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Highlighting the need for simple, effective and fully automated P2V tools for successful server migrations
whitepaper
SynopSiS
You have performed the research, made the decision to virtualize, and chosen your target servers and virtual environment. Now, how do you move from physical to virtual? There is a lot of good information available about why to upgrade to a virtual infrastructure but relatively little on how to manage the transition. One reason for this lack of how to information is that currently there are limited options for making the physical-to-virtual (P2V) server conversion. There is no single best approach to larger scale P2V conversion initiatives. Successful conversion projects have just as much to do with the resources an organization makes available e.g., migration time windows and skill sets as the P2V conversion technology or underlying virtualization platform. To choose the best approach for the project, there must be an understanding of many factors, including the many pre- and post-migration tasks, conversion speeds and reliability rates, degree of P2V tool automation, and the number of staff and skill sets of conversion personnel. The ultimate goal is to succeed in the P2V conversion initiative, while minimizing the risk, time and overall cost of the project. This white paper explains P2V conversion options and provides guidance on when each approach is favorable. It covers free conversion tools, cloning products, packaged conversion solutions and outsourced services. The information is oriented to server consolidation, which is essentially the process of moving many physical servers to a virtual infrastructure in a mid to high-volume, large-scale project (100+ servers), but many of the principles also apply to P2V conversions for backup and disaster recovery.
introduction
Surprisingly, the hardest part of a virtualization project is not making the decision to virtualize hardware utilization and energy cost savings alone often provide a compelling business case to do so. Reliability and management concerns also have been largely put to rest, as virtualization has proven to be a highly effective computing platform, and solutions are becoming more capable and easy to use. Today, the biggest obstacle many organizations face in going virtual is actually making the conversion from physical systems in a timely and effective manner. Staff availability and expertise, budget, creating realistic conversion windows and downtime can all be major hurdles to successful P2V conversion. Too often, organizations conclude that they would benefit from virtualization, but they do not have the experience to effectively plan for the time and resources to make the switch. Projected costs for systems conversion and integration can dwarf the cost of licensing the virtualization infrastructure and complementary applications. The emergence of resource-efficient and cost-effective conversion solutions is changing the equation. Resource availability can be one of the biggest challenges. Organizations planning a large-scale migration to virtualization using free/limited/semi-automated tools or even manual processes may find there simply are not enough off-peak hours or qualified IT staff to work them to complete the conversions. Taking inventory of current hardware and settings, scheduling downtime and reboots, and developing needed scripts and interfaces can be very time-consuming. Not reflected in this is the considerable time needed to copy, convert and install files and systems. For example, one manufacturer estimated it would take 13.4 man-hours to prepare and convert each server, using a free conversion tool from its virtual infrastructure vendor (see box). The labor cost to convert, using this free tool, was calculated at more than $4 million for the 1,800-server virtualization project. The costs jeopardized the projects success until a faster and more automated P2V solution was found one that could reduce the cost by 75 percent while converting the same number of servers in less time with fewer staff. Even if IT staff can be freed from daily responsibilities to participate in a migration project, they may not have the expertise to perform certain aspects of it. Many cloning and duplication tools are complex and not well-supported. Fully automated packaged solutions are much easier to use, but they are not available for all environments. Beware - some packaged solutions are expensive and not user-friendly. The more time internal staff spends learning the intricacies of conversions and managing the transition, the more expensive the project becomes. Organizations can avoid many conversion headaches by outsourcing the task to a systems integrator or virtualization services provider . But there is a price for convenience, and the provider must choose from the same options available to the organization itself. The solution providers advantages are experience and familiarity with solutions, which should save time and contain project costs. Often a combination of internal and external expertise is applied to execute the conversion project.
pre-MigrAtion
Before converting a physical server to a virtual machine, both IT and virtualization-specific preparation must be performed. The to-do list is fairly extensive and time consuming, but some of the tasks can be automated. Here are some key pre-migration tasks that can be done manually or with software-supported features: Inventory the target servers, including IP addresses, configurations, software and licensing details Check for application dependencies Install all patches Review event logs and correct any problems Defragment drives Unzip all files and drivers Disable services and agents on target and host servers Clean registries and remove virtual machine references Set a deadline for change requests Schedule downtime for conversion with business owners, admin Create new IP addresses Create administrator accounts and passwords for migration Cache administrator IDs and passwords Set and verify the command route and binding orders Check network capacity (bandwidth and availability) to transfer images Create helper VMs for conversion (depending on hot/cold migrations) Verify available memory on the virtual host Take down the server
conVerSion
Converting physical servers to virtual machines requires more than running the conversion application. P2V setup, including installation and configuration, is required prior to execution, though the required processes and efforts vary greatly, depending on the approach taken. For example, some conversions are done by first duplicating target files with a common cloning or backup tool, and then running a separate conversion application. Others automate copying, conversion and transfer, and can convert multiple servers simultaneously. The following steps typically occur during conversion, though some may be invisible to the user because they can be performed automatically: Install conversion tools or software Configure for single or multiple processors Configure networking and binding order on the new VM Select the server (and/or drives, files or individual blocks) to be virtualized Rename the server Configure/optimize the VM size Select the virtual host Configure the virtual CPU, memory and network settings
Run conversion software (or schedule targets for conversion) Transfer images/files/data Monitor the networks and error conditions during transfer Verify the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) Register the VM on the server Create partitions on the virtual host Reboot, if necessary Begin converting the next target
The time taken for the actual conversion and copying of the machine depends on network speeds as well as on the underlying processing speed of the P2V conversion tool. Some tools are designed from the ground up to optimize conversion efficiencies. For Vizioncores vConverter, a significant R&D effort, and focus on conversion reliability and efficiency have resulted in finetuning of multiple read/write/transfer algorithms and creation of several mechanisms that result in impressive speed and conversion completion metrics. (See end of paper for more information on vConverter efficiencies.)
poSt-conVerSion proceSSing
The complexity of preparation and of conversion itself creates opportunities for error, so newly converted VMs must be tested to ensure that the conversion was successful. Even when conversion is completely successful, there are several post-conversion tasks that must be completed, either manually or by automation. The following is a sampling of post-processing activity: Review logs Reactivate services and agents Update drivers Install and configure VM platform components (e.g., VMware Tools, if VMware) Run quality-control tests Run user-generated scripts Activate and synchronize VM Remove conversion software Create and file all documentation Set end-of-life for converted server
If a high-speed converter is used, the conversion itself can be the least time-consuming step. Conversion may take a few minutes to a couple of hours to complete per server, compared to potentially many hours for preparation and post-processing. How quickly the conversion step executes is not a true indication of the solutions speed. Total-time-elapsed depends heavily on the approach chosen and the extent to which the overall process is automated. As an example, vConverter has the ability to execute user scripts whereby any number of scripts can be uploaded onto the target VM to run at first boot; if the P2V tool does not automate all of the tasks above, a user script can customize the automation. The following sections describe P2V approaches and their leading limitations in more detail, including what sets the various approaches apart from one another, and when they are appropriate or most effective.
Speed, ease-of-use, tool comprehensiveness, automation breadth, reliability and cost are the main differentiators for P2V conversion approaches. Of these, speed and automation are the most important because they directly impact other factors. For example, slow converters can take more than 20 hours for larger VMs; when only two, three or four conversions can be run simultaneously, the number of conversions possible per conversion window is very small. A faster converter with a high-simultaneous capability can significantly increase the number of conversions possible per conversion window, thus reducing the overall project length from potentially years to months. Automation breadth is also important, as many pre- and post-conversion activities that must be performed can be automated by the conversion tool, thus speeding up the overall time, increasing reliability and simplifying the process for the conversion team. Ease-of-use is a factor because it impacts the amount of time and skills required to set up and initiate conversions. Unreliable conversion tools (with a failure rate above 10 percent) ultimately add cost and effort because they require rework and may compromise data quality, which can lead to a set of problems that can cripple the conversion project. Cloning tools offer the lowest level of functionality and require the most time and effort to use. Conversion tools from virtualization platform providers make the job easier, but many functions must still be done manually, and much IT support time is still required to use the tools, often during nights and weekends, to minimize disruption to operations. Third-party conversion solutions are much more comprehensive, but they vary so greatly in functionality, price and speed that it is difficult to generalize their value. The following provides an overview of conversion options available to organizations: cloning, copying and boot cds. Organizations often use legacy cloning software and supplement it with a virtual machine conversion utility and boot CD to capture, convert and transfer files. Many professionals get their introduction to P2V migration by using familiar utilities to copy files, which are converted into test VMs for evaluation. The utilities are inexpensive but can be time-consuming to configure and use. Cloning and copying are extremely manual approaches compared to other options. The target is cloned or copied using one utility and converted with another. It is then saved to a boot CD for transfer to the virtual server. As such, support is limited, and the cloning/copying utility may not have features to simplify pre-migration tasks specific to virtualization. Another drawback is that a fairly high-level of skill and familiarity with the various utilities is required for success. Cloning and copying are best suited for experienced administrators conducting one-off conversions or extremely small projects. free conversion tools. Tools available at no cost, such as VMware Converter and Microsofts Virtual Server Migration Toolkit, specialize in converting physical servers to a specific virtual format. For users with a homogenous virtual environment, vendor-supplied free tools are a step up from the copy-and-boot approach because they combine the copying, conversion and installation functions. The single interface makes this option easier to use, and some support is available.
AdditionAl conSiderAtionS
This paper has provided general background on the physical-to-virtual conversion process and resources available to help. It should provide enough guidance to help you decide which category of conversion solutions is the best fit. Those who want to delve deeper into differentiators among specific P2V packaged solutions should consider the following: What is the clock speed for the converter? Have you, or will you, perform a side-by-side comparison of the converters under consideration, utilizing the same network and machine specifications? Refer to the Vizioncore document P2V Server Consolidation Project Success Tipsheet to view sample project data that shows the average conversion time to be twice as long for one P2V converter over vConverter. The impact of that factor is very significant for total project duration. What is the end-to-end speed for full conversion? Benchmark data on the clock speed for conversion is useful for planning and comparison but is not the complete measure of conversion time. As noted, the conversion step represents a portion of the total time required to convert a physical server to a virtual one. Setup and installation time, the ability to simultaneously convert multiple servers, documentation requirements and other pre-/postprocessing factors must all be considered when comparing end-to-end conversion times. do the conversions need to be performed hot or cold, can servers be offline and are reboots possible/required? Rebooting and downtime add to the total process time that would not be reflected in benchmark data on time elapsed for conversion. System overhead and impact on CPU performance should also be considered.
except for cold migration, which requires the application of additional components (e.g. PXE service or boot CD)
ABout Vizioncore
Founded in 2002, Vizioncore Inc. is a leading provider of innovative management tools for virtual infrastructure environments. Organizations across the world, from SMBs to large-scale enterprises, use Vizioncores products to protect, monitor and manage virtual machines. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Vizioncore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest Software. Additional information about Vizioncore and its products can be found at www.vizioncore.com.
concluSion
There are many approaches for converting a physical server to a virtual environment, but practical options sharply decline as the size of the project grows. For large-scale server migrations, staff time is often the most expensive element of the virtualization project. Expertise and availability are also common constraints. Therefore, conversion solutions that save time and labor by automating various pre- and post-conversion tasks return tremendous value and can reduce total cost of the conversion project significantly. In addition, productivity and efficiency are boosted, as the organization can move more quickly toward obtaining the benefits of virtualization. Organizations must consider end-to-end conversion time when evaluating different approaches and must determine which tasks they need their conversion solution to handle. By considering these variables, organizations can select the most efficient solution for their needs. vConverter from Vizioncore was created specifically to address the requirements of large-scale, high-volume, high-speed server consolidation projects. Its features were specifically developed to overcome the speed, manual and ease-of-use limitations that make traditional solutions inefficient for high-volume and time-sensitive projects.
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