Migrating Redhat XEN Virtual Machine to VMware 1.x

Migrating Redhat XEN Virtual Machine to VMware 1.x


Release:

RedHat Enterprise Linux

VMware 1.x


Problem:

Migrating Redhat Xen virtual machine to VMware Server 1.x


Solution:

Note: Only “Fully Virtualized” Xen virtual machines are able to be migrated to VMware

Configuration changes to be done on Xen virtual machine:

1) Modify /etc/modprobe.conf to add the proper SCSI and network card modules which are configured in Vmware Server.

# vi /etc/modprobe.conf

alias eth0 pcnet32

alias scsi_hostadapter mptbase

alias scsi_hostadapter1 mptspi

alias scsi_hostadapter2 ata_piix

Note: Once modified the kernel modules, you won’t be able to properly start the machine, and you will receive a Kernel panic error message.


Convert VM migration disk:

          To convert a XEN machine in a .vmdk format to be used with VMware, a tool called qemu will be used. QEMU is a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer. It is also a fast processor emulator using dynamic translation to achieve good emulation speed.


2) Download qemu from the below link

http://dag.wieers.com/rpm/packages/qemu/


3) Install the downloaded RPM

# rpm –ivh qemu-0.12.4-1.el5.rf.i386.rpm


4) Convert the XEN machine disk to VMware disk

# qemu-img convert -O vmdk


5) Now we have a valid VMware Server 1.xx disk device file. This can be added on onto any VMware Server.


6) Create a new virtual machine. Under Hard disk configuration, select “use existing hard disk”.


Note: If the storage controller and network controllers are not integrated in /etc/modprobe.conf, system might refuse to boot. Hence, it is mandatory to add necessary links to driver modules.