Migrating to VMware can take your business to a new, higher level. Older, antiquated applications and deployments can find new life when leveraging the power of vSphere or similar VMware offerings. However, moving from where you are now to where you can be by leveraging VMware is not always straightforward. In this checklist, we will prepare you for migrating to VMware so that your digital transformation can be a success.

What is VMware?

Before embarking on a VMware migration, it can be important for you and your colleagues to understand a bit about VMWare itself. VMware is a company that develops virtualization software. Founded in 1998, VMware provides cloud infrastructure products to enterprises through its vSphere platform which can be run on-premises or at third-party data centers. It also offers desktop and application streaming services through VMware ThinApp, VMware Workstation (for Linux), and VMware Player (for Windows).
VMware vSphere is a comprehensive suite of virtualization and cloud management capabilities that can be used to manage full life cycle environments and end-user access. VMware NSX is a software suite that allows for better network virtualization by adding a new layer of abstraction between networks and workloads.
VMware NSX provides data center switching and routing, firewalling, load balancing, service chaining, and micro-segmentation. VMware NSX can also provide an overlay networking solution for multi-cloud deployments.
As a note, when considering migration to VMware it is important to understand that some older technology is supported in different ways. Additionally, if you are working with a third-party for migration or ongoing VMware support, take care to understand prior to the migration which components and services they can help with. Not all VMware offerings are the same, and support for those offerings varies.

Before Your VMware Migration

Before actually starting your migration to VMware, it is imperative that you answer the following pre-migration questions. Failing to do so may result in your migration being delayed or failing altogether.

Do you have the right number of vSphere licenses?
Nothing derails a migration faster than license misalignment or misappropriation. Before starting a migration make sure you have enough licenses to accommodate your needs.
Do the VMware licenses you are using provide the necessary support and technical requirements? licensing requirements for the version of VMware that you are using?

Different VMware licenses support different infrastructure and features. Are you licensing enough CPUs? Are you taking into account the new core per CPU model? Right sizing so you are getting support for the features you need but not overpaying for features that are not necessary is key to VMware planning. Costs can spiral out of control in a hurry. Additionally, the wrong license type will mitigate some of the utility and power that a VMware investment should include.

Are VMware servers compatible with your current applications?
This is where things start to get a little tricky. Any applications you intend to use must be compatible with VMware. More specifically, if you have applications running on older or modified operating systems, compatibility with VMware can present a challenge. As such, if you are using any older, legacy, or custom applications then testing them with VMware before committing to a full-scale migration to VMware is a good idea.

Does VMware offer what you need in terms of support and management tools?
One oft-overlooked consideration when migrating to VMware is support. VMware support can be sourced internally in your organization, from a third-party provider, or directly from VMware. Regardless of how you receive support for VMware, make sure to have the details squared away prior to the migration. Failing to do so can place you in the unfortunate position of needing assistance with VMware and not knowing where to turn.

How long will the migration take, how much downtime can be expected?
Whether performing a physical to virtual migration (P2V) or a data migration, you may encounter some downtime.You might also consider the impact of a hybrid environment or even leaving certain legacy workloads on their own hardware. Regardless of your migration path, you are likely to encounter some form of service interruption. Even a few minutes of downtime should be accounted for and acknowledged before the migration. Letting colleagues who will be impacted by the schedule of events – including periods of work interruption – before the migration begins will mitigate aggravation and potential frustration for both coworkers and customers alike. Additionally, it is important to plan for (and invest in) training. Whether using internal resources or a third-party provider the learning curve with VMware will require at least some time to navigate. Training is a key consideration when migrating to VMware.

The Complete VMware Migration Checklist

Plan in advance

Migrating to VMware can be a complicated project that stumps even the most experienced technologists. The first, best step in making your migration successful is to plan in advance for each step of the journey. Plan what team members and outside partners will be involved in each step. And plan for what a completed migration looks like so that you know the end-state to which you are working.
Further, planning an “order of operations” for your migration to VMware is essential. The order of migration of specific machines will help ensure a smooth process. The incorrect order can slow down or even prevent success.

Set measures of success
Any migration needs criteria for evaluation, and migration to VMware is no different. Before you begin, detail out milestones to reach along the way and the criteria for those milestones being reached successfully. Additionally, detail what the final state of your migration is to mark completion. How will you know when you are “done” with the migration? How will you be sure that systems are operating properly, and all data and applications have been migrated correctly and successfully? Detail the answers before the first bite of data is migrated.

Communicate with team members as the migration progresses
Keeping team members in the loop about the migration to VMware will make for smoother sailing. Even colleagues not directly involved in the migration may be impacted. Sharing statuses, timelines, and the overall goals of the project will be well-received.

Keep a backup of all data
By their very nature migrations are about the transfer of data. Every bit and byte is important and sometimes even the most well-structured and well-planned migrations run into trouble. As a result, it is imperative that you backup all data and applications prior to starting the migration. Store the backup in a safe, remote location. If you can afford it, make sure and keep the backup for a considerable amount of time after the migration. It is not uncommon for an error or lost file to be discovered days or even weeks after the migration is deemed complete.

Test and measure
Any migration needs to be validated not just after the work is complete, but also along the way. By constantly testing and measuring for success during the migration, you can identify and remediate any issues while they are small and fixable. Wait to test and measure for too long and the problems you encounter are likely to be significantly larger and have a greater impact. Be mindful of the milestones you established earlier and constantly course-correct during the migration. By doing so you increase the likelihood of a successful migration at the end, especially since you are likely to encounter small problems while performing the migration itself.

Do NOT decommission prior infrastructure and assets right away
Take care not to decommission or turn off any prior infrastructure or applications even if they are not in use. Just like saving a complete backup of data and applications is prudent, so too is leaving old infrastructure running. The financial cost can be considerable but so too can be the cost if the migration goes awry and you are left without a backup plan.

Go live and test some more
So how long should you leave old infrastructure operational? Until you’ve had enough time to test your new VMware environment in production and with real users. Have a plan for testing your new VMware environment and workloads after the migration is complete. Tests during migration often apply to only a small portion of the environment. Post-migration testing should be focused on testing entire systems and measuring impact on both internal and external customers.
At the same time, establish a rollback or restoration plan as well. In the event your testing shows errors or if the migration goes completely off-track unexpectedly, a rollback plan that is in place before the migration will deliver not just peace of mind, but also insurance if something goes awry.

Make feedback simple
One of the best ways to make testing valuable is to make it easy for users to deliver feedback to the migration team. Regular surveys, an internal landing page for gathering feedback, and simple bug-reporting channels on internal messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams should streamline the submission of feedback. The professional services and IT teams need help from users to know what is working, what needs to be improved, and what is not functioning at all. This feedback is critical to making sure the migration is a total success.

Keys to a Successful Migration to VMware

Migrating to VMware can take your business to a new, higher level. However, it is not always straightforward. The pre-migration questions above will set you on the right track. The checklist for the migration itself will keep you moving in the right direction to complete and successful migration.
That said, sometimes even the most skilled technologists need a hand with the finer points of VMware. If all of this sounds intimidating and you would like to understand what assistance is available to make your migration a success, let us know. Our team of Solutions experts is ready and waiting to partner with you to create a rock-solid migration plan to your new VMware environment.

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