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Migrate XenServer --> ESXi

A

Amars

n00b
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Feb 17, 2012
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Hi, I am hoping to migrate 2 VMs from Xenserver 6 to ESXi 5. I have 1 mission critical machine (Server 2008 r2 DC) that needs to experience minimal downtime (1 hour or less would be prefered). Should I just export the image to OVF format from the xen console (after removing xen tools) then import the OVF into ESXi? Is anything trick required to import this image, or just use OVF Tool?
Thanks,
Any and all input is appreciated!
 
Do you have other domain controllers in the environment? It would be better to dcpromo a fresh server, then transfer the fsmo roles. If you do any type of snapshot, you could end up with AD in an inconsistant state.
 
I agree. Even if it was just a temp box. DCPromo is a pretty simple process.
 
dcpromo dcpromo dcpromo

Don't try to convert DCs. It don't go well.
 
Shut down the domain controller. Export from Xen to OVF. Import to VMWare as OVF. Power up. Uninstall XEN Tools. Install VMWare Tools. Reboot. Done.

The only problem with syncronization issues would be if you tried to a live sync with VMWare converter or similar.
 
Last time I checked, you can't export from XenServer to OVF.

Even so, OVF isn't a "standard" format, as there are many people who decided to make their own OVF formats - Even if you could get from an .XVA file to a .OVF, it would most likely not be compatible and your networking and such would be screwed up.

It is much easier to use VMware's P2V converter, to convert the "physical" machine to a virtual VMware machine. The converter connects to your "physical" machine using MMC, and installs the converter to export the machine to VMware. The only problem I encountered while doing this (So I know so far) is that the networking settings are lost due to the change of adapters (From a Citrix Xen ethernet card to a VMware Intel card). Of course, both of those cards are independent, and with a properly written application, whether it's written in Linux or Windows, shouldn't rely on the physical cards: They should rely on the actual addresses of the cards and are not hardware dependent (That's the OS Kernel's job)

The VMware Standalone Converter should be installed on a temporary client machine in the full mode, and you can then deploy jobs to your physical servers to convert them directly into VMware. It works EXTREMELY well for what it is, and its free. Can't beat that.

EDIT: I just realized I bumped a month old thread. Ah oh well, I was browsing and figured I'd chip in my 2 cents. Hope this helps someone.
 
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Its easy to convert a DC as long as you know how. I can give your a pretty easy procedure but it will require some down time.
 
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