I want to move from an old SAN to new storage without stopping VMs.
Storage vMotion (VMware) or Storage Live Migration (Hyper-V) moves VMs between datastores while running. Requires both old and new storage to be visible to the hosts.
Try this first
- 1Connect the new storage in parallel: present as a new LUN/volume, format as a datastore, visible on all hosts.
- 2Test with one test VM: right-click, Migrate, storage only, pick the new datastore. Watch the transfer.
- 3Move production VMs one by one or in batches per maintenance window. Watch source storage performance, otherwise production slows.
- 4For file server storage: SMB Live Migration in Windows or Storage Migration Service can move shares while preserving permissions and paths.
- 5Decommission old storage only after weeks of confirmation that everything runs and nothing remains. Check scripts and schedulers for cross-references.
When to bring us in
For very large VMs or slow source storage, storage vMotion can take hours per VM. Plan in quiet windows. Be careful with snapshots during migration; they complicate the chain.
See also
- One DC or two DCs for an SMB office?Two is almost always the right answer; one DC is a single point of failure for logon, DNS and GPOs.
- Should I split FSMO roles across two DCs?For a small domain all on one DC is fine; with two DCs splitting is tidier but not required.
- How do I know my AD replication is healthy?Replication errors creep in silently; they only surface when logins or GPOs misbehave.
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