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[Xen-users] migrate existing non-xen system to a VM?

To: xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Xen-users] migrate existing non-xen system to a VM?
From: Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 11:29:38 -0400
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I know that I've seen this discussed before, but can anyone point to a concise description of how to take an existing, non-xen machine (in this case a system running Debian Lenny), and,

1. shut it down
2. package up the state
3. move it into a VM (assume there's a 2nd computer, with Dom0 up and running, on the same LAN) 4. start the VM and end up with a virtualized version of the original environment chugging away

A little context: I'm trying to add hot-spare failover to a production system (email, list services, web server, database) - by moving from a standard Debian Lenny install to Debian Lenny running as a VM, backed by DRBD, set for failover. The first step is to get the production environment into a VM, and then I can set up all the failover stuff.

So... the above is just a little more complicated, in that there are 4 partitions that have to be moved:

/boot - raided volume --> xen setup on new machine
/swap --> drbd device on new machine, mounted in VM
/ --> drbd device on new machine, mounted in VM
/backup (another volume) -> drbd device mounted in VM

I'm currently proceeding down the path of replicating the environment in a running VM, preparing to manually migrate config. and user data. But if there's a simpler way, any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Miles Fidelman

--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In<fnord>  practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra



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