10 Steps for Physical to Virtual OS Migration

Step 9: Deploy the ADS Disk Images to the TestMigration Virtual Machine
After the virtual machine is created, the source server disk images must be restored. TestMigration_DeployVM.cmd controls this part of the migration procedure. To restore the source disk images and deploy the virtual machine, go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft VSMT\p2v\TestMigration and execute

 TestMigration_DeployVM.cmd

To follow the progress of the virtual machine deployment, you can use the Virtual Server 2005 R2 Administration Website on the Controller server. You’ll see the virtual machine boot into the Deployment Agent and the disk images restore to the virtual hard disks, as shown in Figure 4. The hardware-dependent system files are then swapped for virtual machine-compatible versions, and required operating system configuration settings are applied.

If you use the MMC snap-in to check the ADS device database, you’ll see that the virtual machine is still in the device database. The TestMigration_DeployVM.cmd script terminates after removing the RIS virtual floppy disk from the virtual machine. The virtual machine remains booted in the Deployment Agent.

Step 10: Complete the Migration Process
Before you complete the source system to virtual machine migration process, perform a few final cleanup tasks. The TestMigration virtual machine is still booted into the Deployment Agent, so you need to reboot it: Open the ADS MMC snap-in, select and right-click the TestMigration device, then select run job. A New Job wizard launches. Click Next. Select to create a one-time job, and click Next. Then click Next to skip the description screen. Select Internal command, and click Next. Select \bmonitor reboot, and click Next. Click Finish to reboot the TestMigration VM.

Once the machine is rebooted, release control of the device, and delete the virtual machine from the device database. Log on to the virtual machine, and install the Virtual Machine Additions to get keyboard and mouse integration and better performance. Complete any remaining configuration modifications, and test the virtual machine connectivity and performance to ensure that it’s running as expected. Once the virtual machine testing is complete, migrate TestMigration from the MobileP2V solution to the production Virtual Server host. Once you do that, you can back up and delete the source system disk images from the ADS image store.

Now you have a fully functional and tested MobileP2V solution that you can take to any part of your organization and perform a P2V migration. So go virtualize!

Author’s Note: The instructions for the migration have been adapted from the Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press co-authored by Janique Carbone and me.