Chapter 6: Virtual Machine Migration

Existing physical systems inevitably become targets for virtualization, thanks to the savings and value it provides. Loading and configuring applications on top of a freshly installed, contemporary operating system yields the best performance and stability but may not always be feasible.

The goal of this chapter is to introduce the steps and processes required to migrate an existing system into a Hyper-V virtual machine. The chapter includes a walkthrough of the manual process to move a physical system into a virtual machine.

The best approach for converting any existing supported Windows system into a virtual machine is to use System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). SCVMM is covered in Chapter 11, “System Center Virtual Machine Manager.”