Moving a virtual machine to a new host – VMware GSX 3 User Manual

Page 176

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176

VMware GSX Server Administration Guide

2. Be sure the guest operating system is completely shut down. If the virtual

machine is suspended and its virtual disks are in persistent or nonpersistent
mode, resume it, then shut down the guest operating system.

3. If your virtual machine is using disks in undoable mode, it is best to commit or

discard the changes when the guest operating system shuts down. If you cannot
commit or discard the changes to your disk, read

Considerations for Moving

Disks in Undoable Mode on page 180

.

4. Do one of the following:

If you are moving the virtual machine to a new host and have a network

connection between the original host machine and the new host, you are
finished with the preparations on the original host. If you do not have a
network connection, you need to have a way of moving the virtual disk
(.vmdk) files from the virtual machine’s directory to the new host. You could
move them to a shared network directory, for example, or burn them to CD-
ROMs or DVD-ROMs.

Once you know how you are going to move the virtual machine, go to

Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host

below.

If you are moving this virtual machine to another directory on the same host,

you are ready to make the move. Copy all the files in the virtual machine’s
original directory to the new location. If you stored any files in directories
other than the virtual machine directory, be sure to move them into a
directory of the same name and same position relative to the location of the
virtual machine.

Launch the console and open the virtual machine you just moved. Choose
File > Open, then browse to the virtual machine’s configuration (.vmx) file.

Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host

1. Make sure GSX Server is installed and working correctly on the new host.

2. Locate the virtual disk files you are moving and copy them into the new virtual

machine directory. Be sure to copy all the files in the virtual machine’s original
directory. If you stored any files in directories other than the virtual machine
directory, be sure to move them into a directory of the same name and same
position relative to the location of the virtual machine. Set permissions on the
directory so that it is accessible to all users of the virtual machine.

If, for some reason, you are not moving a file, make sure you do not have any
relative or absolute paths pointing to that file. Use the virtual machine settings
editor and check to see if your virtual machine is pointing to the correct location

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