This is unreleased documentation for SUSE® Virtualization v1.9 (Dev).

Vendor Compatibility and Comparison Guide

Migrating existing virtual machines into SUSE® Virtualization is a common first step when moving away from a traditional hypervisor such as VMware vSphere. Several tools are available, ranging from built-in SUSE Virtualization add-ons to a SUSE partner platform. This guide compares them so that you can choose the right approach for your source environment, scale, and support requirements.

This guide covers tools that migrate virtual machines into SUSE Virtualization from another platform. It does not cover intra-cluster live migration, which moves a running virtual machine between hosts within the same SUSE Virtualization cluster.

Migration approaches

There are three supported ways to migrate virtual machines into SUSE Virtualization:

  • SUSE Virtualization add-ons that run inside the cluster and pull virtual machines from a source platform:

  • A SUSE partner platform, Coriolis by Cloudbase, which runs as an external appliance and migrates agentlessly through platform APIs.

The best choice depends on your source platform, the number of virtual machines, whether you can tolerate downtime, and the level of support you require.

Comparison at a glance

Tool Type Source platforms Migration method Support

VM Import Controller

Built-in add-on

VMware vSphere, OpenStack, OVA

In-cluster export and import via the VirtualMachineImport custom resource (cold migration)

SUSE (platform)

SUSE VM Migration Toolkit (Forklift)

Built-in add-on (experimental)

VMware vSphere

In-cluster conversion with virt-v2v and VDDK, driven by Forklift Provider, Plan, and Migration resources (cold migration)

SUSE (experimental)

Coriolis by Cloudbase

SUSE partner platform

VMware vSphere, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud; SAP-on-VMware to SLES/KVM

Agentless, API-driven replication from an external appliance; supports warm migration with continuous sync and on-demand cutover

SUSE (platform) + Cloudbase (appliance)

The VM Import Controller and the SUSE VM Migration Toolkit perform cold migration: the source virtual machine is shut down (or powered off) as part of the process. Coriolis supports warm migration, replicating a running virtual machine in the background and requiring only a short cutover window.

VM Import Controller

The VM Import Controller is a built-in add-on that imports virtual machines from VMware vSphere, OpenStack, and Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) packages. You define a source cluster and a VirtualMachineImport resource; the controller exports each disk, creates a virtual machine image per disk, and recreates the virtual machine in SUSE Virtualization.

When to use it

  • Your source is VMware vSphere, OpenStack, or an OVA package.

  • You want a supported, in-cluster tool with no external appliance and no additional licensing.

  • Cold migration (shutting the source virtual machine down) is acceptable.

Key considerations

  • Enable PVC-backed storage for the add-on and size the PVC to twice the size of the largest virtual machine, because it is used as scratch space to download and convert disks.

  • For VMware sources, VMware Tools (or open-vm-tools) should be installed so the controller can gracefully shut the guest down; otherwise set forcePowerOff: true or shut the virtual machine down manually.

  • The source virtual machine name must be RFC 1123-compliant, or you must rename it.

  • evictionStrategy is not set automatically on imported virtual machines, which prevents live migration until you patch it.

For configuration, the full VirtualMachineImport specification, and the current list of known issues, see VM Import Controller.

SUSE VM Migration Toolkit (Forklift)

The SUSE VM Migration Toolkit is a Forklift-based add-on introduced in SUSE Virtualization v1.8.0 that migrates virtual machine workloads from VMware. It uses virt-v2v together with the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) and is driven by Forklift Provider, NetworkMap, StorageMap, Plan, and Migration custom resources.

The SUSE VM Migration Toolkit is an experimental add-on and is incompatible with SUSE Virtualization versions earlier than v1.8.0. Evaluate it in a non-production environment before relying on it.
When to use it

  • Your source is VMware vSphere and you want a Forklift-based workflow (familiar to users of SUSE® Rancher Prime and OpenShift Virtualization migration tooling).

  • You are comfortable working with an experimental add-on and its current limitations.

Key considerations

  • The add-on’s images are not included in the SUSE Virtualization ISO. For air-gapped environments, pull the required images and push them to a private registry.

  • Installation requires cert-manager and a ForkliftController resource in the forklift namespace.

  • virtio is the only supported destination NIC and disk bus type, and skipGuestConversion cannot be set to true.

  • Post-migration boot order is not guaranteed and may need to be corrected manually.

  • Migration of virtual machines with NVMe controller-based disks is not supported (see Forklift issue #1188).

  • Virtual machines using legacy BIOS emulation are powered off during migration and are not powered back on automatically.

  • Optionally build a custom VDDK image from the SUSE base image to accelerate migration.

Because this add-on is experimental, its detailed installation and migration procedure is maintained in the SUSE Customer Center documentation. See the SUSE Rancher Prime SUSE Virtualization documentation for the current SUSE VM Migration Toolkit guide.

Coriolis by Cloudbase

Coriolis is an automated migration platform from Cloudbase Solutions, offered as a SUSE partner solution. It migrates virtual machines into SUSE Virtualization from VMware vSphere, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. For SAP environments on VMware, Coriolis supports migration to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) on KVM. Coriolis has been validated for Harvester environments from version 1.3 through 1.8.0.

Coriolis runs as an external virtual appliance (delivered as an OVA) and connects to source and destination platforms through their APIs. It is agentless: nothing is installed inside the guest virtual machines, and no guest credentials are required. Because it replicates data in the background while the source virtual machine keeps running, it supports near-zero-downtime migration with a staged cutover.

When to use it

  • Your source is a public cloud (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) or VMware, or you need to repatriate cloud workloads to on-premises infrastructure.

  • You must migrate at scale (hundreds of mixed Windows and Linux virtual machines) with parallel migrations and continuous sync.

  • You need warm migration with minimal downtime and an agentless approach.

Licensing and support

  • Each new SUSE Virtualization subscription includes ten courtesy Coriolis migration licenses; existing subscriptions include five. These are full production migrations that co-term with your subscription. Additional licensing and professional services are available directly from Cloudbase.

  • SUSE supports the SUSE Virtualization platform through your SUSE subscription; Cloudbase supports the Coriolis appliance.

  • Included Coriolis licenses are valid only for migrations that land on SUSE-supported platforms (SUSE Virtualization or SLES-based KVM); they are not valid for migrations to non-SUSE hypervisors.

Connecting Coriolis to SUSE Virtualization

Coriolis connects to the SUSE Virtualization (KubeVirt) destination using a kubeconfig, which you can download from the Support page of the SUSE Virtualization UI. The migration user needs read access to cluster-scoped resources (virtual machine images, storage classes, volume snapshot classes, namespaces, network attachment definitions) and read/write access to namespace-scoped resources (persistent volume claims, pods, virtual machines, and virtual machine instances).

Because Coriolis is a partner product, refer to the Cloudbase Coriolis documentation and the KubeVirt and Harvester Coriolis plugin page for the authoritative, step-by-step migration procedure. SUSE also publishes a SUSE Virtualization migration checklist and offers a Migration Readiness Assessment through SUSE Services.

Choosing a tool

Use the following guidance to narrow your choice:

  • Source is a public cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), or you need warm/near-zero-downtime migration at scale → choose Coriolis.

  • Source is OpenStack or an OVA package → choose the VM Import Controller.

  • Source is VMware vSphere → any of the three can apply:

    • Choose the VM Import Controller for a supported, in-cluster, no-extra-cost path when cold migration is acceptable.

    • Choose the SUSE VM Migration Toolkit if you prefer a Forklift-based workflow and can accept an experimental add-on.

    • Choose Coriolis for large estates, warm migration, or when you want the guided, automated appliance experience.

General migration workflow

Regardless of the tool, a successful migration follows a similar path. The following checklist summarizes the key stages:

  1. Pre-migration assessment: Inventory the source virtual machines (CPU, RAM, disk), verify guest operating system support, and map source networks (VLANs, switches) to SUSE Virtualization VM Networks.

  2. Infrastructure readiness: Confirm nodes meet the hardware requirements and support hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x/AMD-V), ensure SUSE® Storage has sufficient capacity (aim for at least twice the size of your largest virtual machine), and enable the required migration add-on.

  3. Execution: Connect to the source endpoint with credentials, verify the source is reachable, map networks and storage, and run the migration. Use cold migration (shut the virtual machine down) for consistency, or a warm/staged cutover where the tool supports it.

  4. Post-migration and optimization:

    • Replace VMware Tools with VirtIO drivers (or open-vm-tools) for optimal disk and network performance.

    • Configure protection for the migrated virtual machines using the backup and restore tools.

    • Optionally import the SUSE Virtualization cluster into SUSE® Rancher Prime to manage virtual machines and container workloads together.

Support and licensing summary

  • The VM Import Controller and SUSE VM Migration Toolkit are SUSE Virtualization add-ons supported by SUSE through your subscription. The SUSE VM Migration Toolkit is currently experimental.

  • Coriolis is a SUSE partner product: SUSE supports the SUSE Virtualization platform, and Cloudbase supports the Coriolis appliance. Courtesy migration licenses are included with SUSE Virtualization subscriptions and are valid only for migrations onto SUSE-supported platforms.

References