Create a Migration Plan and Export Migration Waves

You can use
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
to create a migration plan for your workloads. After creating your migration plan, you export it as part of migration waves and perform the migration in
VMware HCX
.
To enhance your search and filtering capabilities, you can include additional VM attributes in a CSV file you upload in
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
. In addition to the VM attributes you want to use, this file must contain the mandatory
vc_ip
and
vm_moref
attributes. The
vc_ip
attribute value is the IP address of the vCenter instance where the VM is hosted and the
vm_moref
attribute is the ID of the VM in the vCenter instance. To retrieve these attributes:
  1. From
    VMware Aria Operations for Networks
    select your VMs and from the top-right menu click
    Export as CSV
    .
  2. In the
    Selected properties (CSV columns)
    field, click
    Add properties
    .
  3. Search for and add the
    Vendor ID
    and
    Manager
    properties.
  4. Click
    Export
    .
  5. Open the exported CSV file. The
    vCenter
    column contains the value for the
    vc_ip
    property and the
    Vendor ID
    column contains the value for the
    vm_moref
    property.
Use the comprehensive search, filtering, and flow analysis capabilities of
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
to identify and select the VMs for your workload migration. The creation of the migration plan consists of:
  • Creating the scope for your workload migration. Optionally, you can upload a CSV file with additional VM attributes to further enhance the scoping process.
  • Adding the workload of your migration scope to migration waves.
  • Organizing your migration waves into mobility groups.
After creating your migration plan in
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
, you export the migration waves as CSV files and import them to
VMware HCX
where the actual workload migration is performed.
  1. From the left navigation panel, navigate to
    Plan and Access
    Migration Planning
    and click
    Create Plan
    .
  2. Enter a name for your migration plan and click
    Proceed
    .
  3. Add additional VM attributes for your migration plan.
    1. Click
      Add VM Attributes
      .
    2. Click
      Upload
      and select the CSV file you want to use.
    3. Verify that you are familiar with the content rules and that your CSV file includes the mandatory
      vc_ip
      and
      vm_moref
      attributes and click
      Upload and Proceed
      .
      After uploading the CSV file, you can see a breakdown of the total number of identified VMs, how many of them match or do not match the new attributes, and if there are any errors.
    4. To continue working on your migration plan, navigate to back to
      Plan and Access
      Migration Planning
      and select your migration plan.
  4. Create the migration scope.
    1. Filter the VMs you want to add to your migration plan by using the available attributes or add additional attributes by clicking
      Add More
      .
    2. After selecting the VMs you want to add to the migration plan, click
      Add to Scope
      .
    3. On the
      Network Dependencies
      tab, you can view any out-of-scope VMs identified as dependencies and add them to the current migration scope.
    4. On the
      In Scope
      tab, view the VMs that you have currently added to the migration plan.
      By clicking on the
      Actions
      drop-down, you can remove any VMs you do not want as part of the migration plan or export the migration scope as a CSV file.
  5. Create migration waves.
    1. Select the VMs you want to add to a migration wave.
      You can only add VMs belonging to the same vCenter instance in a specific migration wave. Parts of your workload from different vCenter instances must be included in a separate migration wave.
    2. From the
      Actions
      drop-down, select
      Create New Migration Wave
      .
    3. Enter a name for the migration wave and click
      Proceed
      .
    4. On the
      Network Dependencies
      tab, move VMs to a different migration wave or delete them from a migration wave.
    5. On the
      Migration Waves
      tab, view the currently created migration waves and their content. You can use the
      Actions
      drop-down to remove VMs from a migration wave.
  6. Organize your migration waves into mobility groups.
    1. Select the VMs from your migration wave you want to add to a mobility group.
      You can add the VMs from a single migration wave to multiple mobility groups.
    2. Select the
      Actions
      drop-down and click
      Create Mobility Group
      .
    3. Enter a name for the mobility group and click
      Proceed
      .
    4. Repeat for all of your migration waves.
    5. On the
      Network Dependencies
      , you can view the mobility groups for your VMs and move them to a different mobility group or remove them.
    6. On the
      Mobility Groups
      tab, view the currently created mobility groups and move and remove VMs if needed.
  7. On the
    Export Migration Waves
    page, you see an overview of your migration plan.
  8. Select a migration wave and click the export button on the right.
  9. Repeat for all of your migration waves.
You have created a migration plan and exported your migration waves.
Perform the workload migration in
VMware HCX
. For more information on
VMware HCX
, go to the official documentation.