I.3 Migration of Workloads to VMware

Use information in this section to help troubleshoot common problems that might occur during migration of workloads to VMware.

I.3.1 Outbound Email Stuck after Migrating Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 to VMware

Issue: After you migrate a Microsoft Exchange 2016 server to VMware, the users’ outgoing messages get stuck in their Drafts folder.

Fix: After you migrate a Microsoft Exchange Server workload to VMware, ensure that you modify the Exchange internal and external DNS settings to use VMXNET 3. See KB Article 7021909.

I.3.2 Mouse Does Not Work in the VM Console Window for the Target VM

Issue: Sometimes on Test Cutover or Cutover, the mouse does not work for the VM in the vSphere Web Client. That is, when you perform Actions > Open Console to open the VMware Web Console, the mouse pointer does not function properly within the virtual machine console window.

Fix: Manually restart the VM to allow VMware Tools to recognize the USB Controller for the mouse. In vSphere, select Actions > Power > Restart Guest OS.

I.3.3 Floppy Drive Not Cleaned Up on the Target VM on VMware

Issue: After cutover is completed for a migration to VMware, an extra floppy drive remains attached but not connected to the target VM.

Fix: The PlateSpin Configuration parameter RemoveVMwareDevicesAtCutover controls whether floppy drives are removed after a successful cutover. The default value is False, which leaves an extra floppy drive attached but not connected to the VM. You can set the value to True to force the removal of the extra floppy drive. The removal process must shut down and restart the Guest OS. This reboot is required to remove the extra floppy disk.

To enable automatic removal of the extra floppy and its required reboot to occur at test cutover or cutover for all migrations to VMware virtualization platforms:

  1. Log in as Administrator to the PlateSpin Migrate Web Interface, then open the PlateSpin Server Configuration page at:

    https://Your_PlateSpin_Server/PlateSpinConfiguration/

  2. Locate the RemoveVMwareDevicesAtCutover parameter and click Edit.

  3. Change the setting from False to True.

  4. Save your settings and exit the page.

I.3.4 vSphere Alarm: Virtual Machine Consolidation Needed

Issue: When you migrate a workload to a VMware target, the migration completes successfully. However, the following message is displayed in the vSphere Web Client:

vSphere Web Client Configuration Issue: Virtual Machine Disks Consolidation is needed.

vSphere Web Client Triggered Alarm: Virtual machine Consolidation Needed status

This error condition is caused by the state of the VMware environment when the snapshot is removed. Some virtual disk files might remain on the disk.

Workaround: In the vSphere Web Client, consolidate the snapshots. For information, see the following VMware resources:

I.3.5 VMware Tools Not Installed on Target Workload When You Use the X2P Workflow for Migrating a Workload to VMware

Issue: When you use the X2P workflow to migrate a workload to VMware, you are required to set up the VMware Tools for the target workload before you perform the conversion so that the configuration service can install the tools on the target VM when the target VM contacts the PlateSpin Server. See Setting Up VMware Tools for the Target Workload in the User Guide.

However, the VMware tools does not automatically install on the target workload if the target workload already has some version of VMware tools installed.

Fix: After conversion, manually uninstall the older version of VMware tools on the target workload and install the newer version.

I.3.6 Migration of an OEL or CentOS 6.x Source Workload on a VMware Host Fails

Issue: .When you migrate an OEL or a CentOS 6.x source workload that is on a VMware host, the migration fails if the SCSI adapter type is not Paravirtual and the network adapter is not VMXNET3.

Fix: Edit the SCSI adapter type to Paravirtual and the network adapter type to VMXNET3 and then perform the migration.