HOW TO:  P2V, V2V for FREE - VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3 - Shellshock "BASH" Fix included in this version

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)VMware and Virtualization Consultant
CERTIFIED EXPERT
EE Fellow, MVE, Expert of the Year 2021,2017-11, Scribe 2016-2012, Author of the Year 2018-6,2013-2012 VMware vExpert Pro, vExpert 2022-2011
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If you need to complete a Physical to Virtual (P2V), Virtual to Virtual (V2V) conversion to a VMware product (VMware Workstation, Player or vSphere) for FREE, then there is some good news...

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3 was released on 9 October 2014, and this latest version. It's very important you update to this version, which fixes a widely known critical security vulnerability issue in the Bash shell, also referred to as Shellshock
 
 During Linux P2V conversions, Converter Standalone is running a Helper VM at the destination location. The Helper VM of vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.2 might use the Bash shell which is part of the Linux operating system. In case the operating system has a vulnerable version of Bash, the Bash security vulnerability might be exploited through the helper VM.

Source
Refer to KB 2091104 for information about issues that have been addressed in this update
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3 have been updated to address security issues in the following:-
 
VMware-vCenter-Converter-Standalone-5.5.
VMware-vCenter-Converter-Standalone-5.5.While I would recommend and use VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3, there are other commercial products that do exist, and I have used.

If you have a large estate of physical machines to migrate, these products have a scheduler and can perform automated workflows, but these are commercial products and not FREE like VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3
 
 
 
If the operating system is Windows 2003, Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0, select and earlier version of VMware vCenter Converter Standalone version 3.0.3 or 4.0, support for early operating systems has been removed now from v5.5.2. Please download VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.0.

if you have recently upgraded to vSphere vCenter Server 5.5, and are looking for the Convert/Import vCenter plugin which existed with 4.x, it's now longer available, and has been removed, and you will need to use  VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3 for your conversions.

and if you do use VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3, and you want to make your transfers 60% faster checkout my EE article here
 
Hints and Tips can be found in my other EE Articles
 
VMware Product downloads here
 
If you have issues, you may want to consult the following articles and guides
 
Some Videos I've developed for Experts Exchange members to show the VMware vCenter Converter process. 
 
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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)VMware and Virtualization Consultant
CERTIFIED EXPERT
EE Fellow, MVE, Expert of the Year 2021,2017-11, Scribe 2016-2012, Author of the Year 2018-6,2013-2012 VMware vExpert Pro, vExpert 2022-2011

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