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Acronis workstation with advanced platform recovery (about 95 bucks) is the easiest road, but even then, can be a little (interesting). &nbsp;it will allow you to backup the disk and restore it directly to a virtual machine. &nbsp;Make sure you check your licensing though, as any servers with OEM licensing will not function on the VM.
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Acronis workstation with advanced platform recovery (about 95 bucks) is the easiest road, but even then, can be a little (interesting).  it will allow you to backup the disk and restore it directly to a virtual machine.  Make sure you check your licensing though, as any servers with OEM licensing will not function on the VM.

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I would like to convert several physical servers to virtual servers. We are using StorageCraft ShadowProtect for backup so we could take a backup and convert it to VHD or VHDX format. But, I would like to have the systems shut down so that I know that there are no changes or potential for lost data while doing the conversion. I suppose one way would be to disconnect the servers from any network connections and not worry about any logging or other system related change after the backup. It justs seems better to have them offline, boot a utility from either optical or USB media and then take a snapshot of the various disks.<br />
<br />
My question is, has anyone else gone down this road? If so, what advice can you offer? What software tool(s) did you find worked well?<br />
<br />
Thanks.<br />
<br />
Brian
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I would like to convert several physical servers to virtual servers. We are using StorageCraft ShadowProtect for backup so we could take a backup and convert it to VHD or VHDX format. But, I would like to have the systems shut down so that I know that there are no changes or potential for lost data while doing the conversion. I suppose one way would be to disconnect the servers from any network connections and not worry about any logging or other system related change after the backup. It justs seems better to have them offline, boot a utility from either optical or USB media and then take a snapshot of the various disks.

My question is, has anyone else gone down this road? If so, what advice can you offer? What software tool(s) did you find worked well?

Thanks.

Brian

Convert physical server to virtual while (P2V) offline

Microsoft Virtual Server was a virtualization solution that facilitated the creation of virtual machines on the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Virtual machines are created and managed through a web-based interface that relies on Internet Information Services (IIS) or through a Windows client application tool called VMRCplus. Features included Linux guest operating system support, Virtual Disk Precompactor, symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), x64 host operating system support, the ability to mount virtual hard drives on the host machine and additional operating systems support, including Windows Vista, and a volume shadow copy writer.

Microsoft Virtual Server

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.

Virtualization

Acronis sets the standard for cyber protection and hybrid cloud storage through its innovative backup, anti-ransomware, disaster recovery, storage, and enterprise file sync and share solutions. Powered by the Acronis AnyData Engine and strengthened by innovative artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, Acronis solutions deliver easy, reliable, efficient, secure, and private cyber protection.  Founded in Singapore in 2003, Acronis is celebrating its 15-year anniversary. Supported by more than 1,000 employees worldwide, Acronis’ products are used in over 150 countries, delivering complete protection to more than 5 million consumers and 500,000 businesses. Learn more at acronis.com