The Soul of a Virtual Machine : Migration (P2V)

Migrating Windows Server 2003 SP1 to a virtual machine

megand — Wed, 18 May 2005 23:51:00 GMT

If you want to use Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT) to migrate a computer running Windows Server 2003 SP1 to a virtual machine, you'll need to copy some system files from your installation of Windows Server 2003 SP1 to the computer running VSMT. Normally VSMT automatically swaps out certain system files in your installation for others that are compatible with virtual machine emulated hardware, but VSMT doesn't have the necessary files for Windows Server 2003 SP1. This is because VSMT was released before Windows Server 2003 SP1.

1. Copy the following files from your installation of Windows Server 2003 SP1 to %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\Patches\Source\5.2.3790\sp1\.

a. From %SystemDrive%\WINNT\system32\drivers, copy the following files:

atapi.sys
intelide.sys
pciide.sys
pciidex.sys

b. From %SystemDrive%\WINNT\Driver Cache\i386\driver.cab, copy the following file:

aic78xx.sys

c. From %SystemDrive%\WINNT\Driver Cache\i386\sp1.cab, copy the following files:

hal.dll
halacpi.dll
ntkrnlpa.exe
ntoskrnl.exe

2. Copy the following XML files from %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\Patches\Source\5.2.3790\ to %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\Patches\Source\5.2.3790\sp1\:

finish.xml
hal.xml
hal_nacpi.xml
start.xml
storage.xml
storageSCSI.xml
UNIPROC.xml

For more information how VSMT swaps out system files and the reasons why it's important, see the "Step 6: Load system files" topic in the VSMT User's Guide (%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\Help\vsmt.chm). To download VSMT, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/evaluation/vsmt.mspx.

Important notes:

You should either run Windows Server 2003 SP1 under Virtual Server 2005 SP1 (now in beta), or at least install the Virtual Machine Additions that ship with Virtual Server 2005 SP1. Otherwise, you may be unhappy with your virtual machine's performance. For more information about the beta, see http://blogs.technet.com/megand/archive/2005/04/20/403950.aspx.
ADS 1.0 doesn't work with Windows Server 2003 SP1. If you installed ADS 1.0 and pointed it to Server2003-SP1 SlipStream binaries, you'll get an error (Error Code: 81070303). To fix the problem, you'll need to uninstall ADS, then reinstall it. During setup when it asks for location of windows files, point it to Server2003 RTM binaries.

Migrating from virtual to physical

megand — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 03:53:00 GMT

Eric sent me this question: "Do you know if it's possible to migrate a virtual machine to a physical one using ADS or any other tool?"

Unfortunately, I don't know of an easy way to migrate a virtual machine to a physical one, Eric, nor do I know of any tools. The issue is fixing the hardware-dependent system files. Because the hardware of a physical computer may be (or probably is) different than the hardware emulated by the virtual machine, you may need to swap system files that depend on the emulated hardware of the virtual machine for other files that will allow the operating system to run on the hardware of the physical computer. The system files include certain HAL and kernel files. You also may need to swap storage drivers needed for the operating system to boot correctly on the physical hardware. For more information about the hardware emulated by virtual machines, see "Emulated hardware" in the Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide. If you want some background information on the issues, read the documentation I wrote for Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT). It's installed when you install VSMT (go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/evaluation/vsmt.mspx).

The "gotcha" about swapping system files is that Microsoft won't support the OS if you've changed its HAL file. If you use VSMT, the migration is supported, but not if you do it manually.

-Megan

Blogcast series: Using VSMT to migrate an NT4 server to Virtual Server 2005

megand — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 23:59:00 GMT

John Howard has posted a series of blogcasts (e.g., video clips published on a blog) that walk you through the process of using VSMT to migrate a Windows NT 4.0 server into a virtual machine running under Virtual Server 2005. You can find them on his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/jhoward. The first blogcast of the series is at http://blogs.msdn.com/jhoward/archive/2005/01/04/346147.aspx.

Great job, John. Thanks!

Detailed documentation for Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT)

megand — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 17:52:00 GMT

Although there are high-level instructions on performing a migration in the VSMT whitepaper (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/overview/vsmtwhitepaper.mspx), if you're going to do a serious migration, you need to follow the detailed documentation in the "Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit User's Guide." You'll find it at %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\Help\VSMT.chm. This documentation will get you reliably from here to there, and if you have problems, the issue is very likely covered in the Troubleshooting topic. If it isn't, please let me know.

Also, for some guidance with planning a migration and capacity planning, be sure to read the "Solution Accelerator for Consolidating and Migrating LOB Applications," available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/ucs/lob/lobsa/default.mspx.

Upcoming Webcast: Options for Upgrading NT4 LOB Applications Including Using Virtual Server 2005

megand — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 23:41:00 GMT

On Friday, January 07, 2005 11:30 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada), Kevin Remde, a Technet presenter, will discuss ways you can upgrade your existing NT 4 applications. As Windows NT 4.0 Server comes to the end of its supported life, many organizations still have vital line of business (LOB) applications that run on this platform. Kevin provides details on the different tools that Microsoft provides for moving these applications to a newer platform, including Virtual Server 2005. To register, go to http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032266390.

Migrating a dynamic physical disk to a virtual hard disk

megand — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 22:40:00 GMT

[Updated on 1/6/05.]

Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT) doesn't support migrating a dynamic physical disk to a virtual hard disk (VHD). One option for dealing with this is to convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk and then perform the migration. This isn't very practical for a migration, though, because you have to remove all of the data from the dynamic disk before you can convert it back to a basic disk. For more information, see the disk management documentation for your operating system.

Alternatively, you can skip a dynamic physical disk during migration by using the /ExcludeDrives parameter of VMScript. Then, if it contains only data and no operating system, you can manually migrate the disk. Robert Larson suggests using one of the following two methods for a performing manual migration (Thanks Robert!):

Method A

Shut down any services that are using the data on the dynamic disk.
Create a VHD that is the same size as the dynamic disk or larger.
Add the VHD to a virtual machine that is running a bootable operating system, so that you have file access to the VHD.
From within the guest operating system, format the VHD using the same format as the dynamic disk.
Use a file copy tool like XCOPY or ROBOCOPY to copy the data to the VHD from the dynamic disk with ACLs attached.

Method B

Shut down any services that are using the data on the dynamic disk.
Create a VHD that is the same size as the dynamic disk or larger and in the same format.
Add the VHD to a virtual machine that is running a bootable operating system, so that you have file access to the VHD.
Use an imaging tool to image the dynamic disk to a network location.
Use the imaging tool to restore the image to the VHD.

If your dynamic disk contains a system partition, your options are as follows:

Image the disk and then copy it to a VHD, as in Method B. This will only work if the source computer hardware is compatible with the virtual machine emulated hardware. For one important thing, it must have a compatible HAL type. For more info, see "Supported HAL types" and the whole section titled "Loading system files" in the Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit User's Guide (%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft VSMT\VSMT.chm). For details on emulated hardware, see "Emulated hardware" in the Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide.
Skip the disk using the /ExcludeDrives parameter and then install the operating system manually onto a VHD and manually copy any data on the disk as well.
Use Platespin Power P2V (http://www.platespin.com/Products/PowerP2V_Virtual_Server.aspx). It supports migration of dynamic disks. Unfortunately, it isn't a free tool like VSMT.

The option that you DO NOT have is converting the dynamic disk to a basic disk if it contains a system volume, as you can only convert dynamic disks to basic disks when there is absolutely no data, including any system files, on the disk.