PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -1­ Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................. 3 Terminology .................................................................................................. 4 PowerConvert Overview .................................................................................. 5 PowerConvert Server Requirements ............................................................... 5 PowerConvert Client Requirements ................................................................ 5 Source Server Requirements ............................................................................. 6 PowerConvert Image Server Requirements ..................................................... 6 Target Virtual Server Requirements ............................................................... 6 The PowerConvert Server................................................................................ 7 PowerConvert Server Installation Instructions.......................................................... 7 The PowerConvert Client ................................................................................. 8 PowerConvert Client Installation Instructions........................................................... 8 Product Activation and License Management ................................................... 9 Customer Experience Improvement Program ....................................................11 The Server View ...........................................................................................12 The Jobs View ..............................................................................................13 Server Discovery ..........................................................................................14 Discovering Source Servers, Target Virtual Servers and Target Image Servers ....15 Discovering Servers Through Automatic Network Discovery ..............................16 Discovering target physical servers ...............................................................17 Server Analysis.............................................................................................19 Analyzing Discovered Servers ......................................................................20 Peer to Peer Conversion Jobs ..........................................................................21 Converting to Virtual Servers .......................................................................22 Converting to Physical Servers ..........................................................................35 PlateSpin Flexible Image Jobs .........................................................................42 Creating a PlateSpin Image Server .....................................................................43 Capturing a PlateSpin Flexible Image ............................................................44 Creating Images Using Existing Volume Data .................................................46 Using Raw Volume Data ..............................................................................49 Deploying a PlateSpin Flexible Image..................................................................51 Running Jobs................................................................................................53 Saving Jobs ...............................................................................................53 Manually Starting Saved Jobs.......................................................................53 Scheduling Saved Jobs................................................................................54 Reports .......................................................................................................55 APPENDIX A: Adding Drivers for Physical Target Servers.....................................56 APPENDIX B: Troubleshooting.........................................................................57 Installation ................................................................................................57 Discovery ..................................................................................................57 Peer-to-Peer Conversions ............................................................................58 Using Images ............................................................................................59 APPENDIX C: FAQ .........................................................................................60 PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -2­ Introduction Welcome to the PlateSpin® PowerConvertTM User Guide. PlateSpin PowerConvert is a powerful, fully automated Operating System PortabilityTM solution that enables the complete interchange of data, applications, and operating systems (the software layer) across Intel infrastructure in the data center, breaking the dependency between hardware infrastructure and server software. PlateSpin PowerConvert's OS Portability technology provides you with the flexibility to best match software and applications with the hardware infrastructure unique to your data center, all from a single point of control. Freely move the software layer in any direction, between any physical server, virtual server, or image, without ever having to be in physical contact with the source or target machines. This guide contains step-by-step instructions to get you converting in no time at all. Please contact our support team at support.PowerConvert@platespin.com regarding any questions or feedback. PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -3­ Terminology PowerConvert Server The central server which controls all server discovery, image capture and conversion jobs. The PowerConvert Server also hosts the database for which all information regarding discovered servers and jobs is stored. An interface to the PowerConvert Server. It is through the PowerConvert Client where the user will perform their work. An image repository for PlateSpin Images. Images can be captured to or deployed from an Image Server. A PlateSpin Image Server is comprised of a PlateSpin "Controller" and an image list file. While any discovered Windows server can be configured as a PlateSpin Image Server, a simple way to get started is to designate the PowerConvert Server as a PlateSpin Image Server. A server which will be converted to a virtual machine, moved to a physical server or used to create a flexible image. The server which will host the result of the source server's conversion. This can be a virtual server (VMware GSX Server, VMware ESX Server, Microsoft Virtual Server), a PlateSpin Image Server or a physical server. By discovering a server, PowerConvert gathers configuration data for use during the conversion process. The collected data can be seen through a properties dialog in the PowerConvert Client. A small service allowing communication between the systems involved during the conversion process. The controller is automatically deployed as required and is removed automatically when a server is undiscovered. A resource that contains a set of files that makes up a volume. Currently PowerConvert supports Acronis True Image, Symantec LiveState and PlateSpin Packages as volume data A directory containing a set of file that makes up a volume. Raw volume data sources can be created by extracting data from an image or backup archive such as Ghost, a LUN on a SAN or simply a file system on a local hard drive. PowerConvert Client PlateSpin Image Server Source Server Target Server Server Discovery PlateSpin Controller Volume Data Raw Volume Data PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -4­ PowerConvert Overview There are three main steps to performing a server conversion: 1) Discover the source and target servers 2) Configure and create the conversion job 3) Execute the conversion job When the conversion completes, a fully functional server will have been created. Configurable options provide full customization of settings for the converted server. Files on the original source server are left untouched, allowing it to continue working in the environment if desired. Volume data can also be captured and deployed, allowing for easy provisioning of physical and virtual servers. PowerConvert Server Requirements IIS and the .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 (including ASP.NET) must be installed prior to installing the PowerConvert Server. The PowerConvert Server can be installed on the following platforms. · Windows 2000 Server (SP4) · Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4) · Windows 2003 Server Disk requirements: 1.5 GB of free disk space Memory requirements: Minimum 512 MB of RAM PowerConvert can be installed within a virtual machine that meets the above specifications. For more information about installing IIS and .NET refer to KB article 20008 PowerConvert Client Requirements The .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 must be installed on servers running the PowerConvert Client. This can be obtained from the Microsoft website. The PowerConvert Client can be installed on the following platforms. · Windows 2000 Server (SP4) · Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4) · Windows XP · Windows 2003 Server PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -5­ Source Server Requirements The following source operating systems are supported when performing conversions to virtual servers, or capturing images. · · · · · Windows NT Server (SP4, SP6a) Windows 2000 Server Windows 2000 Advanced Server Windows 2003 Server Redhat Linux (7, 8, AS 3.0, ES 3.0) The following source operating systems are supported when performing conversions to physical servers. · · · Windows 2000 Server Windows 2000 Advanced Server Windows 2003 Server Windows based source servers require that WMI be installed. Windows NT Server does not include WMI as part of the default installation. The WMI Core distributable can be obtained through the Microsoft website. If WMI is not installed, discovery of the server will fail. Linux based source servers must be running SSHD. PowerConvert Image Server Requirements The .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 must be installed prior to installing the PowerConvert Image Server. The PowerConvert Image Server can be installed on the following platforms. · Windows 2000 Server (SP4) · Windows 2000 Advanced Server (SP4) · Windows 2003 Server Target Virtual Server Requirements The following virtual infrastructure platforms are supported by PowerConvert. · · · VMware GSX Server for Windows 3.0 and higher VMware ESX Server 2.1 and higher Microsoft Virtual Server Please see knowledge base article #20002 for the most recent list of supported virtual infrastructure platforms. PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -6­ The PowerConvert Server PlateSpin PowerConvert ships as a single executable. This executable will install the PowerConvert Server and make the PowerConvert Client installer available. PowerConvert Server Installation Instructions 1. Double-click PowerConvertServerSetup-####.EXE as downloaded from the PlateSpin website to begin the installation 2. If this is the first time PowerConvert has been installed, the MSDE installation will begin NOTE: It is required to reboot after the MSDE installation if prompted. 3. When prompted, select the directory where the PowerConvert Server will be installed (default: C:\Program Files\PlateSpin PowerConvert Server) 4. Click `Finish' when prompted, to complete the installation PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -7­ The PowerConvert Client Once the PlateSpin PowerConvert Server is installed, the PowerConvert Client will be available. PowerConvert Client Installation Instructions 1. Open a web-browser and go to http://localhost/powerconvert NOTE: If installing the PowerConvert Client on a remote system, replace `localhost' with the hostname or IP address of the PowerConvert Server 2. Click the link to download the PlateSpin PowerConvert Client and choose "Open" to begin the installation 3. When prompted, select the directory where the PowerConvert Client will be installed (default: C:\Program Files\PlateSpin PowerConvert Client) and choose whether the PowerConvert Client will be installed for all users on the system or only the current user 4. Click `Finish' when prompted, to complete the installation PlateSpin PowerConvert User Guide Copyright 2005 -8­ Product Activation and License Management When the PowerConvert Client is launched for the first time, the License Wizard is displayed. Online Activation Using online activation will obtain a PowerConvert license over the internet. 1. Select the `Online Activation' option and click `Next' 2. Enter the e-mail address and activation code and click `Next' to obtain the PowerConvert License 3. The PowerConvert Client will now obtain the required license from the internet and activate the PowerConvert Server PlateSpin ...