ABSTRACT
The ability to re-assign the CPU, memory and storage resources required by virtual machines from one ESX server to another is one of the unique benefits that VMware’s VI3 environment offers. This ability enables system administrators to minimize virtual machine downtime as well as manually or automatically balance resource utilization of the physical ESX host systems. VirtualCenter 2.5 provides different methods to migrate virtual machines between ESX hosts. We will examine the following three methods in this chapter:
• Cold Migration • VMotion (Hot Migration) • Storage VMotion Migration
It may be necessary at times to move a virtual machine's configuration and state files from one storage location to another or from one ESX Host to a different type of ESX Host, one with a different type of CPU. One method of accomplishing this is with cold migration. A cold migration is simply a migration that occurs while the virtual machine is either in suspend mode or powered off. The following are the steps used from within the VI Client to accomplish a cold migration.
