Zerto Migration

Utility

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ZVR-DBM-9.5

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Table of Contents
Zerto Migration Utility Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Migration Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Post-migration Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MSPs: Migration of a Windows ZVM connected to ZCM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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Zerto Migration Utility Prerequisites

The Zerto Migration Utility supports switching from a Windows-based Zerto Virtual Manager (ZVM) to a Linux-
based appliance (ZVM Appliance). The migration utility migrates your Windows ZVM to the latest version of the
ZVM Appliance.

Important:
• Review these instructions before running the Zerto Migration Utility to ensure a smooth
migration process from your Windows ZVM to a Linux-based appliance (ZVM Appliance).
• During migration, the Windows ZVM will experience downtime until the ZVM Appliance
becomes fully functional. If you are running vSphere 8.0 or later, you must turn off
the VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly flag before deploying Zerto. Customers
running vSphere 8.0 or later are advised NOT to upgrade to Zerto 10.0.

See How to check VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly on ESX hosts.

Before you Begin

• The Migration utility supports VCenter and VCenter Cloud Director only. Additional platforms will be
supported in future releases.
• To migrate your Windows ZVM to the latest available version of the ZVM Appliance (Linux), you must follow a
migration process:
1. Make sure your Windows ZVM is running version 9.7 U3 or later.
2. Deploy the latest version of the ZVM Appliance (10.0 or later). See ZVM Appliance Deployment.
3. Run the Zerto Migration Utility.
4. Once migration is complete, and you have successfully switched to the new Linux-based appliance,
remove the Windows VM from the inventory. Do not run the Zerto uninstaller, as this would result in
uninstalling the VRAs.
• Duration: migration is expected to take 10-20 min. The migration of a ZVM using an external database should
be much shorter.
• The utility must be executed on the Windows ZVM machine. This will allow the utility to easily access the
ZVM and gather the data needed for a successful migration.
• The migration utility supports both internal and external databases.

Windows ZVM Network Settings

• The Windows ZVM must use a static IP address.

• If you use DHCP, configure the Windows ZVM to use a static IP address before initiating the migration
process.
• After the migration, you can reconfigure the ZVM Appliance to use DHCP.
• The Windows ZVM must use a single IP address.

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• If you use multiple IP addresses, configure the Windows ZVM to use a single IP address before initiating
the migration process.
• After the migration, you can reconfigure the ZVM Appliance for a multi-IP address setup.
• The Windows ZVM must be set up to use a single Network Interface Card (NIC).
• If you use a multi-NIC setup, configure the Windows ZVM to use a single NIC before initiating the
migration process.
• After the migration, you can reconfigure the ZVM Appliance for a multi-NIC setup.

ZVM Appliance Prerequisites

1. Reset the default Keycloak admin password:

a. Log in to {ZVM Appliance IP}/auth
b. Enter the default credentials:
username: admin
password: admin
c. Set a new password
2. Reset the VM root password:
a. Open the VM console in VMWare vSphere
b. Enter the default credentials:
username: zadmin
password: Zertodata123!
c. Set a new root password for the username zadmin
3. Open SSH manually on the ZVM Appliance before the migration:
a. Open the VM console
b. In the Appliance Manager CLI Menu, select option 7: Manage SSH and enable SSH.
4. Configure the ZVM Appliance to use a static IP address:
a. Open the VM console
b. In the Appliance Manager CLI Menu, select option 2: Configure Network Settings and configure a
static IP.
5. If you use security products (e.g. Crowdstrike), you might need to disable/uninstall them on the Windows
ZVM machine before running the migration utility.
6. External databases with Windows authenticator are not supported, and you must configure the database to
use SQL authentication.
This can be done through the Zerto Windows diagnostics utility: C:\Program Files\Zerto\Zerto Virtual
Replication\Diagnostics\ ZertoDiagnostics.exe.

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Pre-migration Validations

To ensure a successful migration, verify the following before starting the migration flow:
• Migration can be performed from a Windows ZVM running the latest update of Zerto 9.7.
• The ZVM appliance must be freshly installed. If the migration fails, and you run the migration utility again,
remove the current OVF and deploy a new appliance. See ZVM Appliance Deployment.
• Check the connection to the internal or external database currently used with the Windows ZVM.
• For an internal database, 12 GB of free space are necessary for the database backup before the migration.
• For an external database, 2 GB of free space are necessary for the database backup before the migration.
• Identify peer sites connectivity.
• Subnet validation
Check that you don't have a network with the 10.1.0.0/16 configuration in your environment. This is used for
internal ZVM Appliance container communication.
If you encounter a validation error indicating that the Kubernetes (K8S) subnet range overlaps with the
vCenter IP range, you are advised to run the steps below to resolve the issue. Once done, you will be able to
run the migration utility again.
If you do have such a subnet configuration, in order to avoid an IP subnet conflict between the Kubernetes
(K8S) container and the vCenter, open the VM console and run the following:
1. Modify flannel network configuration:

sudo nano /var/snap/microk8s/current/args/flannel-network-mgr-config

2. Change default IP range (ex: 10.100.0.0/16, or other subnet):

{"Network": "10.100.0.0/16", "Backend": {"Type": "vxlan"}}

3. Restart microk8s:
microk8s stop
microk8s start

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4. Delete the cni0 network interface , so flannel will recreate it:

sudo ip link delete cni0 type bridge

5. Wait for microk8s to be ready:

microk8s status --wait-ready

6. Wait for all pods to be ready:

microk8s.kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pods --all --timeout=300s

Migration

See Migration Guide

Post-migration

After the migration is complete, see Post-migration Guide.

MSPs

See MSPs: Migration of a Windows ZVM connected to ZCM

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Migration Guide

Welcome Screen

1. Click Read me to get to the Zerto Migration Utility Prerequisites and review the prerequisites before running
the Zerto Migration Utility.
2. Once the Read me page is launched, you can click Next and proceed with the migration.

Validations

The utility validates the Windows ZVM machine configuration to ensure successful migration. For the validation
list, see Pre-migration Validations in Zerto Migration Utility Prerequisites.
If validation fails, an error message is displayed, detailing the required changes for migration to start.
Once the validations are successfully completed, you can click Next.

Target ZVM Appliance Credentials

Establish the initial connection with the newly deployed ZVM Appliance:

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Note: Remember to perform the following before proceeding:

a. Access the VM console via the VMware vCenter Server.
b. Reset the zadmin default password (zertodata123!) to a new password.
c. Configure the ZVM Appliance to use a static IP (in Appliance Manager CLI Menu,
select option 2)
d. Enable SSH access to the appliance (in Appliance Manager CLI Menu, select option
7).
e. After providing the appliance IP and credentials, click Validate SSH Connectivity
to confirm a valid SSH connection between the utility and the appliance.

1. Enter the connection details:

• IP Address: the static IP address of the ZVM

• Admin Username: VM root username (zadmin)
• Admin Password: the VM root password
2. Click Next.

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Alternative Host Network Details

The utility will re-IP the appliance using the current Windows ZVM IP address to preserve the connections to
peer sites and the ongoing VPG data replication. Provide an unused alternative IP address for the utility to assign
to the Windows ZVM during migration.
1. Provide the following information:

• IP Address: A free, unused IP address

• Subnet Mask
• Gateway
• DNS Server
2. Click Next.
Before continuing, the utility validates that the IP address is not currently assigned to any device or service.

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Summary

Review and verify the details provided:

• ZVM Appliance network settings
• Windows ZVM alternative network settings

Important: Be aware that once you start the migration, your current RDP connection
using the ZVM-Win IP address will be interrupted. To re-establish the connection, you need
to reconnect using the alternative IP address provided in the previous step ( Alternative
Host Network Details).

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Video: Zerto Migration Utility overview

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Post-migration Guide

Post-migration Validations

To ensure that the migration completed successfully, verify the following after the migration is complete:
• The database is accessible, and data can be read from it.
• All peer sites identified as connected before the migration are now connected.
• All ZVM services are up and running.

Important: Upon successful migration, remove the Windows VM from the inventory. Do
not run the Zerto uninstaller, as this would result in uninstalling the VRAs.

Restore Flow

• If the migration from Windows ZVM to ZVM Appliance failed, you can initiate the Restore flow, in which all of
its data will be available on the Windows ZVM machine.
• Before running the migration utility again, you must redeploy the ZVM Appliance. Migration to an appliance
already used for a previous migration flow is not supported. This helps achieve a successful migration on the
next attempt.

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MSPs: Migration of a Windows ZVM connected to ZCM

MSPs: Migration of a Windows ZVM connected to ZCM

• After the migration, the ZVM continues to be connected to ZCM.

• ZCM Operating System:
• When upgrading to Zerto 10.0, the ZCM must run on Windows Server 2016 or later.
• Windows 2012 is not supported, since it uses a cipher method older than TLS 1.2.
After the migration, follow these steps:
1. Change the ZCM-ZVM connectivity from ZVM-Access-Code to Keycloak-Initial-Access-Token.
Until you switch to the new authentication method, the ZCM-ZVM communication won't be routed through
Keycloak and the users won't benefit from Keycloak's enhanced security.
2. Navigate to the ZVM Appliance: https://<ZVMA_IP_ADDR>/auth/admin/master/console/#/zerto/clients/
initialAccessToken/create (where ZVMA_IP_ADDR is your ZVM Appliance IP address).
3. Click Save.
4. Copy the key.
5. In ZCM, under the Sites tab, select the migrated ZVM Appliance site.
6. Click Edit and paste the copied key into the Access Code field.
7. Once the ZVM Appliance initial access token is applied, a new client opens for the ZCM in the ZVM Appliance
and all ZCM-ZVM Appliance communication will be routed through Keycloak.
Zerto Migration Utility automatically enables the t_PublishCloudManagerLegacyService tweak on the
ZVM Appliance, which allows both authentication methods to be valid.
Once ZCM uses Keycloak, Zerto recommends disabling the t_PublishCloudManagerLegacyService tweak. To
disable it, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to the ZVM Appliance: https://<ZVMA_IP_ADDR>/management (where ZVMA_IP_ADDR is your ZVM
Appliance IP address).

2. In the Tweaks tab, set the value of t_PublishCloudManagerLegacyService to False.

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