Moving Hyper-V virtual machine to new host

Susan Dodds 186 Reputation points
2021-02-10T01:39:27.08+00:00

I have an exchange 2016 Hyper-V vm and would like to move it to a new host without downtime. Server 2016 host with server 2016 vm running Exchange 2016 moving to server 2019 host. Single exchange server environment.

Are there any risks to doing it with this method?
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/manage/use-live-migration-without-failover-clustering-to-move-a-virtual-machine

Thanks

If it fails, is there a risk to the virtual machine? There's glitches with the server 2016 host that are preventing a guaranteed good backup of the Exchange 2016 virtual machine.

Both servers are using Intel Xeon but different versions as well as different memory types/speeds.

Currently no cluster setup (no shared storage). Server 2019 host still being physically built, loaded so it may be a week or so before I will be doing this.

Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
3,458 questions
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2016
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
2,371 questions
Hyper-V
Hyper-V
A Windows technology providing a hypervisor-based virtualization solution enabling customers to consolidate workloads onto a single server.
2,538 questions
Exchange Server Management
Exchange Server Management
Exchange Server: A family of Microsoft client/server messaging and collaboration software.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
7,350 questions
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  1. Mico Mi 1,921 Reputation points
    2021-02-10T07:13:42.113+00:00

    Hi,
    Migrating VMs across hosts definitely reduces the downtime, but that doesn’t protect the systems from large scale attacks or disasters.
    So a good Backup & DR strategy will rescue your business. If you don't do clustering with some type of shared storage, please try Hyper-V replica which can replicate entire VMs from one host to another in case you unexpectedly lose a host.

    Thanks for your time!
    Best Regards,
    Mico Mi

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  2. Alex Bykovskyi 1,681 Reputation points
    2021-02-14T10:31:23.897+00:00

    Hi,

    As mentioned, to keep VMs and environment safe a good Backup & DR configuration should be considered. With 2 hosts in your environment configuring Hyper-V replica can be a good option, which is a good DR option. You still should have separate backup of your VMs.
    Live Migration usually works with no issues. But you still should make a backup before migrating the VM.
    In addition, you can configure Failover Cluster for a critical VMs to increase their uptime numbers. StarWind VSAN can be used as a shared storage option. Might help:
    https://www.starwindsoftware.com/resource-library/starwind-virtual-san-for-hyper-v-2-node-hyperconverged-scenario-with-windows-server-2016/

    Cheers,

    Alex Bykovskyi

    StarWind Software

    Note: Posts are provided “AS IS” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

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