Citrix XenConvert Guide

Transcription

1 Citrix XenConvert Guide XenConvert 2.0 Revision 1 May 21, 2009

2 Copyright Use of the product documented in this guide is subject to your prior acceptance of the End User License Agreement. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names, and data used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Citrix Systems, Inc Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Xen and Citrix are registered trademarks, and Citrix Provisioning Services, XenConvert and XenServer are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Trademark Acknowledgements Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Document Code: May 21, 2009 (MS)

3 CONTENTS Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 About This Document Introduction Intended Audience Related Information Contact Us Release Notes What s New in This Release Converting to Provisioning Services vdisk Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages Converting VMware Virtual Disks Known Issues Windows Boot and System Drives Must Be on the Same Volume Running From a Terminal Services Session Mapped Network Drive Can Interfere with Conversion Problem Ejecting Citrix Virtual Hard Disk Messages Installing XenConvert Obtaining the Installation File XenConvert System Requirements Installing XenConvert Programs Upgrading XenConvert Remove XenConvert Programs Using XenConvert Introduction Converting From Physical Machines to Virtual Machines Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages Converting From VMware Virtual Disks

4 2 Citrix XenConvert Guide Starting the XenConvert Wizard Converting From a Physical Machine Physical to VHD Physical to XVA Physical to XenServer Physical to OVF Package Physical to Provisioning Services vdisk Converting Single Volumes Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server VMC to XVA VMC to XenServer VHD to XVA VHD to XenServer Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages XVA to OVF Package OVF Package to XenServer Converting From VMware OVF to XenServer VMDK to XenServer VMDK to XVA VMDK to VHD XenConvert Configuration File Parameters Troubleshooting Conversion Issues Windows AutoPlay Windows Automount Security Services

5 CHAPTER 1 About This Document Introduction This document provides instructions on installing and using Citrix XenConvert software. This document is organized as follows: Release Notes provides information such as new features and known issues. Installing XenConvert describes how to install the XenConvert software. Using XenConvert describes how to change the default behavior of XenConvert. Citrix XenConvert converts a server or desktop workload from a physical machine to a XenServer virtual machine or Provisioning Services vdisk. It can also convert a virtual machine to a XenServer virtual machine. Converting to a XenServer VM produces an intermediate XVA containing a bootable XenServer VM and automatically imports it into a XenServer. Converting to an XVA produces an offline package of a bootable XenServer VM ready to manually import into a XenServer. Converting to a VHD produces a VHD compatible with Provisioning Services 5.x, if the target device software included with Provisioning Services 5.x was installed beforehand. Converting to a OVF package produces an offline package of a bootable XenServer VM ready to manually import into a XenServer. XenConvert includes a wizard, to use interactively, and a command line interface, to use from a script.

6 4 Citrix XenConvert Guide Intended Audience Related Information Contact Us This document is intended for XenServer and Provisioning Services system administrators and software installers. It is assumed that readers are familiar with basic installation and system management tasks for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Information on XenConvert is provided with the software in the form of an online help file, which is available from the product, and as a PDF document. Additional information about Citrix XenServer and Citrix Provisioning Services may also be required during installation and use of this product. This information can be found at the following locations: XenServer: Provisioning Services: Your feedback on Citrix XenConvert documentation is important to us. Use the Citrix Product Documentation Feedback form to send us your comments or suggestions about Citrix Product Documentation:

7 CHAPTER 2 Release Notes This chapter contains information relevant to this release of XenConvert software. This information includes: What s New in This Release Known Issues These release notes use the term virtual disk to encompass virtual disks that contain any type of operating system, including, but not limited to, Windows or Linux. What s New in This Release This release adds many new conversion features and enhanced new wizard pages for them. Converting to Provisioning Services vdisk This release adds the conversion of up to four volumes to a Provisioning Services vdisk. The source volumes can exist on any disk other than the Provisioning Services vdisk. Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages This release supplements Project Kensho 1.1 by supporting conversions to and from virtual machines that use Open Virtualization Format (OVF). OVF is a vendor- and platform-independent format you can use to create portable virtual-machine packages. These packages do not rely on a specific host platform, virtualization platform, or guest operating system. When you convert a virtual machine to OVF, the OVF package contains one or more virtual hard disk files (VHDs) from the virtual machines and a definition file (that is, the.ovf file). To make transporting these files easier, you can consolidate them into one file known as an Open Virtual Appliance (.ova) file.

8 6 Citrix XenConvert Guide This release provides the following new OVF conversion support: Converting a physical machine to an OVF package or OVA file. Converting a XenServer Virtual Appliance (XVA) to an OVF package or OVA file. Converting an OVF package or OVA file to a XenServer virtual machine. Converting VMware Virtual Disks This release also introduces conversions from an individual VMware virtual disk in the following Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) formats: Flat Monolithic Sparse Monolithic Flat Extent Sparse Extent Stream-optimized Monolithic Known Issues This section describes known limitations and issues for the XenConvert software. Wherever possible, a workaround for the problem is included. Windows Boot and System Drives Must Be on the Same Volume XenConvert can only convert a workload from a source machine on which the system drive is the same as the boot drive. For example, boot.ini and the \Windows must both reside on C:\. However, this limitation does not apply to the conversion to a Provisioning Services vdisk. Running From a Terminal Services Session XenConvert cannot run from a Terminal Services session when the Terminal Server is a Window 2000 operating system. Mounting a VHD either fails after several minutes or does not appear to finish. This issue does not occur when connecting using Virtual Network Computing (VNC). To workaround this issue, run XenConvert from the Console.

9 Chapter 2 Release Notes 7 To change the amount of time that XenConvert waits to mount the VHD, change the registry key value VhdPluginTimeoutAsMs described in XenConvert Configuration File section. Mapped Network Drive Can Interfere with Conversion If a network drive is mapped to the next available drive letter (for example, F:\ when last local drive was E:\), XenConvert is unable to get the drive letter for the new VHD that it just created, mounted, and formatted. This is because Windows assigned it to the same drive letter as the network drive. The workaround is, before running XenConvert, remap the network drive to a drive letter other than the lowest one available. For information about a similar issue, see /. While this article pertains to Windows XP, the problem also affects Windows Server 2003 when automount is enabled. Problem Ejecting Citrix Virtual Hard Disk Messages The following messages might appear during the intermediary (VHD to XVA) stage of a conversion: Problem Ejecting Citrix Virtual Hard Disk: The device 'Generic volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later. Problem Ejecting Citrix Virtual Hard Disk: The device 'Citrix Virtual Hard Disk' cannot be stopped because of an unknown error. Since the device is still being used, do not remove it. These messages may appear if applications or services, such as a virus scan or the Windows Autorun feature, open a file on the mounted VHD. This is because the open file prevents a dismount. Increasing the time that XenConvert waits before automatically dismounting a VHD might resolve this issue. For details about changing this value, see XenConvert Configuration File. Disabling Autorun may also resolve this issue. Issue # 7308

10 8 Citrix XenConvert Guide

11 CHAPTER 3 Installing XenConvert Obtaining the Installation File Citrix XenConvert software is distributed electronically. Consult with your sales representative for information on obtaining the software. The product distribution contains this guide and the product installation wizard: XenConvert_Install.exe XenConvert_Install_x64.exe XenConvert System Requirements The following table lists the system requirements for the system on which XenConvert software runs Supported Operating Systems Supported File System Types CPU Requirements for Machine on which XenConvert Runs Microsoft Windows 64-bit Windows Server 2003; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Server 2003 R2; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Microsoft Windows 32-bit Windows Server 2003; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Server 2003 R2; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP1/SP2 Windows XP SP1/SP2/SP3 Windows 2000 SP4 with KB (install KB before installing.net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1) NTFS Same as the requirements specified for the installed operating system. XenServer XenServer Versions 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0 (Updates 1, 2 and 3) support import of VMs created with XenConvert. Memory Same as the requirements specified for the installed operating system.

12 10 XenConvert Installation Guide Requirements for Machine on which XenConvert Runs VHD disk space requirements When converting to VHD, the required amount of free space is 101% of the used space on the source physical disk. When converting to XVA or XenServer, the required amount of free space is typically 115% of the used space on the source disks. Note that these conversions involve compression that depends on the disk contents. Therefore, the required free space could be greater. The absolute worst case would be 200% of the used space on the source physical disk. Software disk space requirements XenConvert XenConvert bit = 4 MB XenConvert bit = 4 MB Microsoft.NET Framework Microsoft.NET Framework version 2.0 installs automatically if not already installed. Disk space requirements for.net are as follows:.net bit; 280 MB (minimum), 1 GB (recommended).net bit; 610 MB (minimum), 1 GB (recommended) Additional requirements for Windows Server 2003 Prior to converting from a physical machine that serves as both the source and host machine, enable automount on Windows Server 2003.

13 Chapter 3 Installing XenConvert 11 The following table lists the virtual machine/ virtual disk system requirements that are necessary to run XenConvert software

14 12 XenConvert Installation Guide Virtual Machine/Virtual Disk Requirements Supported Operating Systems 64-bit Windows Server 2003; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Server 2003 R2; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 CentOS 5.2 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.0 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.2 Novell SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 SP1/SP2 32-bit Windows Server 2003; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Server 2003 R2; Standard, Enterprise SP1/SP2 Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP1/SP2 Windows XP SP1/SP2/SP3 Windows 2000 SP4 CentOS 5.2 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.0 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.2 Suse Linux Enterprise Server 5.2 Novell SUSE Enterprise Server 9 SP2/SP3/SP4 Novell SUSE Enterprise Server 10 SP1 Debian 4.0 Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Virtual Machine Configuration (*.vmc) Fixed VHD Dynamic VHD XenServer XVA Version 2 VMware (VMDK formats) OVF Stream-optimized Monolithic VMDK

15 Chapter 3 Installing XenConvert 13 Virtual Machine/Virtual Disk Requirements Experimental Features 64-bit Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista SP1 32-bit Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista SP1 Hyper-V Fixed VHD Dynamic VHD VMware Virtual Machine Configuration (*.vmx) Flat Monolithic VMDK Sparse Monolithic VMDK Flat Extent VMDK Sparse Extent VMDK Installing XenConvert Programs 1. On the target system, close all Windows applications. 2. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, navigate to the directory where the self extracting installer was downloaded to, then double-click on the installer file: XenConvert_install.exe 3. The XenConvert Welcome screen is displayed. Click Next to begin the installation. 4. The License Agreement screen appears. Click I accept... and Next to continue the installation. Click I do not accept to terminate the installation. Click Print to print a copy of the License Agreement. 5. The Destination Folder screen appears. Click Next to install XenConvert in the default directory. Click Change to select a directory other than the default. Click Next after the directory is selected. 6. The Ready to Install the Program screen appears. Click Install to begin the installation. The Installing XenConvert screen displays, showing the installation progress. 7. When the installation is complete, the InstallShield Wizard Complete screen appears. Click Finish to exit the installer.

16 14 XenConvert Installation Guide Upgrading XenConvert For details on using the XenConvert Wizard, refer to the chapter titled Using XenConvert. To upgrade XenConvert to a later version, download and run the respective installer. Remove XenConvert Programs Use the Windows Control Panel to remove XenConvert programs. 1. To remove XenConvert programs, access Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and select XenConvert. 2. Click Remove to begin removing XenConvert programs. 3. The Are you sure you want to remove XenConvert from your computer? dialog box appears. Click Yes to uninstall the software from your system, then wait for the uninstall to finish.

17 CHAPTER 4 Using XenConvert Introduction This chapter provides the following information that is necessary to use the XenConvert wizard and command line interface: Introduction Starting the XenConvert Wizard Converting From a Physical Machine Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages Converting From VMware XenConvert Configuration File Citrix XenConvert converts a server or desktop workload from either a physical machine, or from another type of virtual machine, to a XenServer virtual machine. Note Converting multi-boot physical and virtual machines is not supported. Only Windows Basic Disk type is supported as a source.

18 16 Citrix XenConvert Guide Converting From Physical Machines to Virtual Machines XenConvert supports the following physical-to-virtual conversions: Physical to VHD Physical to XVA Physical to XenServer Physical to OVF Package Physical to Provisioning Services vdisk Converting Single Volumes Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server XenConvert supports the following virtual-to-virtual machine conversions: VMC to XVA VMC to XenServer VHD to XVA VHD to XenServer Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages XenConvert supports the following Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Package conversions: XVA to OVF Package OVF Package to XenServer Converting From VMware Virtual Disks XenConvert supports the following conversions from VMware Virtual Machine Disk Format (VMDK): OVF to XenServer VMDK to XenServer VMDK to XVA VMDK to VHD

19 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 17 The OVF to XenServer conversion is preferable because it is faster and can be simpler for a workload consisting of multiple virtual disks. There are several tools to choose from when converting to OVF. A partial list follows: Virtual Center 2.5/ESX 3.5 Update 3 VMWare Workstation 6.5 VMWare Converter Ovftool VMware Studio 1.0 Note XenConvert 2.0 cannot convert from an OVA created by VMware tool. Please always choose to create to OVF. Starting the XenConvert Wizard Supported conversion methods are selected and performed using the XenConvert Wizard. To start the wizard From the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > Citrix > XenConvert > XenConvert 2.0. The Citrix XenConvert Welcome screen appears. Refer to the appropriate conversion method for conversion specific details. Note If you encounter issues with VHDs during conversion, see XenConvert Configuration File on page 38. You can modify some parameters in the XenConvert.ini file to correct VHD problems.

20 18 Citrix XenConvert Guide Converting From a Physical Machine This section describes the following physical-to-virtual conversion methods supported by XenConvert: Physical to VHD Physical to XVA Physical to XenServer Physical to OVF Package Physical to Provisioning Services vdisk Converting Single Volumes Before Converting From a Physical Machine Disable Windows AutoPlay Physical to VHD Select this method to convert a single volume on a physical disk to a volume on a VHD. Note If this VHD is also to be used with Provisioning Services, install the Provisioning Services target device software before converting. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From This Machine (your-computername) To XenServer Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) 3. Choose the volume to include in this conversion from the drop-down menu. (Optional.) Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to reduce the disk space required by the conversion (enabled by default), then click Next. 4. Choose a folder to store the VHD in by typing or browsing for the appropriate location, then click Next.

21 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 6. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages Physical to XVA Select this method to convert a single volume on a physical disk to an XVA. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From This Machine (your-computername) To Xen Virtual Appliance 3. Choose the volume to include in this conversion from the drop-down menu. (Optional.) Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to reduce the disk space required by the conversion (enabled by default). 4. Click Next. 5. Choose a folder to store the XVA in by typing or browsing for the appropriate location, then click Next. 6. (Optional.) Edit the properties of the new XenServer VM. At this point, you can enter a new name for the VM you are creating. This name will be displayed as the VM name in the Resources pane of XenCenter. 7. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful.

22 20 Citrix XenConvert Guide 8. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages Physical to XenServer Select this method to convert a single volume of a physical disk to XenServer. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From This Machine (your-computername) To XenServer 3. Choose the volume to include in this conversion from the drop-down menu. (Optional.) Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to reduce the disk space required by the conversion (enabled by default). 4. Click Next 5. Provide information about the XenServer that will be receiving the VM (that is, the XenServer that will host the converted physical disk), then click Next: Hostname Simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of the XenServer. User name Name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information on account requirements. Password

23 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 21 The password that is associated with User name. Workspace Type or browse to the location where you want the XVA files stored. XVA files are the intermediary files created during the conversion process. For conversion efficiency, Citrix recommends specifying a location on the local computer where you are running conversion, preferably on a different partition or drive. 6. (Optional.) Edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 7. Click Next. 8. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 9. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages Physical to OVF Package Use this method to convert a physical machine to an OVF Package that can be imported into XenServer. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From This Machine (your-computername) To Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Package 3. Choose the volume to include in this conversion from the drop-down menu.

24 22 Citrix XenConvert Guide 4. Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to automatically empty the recycle bin before the conversion process begins (this option is enabled by default. Emptying the recycle bin reduces the disk space required by the conversion), then click Next to continue. 5. Choose a folder to store the OVF Package by typing or browsing for the appropriate location. Optionally, check: Create Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) Check this box to create an OVA Package from the OVF Package for distribution. Compress Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) Check this box to reduce the size of the OVA. This option is only available if the Create Open Virtual Appliance box is checked. Sign with Certificate Check this box to sign this OVF Package with a certificate in the X.509 format. Browse for the appropriate file to include using the File... button Enter the password in the Password textbox. Click View to view certificate information. Encrypt Select this option to encrypt the OVF Package. If the Create Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) is selected, encryption occurs before creating the OVA. Enter the passphrase with which to encrypt, in the Passphrase text box. Confirm the passphrase by entering it again in the Confirm text box. Note Encrypting an OVF Package will reduce the effectiveness of compression. 6. Click Next. 7. Optionally edit the name of your new OVF Package in the Name textbox. 8. Click Next. 9. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful.

25 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages Physical to Provisioning Services vdisk Use this method to convert a physical machine to a connected Provisioning Services vdisk. Note If Windows is configured to manage the page file and the page file exists on a volume other than your boot volume, then the Windows boot volume on the vdisk may not have enough free space to accommodate both the page file and the minimum amount of free space as specified by the WindowFreePercentage parameter. In this case, increase the WindowsFreePercentage parameter. Refer to Parameters for details. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From This Machine (your-computername) To Provisioning Services vdisk The Convert This Machine to a Provisioning Services vdisk dialog appears.

26 24 Citrix XenConvert Guide 3. XenConvert provides the option to image up to four volumes on a vdisk. By default, the first four volumes, beginning with drive C:\, are selected (for example C:\, D:\, E:\ and F:\). Note During the conversion process, if the Windows boot volume (contains the Windows folder) and Windows system volume (contains the boot configuration data) reside on separate partitions, XenConvert combines them onto the same partition. Refer to for the definitions of the Windows boot and system volumes. To include additional volumes, under the Volumes column, select the volumes to be imaged from the drop-down menu in the order in which those volumes should be imaged. The following information displays for each selected volume. Capacity (MB); total size of the original volume. Usage (MB); amount of space required to image this volume on the master target device. Usage (%); percentage of space used on the original volume. File System; the file system must be NTFS. The following information displays for the vdisk image containing the selected volumes. Capacity (MB); total size of the vdisk. Usage (MB); amount of space required to image all selected volumes on the vdisk. Usage (%); percentage of vdisk capacity required to image all selected volumes. 4. Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to avoid adding its contents to the vdisk. 5. Check the Log copied files checkbox to log the name of each copied file to XenConvert.txt. 6. If the vdisk image is going to be used by multiple target devices in Standard Image mode, click the Optimize button. Optimizer does not need to be run on Private Image vdisks. 7. Click Next, then verify that the conversion information that displays is correct.

27 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. Note Windows Vista and later, will display a format dialog for every partition being created. Cancel all format dialogs requests. XenConvert will automatically format each partition. 9. On the warning message that displays, click Yes to confirm the conversion. This will take several minutes to complete. The progress bar indicates when the imaging progress is complete. 10. Click Finish. Converting Single Volumes Use this conversion method to convert a single volume to another volume. Typically the source and destination volumes are on different disks. The source volume can be a Windows boot volume (the volume containing the WINDOWS directory) or an ordinary volume. When the source volume is a Windows boot volume, the files and the Windows registry are copied to the destination volume. In addition, the destination volume is configured as a Windows boot volume. When the source volume is an ordinary volume, only its files are copied to the destination volume. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Volume To Volume 3. Choose the source volume from the drop-down menu, then click Next. (Optional.) Check the Empty Recycle Bin checkbox to reduce the disk space required by the conversion (enabled by default). 4. Choose the destination volume from the drop-down menu, then click Next.

28 26 Citrix XenConvert Guide 5. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 6. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server This section describes the methods available when converting from Microsoft Virtual Server (VMC) or a Microsoft Virtual Hard Disk (VHD). VMC to XVA VMC to XenServer VHD to XVA VHD to XenServer Before Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server Disable Windows AutoPlay Remove any ISO file from the virtual CD/DVD file. Shutdown VM. After Converting From Microsoft Virtual Server XenConvert will schedule the automatic removal of the Microsoft VM Additions program after the first boot of the converted workload on XenServer. If Microsoft VM Additions was not removed automatically, then manually remove it as follows: 1. Boot the new XenServer VM. 2. Log in to an account with permission to remove a program. 3. Use Add/Remove Programs feature of Windows to remove the program named Virtual Machine Additions. VMC to XVA Select this method to convert a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 VM to a XVA. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.)

29 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Microsoft Virtual Server Virtual Machine To Xen Virtual Appliance 3. Browse for the virtual machine to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Choose a folder to store the XVA in by typing or browsing for the appropriate location, then click Next. 5. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 6. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages VMC to XenServer Select this method to convert a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 VM to a XenServer VM. This conversion requires a XenServer accessible on the network and a valid account on that XenServer. The conversion creates an intermediate XVA that remains on the host. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Microsoft Virtual Server Virtual Machine To

30 28 Citrix XenConvert Guide XenServer 3. Browse for the virtual machine to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Provide the following conversion information, then click Next: Hostname Simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of the XenServer. User name Name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information on account requirements. Password The password that is associated with User name. Workspace Type or browse for the folder in which intermediate files should be stored. For conversion efficiency, Citrix recommends specifying a location on the local computer where you are running conversion, preferably on a different partition or drive. 5. Optionally, edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 6. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 7. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages VHD to XVA Select this method to convert a single VHD to a XVA.

31 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Microsoft Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) To Xen Virtual Appliance 3. Browse for the VHD to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Choose a folder to store the XVA in by typing or browsing for the appropriate location, then click Next. 5. Optionally, edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 6. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 7. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages VHD to XenServer Convert a single VHD to a XenServer. This conversion requires a XenServer accessible on the network and a valid account on that XenServer. The conversion creates an intermediate XVA that remains on the host. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From

32 30 Citrix XenConvert Guide Microsoft Virtual Hard Disk To XenServer 3. Browse for the VHD to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Provide the following conversion information, then click Next: Hostname Simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of the XenServer. User name Name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information on account requirements. Password The password that is associated with User name. Workspace Type or browse for the folder in which intermediate files should be stored. For conversion efficiency, Citrix recommends specifying a location on the local computer where you are running conversion, preferably on a different partition or drive. 5. Optionally, edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 6. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 7. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages

33 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 31 Converting Open Virtualization Format Packages XenConvert permits converting Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Packages. An OVF Package consists of a descriptor file (*.ovf) and any other files representing the following attributes of the package: Signature Digital signature used by a public key certificate in the X.509 format to authenticate the producer of the package. Manifest SHA-1 digest of every file in the package to verify its contents by detecting any corruption. Virtual disks Files comprising virtual disks in the VHD format to contain a guest operating system. Note A virtual disk can contain a Windows or Linux operating system. An OVA is a single archive file, in the Tape Archive (tar), containing the files that comprise an OVF Package. The following conversions support virtual machines in the OVF. XVA to OVF Package OVF Package to XenServer XVA to OVF Package Select this method to convert an XVA to an OVF Package. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Xen Virtual Appliance To Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Package 3. Browse for the XVA to include in this conversion, then click Next.

34 32 Citrix XenConvert Guide 4. Choose a folder to store the OVF Package by typing or browsing for the appropriate location. Optionally, check: Create Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) Check this textbox to create an OVA Package from the OVF Package for distribution. Compress Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) Check this box to reduce the size of the OVA. This option is only available if the Create Open Virtual Appliance box is checked. Sign with Certificate Check this textbox to sign this OVF Package with a certificate in the X.509 format. Browse for the appropriate file to include using the File... button Enter the password in the Password textbox. Click View to view certificate information. Encrypt Select this option to encrypt the OVF Package. If the Create Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) is selected, encryption occurs before creating the OVA. Enter the passphrase with which to encrypt in the Passphrase text box. Confirm the passphrase by entering it again in the Confirm text box. Note Encrypting an OVF Package will reduce the effectiveness of compression. 5. Click Next. 6. Optionally edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 7. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful.

35 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages OVF Package to XenServer Select this method to convert an OVF Package to XenServer. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Package To XenServer 3. Browse for the OVF Package to include in this conversion. 4. Optionally, select for the following checkbox options: Verify Content To verify the content in the manifest at conversion time, check this checkbox. Verify Author To verify the author is the source of the manifest at conversion time, check this checkbox. If the manifest or source can not be found, a message displays and allows you to select Yes to continue, or No to return to the previous dialog. 5. Click Next. After clicking Next, XenConvert must always check if the package was encrypted. The amount of time to check for encryption is proportional to the size of the package. If the OVF Package was found to be

36 34 Citrix XenConvert Guide encrypted, please enter the encryption passphrase in the text box in order to continue. 6. Provide the following conversion information, then click Next: Hostname Simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of the XenServer. User name Name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information on account requirements. Password The password that is associated with User name. 7. Click Next. 8. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 9. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages Converting From VMware This section describes converting from VMware Virtual Disks (VMDK) using the following conversion methods: OVF to XenServer VMDK to XenServer VMDK to XVA VMDK to VHD

37 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 35 The OVF to XenServer conversion is preferable because it is faster and can be simpler for a workload consisting of multiple virtual disks. You ll need a tool, such as one of the following, to create an OVF from VMware. Virtual Center 2.5 / ESX 3.5 Update 3 VMware Workstation 6.5 VMware Converter Ovftool VMware Studio 1.0 Note The XenConvert 2.0 cannot convert from an OVA created by a VMware tool. Please always choose to create to OVF. OVF to XenServer 1. Create an OVF from a VMware. 2. Import the OVF into XenServer using the OVF to XenServer conversion method. Note If the selected XenServer is configured with bonded network interfaces, you may need to reconfigure the NIC(s) of your new VM. VMDK to XenServer Select this method to convert a single VMDK to XenServer. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From VMware Virtual Hard Drive (VMDK) To XenServer 3. Browse for the VMDK to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Provide the following conversion information, then click Next:

38 36 Citrix XenConvert Guide Hostname Simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of the XenServer. User name Name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information on account requirements. Password The password that is associated with User name. Workspace Type or browse for the folder in which intermediate files should be stored. For conversion efficiency, Citrix recommends specifying a location on the local computer where you are running conversion, preferably on a different partition or drive. 5. Optionally edit the name of your new XenServer VM in the Name textbox. 6. Click Next. 7. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 8. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages VMDK to XVA Select this method to convert a single VMDK to a XVA. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next:

39 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 37 From VMware Virtual Hard Disk (VMDK) To Xen Virtual Appliance 3. Browse for the VHD to include in this conversion, then click Next. 4. Enter or browse for the folder where this VHD is to be stored, then click Next. 5. Optionally, edit the name of the new VMDK. 6. Click Next. 7. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 8. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages VMDK to VHD Select this method to convert a single VMDK to a VHD. 1. Start the XenConvert Wizard (for details, refer to Starting the XenConvert Wizard.) 2. On the Welcome to Citrix XenConvert dialog, choose the following conversion options, then click Next: From VMware Virtual Hard Disk (VMDK) To XenServer Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) 3. Browse for the VMDK to include in this conversion, then click Next.

40 38 Citrix XenConvert Guide 4. Enter or browse for the folder where this VHD is to be stored, then click Next. 5. Verify that the conversion information entered is correct, then click Convert. The conversion is complete when the progress bar reaches 100% and the Status field indicates that the conversion was successful. 6. Click Finish to exit XenConvert (this button displays after the conversion completes or after cancelling the conversion process), or click Log to display the conversion log file in Notepad. Note For each conversion run, detailed status information is stored in the log file. The log file, XenConvert.txt, is created in the installation directory and provides the following information: Start and stop time stamps Error and informational messages XenConvert Configuration File XenConvert reads parameters from the configuration file, XenConvert.ini, which is located in the product installation folder. An example XenConvert.ini follows: [parameters] AutoDismountTimeoutAsMs = VhdPluginTimeoutAsMs= XvaChunkSize = ServerClusterSize = 4095 WindowsFreePercentage = 25% FreeLowLimitPercentage = 5% [exclude] %SYSTEMDRIVE%\recycled %SYSTEMDRIVE%\recycler %SYSTEMDRIVE%\$recycle.bin %SYSTEMDRIVE%\pagefile.sys %SYSTEMDRIVE%\boot.ini %SYSTEMDRIVE%\hiberfil.sys %SYSTEMDRIVE%\system volume information

41 Chapter 4 Using XenConvert 39 %SYSTEMDRIVE%\.vdiskcache %SYSTEMDRIVE%\windows\csc %SYSTEMDRIVE%\windows\memory.dmp *.vhd *.xva Parameters The parameters section may be followed by zero or more parameter entries in the <name> = <value> format. Valid parameter names are described in the table that follows. Name AutoDismountTimeoutAs Ms VhdPluginTimeoutAsMs XvaChunkSize ServerClusterSize Description Number of milliseconds to wait before retrying to automatically dismount a VHD. Default is 60 seconds. Default is (60 seconds). Number of milliseconds to wait for a VHD to mount. Default is (10 minutes). Maximum size of a file that is part of a compressed virtual disk within an XVA. Dividing an XVA virtual disk into chunks simplifies their transfer over a network. Default is (bytes). The number of bytes in a file system cluster on the system serving a vdisk. Set this parameter to optimize access of the vdisk by a system serving the vdisk from a simple file, such as Provisioning Services. For example: If a vdisk resides in a Provisioning Services store that is located on an NTFS volume with a cluster size of 16384, set the ServerClusterSize to Set the value to zero to disable optimization. Default is WindowsFreePercentage FreeLowLimitPercentage The percentage of free space to reserve in the volume on the vdisk that will contain the Windows operating system. Default is 25%. The minimum percentage of free space to require in a partition. The range is between 1 and 99, inclusively. The default is 5%.

42 40 Citrix XenConvert Guide Troubleshooting Conversion Issues Some features, such as those that follow, of Windows and other software can interfere with the conversion process. Windows AutoPlay Windows AutoPlay (also termed AutoRun), can prevent XenConvert from dismounting a VHD or formatting a volume that it creates. Consider disabling AutoPlay before converting. This procedure can vary by Windows versions. Please refer to the Microsoft article for details: Article ID: Last Review: May 6, Revision: 3.0 How to disable the autorun functionality in Windows Windows Automount The Windows Automount feature must be enabled for XenConvert to discover volumes that it creates on a VHD and Provisioning Services vdisk. This feature is disabled by default on Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition. To Enable Automount On Windows Server 2003, enable the Windows Automount feature. Enter the following command at a command shell prompt: DISKPART Enter the following command at the DISKPART prompt: automount enable Automount will be enabled in the VM or Provisioning Services vdisk created using XenConvert. Automount can be disabled within the VM or when booted from a Provisioning Services vdisk that is in Private Image mode. Security Services Security software such as antivirus and endpoint protection services can sometimes interfere with a conversion. If disabling Windows AutoPlay does not resolve the problem when XenConvert fails to dismount a VHD or format a volume that it creates, consider stopping the security software. Before stopping security services, you should also disconnect from the network, unless converting to XenServer (this conversion type requires the network).