To simplify the migration of workloads from VMware vSphere to Proxmox avoiding complicated procedures, latest Proxmox release provides an integrated tool to easily import VMware VMs.
The tool works well and does what it is supposed to do. There are for sure margins of improvements especially to perform massive imports from complex VMware infrastructures.
Import VMware VMs
Using a supported browser, login to a Proxmox node by entering the correct credentials then click Login.
Add a No-Subscription Repository
To update Proxmox or to add new features using default repositories, you need a commercial subscription. If you have a regular subscription, you can skip these steps.
From the first node of your Proxmox infrastructure, access the Repositories section and click Add.
If you don’t have any subscription is available, select No-Subscription from the Repository drop-down menu and click OK.
The new repository has been added to the node. Now we need to disable the Enterprise components because without a regular subscription you will receive a warning and the upgrade procedure will fail. Select the enterprise Components and click Disable.
When all enterprise components have been disabled, the only enabled Repository will be the pve-no-subscription.
Now access the Updates section and click Refresh.
The new updates are retrieved from the new added repository. Click X to close the window.
Click Upgrade to apply discovered updates to the selected Proxmox node.
Click y to proceed with the node upgrade.
When the Proxmox node has been updated, type reboot then hit Enter to apply the updates.
Repeat the same procedure for all nodes member of the Proxmox cluster.
Configure the remote ESXi
Select the Proxmox cluster and go to Storage area. Click Add and select ESXi.
Specify the ESXi hostname in the ID field. Enter the Server IP address as well as Username and Password to access the host. Make sure the Skip Certificate Verification option is enabled. Click Add.
In the Storage area the configured host is now displayed in the list.
Import VMs from ESXi hosts
Configured the source host at cluster level, from a Proxmox node select the ESXi object (esxi01 in the example) previously configured. In the right pane the running VMs on that ESXi node are displayed.
Select the VM to import and click Import to import VMware VMs.
Specify the Default Storage to use (must be reachable from all Proxmox nodes) and click Import.
The selected VM is being imported into the Proxmox node. Click the X to close the window when the import has been completed.
Test the imported VM
Access the Proxmox node where the VM has been imported, right click the VM and select Start.
If everything works as expected, you should see in the Proxmox Console the main screen of the imported VM (Windows machine in the example). Keep in mind the source VM is not deleted from VMware infrastructure.
This new feature is very useful and helps to perform a fast migration from a VMware vSphere environment to Proxmox. Of course the tool can be enhanced by adding for example the direct import from the vCenter Server instead of mapping single hosts. Proxmox solution is definitively interesting and worth to be tested.
