Review requirements for VMware VM migration to Azure Local using Azure Migrate (preview)
Applies to: Azure Local, version 23H2
This article lists the system requirements for migrating VMware virtual machines (VMs) to Azure Local using Azure Migrate.
Important
This feature is currently in PREVIEW. See the Supplemental Terms of Use for Microsoft Azure Previews for legal terms that apply to Azure features that are in beta, preview, or otherwise not yet released into general availability.
Supported configurations
The following operating systems (OSs) are supported for the VMware source appliance, target appliance, and for the guest VMs that you are migrating.
| Component | Supported configurations |
|---|---|
| Source environment | VMware vCenter Server version 8.0 VMware vCenter Server version 7.0 VMware vCenter Server version 6.7 VMware vCenter Server version 6.5 |
| Source appliance | Windows Server 2022 |
| Target environment | Azure Local, version 23H2 |
| Target appliance | Windows Server 2022 |
| Guest VM (Windows) | Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2008 R2* |
| Guest VM (Linux) | Red Hat Linux 6.x, 7.x Ubuntu Server and Pro. 18.x CentOS 7.x SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x Debian 9.x |
*To migrate Windows Server 2008 R2 VMs, see the FAQ.
Supported geographies
You can create an Azure Migrate project in many geographies in the Azure public cloud. Here's a list of supported geographies for migration to Azure Local:
| Geography | Metadata storage locations |
|---|---|
| Asia-Pacific | South East Asia, East Asia |
| Europe | North Europe, West Europe |
| United States | Central US, West US2 |
Keep in mind the following information as you create a project:
- The project geography is only used to store the discovered metadata. Your VMware source environment and Azure Local target environment do not need to be located in the same geography/region as your Azure migrate project.
- When you create a project, you select a geography. The project and related resources are created in one of the regions in the geography. The region is allocated by the Azure Migrate service. Azure Migrate doesn't move or store customer data outside of the region allocated.
- Your Azure Migrate project must be in the same tenant as your Azure Local instance. The project can recognize Azure Local instances across subscriptions, but it will not work with an Azure Local instance registered in a separate Azure tenant.
Azure portal requirements
For more information on Azure subscriptions and roles, see Azure roles, Azure AD roles, and classic subscription administrator roles.
| Level | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Tenant | Application administrator |
| Subscription | Contributor, User Access Administrator |
Source VMware server requirements
The source VMware server used for migration should have sufficient resources to create a Windows Server 2022 VM with a minimum of 16 GB memory, 80 GB disk, and 8 vCPUs.
In this release, you can only migrate VMs that have disks attached to the VMFS Datastores. If the VM disks aren't attached to the VMFS Datastore, the disks can’t be migrated
Before you begin, for all VMware VMs, bring all the disks online and persist the drive letter. For more information, see how to configure a SAN policy to bring the disks online.
The VMware source environment must be able to initiate a network connection with the target Azure Local instance, either by being on the same on-premises network or by using a VPN.
Target Azure Local system requirements
The target OS must be version 23H2 for Azure Local.
An Arc Resource Bridge must exist on Azure Local, version 23H2 for migration. The Arc Resource Bridge is automatically created during the deployment. To verify that an Arc Resource Bridge exists on your Azure Local system, see Deploy using Azure portal.
Make sure that a logical network is configured on your Arc Resource Bridge. For more information, see Create a logical network.
Make sure that a custom storage path is configured on your Arc Resource Bridge for migration. For more information, see Create a storage path.
The Azure Local target system must be able to initiate a network connection with the VMware source environment, either by being on the same on-premises network or by using a VPN.
Azure Migrate project requirements
If you have an existing Azure Migrate project with VM discovery complete, you need to create a new Azure Migrate project for migration to Azure Local. You can't use existing Azure Migrate projects for migration.
You must have only one source appliance per Azure Migrate project for Azure Local migrations. This means you can't use the same Azure Migrate project for both a VMware source and a Hyper-V source. Make sure to create a new project for each source you wish to migrate from.
You must have only one target appliance per Azure Migrate project for Azure Local migrations. This means you can't use the same Azure Migrate project for a single source appliance to migrate to multiple target appliances across different Azure Local instances.
In general, Azure Migrate projects must have a 1:1 pairing of only 1 source appliance and 1 target appliance per project.