VM disk (VMDK/VHD) Copy, Conversion & Import of a Linux guest from VMware to SvHCI

This example demonstrates migrating an Ubuntu 20.04 virtual machine named mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com from VMware to StorMagic SvHCI.

Shut down the guest operating system before beginning the migration.

Before beginning, create an Ubuntu Desktop conversion virtual machine as described in the following article:

Enable the ESXi sshClient firewall ruleset.

esxcli network firewall ruleset set --ruleset-id sshClient --enabled=true

Example:

[root@esxi1:/vmfs/volumes/662974cc-8dd200fe-83b8-5cb901d54598/mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com] esxcli network firewall ruleset list --ruleset-id sshClient

Name Enabled

--------- -------

sshClient false

[root@esxi1:/vmfs/volumes/662974cc-8dd200fe-83b8-5cb901d54598/mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com] esxcli network firewall ruleset set --ruleset-id sshClient --enabled=true

[root@esxi1:/vmfs/volumes/662974cc-8dd200fe-83b8-5cb901d54598/mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com] esxcli network firewall ruleset list --ruleset-id sshClient

Name Enabled

--------- -------

sshClient true

When finished, disable the firewall rule again.

esxcli network firewall ruleset set --ruleset-id sshClient --enabled=false

Copy both the .vmdk descriptor file and the corresponding -flat.vmdk file to the Ubuntu converter virtual machine using SCP. Ensure SSH is enabled on the converter VM.

scp file.txt remote_username@10.10.0.2:/remote/directory

If SSH is not already installed on Ubuntu Desktop, install and enable the OpenSSH server.

sudo apt install openssh-server
sudo systemctl enable --now ssh

Example of copying both VMware virtual disk files to a converter VM located at 10.10.130.108.

[root@esxi1:/vmfs/volumes/662974cc-8dd200fe-83b8-5cb901d54598/mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com] scp ./mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com-flat.vmdk mchristie@10.10.130.108:/home/mchristie/

The authenticity of host '10.10.130.108 (10.10.130.108)' can't be established.

ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:ist2c8VCjVPZL8I8xNc8U0yxqYS+FgE15WD/K+hX68s.

This key is not known by any other names

Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes

Warning: Permanently added '10.10.130.108' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.

mchristie@10.10.130.108's password:

hostfile_replace_entries: link /.ssh/known_hosts to /.ssh/known_hosts.old: Function not implemented

update_known_hosts: hostfile_replace_entries failed for /.ssh/known_hosts: Function not implemented

mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com-flat.vmdk

[root@esxi1:/vmfs/volumes/662974cc-8dd200fe-83b8-5cb901d54598/mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com] scp ./mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com.vmdk mchristie@10.10.130.108:/home/mchristie/

mchristie@10.10.130.108's password:

hostfile_replace_entries: link /.ssh/known_hosts to /.ssh/known_hosts.old: Function not implemented

update_known_hosts: hostfile_replace_entries failed for /.ssh/known_hosts: Function not implemented

mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com.vmdk

Convert the VMDK into RAW format using the qemu-img utility.

qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O raw image.vmdk image.img

Example:

root@vmdk-converter-vm:/home/mchristie# qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O raw ./mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com.vmdk ./mc-plugin.ts.stormagic.com.img

From the Virtual Machines menu, select the option to upload a disk image.

Browse to the converted RAW disk file and upload it into the appropriate storage pool.

Compare the VMware virtual machine configuration, including CPU, memory, and network MAC address.

In the Virtual Machines menu, select Create Virtual Machine.

Configure the virtual machine name, guest operating system, boot firmware, CPU and core count, and select the VirtIO storage controller.

Select Add Disk and choose to attach an existing disk instead of creating a new one. Select the RAW disk that was uploaded previously.

Add a network adapter connected to the appropriate port group and configure the MAC address to match the original VMware virtual machine.

Preserving the MAC address allows the guest to retain its existing IP address and avoids unnecessary ARP table updates on the network.

Create the virtual machine.

Power on the newly created virtual machine.

The guest should start successfully, retaining the original IP address, MAC address, and existing data from the VMware virtual machine.

StorMagic Product Documentation