Migrating virtual machines from KVM to VMware is common but requires care: disk-format differences, drivers, and boot settings are the usual stumbling blocks. This short guide gives a clear path and practical tips so your migration goes smoothly.
1) Prep: snapshot & inventory
Take a consistent backup of the source VM (don't rely on a single copy). Record guest OS, partition layout, disk format (qcow2/raw), kernel drivers, and whether the VM uses virtio devices—these details determine the conversion steps.
2) Disk conversion (qemu-img)
Convert the KVM disk to a VMDK (or raw then VMDK) using qemu-img convert. Example: qemu-img convert -p -f qcow2 -O vmdk vm.qcow2 vm.vmdk. Converting via raw sometimes avoids thin-provisioning surprises—always verify disk integrity after conversion.
3) Tools & workflow options
- virt-v2v / libguestfs: useful for more automated guest conversions and some filesystem adaptations.
- qemu-img + manual VM creation: convert disks, create a new VMware VM with matching CPU/memory, attach converted VMDK, adjust boot order and drivers.
Vinchin can help migrate KVM to VMware through its agentless V2V backup and recovery solution, making the process simpler and more reliable.
Read more in the full guide here: https://www.vinchin.com/vm-migration/kvm-to-vmware.html
