creative555
asked on
Copying VMs from VMware workstation 11 to another computer over slow network.
Hello,
You have previously advised me to copy the entire folder with all the files to another computer, but because the VMs are on the computer that I am accessing through VPN, it takes forever.....Do I need all the files and all the VMDK large files?? I have about 10 vmdk files in each folder about 4GB each...Can we just use latest VMDK file or something. The total is 135GB and I will never be able to copy so much data. Already tried compressing but still failing. Please advise if anything I can do without having to copy all the files.
Thank you very much
You have previously advised me to copy the entire folder with all the files to another computer, but because the VMs are on the computer that I am accessing through VPN, it takes forever.....Do I need all the files and all the VMDK large files?? I have about 10 vmdk files in each folder about 4GB each...Can we just use latest VMDK file or something. The total is 135GB and I will never be able to copy so much data. Already tried compressing but still failing. Please advise if anything I can do without having to copy all the files.
Thank you very much
ASKER
Do I need to shut down VMs also when copying the folders?
And, when I restore it on another computer, which VMDK file I need to choose? There are so many of them. THank you so much!!
And, when I restore it on another computer, which VMDK file I need to choose? There are so many of them. THank you so much!!
Yes, ALL VMs need to be shutdown, otherwise they will have a file lock, and you will NOT be able to copy!
ALL the VMDKs are required.
There is an option when creating the VMDK, to create as a single file, or split into multiple, which can make it easier to transfer, if in small files, otherwise, if you create a single large file, you need to ensure, that its copied onto NTFS partition, brecause FAT/FAT32 does not support files larger than 4GB.
ALL the VMDKs are required.
There is an option when creating the VMDK, to create as a single file, or split into multiple, which can make it easier to transfer, if in small files, otherwise, if you create a single large file, you need to ensure, that its copied onto NTFS partition, brecause FAT/FAT32 does not support files larger than 4GB.
ASKER
oh. Ok. Thats might be an issue because I couldn't open VMs on another computer (:
Also, seems that some files were missing.....I used winzip to zip the folders and then copy zip files to another computer.
So, when you opening the VMs, you click Open and select file? Corect?
Also, seems that some files were missing.....I used winzip to zip the folders and then copy zip files to another computer.
So, when you opening the VMs, you click Open and select file? Corect?
ASKER
When I opened one file using Open , it says that another file was missing....
You should just open the *.VMX file.
ASKER
hm. WHen I opened .VMX file it gave me an error that file name was missing.....I deleted all the files so I dont remember what the file name it was.....but I couldn't just opened .vmx file
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ASKER
Thank you so much!!!
What is the total size of the OS ? Is it 135GB, if the data in the OS, is 135GB, you will need to copy 135GB. There is no real magic, create a small VM to transfer ?
There is no real shortcut, VMDKs do not compress very well, but you might want to try 7Zip!
Another method, could be to use VMware Converter, and create a V2V, and see if the converted machine is smaller than 135GB.
HOW TO: P2V, V2V for FREE - VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.3 - Shellshock "BASH" Fix included in this version