HCX OS Assisted Migration allows for the migration of guest (non-vSphere) virtual machines from on-premises data centers to private or public cloud vSphere destinations.
OS Assisted Migration (OSAM) requires the HCX Enterprise license.
To use OSAM, prepare HCX according to Install Checklist A, with additional preparation for non-vSphere (KVM or Hyper-V) virtual machine migration. For all OSAM deployments, you must have HCX Connector deployed at the on-premises site.
HCX OSAM has three components: Sentinel Gateway (SGW) appliance for connecting and forwarding guest workloads in the source environment, Sentinel Data Receiver (SDR) in the destination environment, and Sentinel software installed on each guest virtual machine.
This section supplements Install Checklist A with specific information related to OS Assisted migration.
Collect the non-vSphere Environment Details
This section identifies information about the KVM or Hyper-V environments that is relevant for HCX deployments with OSAM.
Environment Detail |
Description |
|---|---|
Hypervisor |
OS Assisted Migration is available only for KVM or Hyper-V workloads. |
Guest Network for OS Assisted Migration |
This is the network on which guest virtual machines communicate with the HCX SGW for OS Assisted Migration. This can be the same network used by another HCX function, such as Management. |
Guest virtual machines |
Identify the set of KVM or Hyper-V virtual machines for migration. You must install Sentinel software on each virtual machine for communication, inventory, and replication processes. For a detailed list of supported guest virtual machine operating systems, see Understanding VMware HCX OS Assisted Migration. |
KVM or Hyper-V VLAN for Network Extension |
For HCX Network Extension with OSAM deployments, VLANs in the non-vSphere environment must be made available to the Distributed Switch used for HCX Network Extension. This might require a network change. |
Planning for HCX OS Assisted Migration
This section identifies checklist information that applies to deploying HCX with OS Assisted Migration.
Checklist Item |
Source HCX Manager (type: Connector or Enterprise) |
Destination HCX Manager (type: Cloud) |
|---|---|---|
Checklist A preparation |
Review the Source HCX Manager items provided in Checklist A. |
Review the HCX Cloud Manager items provided in Checklist A. |
Port requirements |
Review the OS Assisted Migration requirements at the source site for firewall access: VMware Ports and Protocol. Filter by Purpose, "OSAM." |
Review the OS Assisted Migration port requirements at the destination site for firewall access: VMware Ports and Protocol. Filter by Purpose, "OSAM." |
Sentinel software |
Install Sentinel software on each KVM or Hyper-V workload requiring migration. Sentinel software is only available for download from the Sentinel tab in the HCX Service Mesh UI. |
Sentinel software is not available for download from the HCX Cloud Manager. |
Planning the Compute Profile Configuration
The same items called out in Install Checklist A apply to the Compute Profile configuration when using HCX with OS Assisted. For OS Assisted Migration, the following additional items might apply:
Checklist Item |
Source Compute Profile |
Destination Compute Profile |
|---|---|---|
WAN Optimization and Network Extension Services |
When migrating KVM or Hyper-V virtual machines to a VMware environment which resides in a different data center geographically, you must activate WAN Optimization and Network Extension services in the source Compute Profile. When migrating KVM or Hyper-V virtual machines to a VMware environment where both the non-vSphere and the vSphere environment reside in the same data center, it is not necessary to activate WAN Optimization. It might not be necessary to activate Network Extension services depending on the diameter of the L2 switching domain in the data center. |
When migrating KVM or Hyper-V virtual machines to a VMware environment which resides in a different data center geographically, you must activate WAN Optimization and Network Extension services in the destination Compute Profile. When migrating KVM or Hyper-V virtual machines to a VMware environment where both the non-vSphere and the vSphere environment reside in the same data center, it is not necessary to activate WAN Optimization. It might not be necessary to activate Network Extension services depending on the diameter of the L2 switching domain in the data center. |
Guest Network Profile |
Use the Guest Network Profile when setting up the Compute Profile.
Note:
If no Guest Network is set up in the Network Profile, this can be the same network used by another HCX function, such as Management. |
Not applicable. |
Planning the Network Profile Configuration
The same items called out in Install Checklist A apply to the Network Profile configuration when using HCX with OS Assisted. For OS Assisted Migration, the following additional items might apply:
Checklist Item |
Source Compute Profile |
Destination Compute Profile |
|---|---|---|
Create a Network Profile for the Guest Network selection during the Compute Profile configuration. |
This is the network on which guest virtual machines with Sentinel software communicate with the HCX Sentinel Gateway. |
Not applicable in the Destination Compute Profile. |
Network Ports at the Source with OS Assisted Migration
Network Ports at the Destination with OS Assisted Migration
