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VMware Converter User’s Manual
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VMware, Inc.
What’s New for Customers of P2V Assistant and Virtual Machine
Importer
VMware Converter expands the functionality available to users of P2V Assistant and Virtual Machine
Importer. Here are some of the new features and capabilities you get when using VMware Converter.
For Users of VMware P2V Assistant
In moving from P2V Assistant to VMware Converter, you see more options and abilities in migrating physical
machines, along with the new ability to migrate virtual machines.
VMware Converter provides:
ɸ
Single, central management console to easily deploy, manage, and queue conversions without the need
for a Helper virtual machine.
ɸ
New hot cloning functionality for cloning a physical machine while it is running, with zero server
downtime for the source system.
ɸ
Local cold cloning functionality using the bootable VMware Converter Boot CD, with a broader range of
supported source operating systems.
ɸ
Remote cloning to remove the need to walk to and physically interact with each physical machine.
ɸ
Custom tool for adding additional Windows drivers to the Converter Boot CD ISO image.
ɸ
Broad hardware support for physical machines as compared to the previous generation P2V Assistant
product.
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Block‐based cloning to enable significantly faster cloning speeds than P2V Assistant 2.x file‐based cloning.
ɸ
Fewer manual steps for conversion as compared to P2V Assistant.
Converter supports:
ɸ
Multiple simultaneous conversions for a higher degree of scalability.
ɸ
Cloning a wide variety of Windows operating system platforms including Windows XP,
Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4 (SP6 +), and 64‐bit Windows Support
(Windows XP and Windows Server 2003).
ɸ
Conversion of standalone VMware virtual machine disk formats (VMware Workstation, VMware
Consolidated Backup, VMware GSX Server and VMware Server) across all VMware virtual machine
platforms (including ESX Server 3.x and VirtualCenter 2.x managed servers as target host).
ɸ
Conversion of third‐party disk image formats such as Microsoft Virtual PC, Microsoft Virtual Server,
StorageCraft ShadowProtect (experimental support), Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery (formerly
LiveState Recovery), and Norton Ghost 9 and 10 to VMware virtual machine disk format.
For Users of VMware Virtual Machine Importer
In moving from Virtual Machine Importer to VMware Converter, you see more options and abilities in
migrating virtual machines, along with the new ability to migrate physical machines.
VMware Converter provides:
ɸ
Single, central management console to easily deploy, manage, and queue conversions.
ɸ
Multiple simultaneous conversions for a higher degree of scalability.
ɸ
Local hot cloning of physical machines for live migrations with zero server downtime for the source
machine.
ɸ
Remote hot cloning of physical machines.
ɸ
Image customization feature for modification of the virtual machine’s guest operating system properties
after the conversion.