Through the HCX Migration interface, you can configure multiple virtual machine migrations, including reverse migrations.

This section describes migration operations for systems licensed for HCX Advanced services. For information about migration operations using HCX Mobility Groups, which is available with systems licensed for HCX Enterprise services, see Migrating Virtual Machines with Mobility Groups.

Migrations are always configured using the HCX Connector or Cloud system that initiated site pairing. In Cloud-to-Cloud deployments with bi-directional site pairing, HCX in both paired sites can initiate migrations. For more information, see Adding a Site Pair.

The HCX system automatically detects virtual machine disk additions or removals and reconfigures running migrations to accommodate these changes. These disk changes are honored only if the changes occur before the migration switchover phase. If disk changes occur during the switchover phase, the changes are not recognized, which can affect the success of the migration operation. Support for adding or removing disks is available only with Bulk and Replication Assisted vMotion migrations.

Taking snapshots of a VM during migration, either manually or through a third-party backup solution, it can disrupt the migration process. To prevent any impact, it is required to stop those services that may create or remove snapshots during migration. Refer to KB79220 for more information.

For Bulk, vMotion, and RAV migration types, you can select a Service Mesh to use for migration operations. For each HCX site pair, you can have one or more Service Mesh configurations. Each Service Mesh configuration has a specific resource and network configuration. In some cases, you might choose a specific Service Mesh to use for migrations based on the Service Mesh configuration. If no Service Mesh is selected for a migration, HCX automatically selects the Service Mesh to use. To add a Service Mesh for a site pair, see Creating a Service Mesh.

Note:

The selectable Service Mesh option requires that both the source and destination sites run HCX 4.8 or later.

For the operational limits supported with HCX migrations, see Configuration and Service Limits.

Prerequisites

  • The migration service is activated in both the source and destination site Compute Profile.

  • The migration service is activated in the HCX Service Mesh.

  • For RAV or OSAM migrations, the HCX Enterprise license is activated.

    Note: No additional license or activation is required in HCX for VMware Cloud on AWS deployments.

  • Sentinel software is installed on all guest virtual machines requiring OSAM migration. See Sentinel Management.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the HCX dashboard.
  2. Select the Services > Migration.

    The Migrate Tracking window displays a summary of virtual machine migrations.

  3. Select Migrate Virtual Machines.
  4. Select the Remote Site Connection.

    The list of virtual machines available for migration appears in the display.

    Note:

    For OSAM, select Non vSphere Inventory > Remote connections to display the list of guest virtual machines on which you installed HCX Sentinel.

  5. (Optional) To display the list remote site virtual machines available for the reverse migration, click the Reverse Migration check box.
    Note: Reverse migration is not applicable to OS Assisted Migration.
  6. Select the virtual machines you want to migrate.
    Note:

    Click hide unselected to keep only selected virtual machines on the screen.

  7. Set the Transfer and Placement, Switchover, Interconnect Service Mesh, and Extended options.

    • To apply default settings for all selected virtual machines, use the green area of the interface at the top of the window.

    • To set machine-specific Transfer, Placement, Interconnect Service Mesh, and Switchover options, select a specific virtual machine and expand the entry.

    Note:

    • For Bulk, RAV, and OSAM migrations, you can schedule the migration date and time as part of the Switchover settings. Scheduling vMotion migrations is not available.

    • If the VM is powered off, Cold Migration is set by default.

    • Extended Options provide additional settings based on the selected migration type.

    • For additional information, see Additional Migration Settings.

  8. Select the destination network for each virtual machine to be migrated.

    In most cases, the stretched network between the source and destination sites is automatically selected. You can change this selection as needed.

    1. Expand each virtual machine selection.
    2. Next to each guest virtual machine NIC name, click the folder for a list of available target networks.
    3. Click the check box next to the network that you want the guest virtual machine to map to, and then click Select.
    4. (Optional) To specify a new guest OS IP address for the virtual machine at the target network, expand the NIC entry and enter the new IP address, gateway, and subnet mask.
  9. Click Finish.

    The HCX Manager validates your selections and starts the migrations. If a warning is generated, click Finish again to proceed.