vDisk migration allows you to change the container of a vDisk. You can migrate vDisks across storage containers while they are attached to the guest VMs without the need to shutdown or delete VMs (live migration). You can either migrate all vDisks attached to a VM or migrate specific vdisks to another container.
In a Nutanix solution, you group vDisks into storage containers and attach vDisks to guest VMs. AOS applies storage policies such as replication factor, encryption, compression, deduplication and erasure coding at the storage container level. If you apply a storage policy to a storage container.
AOS enables that policy on all the vdisks of the container. If you want to change the policies of the vDisks, create another container with a different policy and move the vDisk to that container.
With live migration of vDisks across containers, you can migrate vdisk across containers even if those vdisks are attached to a live VM. Thus, live migration of vDisks across storage containers enables you to efficiently manage storage policies for guest VMs.
General Considerations:
Following operations cannot be performed during an ongoing vDisk migration:
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Clone a VM
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Take a snapshot
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Resize, clone or take a snapshot of the vDisks that are being migrated
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Migrate images
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Migrate volume groups
Disaster Recovery Considerations
Consider the following points if you have a disaster recovery and backup setup:
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You cannot migrate vDisks of a VM that is protected by a protection domain or protection policy. When you start the migration, ensure that the VM is not protected by a protection domain or protection policy.
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If you want to migrate vDisks of such a VM, do the following:
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Remove the VM from the protection domain or protection policy.
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Migrate the vDisks to the target container.
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Add the VM back to the protection domain or protection policy.
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Configure the remote site with the details of the new container.
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vDisk migration fails if the VM is protected by a protection domain or protection policy.
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If you are using a third-party backup solution, AOS temporarily blocks snapshot operations for a VM if vDisk migration is in progress for that VM.
For more information, please refer to vdisk migration