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How to Migrate VM from XenServer to H3C [2 Methods]
Migrating virtual machines (VMs) from XenServer to H3C can provide multiple benefits when optimizing your infrastructure, improving performance, or taking advantage of the advanced features offered by H3C hyperconverged solutions.
By Amelia / Updated on February 17, 2025
You may consider virtual machine (VM) migration when your organization needs to move workloads between hypervisors for reasons such as hardware upgrades, consolidation, etc. XenServer is an open-source virtualization platform, and H3C offers a range of enterprise-class networking solutions. In this article, you will be provided with the process of migrate VM from XenServer to H3C.
Two Methods to Migrate VM from XenServer to H3C
Prerequisites:
Regardless of which method you use, you need to consider the following considerations prior to migration:
- Virtual Machine Compatibility: You need to verify that the guest operating system (OS) of the virtual machine on the XenServer is compatible with the H3C hypervisor.
- Virtual Machine Resource: Check the CPU, memory, disk, and network configurations of the virtual machines in XenServer to adapt them to H3C.
- Network Configuration: Be aware of how networking is handled in both environments because the network configurations of XenServer and H3C may be different.
Method 1. Manual Disk Migration (Cold Migration)
The following migration method is the simplest and most commonly used method.
Step 1. Shut down the virtual machine to be migrated, then export virtual machine from XenServer.
In the XenServer Management Console, select Virtual Machine > Export….
This typically creates a .xva (XenServer Virtual Appliance) file containing the virtual machine's configuration and disk image.
Step 2. You need to convert the disk format from XenServer's .vhd or .xva format to a KVM-compatible format such as .qcow2 or .raw. You can use the following command to convert VHD to QCOW2:
Step 3. On the H3C management interface, create a new virtual machine that matches the resources (CPU, memory, etc.) of the XenServer virtual machine.
Step 4. After creating a new virtual machine, attach a converted .qcow2 or .raw disk image to the new virtual machine on the H3C.
Step 5. Reconfigure the network settings in the new virtual machine to match the desired network configuration on the H3C. After connecting the disks and configuring the network settings, start the virtual machine in the H3C hypervisor environment.
Method 2. Using a Migration Tool (Live Migration or Hot Migration)
Some hypervisors support live migration tools that can migrate running virtual machines from one host to another without downtime.H3C and XenServer do not inherently support direct live migration between platforms, but third-party tools can provide solutions. The following tools can help you with migration:
V2V (Virtual-to-Virtual) Migration Tools: These tools are designed to facilitate the migration of virtual machines between hypervisors. Examples include StarWind V2V Converter or VMware vCenter Converter (if you are willing to temporarily switch to VMware as an intermediate platform).
Why Choose AOMEI Cyber Backup for Migration
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100% SecureConclusion
You can implement the process of migrating from XenServer to H3C according to the two ways provided in this article. Whether you choose to migrate manually or utilize a migration tool, you need to fully understand the requirements of both hypervisors, perform sufficient testing, and ensure optimization after migration. Meanwhile, it is recommended that you use AOMEI Cyber Backup to back up your data for data security during the migration process.
