Point-to-Point Migration (agentless) utilizes the VMware VADP interface to retrieve data through the migration tool. The data is then transferred via the SCMP to the target HCI VM. Upon completion of data migration, automatic compatibility processing is supported (e.g., injection of performance optimization tools). This method eliminates the need for backup operations on the source system.

Applicable Scenarios

The source platform must be VMware, with its version listed in the Platform Compatibility.
The agentless scenario only applies to virtual machines using standard virtual disks. Virtual machines with independent disks or RDM disks that cannot track block-level changes through the CBT interface are not eligible for agentless migration.
No migration client installation is required on source virtual machines, significantly reducing migration workload.
Should anomalies occur with the VMware CBT interface, migration must be performed using the agent-based method.

Migration Process

In the agentless point-to-point migration mode, the migration process of the Sangfor Cloud Migration Platform is as follows:

A diagram of a software server

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1. The SCMT connects to the source VMware virtualization platform, obtains the virtual machine list of the source VMware virtualization platform, and issues migration tasks.

2. Sangfor Cloud Migration Platform calls HCI's API interface to create the destination virtual machine and automatically loads the bare-metal restore to power on.

3. After modifying the bare metal restore IP address, the destination virtual machine actively connects to the Sangfor Cloud Migration Platform, obtains the migration task through the SCMT, and receives the data transmitted from the source VMware virtualization platform.

4. The source and destination machines are synchronized with full and incremental data through the SCMT.

5. Stop the source production and perform production switching after synchronizing the last difference data.

6. The destination virtual machine starts compatibility processing and automatically installs a performance optimization tool(vmtool).

7. The destination virtual machine restarts and takes over the production.

1.If a VMware VM is configured with an SR-IOV passthrough network card, the VM’s passthrough network card must be reconfigured to a virtual network card before migration can proceed.

2.When the disks used by a VMware VM are of RDM type, shut down the VM and create a clone. Then change the cloned VM to non-independent mode (dependent mode) and migrate the cloned VM.

3.If the virtual disks of a VMware VM are in independent mode, shut down the VM and change the virtual disks to non-independent mode (dependent mode) to initiate migration.

4.When migrating a source VM with dynamically allocated disks, If the data volume exceeds 16TB (exceeding the size limit of dynamically allocated disks), the allocation will automatically switch to thin provisioning.

5.When switching to HCI, simply stop the business services on the source side—do not shut down the source-side operating system.

6.Migrating data from a single disk on the source side to multiple disks on the target side is not supported.

7.Migration of external storage with mounted partitions is supported; migration of raw disks without file system partitions is not supported.

8.Migration of file storage mounted on the source VM is not supported.

9.Migration can only be initiated after installing the agent on source VM and preparing the target VM. HCI versions 6.0.0 R5, 6.3.0, and later support automatic creation of the target VM after the HCI and SCMT are already integrated.

Migration Time

The initial synchronization only transfers the actual used data blocks within the virtual machine's disk, not the entire provisioned capacity. For instance, if a VM has a provisioned disk of 100 GB but only 50 GB is utilized, the initial sync will transfer approximately 50 GB of data. Subsequent replications are incremental, capturing only the data blocks that have changed since the last sync. Following the final incremental sync, a planned service cutover is required. This involves stopping the services on the source machine and redirecting operations to the target. For point-to-point migrations, the service interruption during this cutover window is typically between 5 to 10 minutes.

Phase	Migration Phase	Tasks	Duration / Impact
1	Pre-Migration Environment Setup	1.1 Deploy SCMT Server (One-time setup) (10 min) 1.2 Create Virtual Machines on target (2 min/machine)	Duration: around 20 minutes Impact: no impact on source services
2	Data Replication	2.1 Full Data Replication 2.2 Multiple Incremental Replications (Automatic or manual)	Duration: Total Data Volume / Migration Speed - Max speed: 100 MB/s (1 GbE), 500 MB/s (10 GbE) Source Resource Utilization: - Agent CPU usage: < 3% - Agent Memory peak: < 260 MB - Recommended available memory on source: > 1 GB - Default source storage performance cap: 30% (Queue Depth: 4) - Adjustable - Default source network bandwidth cap: 300 Mbps - Adjustable
3	Service Cutover	3.1 Manually stop services on source machine (2 min) 3.2 Final data sync & execute cutover (1-2 min) 3.3 Restart target VM (Auto compatibility & VMTools injection) (2 min) 3.4 Modify service network (As required) (approximately 2 min) 5. Services resume, hosted by HCI (2-5 min)	Duration: 5-10 minutes Impact: Source services stopped

Resumable transfer

• If the network interruption between the source and target ends lasts less than 1 minutes, the migration task will not be affected.

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Sangfor Cloud Platform (SCP)

Point-to-point Migration (agentless)