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I have a server that san boots that I want to p2v. I have many options disk2vhd, scvmm etc but I was thinking about cloning the lun (flexclone, netapp) presenting it to my hyper-v r2 server. Within the hv manager do a create new disk then have it copy the cloned lun to a vhd file. Then do the bcdedit\bootsect stuff to it. Should work right? I'm also curious if anybodys booting vhd's that are on bootable luns? I've booted native vhd's just fine was just curious about the running them off a bootable lun. I think that this has quite a few advantages like instant p2v etc.. any thoughts on this?

hmm dang as I was typing this I realized that I should not use the hv manager new disk copy routine, I should just disk2vhd the mounted lun. This has advantages in that it should be a lot faster!!

discovered that disk2vhd may be flaky, crashed the first time I ran it! thanks

tony roth
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1 Answers1

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I use Citrix XenConvert to P2V our Windows servers into Microsoft Hyper-V. Yes, it was designed to be used with Xen, but it offers VHD as an output file type, and it is very effective. In all instances to date, the hosts have been running Hyper-V on Server 2008 x64 Standard or Server 2008 R2 Standard, and the guests have been running Server 2003.

I don't see any reason why this procedure wouldn't work on a server that boots from SAN:

First, I run XenConvert on the physical server while it's running (but outside of production hours). Then, I create the new virtual server with a Legacy Network Adapter, map the drive(s) to the VHD file(s) that I've created with XenConvert, shut down the old server, and fire up the new virtual server. It is easiest to RDP into the newly virtualized server to install Integration Services, because the mouse will not work via the Hyper-V console until they are installed. It's also possible to do via the keyboard on the Hyper-V host, but only in full screen mode: otherwise key combinations like ^-Esc go to the host.

I too have tried Disk2VHD and found it to be flaky. XenConvert works better.

[edit] download link: http://www.citrix.com/English/ss/downloads/details.asp?downloadId=1862307&productId=683148#top

Cheers,

Miles

Skyhawk
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  • thanks for the input on xenconvert, does it skip empty blocks like disk2vhd does? When I used scvmm r2 to p2v it would take at least 30+ minutes to do a 32gig partition. With my method above (after I fixed disk2vhd issues) it p2v'd in 2 minutes (4 minutes including creating the flexclone) on the same 32gig partition. – tony roth Mar 26 '10 at 13:53
  • I'm not sure; it does create sparse VHD files but I don't know whether it actually skips reading empty blocks during the conversion. Version 2.1 is supposed to have speed improvements, but we haven't had occasion to use it yet. Our DAS is probably slower than your SAN, so it's hard to compare elapsed time; 2 minutes is quite fast. What ultimately resolved your Disk2VHD issues? – Skyhawk Mar 26 '10 at 17:23
  • I tried the xenconvert 2.1 but it won't allow vhd as an output option when you convert a locally attached volume! Disk2vhd had a problem due to a recent av software update that was bad! this process seems to work quite nicely and is fast. We have some servers with 100+gig c partitions that are stuffed. It takes more then an hour to complete this with scvmm and the time was 10 minutes using my method! – tony roth Mar 26 '10 at 19:55
  • I probably should have been more verbose in my description of the process: for XenConvert to convert a locally mounted volume to "XenServer Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)" format, the source needs to be set to "This Machine" on the first page of the wizard. After clicking [Next >], the second menu allows a choice of which locally mounted volume(s) to include in the conversion. Thanks for the tip about Disk2VHD and possible AV software conflicts; makes sense, I suppose. – Skyhawk Mar 26 '10 at 21:47
  • ok I must have fallen and hit my head cuz it works fine now but its very slow disk2vhd 3-4 minutes, xenconvert 15 minutes+ on 32 gig partition. I think I may keep both methods in mind if disk2vhd proves unreliable! thanks for you input. – tony roth Mar 30 '10 at 14:57
  • Very good to know that Disk2VHD is faster. We'll be virtualizing an existing server today, so I'll give Disk2VHD a try with your antivirus tip in mind. – Skyhawk Mar 31 '10 at 21:06
  • Disk2VHD does indeed seem to work more reliably with AV disabled. Checked off the first Server 2008 machine (domain controller) on my P2V hit list. – Skyhawk Apr 05 '10 at 15:17