We're in a tough spot where our K-12 institution can't invest in new hardware, but we need to migrate from VMware to Hyper-V using our six ESXi hosts. We're utilizing Pure Storage for our data, currently at about 55% capacity across both nodes (with 3 ESXi hosts linked to Pure Storage Node 1 and 3 to Node 2). We have around 50 VMs running, including about 20 that are critical to our operations. I've been tasked to lead this migration, and we must do it without new hardware or storage. Has anyone experienced a similar transition? How did you tackle it? Did you start with one host—install Windows Server 2025 Datacenter, set up Hyper-V, and create a failover cluster first—or did you migrate the hosts individually before building the cluster?
3 Answers
We typically build our new cluster with fresh hardware and Hyper-V, then perform a 'failover migration' using Veeam, moving one host at a time. We've had zero issues with any VMs during the 37 we migrated this way!
Starting with the cluster first is a good idea. Test everything to confirm failover works, and then begin the migration.
I suggest consolidating your ESXi deployment to one 4-node cluster, or two 2-node clusters. This way, as you migrate VMs, you can decommission one ESXi node, set it up with Windows Server and Hyper-V, and add it to the new cluster until all six hosts are migrated. Just ensure you have a Domain Controller outside the Hyper-V cluster for DNS resolution—this prevents dependency issues if your cluster goes down. Also, check out the importance of time sync configuration for Hyper-V, as it's critical for smooth operation.
That sounds like a solid plan! I would also suggest creating a new LUN in your Pure Storage, evacuating one node from each cluster, setting it up with Hyper-V, and then slowly migrating the VMs.
I actually prefer not to join my Hyper-V hosts to the domain if possible.
That was my original approach too, but management is against investing in new hardware, so it looks like I’m stuck with what we have.