Virtualize Existing Servers

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chris.crowder@gmail.com - 23 Jun 2008 16:46 GMT

I have existing production server that I would like to virtualize.
What's the easiest way to do this? It has IIS, low utilized SQL, and
subversion on it. It's also a DC, but we that doesn't need to be
virtualized and we may demote it before we do. Is there a tool, or do
we have to migrate everything over manually?

Thanks,
Chris

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Steve Jain - 23 Jun 2008 17:54 GMT

>I have existing production server that I would like to virtualize.
>What's the easiest way to do this? It has IIS, low utilized SQL, and
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>Thanks,
>Chris

There are plenty of tools to do that. Google P2V and you'll find lots
of hits. MS has VMM and VSMT, other companies include Platespin,
LeoStream, and so on.
http://4sysops.com/archives/p2v-for-vmware-six-ways-to-convert-physical-to-virtual/
http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2006/08/converting-from-physical-to-virtual.htm

The easiest probably won't be the free MS tools, but they're free.

Signature

Cheers,
Steve Jain, Virtual Machine MVP
http://vpc.essjae.com/
I do not work for Microsoft.

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Leo - 23 Jun 2008 20:30 GMT

On Jun 23, 8:46 am, chris.crow...@gmail.com wrote:

> I have existing production server that I would like to virtualize.
> What's the easiest way to do this? It has IIS, low utilized SQL, and
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Thanks,
> Chris

Not sure if this will work for your needs, but this is how we've been
doing it using Acronis:

Make a full Acronis backup of the machine you want to virtualize and
store the image file somewhere else.
Create a new virtual machine, boot the new virtual machine from a
mounted Acronis boot CD, and do a full restore from the saved image.
Be sure that any hardware changes are resolved. We've done this
successfully many times in a production environment.

-Leo

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Chris - 23 Jun 2008 21:55 GMT

> On Jun 23, 8:46 am, chris.crow...@gmail.com wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> -Leo

Thanks for your input guys. Leo, your way seems the easiest so far if
it works for us. What version of Acronis do you use to create the
images?

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Steve Jain - 23 Jun 2008 23:42 GMT

>> On Jun 23, 8:46 am, chris.crow...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>it works for us. What version of Acronis do you use to create the
>images?

Just keep in mind that unless you use the universal restore there will
be hardware and driver issues. Sometimes these are too great to
overcome without a repair installation.
VSMT and the other tools usually try to take care of this step for
you.

Signature

Cheers,
Steve Jain, Virtual Machine MVP
http://vpc.essjae.com/
I do not work for Microsoft.

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Mev510 - 29 Jul 2008 22:37 GMT

> On Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:55:11 -0700 (PDT), Chris
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> Steve Jain, Virtual Machine MVPhttp://vpc.essjae.com/
> I do not work for Microsoft.

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Mev510 - 29 Jul 2008 22:41 GMT

> On Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:55:11 -0700 (PDT), Chris
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> Steve Jain, Virtual Machine MVPhttp://vpc.essjae.com/
> I do not work for Microsoft.

Hi all!

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Let us know, your feedback is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mehvish Naquvi

Marketing Intern
ServePath/GoGrid

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