Introduction to Migration Manager

The ThinkAgile CP Migration Manager application allows you to migrate existing VMware virtual machines (VMs) to ThinkAgile CP. Once set up, it performs periodic synchronization of a VMware virtual machine (VM) to ThinkAgile CP, and, once synchronized, a ThinkAgile CP VM can be spun-off and deployed from the synchronization. The result is a low-downtime cut-over from VMware to ThinkAgile CP.

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Note

For a list of issues and limitations related to Migration Manager for ThinkAgile CP, Release 5.1.6, see the following topic:

What is new in Version 5.1.6https://thinkagile.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/thinkagile_cp/log-on-to-migration-manager.html

How Migration Manager Works

ThinkAgile CP Migration Manager works as follows.

• Migration Manager creates a pool of Migration Workers, each of which is responsible for synchronizing and then converting a single VMware VM, after which the worker is made available for other source VMs.

• Each source VM has Change Block Tracking enabled, if it is not enabled already. (This can done within Migration Manager.)

• Each worker performs periodic synchronizations using the VMware backup APIs:

  • A snapshot of the source VMware VM is taken using the VMware APIs;

  • The snapshot is mounted on the worker, and changed blocks since the last sync are copied;

  • The snapshot is removed;

  • The process is repeated until a Final Cutover is executed or the syncs are terminated.

• Once (at least one) synchronization has completed, you can perform conversions of the source VM. Conversions take the results from the latest synchronization and spin up a new VM on ThinkAgile CP, injecting the VirtIO drivers on Windows guests, adding the ThinkAgile CP Guest Agent, and uninstalling VMware Tools. There are two types of cut-overs:

  • Cutover. A cutover is initiated based on the last synchronization, keeping the source VM up in VMware. The target VM is created with a new IP address so as not to conflict with the source. Synchronizations continue after the cut-over and the worker stays assigned.

  • Final Cutover. This cutover first starts with shutting down the source VM, after which a final snapshot is taken, and the last-changed blocks are synced across. Then the target VM is brought up on ThinkAgile CP, with the same IP address as the source in VMware (as long as you are using VLANs common across both ThinkAgile CP and VMware). Synchronizations stop, and the worker is released into the pool to be assigned to a new source.

Figure 1. Migration Manager - Migration process for an individual source VM

• Before you begin
  Make sure that you review the requirements for Migration Manager before you begin to set up and use Migration Manager.
• Set up the Migration Manager
  To set up Migration Manager, complete the following steps.
• Migrate a VM
  Follow the steps in this section to perform the migration for a source VM.
• View the dashboard
  Complete these steps to view the Migration Manager dashboard.
• View and manage migration workers
  Refer to the following topics to understand more about migration workers.
• Manage Groups and Users
  In the ThinkAgile CP Migration Manager you can easily manage users and groups in the application, such as adding groups, adding and assigning users to groups, modifying users, and modifying groups.
• Change account password
  Follow these steps to change your account password.
• Manage API keys
  Migration Manager API tokens are used for calling Migration Manager REST APIs by third-party tools.
• vSphere account permissions
  A vSphere user with administrative privileges will be sufficient for use with Migration Manager. For those users who want to more narrowly define a role with a service account, the detailed permissions for this account are provided for your reference in the following table.
• Accessing the Migration Manager Instance Overview
  This section covers how to access the Migration Manager Instance overview.