine and write new data, the destination virtual disk grows. You can create an expandable disk by using volume-based or disk-based cloning.
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
Use disk-based cloning to create an expandable disk. a b c From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Copy all disks and maintain layout. From the Type drop-down menu, select Not pre-allocated. To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
Use volume-based cloning to create an expandable disk. a b c From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy and click Advanced. Select the Destination layout tab, select a virtual disk, and select Not pre-allocated from the Type drop-down menu. To apply your settings, select another option from the options list or click Next.
Exclude a Source Disk from the Conversion Task
You can select a disk from the source machine and delete it from the disk layout of the destination virtual machine. 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 From the Data copy type drop-down menu, select Select volumes to copy. Delete the disk.
Option Preserve the volumes associated with the disk Description a b c Delete the volumes associated with the disk a b Click Advanced and select the Destination layout tab. Move the volumes from the disk you want to delete to another virtual disks. Highlight the empty disk and click Remove disk. Click Advanced and select the Source volumes tab. Deselect the volumes associated with the disk that you want to delete.

Configure the Conversion Task
You can configure the conversion process and select the behavior of the source and destination machine during and after conversion. You can change the status of the source and destination services only when the source machine is running a Windows operating system.
Set the Startup Mode for Destination Services on page 68 To minimize downtime for a Windows service, you can select the service and have it start automatically on the destination virtual machine. You can also prevent Windows services from automatically starting on the destination machine.
Stop Services Running on the Source Machine on page 69 You can make sure that you do not lose data from services running on the source machine. You can select the services that you want to stop before Converter Standalone synchronizes the data between the source and destination machine. As a result, the services do not generate data while source and destination machines are synchronized.
Synchronize the Destination Machine with Changes Made to the Source Machine on page 70 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.
Power Off the Source Machine After Conversion on page 71 If your source machine is running services that you want to start on the destination virtual machine after conversion, you can power off the source machine to avoid interference between source and destination services.
Power On the Destination Virtual Machine After Conversion on page 71 You can minimize the downtime of important services by powering on the destination virtual machine immediately after the conversion is complete.
Limit the Amount of Resources Used by the Conversion Task on page 72 A conversion task competes for computing resources with other processes. To limit the impact of the conversion task on other workloads, you can throttle the task. If you do not throttle conversion tasks, they are carried out with normal priority and depending on the available computing resources during conversion.
Uninstall Converter Standalone Agent from the Source Machine on page 72 When setting up a conversion task for a powered-on Windows source or a Hyper-V Server virtual machine, you can choose how you want to remove the Converter Standalone agent from the source after the conversion. By default, the Converter Standalone agent is uninstalled automatically, but you can choose to uninstall it manually.
Set the Startup Mode for Destination Services

To minimize downtime for a Windows service, you can select the service and have it start automatically on the destination virtual machine. You can also prevent Windows services from automatically starting on the destination machine. 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 poweredoff, 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 Automatic Manual Disabled Description The service starts automatically after the destination machine is powered on. The service does not start after the destination machine is powered on, but you can start it manually. The service is disabled and does not start after the destination machine is powered on.
Stop Services Running on the Source Machine
You can make sure that you do not lose data from services running on the source machine. You can select the services that you want to stop before Converter Standalone synchronizes the data between the source and destination machine. As a result, the services do not generate data while source and destination machines are synchronized. 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 3 Click the Source services tab. To stop a service on the source machine before synchronization, highlight a service and select the Stop check box to the right. Save your settings.
Converter Standalone stops the selected source services before it synchronizes the destination machine with the source machine.
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. Synchronization is available only for Windows XP or later source operating systems. If you resize FAT volumes or shrink NTFS volumes, you cannot use the synchronization option. Prerequisites Stop various source services to make sure they do not generate additional changes during the synchronization, as that might lead to data loss. On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options. Procedure Select Synchronize changes that occur to the source during cloning. Save your settings.

Converter Standalone synchronizes the destination machine with the source machine after the conversion is complete.
Power Off the Source Machine After Conversion
If your source machine is running services that you want to start on the destination virtual machine after conversion, you can power off the source machine to avoid interference between source and destination services. Prerequisites On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options. Procedure In the Post-conversion power state panel, select Power off source machine. Save your settings.
Converter Standalone powers off the source machine after the conversion is complete.
Power On the Destination Virtual Machine After Conversion
You can minimize the downtime of important services by powering on the destination virtual machine immediately after the conversion is complete. Prerequisites On the Options page of the Conversion wizard, click Advanced options. Procedure In the Post-conversion power state panel, select Power on destination machine. Save your settings.
After the conversion, Converter Standalone powers on the destination machine.
Limit the Amount of Resources Used by the Conversion Task
A conversion task competes for computing resources with other processes. To limit the impact of the conversion task on other workloads, you can throttle the task. If you do not throttle conversion tasks, they are carried out with normal priority and depending on the available computing resources during conversion. A powered-on source machine runs its own conversion task. You can limit the impact of the conversion task 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 tasks for powered-on source machines that run Linux. Procedure On the Options page, select Throttling from the options list. From the CPU throttling drop-down menu, select the priority of the conversion task.
Option None Light Medium Description The priority of the current conversion task is set to normal. The priority of the current conversion task is reduced slightly below normal. The priority of the current conversion task is set to lowest.
NOTE Converter Standalone reduces the thread priorities of conversion tasks to control the CPU resources they consume. (Optional) Select Network bandwidth throttling and specify the maximum network bandwidth at which Converter Standalone performs the conversion task. Save your settings.

Specify the vCenter Server Virtual Machine to Configure
If you choose to configure a virtual machine managed by a vCenter Server or ESX host, you must browse the inventory to locate the source virtual machine. 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.
From the virtual machines list, select the virtual machine you want to configure. You can search for virtual machines in the VM 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 If you connect to a vCenter Server that has a disconnected ESX instance (powered off, connected to another vCenter Server, or in maintenace mode), you cannot select a virtual machine from that ESX host.
(Optional) To refresh the Inventory, click Refresh. (Optional) To view more details about a machine, select it and click View source details. Click Next to proceed to the Options page.
What to do next On the Options page of the Configuration wizard, you can select the required configuration options.
Select a VMware Desktop Virtual Machine to Configure
If the system you want to configure is a standalone VMware virtual machine created with VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion, VMware Player, VMware Server, or VMware ACE, you must select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine as the configuration source type. 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 On the Source System page of the Configuration wizard, select VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine. Locate the virtual machine source.
The file type choices are limited to VMware Workstation *.vmx files. 3 If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, enter 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. (Optional) To view more information about the selected source, click View source details Click Next to proceed to the Options page.