Get started with Conversion Manager

You can easily convert your VMware ESXi/vCenter virtual machines (VMs) to XenServer in just a few steps:

1. Prepare your XenServer environment and review the prerequisite information.

2. Import and configure the Conversion Manager virtual appliance by using XenCenter.

   Note:

   If you already have a previous version of the Conversion Manager virtual appliance installed and wish to upgrade to the latest version, there is no automatic upgrade path. Download the latest version of the virtual appliance from the XenServer downloads page and remove the older version from your system.

3. From XenCenter, launch the conversion wizard and begin converting your VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs to XenServer.

4. Complete the post-conversion tasks.

5. Review other conversion tasks.

Prepare your environment

Before converting your VMware environment, you must create and prepare the target XenServer standalone host or pool to run the converted VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs. Preparing your environment includes the following activities:

1. Defining a strategy of how you convert your VMware environment. Do you want to convert 1 or 2 VMs? Do you want to convert your entire environment? Do you want to create a pilot first to ensure that your configuration is correct? Do you run both environments in parallel? Do you want to maintain your existing cluster design when you convert to XenServer?

2. Planning your networking configuration. Do you want to connect to the same physical networks? Do you want to simplify or change your networking configuration?

3. Installing XenServer on the hosts you want in the pool. Ideally, plug the NICs on the hosts into their physical networks before you begin installation.

4. Creating a pool and performing any basic networking configuration. For example, do the following:

   • Configure a network to connect to the VMware cluster on the XenServer host (if the cluster is not on the same network as the XenServer host).

   • Configure a network to connect to the storage array. That is, if you use IP-based storage, create a XenServer network that connects to the physical network of the storage array.

   • Create a pool and add hosts to this pool.

5. (For shared storage and XenServer pools.) Preparing the shared storage where you store the virtual disks and creating a connection to the storage, known as a Storage Repository (SR) on the pool.

6. (Optional) Although not a requirement for conversion, you might want to configure the administrator accounts on the XenServer pool to match those accounts on the VMware server. For information about configuring Role-based Access Control for Active Directory accounts, see Role-based access control.

Install XenServer and create a pool

Before you can convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs, ensure that you create a XenServer pool or host where you want to run the converted VMs. This pool must have networking configured so it can connect to the VMware server. You might also want to configure the same physical networks on the XenServer pool that you have in the VMware cluster, or simplify your networking configuration. If you want to run the converted VMs in a pool, create a storage repository before conversion and add the shared storage to the pool.

If you are new to XenServer, you can learn about XenServer basics, including basic installation and configuration, by reading Quick start.

XenServer environment considerations

Before installing XenServer and importing the virtual appliance, consider the following factors that might change your conversion strategy:

Selecting the host where you want to run the Conversion Manager virtual appliance. Import the virtual appliance into the stand-alone host or into a host in the pool where you run the converted VMs.

For pools, you can run the virtual appliance on any host in the pool, provided its storage meets the storage requirements.

Note:

We recommend that you run only one Conversion Manager in a pool at a time.

The storage configured for the pool or host where you want to run the converted VMs must meet specific requirements. If you want to run your newly converted VMs in a pool, their virtual disks must be stored on shared storage. However, if the converted VMs run on a single standalone host (not a pool), their virtual disks can use local storage.

If you want to run the converted VMs in a pool, ensure that you add the shared storage to the pool by creating a storage repository.

Guest operating systems supported for conversion:

You can convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs running the following Windows guest operating systems:

• Windows 10 (64-bit) Enterprise edition

• Windows 11

  Note:

  Only UEFI Boot mode or UEFI Secure Boot mode are supported.

• Windows Server 2016 Standard (Desktop) edition
• Windows Server 2019 Standard (Desktop) edition
• Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop) edition

Note:

Only the listed Windows SKUs are supported for conversion.

The following Linux operating systems are also supported:

Note:

BIOS boot mode is required for all Linux operating systems listed below.

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9 (64-bit) with the following configuration:
  • File system: EXT3 or EXT4
  • Boot partition type: btrfs, lvm, or plain
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.x (64-bit) with the following configuration:
  • File system: EXT3 or EXT4
  • Boot partition type: lvm or plain
• Ubuntu 20.04 with the following configuration:
  • File system: EXT3 or EXT4
  • Boot partition type: lvm or regular

For more information about the guest operating systems supported by XenServer, see Guest operating system support.

Meet networking requirements

To convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs, the Conversion Manager virtual appliance needs connectivity to a physical network or VLAN that can contact the VMware server. (In the following sections, this network is referred to as the “VMware network”.)

If the VMware server is on a different physical network than the hosts in the XenServer pool, add the network to XenServer before conversion.

Note:

• The time it takes for your VMs to be converted depends on the physical distance between your VMware and XenServer networks and also the size of your VM’s virtual disk. You can estimate how long the conversion will last by testing the network throughput between your VMware server and XenServer.

• By default, the Conversion Manager uses HTTPS to download the VM’s virtual disk during VM conversion. To speed up the migration process, you can switch the download path to HTTP.

Map your existing network configuration

Conversion Manager virtual appliance includes features that can reduce the amount of manual networking configuration needed after you convert from your existing VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs to XenServer. For example, Conversion Manager virtual appliance will:

• Preserve virtual MAC addresses on the VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs and reuse them in the resulting XenServer VMs. Preserving the MAC addresses associated with virtual network adapters (virtual MAC addresses) may:

  • Help preserve IP addresses in environments using DHCP

  • Be useful for software programs whose licensing references the virtual MAC addresses

• Map (virtual) network adapters. Conversion Manager virtual appliance can map VMware networks onto XenServer networks so that after the VMs are converted, their virtual network interfaces are connected accordingly.

  For example, if you map VMware ‘Virtual Network 4’ to XenServer ‘Network 0’, any VMware VM that had a virtual adapter connected to ‘Virtual Network 4’ is connected to ‘Network 0’ after conversion. Conversion Manager virtual appliance does not convert or migrate any hypervisor network settings. The wizard only alters a converted VM's virtual network interface connections based on the mappings provided.

  Note:

  You do not need to map all of your VMware networks on to the corresponding XenServer networks. However, if you prefer, you can change the networks the VMs use, reduce, or consolidate the number of networks in your new XenServer configuration.

  To gain the maximum benefit from these features, we recommend the following:

  • Before installing XenServer, plug the hosts into the networks on the switch (that is, the ports) that you would like to configure on the host.

  • Ensure that the XenServer pool can see the networks that you would like to be detected. Specifically, plug the XenServer hosts into switch ports that can access the same networks as the VMware cluster.

  Though it is easier to plug the XenServer NICs into the same networks as the NICs on the VMware hosts, it is not required. If you would like to change the NIC/network association, you can plug a XenServer NIC into a different physical network.

Prepare for the Conversion Manager virtual appliance networking requirements

When you perform a conversion, you must create a network connection to the network where the VMware server resides. Conversion Manager virtual appliance uses this connection for conversion traffic between the XenServer host and the VMware server.

To create this network connection, you must perform two tasks:

• When you import the Conversion Manager virtual appliance, specify the network you added for conversion traffic as a virtual network interface. You can do so by configuring interface 1 so it connects to that network.

• Before you run the conversion wizard, add the network connecting VMware and XenServer to the XenServer host where you want to run the converted VMs.

By default, when you import the Conversion Manager virtual appliance, XenCenter creates one virtual network interface associated with Network 0 and NIC0 (eth0). When adding a network for conversion, select a network other than XenServer’s management network to improve performance in busy pools. For more information about the management interface, see Networking.

Inside the Conversion Manager, you might see multiple network interfaces (eth0 and eth1). eth0 attaches to the host’s internal network which is used to communicate with the local dom0. eth1 attaches to the routable network which is used to communicate with XenCenter.

To add a network to XenServer:

1. In the Resource pane in XenCenter, select the pool where you would like to run Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

2. Click the Networking tab.

3. Click Add Network.

4. On the Select Type page, select External Network, and click Next.

5. On the Name page, enter a meaningful name for the network (for example, "VMware network") and a description.

6. On the Interface page, specify the following:

   • NIC. The NIC that you want XenServer to use to create the network. Select the NIC that is plugged in to the physical or logical network of the VMware server.

   • VLAN. If the VMware network is a VLAN, enter the VLAN ID (or "tag").

   • MTU. If the VMware network uses jumbo frames, enter a value for the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) between 1500 and 9216. Otherwise, leave the MTU box its default value of 1500.

     Note:

     Do not select the Automatically add this network to new virtual machines check box.

7. Click Finish.

Meet storage requirements

Before you convert batches of VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs, consider your storage requirements. Converted VM disks are stored on a XenServer storage repository.

This storage repository must be large enough to contain the virtual disks for all the converted VMs you want to run in that pool. For converted machines that only run on a standalone host, you can specify either local or shared storage as the location for the converted virtual disks. For converted machines running in pools, you can only specify shared storage.

To create a storage repository:

1. In the Resource pane in XenCenter, select the pool where you intend to run the Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

2. Click the Storage tab.

3. Click New SR and follow the instructions in the wizard. For more instructions, press F1 to display the online help.

XenServer requirements

You can run VMs converted with this release of Conversion Manager on the following versions of XenServer:

• XenServer 8

• Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 Cumulative Update 1

VMware requirements

Conversion Manager virtual appliance can convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs from the following versions of VMware:

• vCenter Server 7.x, and 8.x
• vSphere 7.x, and 8.x
• ESXi 7.x, and 8.x

Note:

Conversion Manager virtual appliance cannot convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs with four or more disks into XenServer VMs. Your VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs must have three or fewer disks.

Your VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs must also have a network and a storage controller configured.

Prepare to import the virtual appliance

Before importing the virtual appliance, note the following information and make the appropriate changes to your environment, as applicable.

Download the virtual appliance

The Conversion Manager virtual appliance is packaged in XVA format. You can download the virtual appliance from the XenServer downloads page. When downloading the file, save it to a folder on your local hard drive (typically, but not necessarily, on the computer where XenCenter is installed). After the .xva file is on your hard drive, you can import it into XenCenter.

Virtual appliance prerequisites

The Conversion Manager virtual appliance requires a minimum of:

• Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 Cumulative Update 1, XenServer 8

• Disk space: 30 GB of disk space

• Memory: 6 GB

• Virtual CPU allocation: 2 vCPU

Import and configure the virtual appliance

The Conversion Manager virtual appliance is a single pre-installed VM designed to run on a XenServer host. Before importing it, review the prerequisite information and considerations in the section called Preparing to import the virtual appliance.

Import the virtual appliance into XenServer

To import the Conversion Manager virtual appliance into the pool or host where you want to run the converted VMs, use the XenCenter Import wizard:

1. Open XenCenter. Right-click on the pool (or host) into which you want to import the virtual appliance package, and select Import.

2. Browse to locate the virtual appliance package.

3. Select the pool or a home server where you want to run the Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

   Note:

   A home server is the host that provides the resources for a VM in a pool. While it can, a XenServer attempts to start the VM on that host, before trying other hosts. If you select a host, the Conversion Manager virtual appliance uses this host as its home server. If you select the pool, the virtual appliance automatically starts on the most suitable host in that pool.

4. Choose a storage repository on which to store the virtual disk for the Conversion Manager virtual appliance and then click Import. To add a storage repository to the pool, see the section called “Meet Storage Requirements.” You can choose either local or shared storage.

5. Ensure the network to be used for conversion (which connects the VMware server to the XenServer host) is selected as the network associated with interface 1 (“virtual NIC 1”).

   • If the correct network does not appear beside interface 1, use the list in the Network column to select a different network.

   • If you have not added the VMware network that is on a different physical network than the pool, do the following:

     1. Exit the wizard.
     2. Add the network to the pool.
     3. Rerun the wizard.

     For more information, see To add a network to XenServer.

     Warning:

     Do NOT configure NIC0 to your customer network. Assign NIC0 only to "Host internal management network.”

6. Leave the Start VM after import check box enabled, and click Finish to import the virtual appliance.

7. After importing the .xva file, the Conversion Manager virtual appliance appears in the Resources pane in XenCenter.

Configure the Conversion Manager virtual appliance

Before you can use the Conversion Manager virtual appliance to convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs, configure it using the XenCenter Console tab:

1. After importing the Conversion Manager virtual appliance, click the Console tab.

2. Read the license agreement. To view the contents of the license agreement, open the URL in a web browser. Press any key to continue.

3. Enter and confirm a new root password for the Conversion Manager virtual appliance. We recommend selecting a strong password.

4. Enter a host name for the Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

5. Enter the domain suffix for the virtual appliance. For example, if the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the virtual appliance is citrix-migrate-vm.domain4.example.com, enter domain4.example.com.

6. Enter y to use DHCP to obtain the IP address automatically for the Conversion Manager virtual appliance. Otherwise, enter n and then enter a static IP address, subnet mask, and gateway for the VM.

7. Review the host name and network setting and enter y when prompted. This step completes the Conversion Manager virtual appliance configuration process.

8. When you have successfully configured the appliance, a login prompt appears. Enter the login credentials and press Enter to log in to the Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

If you do not configure the Conversion Manager correctly, you might have to reconfigure the virtual appliance. For more information, see Reconfigure the Conversion Manager virtual appliance.

Reconfigure the Conversion Manager virtual appliance

If you need to change the configuration of the Conversion Manager after installing the virtual appliance, you can follow these steps to reconfigure it:

1. Log in to the Conversion Manager virtual appliance by using SSH or the XenCenter Console tab as root user.
2. Delete the following file: /etc/init.d/vpx_startup_setup_done.
3. Reboot the virtual appliance by using XenCenter.
4. Reconfigure the virtual appliance by using XenCenter Console tab.

Convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs

When you convert VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs, they are imported into the XenServer pool or standalone host where you are running the Conversion Manager virtual appliance. Converted VMs retain their original VMware settings for the virtual processor and virtual memory.

Before you start the conversion procedure, ensure that the following is true:

• You have the credentials for the XenServer pool (or standalone host). Either the root account credentials or a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) account with the Pool Admin role configured is acceptable.
• You have the credentials for the VMware server containing the VMs you want to convert. The conversion procedure requires you connect the Conversion Manager Console to the VMware server.
• The VMware virtual machines to convert are powered off.
• The VMware virtual machines to convert have a network and a storage controller configured.
• The XenServer pool (or host) that run the converted VMs is connected to a storage repository. The storage repository must contain enough space for the converted virtual disks.
• If you want to run your newly converted VMs in a pool, the storage repository must be shared storage. However, if the converted VMs run on a single standalone host (not a pool), you can use local storage.
• The virtual disks of the VM to convert are less than 2 TiB.
• XenServer pool (or host) has networks that the converted VMs use.

To convert your VMware ESXi/vCenter VMs into VMs that can run in a XenServer environment:

1. Ensure that you are logged in as an administrator and that the ‘Use Admin Approval Mode for the built-in Administrator Account’ group policy is disabled.
2. Ensure that the virtual appliance is installed and running on the XenServer host or pool where you want to import the VMs.

3. In XenCenter, go to Pool > Conversion Manager.

   The Conversion Manager window opens. Wait while the wizard connects to your virtual appliance.

4. Click New Conversion.

5. In the New Conversion wizard, enter the credentials for the VMware server:

   • Server. Enter the IP address or FQDN for the VMware server that contains the VMs you want to convert to XenServer.
   • Username. Enter a valid user name for this VMware server. This account must either be a VMware admin account or have a Root role.
   • Password. Enter the password for the user account you specified in the Username box.

   Click Next. XenCenter connects to the VMware server.

6. On the Virtual Machines page, select the VMs you want to convert from the list available on the VMware server.

   The conversion fails if the VM name contains unsupported characters such as %, &, *, $, #, @, !, \, /, :, *, ?, ", <, >, |, ;, or '. Only uppercase and lowercase ASCII characters, numbers, spaces, periods (.), hyphens (-), underscores (_), plus signs (+), and parentheses (()) are allowed.

   Note:

   If BitLocker is enabled on your VM, or if you are converting a VM with an attached vTPM used by BitLocker, we recommend shutting down BitLocker before conversion. This action decrypts the VM disk and enables the Conversion Manager to automatically uninstall VMware Tools and install XenServer VM Tools on your Windows or Linux VMs.

   Click Next.

7. If you are converting a Windows VM with an attached vTPM, review the mandatory tasks and information on the vTPM page. (This page only appears when converting a Windows VM with an attached vTPM.)

   To proceed with the conversion, you must connect to the vCenter Server. vCenter access is necessary for the Conversion Manager to remove the existing vTPM and create a new XenServer vTPM for the VM.

   Note:

   If other applications rely on the vTPM, back up your vTPM data before conversion, as the Conversion Manager cannot recover encrypted data from the old vTPM. A new empty vTPM is created on XenServer. After the conversion, manually restore your data to the new vTPM on XenServer.

   Once you have completed all the mandatory tasks, check the agreement checkbox at the bottom of the page to confirm your completion and then click Next.

8. On the Storage page, select the storage repository you want to use during conversion. This storage repository is where the VMs and the virtual disks that you are creating are stored permanently.

   This tab indicates the proportion of available storage that the virtual disks of the converted VMs consume.

9. On the Networking page, for each VMware network listed, select the XenServer network to map it to. You can also select whether to preserve virtual MAC addresses. Click Next.

10. If you are converting Windows VMs, enable the Install XenServer VM Tools for Windows after conversion checkbox on the XenServer VM Tools page. This allows the Conversion Manager to automatically install XenServer VM Tools on your Windows VMs. (This page only appears for Windows VM conversions.)

    Installing XenServer VM Tools for Windows on each Windows VM is essential for a fully supported configuration. These tools enhance I/O performance, improving disk and network efficiency while supporting key VM features such as clean shutdowns, reboots, suspensions, and live migrations. While VMs can operate without these tools, their performance might be limited. If you enable automatic installation, choose a source:

    • Use the existing XenServer VM Tools version - If you have previously downloaded and uploaded XenServer VM Tools for Windows, you can select that version. The version you uploaded is displayed for your reference.
    • Download and upload the latest version of XenServer VM Tools for Windows - If internet access is available, XenCenter automatically connects to the XenServer website to download and upload the latest version of the tools to the Conversion Manager.
    • Select a tools file from disk - When you need a specific version or lack internet connectivity, you can manually upload the tools file from a local disk.

    Click Next.

11. Review the options you configured for the conversion process. You can click Previous to change these options. To proceed with the configuration shown, click Finish.

    The conversion process begins, during which the Conversion Manager automatically uninstalls VMware Tools on your Windows or Linux VMs. When the conversion completes, start your VMs manually by selecting the VM’s host and clicking Pool > Conversion Manager.

    After the VMs boot, XenServer VM Tools install automatically to ensure compatibility. To finalize the installation, manually restart the VM once more. The Conversion Manager then shuts down automatically to save host resources.

The Conversion Manager window displays conversions in progress and completed conversions.

Post-conversion tasks

After converting your VMs, complete the following tasks on Windows and Linux VMs:

Reactivate the Windows License on Windows VMs

On Windows VMs, depending on your Microsoft licensing model, you might have to reactivate the VM’s Windows license. This reactivation happens because the Windows operating system perceives the conversion as a hardware change.

Reboot your Windows VMs

For Windows VMs, if you chose to have the Conversion Manager automatically install XenServer VM Tools, the tools are installed after the initial boot. To finalize the installation, manually restart the VM once more.

Enable VNC on Linux VMs

On Linux VMs, configure the VNC server. For more information, see Enable VNC for Linux VMs.

Note:

The VNC password must have at least six characters.

Other conversion tasks

The Manage Conversions window enables you to perform other tasks related to converting VMs. These tasks include clearing jobs, saving a summary of jobs, retrying jobs, canceling jobs, and displaying the log file.

To clear all jobs:

1. Select Clear All.
2. When prompted to confirm this action, click Yes to continue.

To save a summary of jobs:

1. Click Export All.
2. Specify where to save the CSV file.
3. Click Save.

To retry a job:

1. Select the job from the list.
2. Click Retry.

Note:

The Retry option is only enabled for failed or canceled jobs.

To cancel a job:

1. Select the job from the list.
2. Click Cancel.

Note:

Cancel jobs is only enabled for queued or running jobs.

To save the conversion log file for a single job:

1. Select the job from the list.
2. From the logs menu, Click Fetch Selected Log.
3. Specify where to save the log file.

To save the conversion log file for all jobs:

1. From the logs menu, Click Fetch All Logs.
2. Specify where to save the log file.

To display conversion details:

1. Select the job from the list.

   The information is displayed in the Details panel.