New Import Wizard Available for Migrating VMware ESXi Based Virtual Machines

[julianl]

It does not remove the ESXi source, so just run the copy again. You should also be able to change the Nic to VirtIO. I also had to edit the network config within the VM and change the network device from ens160 to ens18.

Thanks for the reply. The ESXi host is still there, but the VM is no longer in the list of VMs I can import. Not sure why?

 

[japplebee]

I can't explain that. Mine are still there and I can import multiple times.

 

[Falk R.]

I'm doing some testing, migrating VMs from ESXi 8.0 Update 3 to PVE 8.3.3. It failed on my first test VM (migration worked, but no boot device), but worked on my second because I'd only installed VirtIO on the second VM. I deleted the migrated copy of my first VM from PVE, but now I can't find it listed as a migration source. The VM still exists on the VMware environment. Is a VM removed from the list once it's migrated? Or have I done something wrong? How can I migrate the VM again now that I've installed VirtIO installed? Thanks!

Hi, if the VM is no longer displayed, you need to rescan the datastore or reconnect to the ESXi.
The boot device is normal Windows behavior.
It is best to start the Windows VMs the first time with an IDE/SATA connected OS disk. Connect further disks via VirtIO SCSI or, if it is a single disk VM, a small dummy disk as SCSI. Then install the Virtio drivers and then shut down the VM and connect the OS disk as SCSI. (Do not forget to select the boot device)

 

[julianl]

I can't explain that. Mine are still there and I can import multiple times.

A disable/reenable of the ESXi host as a source fixed it.

 

[julianl]

Hi, if the VM is no longer displayed, you need to rescan the datastore or reconnect to the ESXi.
The boot device is normal Windows behavior.
It is best to start the Windows VMs the first time with an IDE/SATA connected OS disk. Connect further disks via VirtIO SCSI or, if it is a single disk VM, a small dummy disk as SCSI. Then install the Virtio drivers and then shut down the VM and connect the OS disk as SCSI. (Do not forget to select the boot device)

Disabling/enabling the source worked, thanks! Thanks for the migration tips too.

 

[einhirn]

Sounds interesting. What I have been using for manual imports is sshfs to mount the filesystem over ssh from proxmox to a vmware server and works surprisingly well. You might want to give that a try as it avoids the step of having to move to nfs and does give proxmox rw access to the vmfs filesystem (local or san) on vmware.

Right, I haven't yet considered sshfs although I heard of it before. I tend to overcomplicate things in the hope of achieving better efficiency of transfer or something

 

[jad238]

Hi,

I’m new to Proxmox, but have worked with vSphere for years. I’m experiencing the following issue, was told this has been resolved, but still see problems.

I’m using the ESXi storage type and attempting to import VMware VMs into Proxmox. When importing from an ESXi 7 (7.0.3, 24411414) host there are no issues. However, when trying to import form an ESXi 8 (8.0.3, 24414501) host I get the following error message when selecting a VM and clicking Import.

Storage ‘donovan’ is not activated (500)

I suspect this is due to a change in the ESXi 8 API, which seems to be confirmed by Falk R. in October 2023 (https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/n...sxi-based-virtual-machines.144023/post-710869). Based on the most recent post in this thread it does not seem this issue has been resolved.

I’ve attached screenshots which may be helpful.


My ESXi host version is: 8.0.3, 24414501

My Proxmox host version is: 8.3.0 (attached summary screenshot)


Can anyone confirm if this issue has been resolved by Proxmox?

Or offer any assistance or guidance?


I appreciate your help, as we begin our Proxmox journey.