Virtualize a Linux Server with VmWare Converter 3.0.1

6 février 2009

Voici un post qui explique comment résoudre le problème de Kernel Panic dans Linux lors d'un P2V avec VMWare Converter. Il s'agit en fait de modifier les modules chargés lors du démarrage de Linux au moyen d'un LiveCD quelconque.

Hi all,
I've spent my last saturday virtualizing physical Linux servers by a customer site. As VmWare Converter is in experimental status for now for virtualizing Linux I think that's a good idea to put the procedure I've used and that I've described in my two previous posts (1, 2) but without screenshots ;) .

So, let's begin with conversion: first of all shut down your physical linux box and put the VmWare Converter CD - I've used the last one, 3.0.1 - in your CD reader and boot. Follow the on screen procedure and send the images to your target Virtual Infrastructure host. At the end of the cloning task you'll find the definition of your brand new VM browsing your Virtual Infrastructure Client.
Take a Linux rescue CD, my favourite is Fedora Core 2 rescue linux ('cause works with all the linux boxes I've virtualized), set it as boot device and fire up your VM.
Be sure to boot from the rescue CD. Otherwise you'll surely get a Kernel Panic messages

If you use FC2 rescue CD just press enter (with other rescue CD you'll have to type linux rescue at the boot prompt)

Select the language...

... keyboard...

... and do NOT connect the network (sometimes it bring to an hanged system)

Linux rescue will try to mount the virtual machine file system in /mnt/sysimage: let's mount it in read-write mode.