We want to switch between Hyper-V and VMware, how do I approach this?
Cross-hypervisor migration is possible with VMware Converter (legacy), Veeam Instant Recovery, Starwind V2V Converter, or a plain backup-restore into a VM on the target platform. No magic: each VM is real work.
support/servers-on-premise/hyper-v-naar-vmware-of-omgekeerdsteps: 5
Try this first
- Inventory per VM: OS, disk size, generation (Gen1/Gen2 on Hyper-V), UEFI or BIOS, integration services and hypervisor-specific drivers.
- Remove hypervisor tools before migrating: uninstall VMware Tools when leaving VMware, uninstall Hyper-V Integration Services when leaving Hyper-V. Otherwise expect BSODs or missing network.
- Pick a method: a Veeam restore to the other hypervisor is cleanest for most SMB environments, Starwind V2V is free for small batches, VMware vCenter Converter still works towards VMware.
- Test with an unimportant VM first, fix driver and boot issues (UEFI vs BIOS, disk controller driver) and document the recipe.
- Schedule production VMs in maintenance windows with a rollback path: keep the source VM powered off but preserved until the target runs cleanly for at least a week.
When to bring us in
For domain controllers, clusters or Exchange/SQL with strict downtime needs, review the architecture before converting. Sometimes building a new VM and migrating data is faster and safer.
See also
- One DC or two DCs for an SMB office?Two is almost always the right answer; one DC is a single point of failure for logon, DNS and GPOs.
- Should I split FSMO roles across two DCs?For a small domain all on one DC is fine; with two DCs splitting is tidier but not required.
- How do I know my AD replication is healthy?Replication errors creep in silently; they only surface when logins or GPOs misbehave.
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