Few questions about P2V conversions?

[AMD_Gamer]

Is it recommended now to install the vCenter Converter on the machine you are doing a P2V from or is doing the remote agent install and doing it remotely still ok? I read a few months ago that they were dropping support for the remote agent P2V or was that only for the plugin with vCenter Server? I am confused because the new vCenter Converter 5.0 still lets you do this so i assume it was just the vCenter plugin that they are dropping?

For P2V conversion what are some services you should stop on the machine? and when you are doing a domain controller or something like a small business server how do you make it so no changes are made to the system or does the converter agent keep track of changes right up until the end?

 

[geiger]

The agent does all the work on the source machine. Generally the one integrated with vCenter will work. Some OS's the boot CD is a better fit like older Linux distros. If you are really concerned about no changes to the source OS the CD would be the best option as well.

As far as prep goes, remove all hardware related monitoring like Dell OpenManage.

P2V isn't always the best option for migrating a system. In the case of a Windows DC, you are better off building a fresh box, DCPROMO, then transfer FSMO roles.