Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter. Microsoft has released tool to convert VMware VMs to Hyper-V VM. After being 6 months in the beta, the Microsoft's VM converter is finally available. I don't think that many IT admins will use it, but still, it's worth to talk about, since it can only get better.
The tool is called Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator and enables you to convert VMware VMs to Hyper-V (Including Server 2012 version) VMs. It's standalone version of software which consist of 2 parts:
– the converter software
– the vCenter plug-in
The vCenter plugin adds just a right-click menu to your vSphere client with a possibility to click and convert the VMware based VM into Hyper-V based VM. The process uninstalls VMware tools before the converting process, and then converts the VMDK into VHD.
Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator supports 5 Operating systems (fairly limited, but it's a good start).
Windows Server 2003 SP2
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008R2
Windows 7
Windows Vista.
Once converted, it installs the integrations services on the converted virtual machine.
The requirements for the conversion:
So not only your VMs must be one of the 5 Systems supported, but also the VM must be running with VMware tools installed and the system must be joined into Active Directory.
There are also other requirements like that the the WMI has to be enabled on the system being converted, and you must use an account with enough privileges.
One last thing you need to re-activate the converted VM again after the conversion has finished and the Integration services has been installed, since the converter creates a second instance (a copy) of a system on the Hyper-V server. This instance needs an activation.
And btw, did I tell you that the tool doesn't work with the latest version of vSphere? No, the vSphere 5.1 isn't supported….
Update: the latest version of Microsoft Virtual Machine converter 3.0 is out. The possibility to convert VMware running VM is still available. You must enable remote access through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the Hyper-V destination.
Screenshot from the installer.
Here is the screenshot from the conversion options…
The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator was a post done by Vladan SEGET+ and published first at vladan.fr
Just a note for those sitting at a laptop when performing a test conversion using the VIC and with the MS VMC Tool Plug -In pointed at your VCenter (I could convert with the Plug-In up to VCenter 623373 which as I remember off the top of my head is 50U1) — I couldn’t get the conversion to a Hyper-V VM to work from within the VIC unless the machine where the VIC was being used and the Plug-In was installed was a machine that was joined to Active Directory. Possibly there’s a trick to getting it to work without a laptop being joined to AD but I haven’t found it yet. I joined the machine where I was sitting to AD and vi-ola my problems when away and the conversion proceeded ahead (I think there’s a note in the docx file with the Plug-In that mentions the need for the workstation performing the conversion to be a member of AD as I remember later when I looked around in the docs).
Datto