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P2V for VMware: migrate physical to virtual – tools, expierences, articles

Some weeks ago I wrote about P2V migration for VMware, discussing six different ways to do the job. The growing number of referrals to this post show that this topic is troubling many IT professionals at the moment. Even VMware linked to my site from their Technology Network. Some sites have other useful information about P2V migration which I am going to share in this post. It also provides a list of all P2V products and solutions I’ve found so far. Let me know, if you’ve heard of others. I will add them to this list then.

P2V migration tools

• VMware P2V Assistant
• PlateSpin PowerConvert
• Leosteam P2V Direct 3.0
• Ultimate-P2V
• EZP2V Plugin for PE Builder
• Portlock Storage Manager for VMware ESX Server (see this PDF for details)

P2V tips and migration stories

• Damian Murdoch
• Geert Baeke
• Marco Linz
• Mark Wilson (about Platespin PowerConvert)
• Ben (for Virtual PC, but also applicable for VMWare): part1, part2, part3, part4

P2V articles and reviews

• InfoWorld: PlateSpin, Leostream ease the move to virtual datacenters
• InfoWorld: Migrating Physical to Virtual Machines – Then and Now
• TECHWORLD: Migrating from physical to virtual’s getting easier
• Virtual Strategy Magazine: To P2V or Not to P2V
• InfoWorld: Is Symantec Getting into the P2V Business?

There is another document I want to mention for the Rockefellers among us. It is a 3-page article about P2V basics from Forrester Research, priced at US$349 only. It is so easy to make good money these days, isn’t it?

Update: Please read this post about VMware’s free P2V solution, VMware Converter 3.0.