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Moving to new ESXi Host

I

IT101

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Joined
Mar 18, 2015
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17
So I have a built a new ESXi host and need to move my current VMs to it. My only issue I see right now is moving one of my VMs as it is my Plex Media server.
I have 2 HDDs in the current host one for ESXi OS and it also holds the VMs C Drives, the second HDD is a 3TB drive that is completely provisioned for Plex. So to clarify, my Plex server has a C drive with just Win7 on it and a D drive for all the media.

My question is, when I backup my Plex server, will I need a HDD that can hold the both the vmdk for C and D or can I somehow break them up and put them back together in the new host? I am sorry if I am not explaining/asking this correctly.

Or can I somehow move the VM host to host if I can get another 3TB HDD?
 
You should just be able to unplug them from one host and plug them into the new host. The file systems is VMFS5 I bet. Just make sure you boot off of the new media (USB, etc.) then the disks should just appear is ESXi (provided that the local SATA controlerl is supported/driver is install. Also since is does not sound like you are using RAID.
 
No sir, I am not using RAID.

So I can move my VMs OS drives to a new HDD. Then I can using my current ESXi drive in my new host, install ESXi and have it recognize all the data?

Or can I just move the HDDs over and have it boot on the new hardware?
 
Load ESXi onto a USB key, boot off of that USB key to make sure it works. Once done move the disks (physically) from the old server to the new server, boot off of the new USB key, then make sure the datastores come up on the new host and you should be good to go. I personally would move ESXi from the C drive of the old server off as it makes moving the disk easier in the future. Also, be sure you are backing up your VMs (or data off of them). Nothing replaces a good backup, and RAID is not a backup. Hope that helps.
 
This helps tremendously.
Should I keep ESXi running off the USB key in the new server for good or put it on a HDD after I know everything works?

With the new server I will have more room for expansion, so more disks.
I have CrashPlan running on all my VMs, is there a better solution?
 
ESXi is stateless so once it loads there is nothing the USB/HDD will be used for again other than loading ESXi. There is no need to keep it on a HDD unless you want to RAID them and have maximum up time. However, this is a home environment so reloading a USB key with ESXi is a simple task. Just use a good USB drive.

Crashplan backs up your data but not the VM. If you are okay with reloading and reconfiguring the VM(s) on your server then you should be set as you are now.
 
peanuthead said:
ESXi is stateless so once it loads there is nothing the USB/HDD will be used for again other than loading ESXi. There is no need to keep it on a HDD unless you want to RAID them and have maximum up time. However, this is a home environment so reloading a USB key with ESXi is a simple task. Just use a good USB drive.
Click to expand...

Did not know this, Thank you very much for the info!

Crashplan backs up your data but not the VM. If you are okay with reloading and reconfiguring the VM(s) on your server then you should be set as you are now.
Click to expand...

I'm OK with CrashPlan since it is a set and forget solution (even though I had some issues getting it through my Sophos firewall) But is there a better solution that can actually backup the VM itself and not just inside the VM?
 
Since you are using the free version of ESXi your backup options are limited. Do a search in this sub-forum and you will find a few good threads about it.
 
That is what I have been reading about. I will keep the search going.

Thank you very much for all your help and advice! It has helped more than you know.
 
Im sorry, I have one last question.

My current host is ESXi 5.5. Is it worth it to install 6.0 on my new server? If so, do I need to do anything to my VMs to prepare them for 6.0?

(Sorry again, that's 2 questions.)
 
No worries. Only you can determine whether to install 5.5 or 6.0. I don't see an issue. If I were you I would install 5.5 first, make sure everything is okay, then upgrade to 6.0. Takes one less variable out of the equation.
 
Great. Thanks for the advice again! I am having no issues with 5.5 right now so if there isn't any new feature/benefit in 6 then I will probably just stick with 5.5.
 
You will need to lookup the benefits, etc. There are some but mainly for corporate users IMO.
 
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