Migrate your virtual application in 3 steps

Now that you understand the benefits and features of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, it’s time to migrate your virtual application. 

In order to get full benefit from taking this lesson, you need:

• A Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization account.
• The migration toolkit for virtualization operator.
• An NFS server that will be hosting the OVA file.
• An OVA format file.

In this lesson, you will:

• Learn how to migrate OVA format VMs to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.

Migrate OVA files to OpenShift Virtualization

When it comes to leveraging OpenShift Virtualization for VM management, one benefit of using OpenShift Virtualization is the easy migration from multiple platforms to OpenShift Virtualization using the migration toolkit for virtualization. We’ll show you the ease with which you can migrate vSphere-compliant OVA files into OpenShift Virtualization in just a few steps.

Before we move ahead, ensure you’ve satisfied the prerequisites. Lesson 2 will walk you through the following steps:

1. Set up the NFS Server to host OVA format files.
2. Prepare for the migration by using the migration toolkit for a virtualization operator.
3. Create a migration plan.

Step 1: Set up an NFS server to host OVA format files

If you have an NFS server that can be accessed by the migration toolkit for virtualization operator on the OpenShift cluster, you can skip this step and move ahead.

1. Create a Fedora-based VM on OpenShift Virtualization to create a generic VM

2. Install NFS packages onto the VM. Once our VM is running, log in to the console and install the necessary packages to stand an NFS server:

   sudo dnf install nfs-utils -y

3. Configure the NFS. Create a directory for the NFS share:

   sudo mkdir -p /srv/nfs_share
   sudo chmod -R 777 /srv/nfs_share

   Edit the /etc/exports file to export the directory:

   vim /etc/exports

   Add the following line to the /etc/exports file:

   /srv/nfs_share *(rw, sync, no_subtree_check, no_root_squash)

   Once you have successfully completed the above steps, enable and check if the NFS server is up and running:

   sudo systemctl enable ––now nfs-server rpcbind

   Next, copy over the OVA format file from a local server to an NFS server, in this example, using a pod:

   cat << EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: v1
   kind: Pod
   Metadata:
    name: nfs-pod
    namespace: openshift-mtv
   Spec:
    Containers:
    - name: test-container
       image: alpine
       command: ["/bin/sh"]
       args: ["-c", "sleep infinity"]
       volumeMounts:
       - mountPath: /mnt
         name: nfs-share
    volumes:
     - name: nfs-share
       nfs:
         server: <NFS server IP>
         path: /srv/nfs_share
   EOF

4. Copy the file from a local server to an NFS server:

   oc cp <local-path-to-ova-file> <namespace>/<pod-name>:/mnt/<ova-file>

   Next, ensure that the file was copied over to the NFS storage:

   oc exec -it nfs-pod –/bin/sh
   ls /mnt 
   Exit

   After verifying that the OVA file has been copied to the NFS server, you can delete the file.

Step 2: Prepare for migration using the migration toolkit for virtualization operator

To migrate OVA format files to OpenShift Virtualization, we need to have the migration toolkit for virtualization operator installed in the openshift-mtv namespace. Next, create an OVA provider on the migration toolkit for virtualization.

1. Add OVA provider to migration toolkit for virtualization operator.

   You can complete the following task through the administrator console on the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (as shown in Figure 1) or the command-line interface (CLI) by creating a Provider kind CR (Custom Resource). We will examine both methods below.

   

   Select OVA as the provider as shown in Figure 2.

2. 

3. Apply the desired configuration here and add the URL to the NFS server where the OVA file resides. We will be using the NFS server we created above in this example.

   To perform this via the CLI, we will create a kind Provider CR as follows:

   $ cat << EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: forklift.konveyor.io/v1beta1
   kind: Provider
   metadata:
     name: ova-provider
     namespace: openshift-mtv
   spec:
     type: ova
     url:  <nfs_server>:/srv/nfs_share
   EOF

4. Create a networkMap and StorageMap manifest to map source and destination VMs. To create a networkMap, we will be using the below YAML template:

   $  cat << EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: forklift.konveyor.io/v1beta1
   kind: NetworkMap
   Metadata:
     name: ova-network-map
     namespace: openshift-mtv
   Spec:
     map:
        - destination:
           type: pod 
         source:
           id: <source_network_id> 
     provider:
       source:
         name: ova-provider
         namespace: openshift-mtv
       destination:
          name: host
         namespace: openshift-mtv
   EOF

   To create a storageMap, we will be using the below YAML template:

   $ cat << EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: forklift.konveyor.io/v1beta1
   kind: StorageMap
   Metadata:
     name: ova-storage-map
     namespace: openshift-mtv
   Spec:
     map:
        - destination:
           type: pod 
          source:
           id: <source_storage_id> 
     provider:
       source:
         name: ova-provider
         namespace: openshift-mtv
       Destination:
         name: host
         namespace: openshift-mtv
   EOF

Step 3: Create a migration plan

With the OVA provider and mappings set up, you can now create a migration plan to handle the OVA migration and move the desired VM to OpenShift Virtualization.

Here is an example of a kind: Plan custom resource (CR).

$ cat << EOF | oc apply -f -
apiVersion: forklift.konveyor.io/v1beta1
kind: Plan
metadata:
  name: ova-migration-plan
  namespace: openshift-mtv
spec:
  provider:
    source:
      name: ova-provider
      namespace: openshift-mtv
    destination:
      name: host
      namespace: openshift-mtv
  map: 
    network: 
      name: <network_map> 
      namespace: <namespace>
    storage: 
      name: <storage_map> 
      namespace: <namespace>
  targetNamespace: <target_namespace>
  vms: 
    - id: <source_vm> 
    - name: <source_vm>
EOF

This can also be applied through the admin console as depicted in Figure 3.

Monitor the migration progress with:

oc get migrationplans -n openshift-mtv

Once the migration is complete, you will see the desired VM migrated to OpenShift Virtualization.

If there are any issues like unmapped networks or storage, ensure that your NetworkMap and StorageMap are configured correctly.

Once the migration is completed, carry out the following post-migration tasks:

• Verify that the VM has been created within the target namespace.
• Start the VM and check its configuration.
• Troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the migration process.

Monitoring and maintenance 

It is essential to have ongoing monitoring and maintenance to ensure the health and performance of your virtualized environment. The following practices can help with this:

• Red Hat OpenShift monitoring tools: Utilize the built-in Red Hat OpenShift monitoring stack to monitor virtual machines in your cluster.
• Regular updates and patches: Keep your OpenShift Virtualization account updated with the latest security patches and feature updates to VMs. 
• Resource management: Always monitor and optimize the resource utilization of your virtual machines for maximum efficiency. 

Backup and disaster recovery 

You can ensure business continuity by implementing strategies for backup and disaster recovery, including:

• Backup configuration: Red Hat OpenShift provides storage provider integrations that enable and schedule periodic backups of your VMs. 
• Disaster recovery planning: Red Hat OpenShift provides integration for disaster recovery planning, which should be implemented and allows for the restoration of VMs in case of failures or unexpected downtime.

Conclusion

This migration of virtual machines from VMware to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization consolidates workloads on a single platform and utilizes the scalability and flexibility of Kubernetes. With this step-by-step implementation guide, partners can migrate from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization seamlessly and take advantage of contemporary hybrid infrastructure. 

Need help? We're here to assist you! If you're encountering issues or need further clarification on the topics covered in our posts, don’t hesitate to reach out. Partners should connect with the Partner Acceleration Desk who can route them to the right teams to assist with any issues or concerns.

If you have any questions on how to access the Partner Acceleration Desk, please refer to the quickstart guide.

Learn more

Ready to learn more about virtualization?

• Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization
• Migration toolkit for virtualization documentation