Using VMware Converter to convert XenServer virtual machines to VMware virtual machines

Technical Specifications

The following product versions were used to write this article:

• Citrix XenServer version 4 Enterprise Edition
• VMware Converter version 3.0.3 Enterprise Edition or later

Guest operating systems supported

All Windows guests supported by XenServer and Converter.

Prerequisites

1. You must be using VMware Converter 3.0.3 or later.
2. The source virtual machine must not be para-virtualized. Normally none of the previously listed guest operating systems are para-virtualized.

Methods of Conversion

Cold Cloning Process

For this process use the VMware Converter Boot CD to clone the virtual machine. To download the CD image, see: http://www.vmware.com/download/download.do?downloadGroup=CONVERTER3

To cold clone:

1. Restart the source virtual machine on the originating platform and boot into the VMware Converter Boot CD. For more information on assigning the VMware Converter Boot CD to the virtual machine, see the section below.
   
   Note: The virtual machine must be assigned at least 264MB of memory to successfully run the Converter Boot CD.
   
   
2. When the VMware Converter application is launched, use it to convert the virtual machine into a VMware Workstation virtual machine or VMware ESX virtual machine. For more information on completing this step, see the VMware Converter 3.0.3 User's Manual, the VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.x User's Guide, or the VMware vCenter Converter 4.x Installation and Administration Guide.

Booting the Converter Boot CD from the virtual machine

There are several ways of associating the CD to the XenServer virtual machine.

• Using physical media
  Burn the Converter Boot CD image (ISO) onto physical media and insert it in the XenServer physical server.
  Use the XenCenter GUI to associate the CD to a virtual machine and restart it.
  
  By default, virtual machines that use Xen Paravirtualization (PV) do not allow you to choose the boot order on XenCenter. To be able to choose the boot order, login to the Xen host via SSH and perform these steps:
  
  1. Run this command to list the virtual machines on the Xen server:
     
     xe xm-list
     
     
  2. Find your Xen virtual machine name in the format [name-label] and obtain the uuid.
  3. Run this command:
     
     xe vm-param-set HVM-boot-policy="BIOS order" uuid=""
     
     Where is the virtual machine uuid discovered using the xe xm-list command.
     
     You can now select the boot order using VM properties on XenCenter by selecting Startup Options.
     
     
• Using a CIFS share
  Share the folder containing the Boot CD image ISO. Use XenCenter GUI to access the CIFS share and assign the ISO image to the virtual machine and then restart it.
  
  
• Using xe command line interface
  Copy the Boot CD ISO to the XenServer using SSH WinSCP. Use the xe command to enumerate the virtual machines. Attach the CD ISO to the virtual machine and restart it. For detailed list of xe commands, see the Xen wiki.

Ref: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1005298