I have two Dell servers at home, an R720 running ESXi 7.0 and a newer R740 with ESXi 8.0. I want to transfer several VMs from the R720 to the R740. I've set up an NFS share using my TrueNAS, which is added as datastore 2 on both hosts. My confusion lies in which files to copy from the VM's folder on datastore 1 of the R720 to the NFS share. I heard that I need to copy about three files, including a flat.vmdk file, but I can only see this file using WinSCP or FileZilla, not in the ESXi GUI. Is it safe to just copy the entire VM folder? What's the best process for transferring these VMs given that I can't use my PC for the transfer due to lack of space?
3 Answers
If you have vCenter, the easiest way is to just right-click the VM and select 'Migrate'. But since you don't have vCenter, here's what you should do: first, power down the VM. Then, remove any snapshots (although that might not be necessary in every case). After that, use the storage menu to move the VM and finally, register it on the R740 before starting. If it fails to start and says files are missing, double-check if you removed snapshots as needed.
When copying the files, it's best to just grab the whole VM folder along with everything inside it. Sure, you could leave out some files, but it non-experts often end up with more troubleshooting later. It's just not worth the hassle for this type of transfer.
If you're looking for a surefire way to move things, yes, copying the entire folder would be your best bet. It saves you from potential headaches down the line when you realize some small file you left out was critical. Better to be safe than sorry!
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