There are several ways to migrate virtual machines from one host to another in a vSphere cluster. Here are some of the most common methods:
1. vMotion: This is the most common method of migrating virtual machines in a vSphere cluster. vMotion allows you to move a running virtual machine from one host to another without any interruption to the user or applications running on the virtual machine.
To perform a vMotion migration, follow these steps:
- Ensure that your hosts are on the same network and have access to the same storage.
- Select the virtual machine you want to migrate and right-click on it.
- Select “Migrate” from the context menu.
- Select “Change host” as the migration type and choose the target host.
- Choose the resource pool for the virtual machine and select the network adapter for the migration.
- Click “Finish” to initiate the migration.
1. Cold migration: With a cold migration, you shut down the virtual machine and transfer its files from one host to another. This method can be useful for machines with high resource consumption or where vMotion is not possible.
To perform a cold migration, follow these steps:
- Shut down the virtual machine you want to migrate.
- Select the virtual machine and right-click on it.
- Select “Migrate” from the context menu.
- Choose the migration type as “Change datastore” and select the target host.
- Select the storage location for the virtual machine and click “Finish” to initiate the migration.
1. Storage vMotion: This method allows you to migrate virtual machine disks from one datastore to another without any downtime. This can be useful when you need to move virtual machines to new storage hardware.
To perform a storage vMotion migration, follow these steps:
- Select the virtual machine you want to migrate and right-click on it.
- Select “Migrate” from the context menu.
- Choose the migration type as “Change datastore” and select the target datastore.
- Select the storage location for the virtual machine and click “Finish” to initiate the migration.
These are the three main methods for migrating virtual machines in a vSphere cluster. Choose the method that best suits your needs and environment.
