Converting from Azure to VMware

When restoring from a Virtual Server Agent (VSA) backup of Azure Resource Manager virtual machines, you can choose to restore VMs as VMware VMs.

Conversion of a virtual machine includes conversion of Azure VM disks to VMDKs and conversion of the Azure configuration to create a similar VMware VM.

This feature is available from the Command Center and from the CommCell Console.

You can perform VM conversions from streaming backups, from secondary copies, or from IntelliSnap backup copies. You cannot perform a conversion from a Snap copy.

Before You Begin

• Make the following changes on source VMs before performing backups that you use for conversions:

  • For Linux VMs, add required SCSI drivers and recompile the initrd file.

    If you do not perform this step for Linux VMs, the converted VMs fail to power on. To enable the VMs to power on, use a live recovery image of the Linux operating system to access the terminal, and then perform this step on the converted VMs.

  • Configure source VMs to use DHCP instead of using static IP addresses. The conversion process does not restore static IP addresses.

• Create a virtualization client for the VMware vCenter.

• For Windows computers: enable the pagefile on the C: drive of the source VM. This will prevent you from receiving an error message when you reboot the destination VM.

• For Linux computers: Ensure that the fstab entry of the source disk should be based on disk UUID and not disk name. If it is not based on disk UUID, then the restored VM will not boot up.

• As a best practice, perform an auxiliary copy operation to create a secondary copy of backups using on-premises storage, and using the secondary copy as the source for conversion.

• You can restore VMs that are encrypted using Azure Storage server-side encryption. You cannot restore VMs that are encrypted using Azure AD base encryption.

• VMs that are encrypted using Azure AD Base encryption (that is, using BitLocker inside the guest VM) cannot be converted, but VMs encrypted using Azure Storage Server side Encryption at Rest (that is, using Disk Encryption Sets and Customer-Managed Keys) can be restored.

• You cannot convert Ubuntu 16.x VMs or Ubuntu 18.x VMs to VMware.

Procedure

1. From the CommCell Browser, go to Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > Azure Resource Manager > backup_set.

2. Right-click the subclient that contains the backup for the Azure virtual machine to convert, and then select Browse and Restore.

   The Browse and Restore Options dialog box appears.

3. Select Full Virtual Machine.

4. From the Restore as list to the right of Full Virtual Machine, select VMware vCenter.

5. Click View Content.

   The Client tab shows the contents of the most recent backup for the subclient.

6. At the bottom of the window, click Recover All Selected.

   The Restore VM wizard displays the Destination page.

7. Provide the following information:

   • vCenter Client: Select the virtualization client that was created for the VMware vCenter.

     The Instance Details area displays the vCenter and the user name for the virtualization client.

   • Proxy Client: Select a VSA proxy to use for the conversion.

     The proxy you select must be able to connect to the vCenter.

8. Click Next.

   The Restore VM wizard displays the Virtual Machines page. The VM and Disk column displays the name of the virtual machine and lists virtual machine disks.

9. Provide the following information:

   • Change VM display name to: To avoid overwriting an existing virtual machine with the same name on the vCenter, click in the first row of the Change VM display name to column, and then enter a new name.

   • ESX Server: This column displays the ESX server of each destination virtual machine. To select an ESX server, click in the corresponding row, and then browse to select the ESX server where you want to create the virtual machine.

   • Datastore: This column displays the datastore of each disk for the destination VM. To select a datastore for any disk, click in the corresponding row, and then select a datastore from the list.

10. To specify other options, select one or more VMs and then, in the vCenter Options column, click Configure.

    The VMware vCenter Options dialog box appears.

    Any changes that you make on this dialog box are applied to all the selected VMs. The following information is displayed:

    • VM Display Name (if a single VM was selected): The name of the destination VM. You cannot change the value in this dialog box.

    • Edit Destination VM Name (if multiple VMs were selected): Select Prefix or Suffix, and then enter a string to append to all destination VM names.

    • ESX Server: Select a new destination ESX server for all selected virtual machines.

    • Datastore: Select a destination datastore for all selected virtual machines.

    • Resource Pool: Select a destination resource pool for all selected virtual machines.

    • VM Folder: Select a destination folder for all selected virtual machines.

    • Operating System: Select an operating system to match the operating system of the source VM.

      The operating system that you choose determines the type of SCSI controller that the conversion process selects for the converted VM.

    • Network Adapter Configuration: For each network adapter on the VM, select an adapter from the list.

      If you select Not Connected, virtual machines are restored with network interfaces in a disconnected state.

    • IP Address settings: If a source VM that is running Windows uses a static IP address, you can configure an IP address for the destination VM:

      1. Click Add Rule.

         The IP Address settings dialog box appears.

      2. Enter values for the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway for the source VM.

      3. Use one of the following methods to specify settings for the destination VM:

         To enable an available IP address for the specified network connection to be assigned automatically, select Use DHCP.

         To identify the desired IP address mappings for the destination VM, enter values for the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway. You can also specify preferred and alternate DNS servers and WINS servers.

         For more information, see IP Address settings.

    • Change Host Name for Destination VM: To specify a different host name for the converted VM, select this check box, and then enter the name in the Host Name for Destination VM box.

11. Click OK to save VM configuration values for the selected VMs.

12. Click Next.

    The Restore VM wizard displays the Restore Options page.

13. Provide the following information:

    • Disk Provisioning: Select the disk provisioning type for the destination VM: Original, Thick Lazy Zero, Thin, or Thick Eager Zero.

    • Transport Mode: Specify the transport mode:

      • Use Auto to have the transport mode selected automatically based on the environment.

      • Select a specific transport mode from this list: SAN, HotAdd, NBD, NBD SSL, or NAS.

    • Power ON Virtual Machine after Restore: Select this check box to power on the virtual machine in the vCenter after the conversion process uploads disks and completes the conversion.

    • Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name: If a virtual machine with the same name exists on the vCenter, select this check box to overwrite the existing virtual machine.

14. Click Next.

    The Restore VM wizard displays the Job Options page.

15. Choose to run the job immediately or configure a schedule for the restore.

16. Click Next.

    The Restore VM wizard displays the Summary page.

17. Click Finish.

Result

• If you selected the wrong operating system, you might not be able to start the converted VM.

• For converted Windows VMs, disks might be offline. You can bring the disks online manually.

• VMware tools are not installed on the converted VM, and are required to access some services (such as the VMCI driver, which enables high-speed communication between VMs on the same host and reduces latency). Use the vSphere client to install VMware tools on the converted VM.

• The conversion process does not restore static IP addresses.

What to Do Next

You may need to update disk assignments manually for restored virtual machines that have UEFI boot and multiple type of controllers.

Conversion Process

1. Determine the operating system for the converted VM.

2. Create the VM.

3. Select a SCSI controller that is compatible with the guest operating system that was selected for the conversion.

4. Add disks to the VM.

5. Write data.

6. Apply a generalized configuration file.

7. Reconfigure the VM to apply CPU, memory, and network settings that are similar to the source VM.

8. Customize the VM to modify the IP address, to start drivers, and to modify the destination computer name.