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Page 1: XenConvertGuide

Published November 2011 1.0 Edition

Citrix XenConvert 2.4.1 Guide

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Citrix XenConvert 2.4.1 Guide

Copyright © 2011 Citrix Systems. Inc. All Rights Reserved. Citrix Systems, Inc. 851 West Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 United States of America

Disclaimers

This document is furnished "AS IS." Citrix Systems, Inc. disclaims all warranties regarding the contents of this document, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose. This document may contain technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors. Citrix Systems, Inc. reserves the right to revise the information in this document at any time without notice. This document and the software described in this document constitute confidential information of Citrix Systems, Inc. and its licensors, and are furnished under a license from Citrix Systems, Inc.

Citrix Systems, Inc., the Citrix logo, Citrix XenServer and Citrix XenCenter, are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Trademarks Citrix® XenServer ® XenCenter ®

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Legal Notices

XML-RPC.NET

Copyright © 2001-2006 Charles Cook.

SharpZipLib

Copyright © 2000-2007 IC#Code ([email protected]). SharpZipLib is released under the GPL with the Classpath exception. To learn more about the GPL, please visit http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php.

Open Virtualization Format Schemas

All schemas sourced from schemas.dmtf.org: Copyright © 2009 Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF). All rights reserved.

DMTF is a not-for-profit association of industry members dedicated to promoting enterprise and systems management and interoperability. Members and non-members may reproduce DMTF specifications and documents for uses consistent with this purpose, provided that correct attribution is given. As DMTF specifications may be revised from time to time, the particular version and release date should always be noted.

Implementation of certain elements of this standard or proposed standard may be subject to third-party patent rights, including provisional patent rights (herein "patent rights"). DMTF makes no representations to users of the standard as to the existence of such rights, and is not responsible to recognize, disclose, or identify any or all such third party patent right, owners or claimants, nor for any incomplete or inaccurate identification or disclosure of such rights, owners or claimants. DMTF shall have no liability to any party, in any manner or circumstance, under any legal theory whatsoever, for failure to recognize, disclose, or identify any such third-party patent rights, or for such party's reliance on the standard or incorporation thereof in its product, protocols or testing procedures. DMTF shall have no liability to any party implementing such standard, whether such implementation is foreseeable or not, nor to any patent owner or claimant, and shall have no liability or responsibility for costs or losses incurred if a standard is withdrawn or modified after publication, and shall be indemnified and held harmless by any party implementing the standard from any and all claims of infringement by a patent owner for such implementations.

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Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 1

About This Document .................................................................................................................................. 1

About OVF ..................................................................................................................................................... 1

About VHD Format ...................................................................................................................................... 2

About This Release ........................................................................................................................................ 2

What’s New in 2.4.1 ................................................................................................................................... 2

What’s New in 2.4 ...................................................................................................................................... 2

Known Issues.............................................................................................................................................. 3

Known Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 3

System Requirements ..................................................................................................................................... 3

Installing XenConvert ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Configuring XenConvert .................................................................................................................................. 6

Exclude a file from a conversion ................................................................................................................. 6

Change source and destination choices shown in the wizard .................................................................. 6

Align first partition in VHD ......................................................................................................................... 7

Change Windows free space requirement .................................................................................................. 7

Change virtual disk transfer type ................................................................................................................. 7

Using XenConvert ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Starting XenConvert ...................................................................................................................................... 9

Choosing a Conversion ............................................................................................................................... 10

Converting From the Host Machine ......................................................................................................... 10

Preparing the Host Machine ................................................................................................................... 11

Choosing Volumes ................................................................................................................................... 11

Converting the Host Machine to XenServer ........................................................................................ 13

Converting the Host Machine to an OVF Package ............................................................................ 14

Converting the Host Machine to a VHD ............................................................................................. 15

Converting the Host Machine to Provisioning Services vDisk ......................................................... 16

Converting a Single Volume ....................................................................................................................... 16

Reviewing the results ................................................................................................................................... 17

Troubleshooting a Conversion ......................................................................................................................18

XenConvert failed to dismount VHD ...................................................................................................... 18

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Probable Causes ........................................................................................................................................ 18

Solutions .................................................................................................................................................... 18

XenConvert failed to discover volumes ................................................................................................... 19

Probable Causes ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Solutions .................................................................................................................................................... 19

PVS Target Device Failed to Boot ............................................................................................................ 20

Solutions .................................................................................................................................................... 20

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Introduction

Citrix XenConvert is a physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversion tool that converts a workload from a server or desktop machine running Windows to a virtual machine in XenServer, virtual appliance, virtual disk, or virtual disk connected to Provisioning Services. A workload can contain a Windows operating system, applications, and data.

XenConvert produces a virtual appliance in the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) that XenCenter can import into XenServer. Refer to the XenCenter and XenServer documentation for information about importing a virtual appliance into XenServer.

XenConvert produces a virtual disk in the Dynamic Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format that is compatible with XenServer and Provisioning Services. Refer to the XenCenter and XenServer documentation about importing a VHD into XenServer. Refer to the Provisioning Services documentation for information about importing a virtual disk into Provisioning Services.

About This Document

This document is a guide for a XenServer or Provisioning Services administrator to install, configure, and use XenConvert.

For more information about XenServer, visit www.citrix.com/xenserver.

For more information about Provisioning Services, visit support.citrix.com/product/provsvr.

About OVF

OVF is an open standard, specified by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), for packaging and distributing a virtual appliance consisting of one or more virtual machines.

An OVF Package is the set of files that comprise the virtual appliance. It always includes a descriptor and can include a manifest, signature, disk images, and possibly other files specific to the service. Storage locations include a simple file system directory, single file archive, or a web server.

An Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) is an OVF Package in a single file archive with the .ova extension.

The descriptor always specifies the virtual hardware requirements of the service and can include information such as descriptions of virtual disks, the service itself, and guest operating systems; a license agreement; instructions to start and stop virtual machines in the appliance; and instructions to install the service. Its file extension is .ovf.

The manifest allows the verification of the package contents by including the digests of other files. Its file extension is .mf.

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The signature allows the verification of the package author. It is the digest of the manifest signed with the public key from the X.509 certificate included in the package. Its file extension is .cert.

OVF does not specify a disk image format. XenServer and XenConvert produce disk images in the Dynamic VHD format. VMware products and Oracle VirtualBox produce virtual disks in the Stream Optimized VMDK format.

For more information, refer to the Open Virtualization Format Specification.

About VHD Format

VHD is a group of virtual disk image formats specified by Microsoft as part of their Open Specification Promise. Its file extension is .vhd.

XenConvert creates virtual disks in the Dynamic VHD format – a thinly provisioned virtual disk image that allocates space only when used.

About This Release

What’s New in 2.4.1

This service pack release fixes the following issues.

68616 – XenConvert does not duplicate the compression state of a directory.

68586 – XenConvert does not restore the original owner of select system files owned by a system service with privileges greater than the local administrator.

68965 – XenConvert allows conversion to a local storage repository connected to a XenServer other than the pool master.

What’s New in 2.4

This release adds interoperability with XenServer 6.0 and Provisioning Services 6.0.

This release can now copy files in use by an application on Windows Server 2003.

This release allows the user to select the XenServer storage repository to use for the virtual disk created when converting from a physical machine to XenServer.

This release optimizes access to a virtual disk by aligning its first partition, typically the Windows partition, with the block size on most storage devices. Refer to Configuring XenConvert for information about changing this alignment.

This release removes conversions from virtual appliances (OVF Package, OVA, and XVA) and virtual disks (VHD, VMDK). To convert an OVF Package, OVA, VHD, or VMDK to XenServer, please use the new XenCenter Import Wizard with XenServer 6.0.

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This release discontinues support for Windows 2000.

Known Issues

68589 – Japanese and Chinese characters do not render correctly in the field to change the destination folder.

Known Limitations

Windows Disk Type – XenConvert can only convert volumes from primary partitions on a disk configured as a Windows Basic Disk – not a Windows Dynamic Disk.

XenServer Connection – XenConvert requires a direct connection to a XenServer to communicate using HTTP. It cannot communicate through a HTTP proxy server. To work around this limitation, disable the use of a HTTP proxy server on the XenConvert host.

Firmware Type – XenConvert can only convert from a host machine with BIOS firmware – not Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI).

Disk Partition Type – XenConvert can only convert a Windows System Volume from a disk with MBR style partitions – not GPT style.

Open Files – XenConvert cannot copy a file in use by another application on Windows XP. To ensure that a conversion includes a file, close that application before converting.

Domain Controller – Citrix does not recommend using XenConvert to convert a Domain Controller.

File System – XenConvert only supports converting from a volume formatted with NTFS. However, XenConvert does not reproduce the following NTFS features from the source volume on the target volume.

Alternate Data Streams – XenConvert can convert only the default data stream of a file and not any named data streams.

Encryption – XenConvert does not reproduce encryption.

System Requirements

Operating Systems

The x86 (32 bit) and x64 (64 bit) types of the following versions of Windows can be a source of a conversion.

Windows 7

Windows Vista

Windows XP

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Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2003 with SP1 or later

.Net Framework

.Net Framework 4.0 is required to install and use XenConvert.

Disk Space

40 MB is required to install XenConvert.

Significant additional disk space is required to convert to XenServer VM, virtual appliance, or virtual disk. Please refer to section Converting From the Host Machine for the additional disk space requirement.

XenServer

The following versions of XenServer can be the destination of a conversion.

XenServer 6.0

XenServer 5.6 SP2

The following versions of XenServer can import an OVF Package created by this version of XenConvert.

XenServer 6.0

Provisioning Services

The following versions of Provisioning Services can be the destination of a conversion and import a VHD from this version of XenConvert.

Provisioning Services 6.0

Provisioning Services 5.6 SP1

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Installing XenConvert

Download the XenConvert installer from the XenServer or Provisioning Services download pages on www.citrix.com/downloads.

Install XenConvert on the machine that hosts the workload to convert.

1. Remove any other version of XenConvert.

2. Start the appropriate installer.

Open XenConvert_Install on an x86 (32 bit) type of operating system

Open XenConvert_Install_64 on an x64 (64 bit) type of operating system

Click Next.

3. Read the license agreement.

To print the license agreement, click Print.

To accept the license agreement and continue, click I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.

To reject the license agreement and cancel, click I do not accept the terms in the license agreement and click Cancel.

4. Accept or change the installation folder.

To accept the default installation folder, click Next.

To change the installation folder, click Change.

5. Click Install.

6. Click Finish.

To remove XenConvert from Windows XP and Windows Server 2003:

1. Open the Control Panel.

2. Open Add or Remove Programs.

3. Select Citrix XenConvert.

4. Click Remove.

To remove XenConvert from Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2:

1. Open the Control Panel.

2. Open Programs and Features.

3. Select Citrix XenConvert.

4. Click Uninstall.

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Configuring XenConvert

Change the default behavior of XenConvert by changing its configuration files – XenConvert.ini or XenConvert.exe.config.

XenConvert.ini

XenConvert.ini resides in the installation folder, has the format of an INI file commonly used in Windows, and can contain the sections named exclude, mode, and parameters. Start a section by adding a line with the section name inside square brackets as shown in the examples below.

[exclude]

[parameters]

The parameters section is a list of name-value pairs in the format below.

name=value

XenConvert.exe.config

XenConvert.exe.config resides in the installation folder, has the XML format, and contains the applicationSettings section for XenConvert.

Exclude a file from a conversion

To exclude a file from a conversion, add its file specification to the exclude section in XenConvert.ini. A file specification can be a simple path, start with an environment variable, or start with a wildcard as shown in the examples below.

C:\Temp\ExcludedFile.txt

%SYSTEMDRIVE%\pagefile.sys

*.vhd

Change source and destination choices shown in the wizard

To limit the choices in the From and To wizard menus for Provisioning Services, add the following line to the mode section in XenConvert.ini.

[mode]

PVS=

To show all choices, remove the above line.

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Align first partition in VHD

XenConvert aligns the first partition in the VHD to a block size optimal for most storage devices by starting the first partition at offset 1 MB.

To change the offset, add the parameter named PartitionOffsetBase in XenConvert.ini or change its value as shown in the example below.

[parameters]

PartitionOffsetBase=32768

Change Windows free space requirement

A best practice is for the Windows Boot Volume to have at least 25% of free space.

XenConvert warns the user if the Windows Boot Volume on the VHD will have less than the recommended free space before starting the conversion.

To change this threshold, add the parameter named WindowsFreePercentage in XenConvert.ini or change its value as shown in the example below.

[parameters]

WindowsFreePercentage=50

Change virtual disk transfer type

When converting to a XenServer VM, XenConvert can import its VHD into XenServer with either the Raw VDI or iSCSI transfer type. The default transfer type is Raw VDI.

Choose iSCSI for a shorter conversion time. Choose Raw VDI for networks that deny IP address assignment to unknown clients.

To change the virtual disk transfer type, change XenConvert.exe.config as described below.

To use Raw VDI, change the setting named TransferType to UploadRawVDI as shown in the example below.

<setting name="TransferType" serializeAs="String">

<!-- Default virtual disk transfer method to RawVDI. -->

<value>UploadRawVDI</value>

</setting>

To use iSCSI, change the setting named TransferType to iSCSI as shown in the example below.

<setting name="TransferType" serializeAs="String">

<!-- Default virtual disk transfer method to RawVDI. -->

<value>iSCSI</value>

</setting>

If the transfer type is iSCSI, choose to assign an IP address dynamically or statically.

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To assign the IP address dynamically, set NetworkSettings to DHCP as shown in the example below. <TransferVM>

<add key="NetworkSettings" value="DHCP" />

</TransferVM>

To assign the IP address statically, set NetworkSettings to Manual followed by the static IP address, network mask, and default gateway as shown in the example below. <TransferVM>

<add key="NetworkSettings" value="Manual 10.1.1.99 255.255.255.0

10.1.1.1" />

</TransferVM>

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Using XenConvert

Using XenConvert involves the following steps.

1. Starting XenConvert

2. Choosing a Conversion

3. Converting

4. Reviewing the results

Starting XenConvert

Log in to an administrator account with the following security privileges.

Backup files and directories

Restore files and directories

Manage auditing and security log

Take ownership of files and other objects

XenConvert can run in attended mode with a graphical user interface to guide the user through the conversion steps or in unattended mode with a command line interface.

To start XenConvert in attended mode, open the Windows Start menu and click All Programs, Citrix, and XenConvert. Note that only one instance of XenConvert can run at once in attended mode.

To start XenConvert in unattended mode, open a console shell and enter the XenConvert application name, conversion name, parameters, and any options in the order shown below.

start /b /wait XenConvert <Conversion Name> <Parameters> <Options>

More instructions are available in the help associated with XenConvert. To access the help, enter the following command line.

XenConvert /?

Even though more than one instance of XenConvert can run at once in unattended mode, it is impractical because of the use of volume snapshots.

To convert a workload that can stream to either a physical machine or virtual machine, install the Provisioning Services Target Device software before starting XenConvert.

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Choosing a Conversion

A conversion has a source and a destination. Choose the source first because the destination choices depend on the source. Use the following table as a guide for choosing a source.

Choose… To…

This Machine Convert a workload from a host machine to a XenServer or Provisioning Services vDisk.

Volume Save or “image” a volume from a host machine to a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Restore or “reverse image” a volume from a Provisioning Services vDisk to the host machine.

The following sections describe the conversions, organized by source, in more detail.

Converting From the Host Machine

The following table is a guide for choosing the destination of a conversion from the host machine.

Choose… To...

XenServer Convert a workload from a host machine that can connect to a XenServer.

OVF Package Convert a workload from a host machine that cannot connect to a XenServer.

Convert a workload to a virtual appliance.

VHD Convert a workload from a host machine that cannot connect to a XenServer.

Convert a workload from a host machine that does not have an active connection to a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Provisioning Services vDisk

Convert a workload from a host machine that does have an active connection to a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Converting to any destination other than Provisioning Services vDisk requires sufficient disk space for a workspace to store intermediate files. For best performance and reliability, choose a local hard disk that has the fastest interface, does not include the source volumes, and is not a network drive.

All conversions have the following steps in common.

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Preparing the Host Machine

Choosing Volumes

Preparing the Host Machine

For best results, prepare the host machine as follows.

Enable Windows Automount on Windows Server operating systems.

Disable Windows Autoplay.

Remove any virtualization software before performing a conversion.

Verify adequate free space exists on the destination, which is approximately 101% of used space of all source volumes.

Remove any network interface teams because it is not applicable to a virtual machine.

Choosing Volumes

Converting from a host machine involves copying selected volumes from the host machine to the virtual disk that XenConvert creates. A source volume refers to a volume to copy. A destination volume refers to the copy of the source volume on the virtual disk.

The following table describes the parts of the dialog for selecting a source volume.

Source Volume Choose a volume, identified by its drive letter and label, to include in the conversion.

Choose None to remove a volume from the conversion.

Used Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of the volume capacity, used by existing files on the selected volume.

Free Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of the volume capacity, available on the source volume.

Capacity Maximum space, measured in megabytes, of the selected source volume.

File System File system format – must be NTFS.

The following table describes the parts of the dialog for resizing a destination volume.

Destination Volume

Drive letter and label to assign after the conversion.

Used Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of

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the volume capacity, to copy from the respective source volume.

Free Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of capacity, to leave available to new files.

To resize a volume, change its free space.

Enter the number of megabytes.

Click to increase the number of megabytes.

Click to decrease the number of megabytes.

Click to match free space of the respective source volume.

Capacity Maximum space, measured in megabytes, of the volume.

This amount automatically changes when the free space changes.

File System File system format – must be NTFS.

The following table describes the parts of the dialog for resizing the virtual disk that XenConvert creates when the destination is not a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Allocated Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes, allocated to used and free space for all selected volumes.

Unallocated Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of disk capacity, not allocated to used or free space of any volume.

To reserve space on the virtual disk for creating or extending volumes later, change the unallocated space.

Enter the number of megabytes.

Click to increase the number of megabytes.

Click to decrease the number of megabytes.

Click to reset the unallocated space to zero.

Capacity Maximum space, measured in megabytes, of the virtual disk.

The following table describes the parts of the dialog for the virtual disk when the destination is a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Allocated Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes, allocated to used and free space for all selected volumes.

Unallocated Space Amount of space, measured in megabytes and as a percentage of disk capacity, not allocated to used or free space of any volume.

Capacity Maximum space, measured in megabytes, of the virtual disk.

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Click Autofit to adjust the free space of destination volumes automatically to fit within the capacity of the Provisioning Services vDisk.

Note If the Windows boot volume (volume containing the Windows folder) and Windows system volume (volume containing the boot configuration data) are separate on the host machine; XenConvert combines them onto the same partition. If the Windows system volume exists, it is typically hidden and so does not have a drive letter. If the Windows system volume does have a letter, exclude it from the conversion because XenConvert combines it with the Windows boot volume on the virtual disk. Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470 for the definitions of the Windows boot and system volumes.

Note For each volume that XenConvert creates on a virtual disk, some versions of Windows display a dialog asking to format the volume. Please cancel this dialog because XenConvert automatically formats the volume.

Converting the Host Machine to XenServer

1. Start XenConvert.

2. From – Choose This Machine.

3. To – Choose XenServer.

4. Click Next.

5. Choose source volumes, resize destination volumes, and resize the virtual disk as described in Choosing Volumes.

6. Click Next.

7. Identify the XenServer to receive the workload and the account to use.

Hostname Enter a simple host name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address of a standalone XenServer or the XenServer Pool Master.

User name Enter the name of the account with import privileges. Consult the XenServer product documentation for information about account requirements.

Password Enter the password for User name.

Workspace Enter the path of the folder to store the intermediate OVF Package or click Browse… to navigate to it or create it.

8. Click Next.

9. VM Name – Enter a different name to change the name of the virtual machine on XenServer.

10. Storage Repository – Choose a storage repository.

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11. Click Next.

12. Log names of converted files – Check this box to log the name of each converted file. Uncheck this box otherwise.

Note Logging the names of converted files significantly increases the conversion time.

13. Click Convert.

The conversion is complete when the progress bar is full and Status contains a message indicating success or failure.

14. Click Log to review the details of the results.

15. Click Finish.

Converting the Host Machine to an OVF Package

1. Start XenConvert.

2. From – Choose This Machine.

3. To – Choose OVF Package.

4. Click Next.

5. Choose source volumes, resize destination volumes, and resize the virtual disk as described in Choosing Volumes.

6. Click Next.

7. Please choose a folder to store the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Package – Enter the path of the folder or click Browse… to navigate to it or create it.

8. Optionally choose a EULA to include in the OVF Package – Enter the path of file that contains an end user license agreement or click Browse… to navigate to it.

Note: The file must be in plain or rich text format.

9. Create Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) – Check this box to store the OVF Package as a single file. Uncheck this box to store the OVF Package as files in a folder.

10. Compress Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) – Check this box to reduce the size of the OVA. Uncheck this box to keep the original size of the OVA.

Note Compressing an OVF Package increases the time to create and read it.

11. Encrypt – Check this box to conceal the OVF Package contents. Uncheck this box to allow anyone to read the OVF Package.

Note Encrypting an OVF Package increases the time to create and read it.

Passphrase – Enter a passphrase.

Confirm – Enter the same passphrase again.

12. Sign with certificate – Check this box to identify the author of the OVF Package. Uncheck this box otherwise.

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File – Enter the path of the certificate file or click File… to navigate to it.

Passphrase – Enter the passphrase for the certificate.

Click View to see the certificate.

13. Click Next.

14. VM Name – Enter a different name to change the name to assign the workload in XenServer.

15. Click Next.

16. Log names of converted files – Check this box to log the name of each converted file. Uncheck this box otherwise.

Note Logging the names of converted files significantly increases the conversion time.

17. Click Convert.

The conversion is complete when the progress bar is full and the Status contains a message indicating success or failure.

18. Click Log to review the details of the results.

19. Click Finish.

Converting the Host Machine to a VHD

1. Start XenConvert.

2. From – Choose This Machine.

3. To – Choose XenServer Virtual Hard Disk (VHD).

4. Click Next.

5. Choose source volumes, resize destination volumes, and resize the virtual disk as described in Choosing Volumes.

6. Click Next.

7. Please choose a folder to store the XenServer Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) – Enter the path of the folder or click Browse… to navigate to it or create it.

8. Click Next.

9. VM Name – Enter a different name to change the name to assign the workload in XenServer.

10. Click Next.

11. Log names of converted files – Check this box to log the name of each converted file. Uncheck this box otherwise.

Note Logging the names of converted files significantly increases the conversion time.

12. Click Convert.

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The conversion is complete when the progress bar is full and the Status contains a message indicating success or failure.

13. Click Log to review the details of the results.

14. Click Finish.

Converting the Host Machine to Provisioning Services vDisk

1. Start XenConvert.

2. From – Choose This Machine.

3. To – Choose Provisioning Services vDisk

4. Click Next.

5. Choose source volumes and resize destination volumes as described in Choosing Volumes.

6. Click Next.

7. Log names of converted files – Check this box to log the name of each converted file. Uncheck this box otherwise.

Note Logging the names of converted files significantly increases the conversion time.

8. Click Convert.

The conversion is complete when the progress bar is full and the Status contains a message indicating success or failure.

9. Click Log to review the details of the results.

10. Click Finish.

Converting a Single Volume

1. Start XenConvert.

2. From – Choose Volume

3. To – Choose Volume.

4. Click Next.

5. Source Volume – Choose a volume.

6. Destination Volume – Choose a volume.

Note The active Windows Boot Volume cannot be the destination volume.

7. Click Next.

8. Log names of converted files – Check this box to log the name of each converted file. Uncheck this box otherwise.

Note Logging the names of converted files significantly increases the conversion time.

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9. Click Convert.

The conversion is complete when the progress bar is full and the Status contains a message indicating success or failure.

10. Click Log to review the details of the results.

11. Click Finish.

Reviewing the results

XenConvert logs informational, warning, and error messages to its log file, XenConvert.txt. XenConvert also logs usage errors to its log file when run as a console program. XenConvert returns an exit code of zero for success and non-zero for failure.

The log file is in the following folder on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Citrix\XenConvert\

The log file is in the following folder on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008.

%PROGRAMDATA%\Citrix\XenConvert\

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Troubleshooting a Conversion

Some features of Windows and other software can interfere with a conversion.

The following sections identify the most common problems, identify the probable causes, and suggest solutions. Note that there can be more than one cause of and solution to a problem.

XenConvert failed to dismount VHD

This problem does not occur when converting to a Provisioning Services vDisk.

Probable Causes

VHD did not dismount in time

XenConvert was unable to disable Autoplay automatically and Autoplay opened a file on the VHD

Antivirus Service is scanning files on the VHD

Solutions

Wait longer for a VHD to dismount

The actual time for a VHD to dismount on the host machine can vary. XenConvert usually waits for 60 seconds for a VHD to dismount before retrying. To wait longer, assign a larger value to AutoDismountTimeoutAsMs in the parameters section as shown in the example below.

[parameters]

AutoDismountTimeoutAsMs=70000

Manually Dismount the VHD

The OVF Package and VHD are still valid. It is not necessary to repeat the conversion but it is necessary to dismount the VHD properly as follows.

Close Autoplay and any application that it opened so that the VHD can dismount.

Dismount the VHD manually as follows.

1. Open a command prompt.

2. Change to the XenConvert installation folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Citrix\XenConvert).

3. Run the following command to dismount all XenConvert VHDs.

cvhdmount –u 0

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If the conversion was to a XenServer VM, the intermediate OVF Package did not import into XenServer. To import the intermediate OVF Package manually, copy it to a XenCenter 6.0 host, run the XenCenter 6.0 Import wizard, and choose the OVF Package.

Disable Windows AutoPlay

Prevent Windows AutoPlay from interfering with subsequent conversions by disabling it. Since the procedure varies by Windows version, please refer to the Microsoft article for details: Article ID: 967715 - Last Review: May 6, 2009 - Revision: 3.0, How to disable the autorun functionality in Windows.

Stop the Anti-Virus Service

Stop the anti-virus service as follows.

1. Disconnect the host machine from the network unless converting to XenServer. In which case, XenConvert requires the network.

2. Stop the anti-virus service

Retry the conversion.

Enable the service.

XenConvert failed to discover volumes

During some conversions, XenConvert creates a VHD, mounts it as a Windows disk, partitions it, formats those partitions, and then waits to discover the volumes on the partitions. Sometimes the disk does not come online in time. Other times, XenConvert does not discover the volumes in time.

Probable Causes

VHD did not come online in time

Windows Automount feature was disabled. The Enterprise editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 disable this feature by default.

Windows prevents XenConvert from bringing its VHD online automatically

Network drive connects to next available drive letter that Windows would assign to the new volumes on the VHD

Solutions

Wait longer for VHD to come online

The actual time for a VHD to come online on the host machine can vary. XenConvert usually waits for 10 minutes for a VHD to come online. To wait longer, assign a larger value to VhdPluginTimeoutAsMs in the parameters section as shown in the example below.

[parameters]

VhdPluginTimeoutAsMs=700000

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Enable Windows Automount

To enable Windows Automount using diskpart:

1. Enter the following command at a command shell prompt:

DISKPART

2. Enter the following command at the DISKPART prompt:

automount enable

Note Automount remains enabled in the virtual disk that XenConvert creates.

Bring the VHD online

To bring the VHD online using Windows Disk Management:

1. Open Windows Disk Management.

2. Start the conversion.

3. Wait for the message Discovering Volume… to appear in the XenConvert Status box.

4. In Windows Disk Management, select the new disk and choose Online.

Disconnect Network Drive

Disconnect the network drive or connect it to another drive letter and retry the conversion.

PVS Target Device Failed to Boot

A PVS Target Device may fail to boot if it does not use logical block addressing (LBA) and the Windows Boot and System partitions start at a large offset.

Solutions

Decrease PartitionOffsetBase

Add the parameter named PartitionOffsetBase to XenConvert.ini or change its value as shown below.

[parameters]

PartitionOffsetBase=258048

Repeat the conversion.