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Mike Broughton
Asked: 2009-07-21 00:20:52 +0800 CST

How to add Acronis-generated vmdk to esxi?

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I've got a set of vmdks generated by Acronis True Image Echo, and I need to add them as a new virtual machine to an existing VMWare ESXI installation.

So far I've tried adding a new virtual machine from an existing drive, but it wants the disk images to exist in the data store.

What tools or menu options do I need to do this?

vmware-esxi trueimage

3 Answers

  1. The VMware Converter utility should be able to handle the entire process for you.

    Alternatively, a long way to go about doing it, would be:

    1. Create a new VM with no local disk.
    2. Upload[*] the VMDK to the new VM's directory within the datastore.
    3. Add a new disk to the VM and select "use existing" on the VMDK.
    4. Try to boot.

    [*] You can upload by browsing to the datastore using the VMware Infrastructure Client.

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  2. Best Answer

    I recommend to use the Infrastructure Manager Client (assuming you are using ESXi 3.5, if you have 4.0 I think that is shipped with a managing tool vSphere something) to upload your vmdk file to the data store.

    First, create a new virtual machine with corresponding settings for the intended OS. Then, on the summary page in Infrastructure Management, right click on the datastore icon, choosing "browse datastore". That opens a file manager view to the place where virtual machine files are stored. Open sub folder of your newly created VM and overwrite the existing vmdk file by clicking the upload button (make sure you name your source vmdk file as it shows in the datastore).

    You have chosen "vmware esx" option in the Acronis converting process, right?

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  3. VMware Converter as Dan C points out, a few days ago i made a backup using Acronis True Image [Home] from Win2k3 with a few service and using VMware Converter we manage to boot it into ESXi without any problems.

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