Rating: 4.5/5 — The reliable workhorse for legacy migrations. Key Improvements in version 6.2

Modernized Support: This release introduced crucial interoperability with vSphere 6.5 Update 1 and 6.7 Update 1, alongside support for Windows Server 2016 and Ubuntu 16.

Storage Optimization: A major quality-of-life update allows you to change the default destination disk type from thick to thin provisioning by modifying the converter-worker.xml file, saving significant storage space on the target datastore.

Linux Flexibility: For environments with strict security, you can now define a custom directory for vmware-sysinfo execution if the standard /tmp directory is restricted. What Makes It Good

Unmatched Compatibility: It is widely regarded as one of the best free tools for Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) and Virtual-to-Virtual (V2V) migrations, supporting everything from local physical hosts to Hyper-V virtual machines.

Ease of Use: The wizard-driven interface simplifies complex migrations into a four-step process that requires minimal training.

Zero Downtime: It supports "hot cloning," allowing you to convert a source machine while it is still running, which is vital for production servers. Points to Consider (The "Cons")

Security Longevity: Because it was released years ago, it contains outdated security components. VMware temporarily removed it from public download in 2019 for this reason before reviving the project later.

Manual Tweaks Required: Advanced features, like thin provisioning, still require manual editing of .xml configuration files and service restarts rather than having a simple toggle in the GUI. Verdict

If you are working in a modern environment (vSphere 7.0 or 8.0), you should use the official download for version 6.6 or 9.0. However, for legacy P2V tasks involving older Windows versions or mid-range vSphere environments, version 6.2 remains a gold-standard utility.

Do you need help downloading a specific version or looking for alternatives for a specific operating system migration? VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 Release

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 Release. ... VMware has released Converter Standalone 6.2, this has support for vSphere 6. Virtual Allan

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 Release Notes

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 is a free tool that allows you to convert physical machines and virtual machines from other vendors to VMware virtual machines. This release provides several new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

New Features and Enhancements

• Support for vCenter Server 6.2: vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 supports conversion of virtual machines to vCenter Server 6.2.
• Improved Conversion of Linux Machines: The converter now supports conversion of Linux machines with LVM (Logical Volume Manager) and RAID configurations.
• Support for UEFI Boot: The converter now supports conversion of machines with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) boot.
• Enhanced Security: The converter now uses secure connections (HTTPS) for communication with the vCenter Server.

Resolved Issues

• Fixed an issue where the converter would fail to convert a machine with a large number of disks: The converter now handles machines with a large number of disks correctly.
• Fixed an issue where the converter would fail to convert a machine with a specific type of SCSI controller: The converter now supports conversion of machines with LSI 92xx and LSI 93xx SCSI controllers.
• Fixed an issue where the converter would report a incorrect disk size: The converter now reports the correct disk size for converted machines.

Known Issues

• Conversion of machines with certain types of network adapters may fail: The converter may fail to convert machines with certain types of network adapters, such as those that use a specific type of virtual network interface card (VNIC).
• Conversion of machines with large amounts of memory may take a long time: The converter may take a long time to convert machines with large amounts of memory.

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, or later.
• vCenter Server: vCenter Server 5.5 or later.
• Converter Standalone: The converter standalone client requires a 64-bit operating system.

Installation and Upgrade

• Installation: Download the vCenter Converter Standalone installer from the VMware website and follow the installation instructions.
• Upgrade: If you are upgrading from a previous version of the converter, follow the upgrade instructions provided with the installer.

Documentation

For more information about vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2, see the following documentation:

• vCenter Converter Standalone User Guide: Provides detailed instructions for using the converter.
• vCenter Converter Standalone Release Notes: Provides information about new features, resolved issues, and known issues.

Conclusion

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 provides a powerful and flexible way to convert physical machines and virtual machines from other vendors to VMware virtual machines. With its improved conversion of Linux machines, support for UEFI boot, and enhanced security, this release provides a robust and reliable conversion process.

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 Release Notes VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 is a major release designed to enhance physical-to-virtual (P2V) and virtual-to-virtual (V2V) migration capabilities for modern IT environments. Released in December 2017, this version specifically targeted compatibility with then-current technologies like vSphere 6.5 Update 1 and Windows Server 2016. Key Features and Enhancements

Interoperability with vSphere 6.5 Update 1: Seamlessly migrate machines to the latest vSphere environments available at the time.

New Guest OS Support: Added official support for Windows Server 2016 and Ubuntu 16.04.

Configurable Temporary Directory for Linux: Admins can now specify a custom path for temporary vmware-sysinfo files in the converter-worker.xml file. This is crucial for environments where the /tmp directory is restricted for privileged users.

Thick-to-Thin Provisioning: A new configuration option allows users to set "thin" as the default disk provisioning type for destination machines by modifying the converter-worker.xml.

Support for IPv6: Continues to provide authorized support for IPv6 environments with certain constraints. Release 6.2.0.1 (Maintenance Update)

Released on May 22, 2018, version 6.2.0.1 (Build 8466193) was a critical maintenance update that replaced the original 6.2 build. Additional Support in 6.2.0.1

vSphere 6.7 Update 1 Interoperability: Extended support to include newer vSphere 6.7 hosts.

Offline Hyper-V Conversion: Added the ability to convert offline Hyper-V virtual machines, including Windows 10 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2016 (64-bit). Resolved Issues in 6.2.0.1

SMB Share Failures: Fixed an issue where converting a powered-on Windows machine to an SMB share would fail.

Workstation 14 Interoperability: Resolved bugs preventing virtualization from within VMware Workstation 14.

Job Submission Errors: Corrected a specific "info.owner" parameter error that caused job submissions to fail. Known Issues and Workarounds VMware vCenter Converter Standalone - VA.gov

🚀 Overview of vCenter Converter 6.2 VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 serves as a pivotal freeware utility. It automates the conversion of physical machines and third-party virtual machine formats into VMware virtual machines.

This specific release focuses heavily on broadening environment interoperability and adding subtle yet highly requested disk and configuration controls. 🔑 Key Features and Enhancements Platform & Interoperability Updates

vSphere 6.5 Support: Full compatibility targeting VMware vSphere 6.5 Update 1 environments.

Expanded OS Support: Added physical and virtual machine source support for Windows Server 2016 and Ubuntu 16.04.

Offline Hyper-V Migration: Ability to convert offline Hyper-V virtual machines running newer operating systems. System Administration & Efficiency

Thin Provisioning Defaults: Ability to set the default target virtual machine disk provisioning to "thin" rather than "thick" directly by tweaking the converter-worker.xml configuration file.

Custom Temp Paths for Linux: For Linux source machines with strict security policies preventing execution from the /tmp directory, a manual configuration field in converter-worker.xml allows custom extraction paths for the vmware-sysinfo tool. 💻 Supported Operating Systems

The 6.2 release expanded support, providing a robust matrix for both legacy and then-modern guest operating systems. Supported Microsoft Windows Sources Windows Vista SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016 (64-bit) Supported Linux Sources CentOS 6.x and 7.0 to 7.5 (64-bit)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, and 7.0 to 7.5 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10.x and 11.x Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, 14.04 LTS, and 16.04 LTS

(Note: Legacy operating systems like Windows XP are not officially supported in this version and require older builds). 🛠 Notable Bug Fixes in 6.2.0.1

Shortly after the release of build 7348398 (Version 6.2), a maintenance release designated as Version 6.2.0.1 (Build 8466193) was pushed to resolve several immediate edge cases:

Fixed an issue where conversions of powered-on Windows machines targeted directly at SMB shares failed.

Corrected interoperability bugs failing virtualization procedures from inside VMware Workstation 14.x.

Patched a job submission failure throwing the invalid parameter error: "info.owner". ⚠️ Important Considerations & Constraints

Performing P2V and V2V Migration with VMware Converter - NAKIVO

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 was originally released on December 14, 2017. While older, it remains a critical tool for P2V (Physical-to-Virtual) and V2V (Virtual-to-Virtual) migrations, particularly for environments running legacy systems. What’s New in Version 6.2

This release focused on expanding compatibility for modern (at the time) operating systems and infrastructure:

vSphere 6.5 Update 1 Support: Added support for vSphere 6.5 Update 1 as a destination host.

New OS Support: Introduced support for Windows Server 2016 and Ubuntu 16.04 (64-bit) guest operating systems.

Provisioning Flexibility: Users can now change the default destination disk type from Thick to Thin by modifying the converter-worker.xml configuration file.

Linux Migration Enhancements: Added a configuration option in converter-worker.xml to specify a custom path for temporary vmware-sysinfo files, useful if the default /tmp directory has execution restrictions. Key Compatibility Details

Supported Source OS (Windows): Windows Vista SP2 through Windows 10; Windows Server 2008 SP2 through Windows Server 2016.

Supported Source OS (Linux): CentOS 6.x/7.0; RHEL 4.x through 7.x; SLES 10.x/11.x.

Legacy Note: Support for very old legacy operating systems (like Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000) was removed in this version; users with these requirements should use version 4.0.1 or 5.5.3. Important Maintenance Note

VMware briefly removed Converter from download in early 2022 due to security concerns. It was later replaced by version 6.3 in October 2022 and more recently version 6.6 in early 2024, which adds support for modern platforms like Nutanix AHV and newer Linux kernels.

For the most secure and up-to-date experience, it is recommended to use the latest version from Broadcom. If you are dealing with a specific migration, let me know: The source operating system The target vSp VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.6 Release Notes

Get-Service -Name "VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Agent"
Get-Service -Name "VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Server"