Migrating virtual machines
Migration is the process of moving a virtual machine from one host or datastore to another host or datastore. Migrating virtual machines applies to multiple possible use cases including:
Preparing an ESXi host or storage unit for maintenance to avoid virtual machine downtime
Balancing load between ESXi hosts
Freeing up space on particular datastores
There are seven types of migration that can be performed on virtual machines, which are:
Cold migration: Cold migration refers to moving a virtual machine that is powered off. In cold migration, the administrator can change the host, datastore, or both. Cold migration is supported across virtual data centers, which means that the administrator can move a virtual machine from one virtual data center to another. For cold migration, shared storage is not required.
Suspended migration: This means migration of a virtual machine that is in suspended state. In suspended migration also, the administrator can change the host, datastore...
