Issues with Convert to VM
When trying to convert a backup to a virtual machine, the only options I have for Microsoft format for use in Hyper-V is Microsoft Virtual PC, which is a VHD format.
Consequently, the conversion fails since VHD does not support disks that are as large as my server's drive is currently.
How do I convert this to a VHDX format, which is the current format, not the outdated VHD. VHDX will support the drive size I need, be usable in Hyper-V, and be useful in case of hardware failure.
Hello Barbara,
Could you please clarify what edition of the product you are using?
I ask because Acronis Backup Advanced for Hyper-V allows you to convert a backup directly onto a Hyper-V server using the correct format. And I suspect that you do not have an edition that allows this, which means that Hyper-V and ESX formats are not directly available for conversion.
That said, you can still convert by doing the following: create a new VM in your Hyper-V server, boot this VM with our bootable media (create an ISO image and attach it to the VM) and run a restore like you would for a physical machine.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
We are using Acronis Backup and Recovery 11.5. I am backing up physical servers to the SAN and want to create a virtual machine so that I can quickly drop it in place on another server as a VM. I am not trying to backup any virtual machines on these servers, just the server itself. They are older machines that I am worried may just quit on me one day before I can get them migrated to new hardware.
Unfortunately, the only VMs that I can make are VHDs, which is an old format. I want to make them VHDXs so that I can drop them into place quickly and easily on a 2012 server.
I am not backing up Hyper-V servers, I am backing up physical servers. Therefore I bought the product to backup physical servers, not one designed to backup Virtual Machines. Acronis Backup offers an option to convert to VMWare, Linux VMs, etc. All newer VM solutions, but only allows backup to the old Virtual PC that MS offers, not the professional MS version of Hyper-V which is now several years old.
Acronis Backup Advanced for Hyper-V states that it's purpose is: "Protect your entire Hyper-V environment with complete backups, flexible storage, and ultra-fast data recovery—all managed from one easy-to-use dashboard. " This is not at all what I am doing. I am backing up one physical server. I then want the software to convert that to a VM, which the product does. I just want it to convert it to a format that is usable, not the old format that extremely limited.
So the questions I first asked are: Can this product create a VHDX? If not, why the hell not, are there workarounds? and Is the software going to support the newer format at some point?
Hello Barbara,
I understand what you're saying and I agree that your scenario should be supported. Unfortunately, the current version of Acronis Backup 11.5 was not designed to support Hyper-V VM formats without a Hyper-V Agent. This decision was made at the time of Acronis Backup 11.5 release due to various internal, technical, legal etc. reasons.
The good news is that Acronis Backup 12 will support Hyper-V generation 2 (VHDX) VM formats for all versions of the product. I can't share any details on when it will be released, but I can say that the product has been in development for a while now and the end is in sight.