Since Converter Standalone 6.4, you can convert remote Amazon EC2 Windows and Linux instances that have no direct access to the destination ESXi host. The vCenter Server instance that manages the ESXi host can be located either on-premises or in VMware Cloud.

Note: The conversion of remote Windows instances without direct access to the destination ESXi host, requires the use of proxy mode. For more information on conversion of remote Windows machines, see Remote Hot Cloning of Powered Оn Source Machines That Are Running Windows. For more information on conversion of remote Linux machines, see Remote Hot Cloning of Powered On Source Machines That Are Running Linux.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that the Amazon EC2 source machine is powered on. Conversion of powered-off virtual machines (VMs) is not supported.

Prepare the Amazon EC2 Source Machine

  • Prepare your Amazon EC2 Windows machine.
    1. In the AWS console, under Security groups, add a new inbound rule and enable port 9089 for the Converter Standalone server IP address.
    2. Install the Converter Standalone agent in the source machine.
      1. Navigate to the folder where Converter Standalone is installed.

        By default, Converter Standalone is installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone.

      2. Copy VMware-Converter-Agent.exe to your source machine.
      3. Run VMware-Converter-Agent.exe.
  • Prepare your Amazon EC2 Linux machine.
    1. In the VMware Cloud console, select Open NSX Manager.
    2. Navigate to the Networking & Security > Overview tab.
    3. Under Default Compute Gateway, view the Source NAT public IP address.
    4. In the AWS console, under Security groups, add a new inbound rule and enable port 22 for the Converter Standalone server IP and Source NAT public IP addresses.
    5. If you want to import the Linux machine into VMware Cloud, in the converter-worker.xml configuration file, change the value of the UseHostIPForWebSocketTicket property to true and restart the worker service.

      In VMware Cloud, ESXi hosts use their IP addresses, instead of Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), to register with vCenter Server.

Prepare the Destination Machine in VMware Cloud

If you are importing your source machine to VMware Cloud, perform the following steps.
  1. If you are converting a Windows machine, create a VM with Windows operating system and in the VM, install Converter Standalone.
  2. Provide Converter Standalone with network access to the vCenter Server instance and ESXi host in VMware Cloud.
    1. In the VMware Cloud console, select Open NSX Manager.
    2. Navigate to the Security > Gateway Firewall > Management Gateway tab.
    3. Create a Management Gateway Firewall rule and add the Converter Standalone server IP address to the rule.
    4. Add a new rule that allows network access to your vCenter Server instance and enable the HTTPS service.
    5. Add a new rule that allows network access to your ESXi host and enable the HTTPS and Provisoning and Remote Control services.
    For more information on managing NSX Firewall rules in VMware Cloud, see SDDC Network Administration with NSX Manager in the VMware Cloud on AWS Networking and Security documentation.

Convert the Amazon EC2 Source Machine to the Destination VMware Virtual Machine

  1. Start the Converter Standalone application.

    See Start the Wizard for a Conversion.

  2. Select a remote powered on Linux or Windows machine to convert.

    See Select a Source Machine to Convert.

  3. Select a destination for your virtual machine.

    If you are importing a remote Windows machine, on the Destination System page of the Conversion wizard, select the Use proxy mode check box. As a result, the data traffic passes through the Converter Standalone server machine.

    See Select a Destination for the New Virtual Machine.

  4. Configure the virtual hardware resources that the destination virtual machine uses.

    See Configure the Hardware of the Destination Virtual Machine.

  5. Configure the guest operating system and enable it to operate in a virtual environment.

    See Configure the Software on the Destination Virtual Machine.

  6. Configure the conversion process and select the behavior of the source and destination machine during and after conversion.

    See Configure the Conversion Job.

  7. Check the summary of your conversion job before adding it to the job list.

    See Review the Summary and Submit the Conversion Job.