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FAQ - Migration of Hyper-V and VMware VMs to Azure Local using Azure Migrate

The Azure Migrate based solution enables you to migrate VMs from Hyper-V (Preview) and VMware to an Azure Local instance. This FAQ answers questions you might have about the migration of a VM from a Hyper-V or a VMware VM to an Azure Local instance using Azure Migrate. Tabs have questions about VMware and Hyper-V VMs, VMware VMs only, and Hyper-V VMs only. The migration of Hyper-V VMs is in preview.

FAQs

What Azure account permissions do I need to migrate VMs to Azure Local?

At the Azure subscription scope, assign one of the following roles based on the user's responsibilities:

  • Azure Local Migrate Owner provides full access, including creating and managing projects, registering source and target appliances, assigning migration-specific roles, and performing replication and migration operations.
  • Azure Local Migrate Execute Expert can perform and monitor replication and migration operations on an existing, configured project. This role can't create projects, register source or target appliances, or assign roles.

A user needs only one of these Azure subscription roles, not both. An account that registers a source or target appliance also needs the Application Developer role at the Microsoft Entra ID tenant scope.

For complete requirements and links to the role definitions, see Azure account permissions for VMware migrations or Hyper-V migrations.

What options can I use to migrate VMs to Azure Local?

You can use any of the following methods:

The PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Terraform workflows require an existing Azure Migrate project with the source and target appliances already configured.

I have a Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machine (VM) running. How can I migrate this VM to my Azure Local instance?

The Windows Server 2008 R2 VM requires to have the Service Pack 1 (SP1) running as a baseline requirement, along with the following update patch installed: KB3138612. This patch allows the appliance to successfully discover Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 VMs. You can then update all the patches to get the latest Hyper-V integration services.

Run winrm quickconfig to add winrm access through the firewall.

After you replicate and migrate the VM, set the VM version to the latest supported version on the target Azure Local instance.

Note

Migration is a one-way process and can't be reversed. The VM version can't be downgraded.

To make sure that all the VMs are version 10, run the following cmdlet:

Get-VM * | Format-Table Name, Version

Here's a sample output:

Name           Version
-------------  ---------     
migtarg01        10.0
ws2019-01        10.0
Centos9-01       10.0
ws2008R2         10.0

My cluster shared volume (CSV) storage is full or almost full. What should I do?

Expand your cluster shared volume. Follow the instructions in Expand volumes on Azure Local and Windows Server systems.

How do I remove appliances from the Azure Migrate project?

To remove the target appliance from the project and create a new appliance, run the following command:

.\AzureMigrateInstaller.ps1 -RemoveAzMigrate

After removing the appliance, follow the instructions in the documentation to reinstall.

I have Linux VMs running on my source environment. Can I migrate these VMs to Azure Local?

Yes. There are many Linux distributions that can run on VMs that are migrated to Azure Local. For the full list, see Supported configurations.

I'm located in a geography that isn't in the listed supported geographies. Does this mean I can't use this migration solution?

You can still use this solution. Just create the Azure Migrate project and the storage account in one of the supported geographies, since your migrated VMs can be in any geography.

Will I be charged for this migration solution?

There are no tool usage charges for migration for 180 days. The time starts when you begin replicating the VMs in your project.

Migration requires some services like storage account and key vault that are created in your subscription. These services accrue some charges.

To install the source or target appliance with the downloaded .zip file, I need a Windows Server 2022 operating system (OS). How can I get the Windows Server 2022 OS?

You can use your own licensed images to install these appliances. You can also use a Windows Server 2022 Evaluation version, free for up to 180 days.

My source VMs use static IP addresses. Are these addresses preserved when I migrate my VMs to Azure Local?

In this release, static IP addresses can be preserved during migration for Windows VMs on VMware and Hyper-V. Linux VMs are not supported. For more details, see Maintain static IP addresses.

I use DHCP reservation for IP addresses for my source VMs. Does migration ensure that the MAC address is preserved so that my migrated VM can get the same IP address?

This scenario is not supported in this release.

Are VMs that have secure boot enabled, supported for migration?

Yes, Secure Boot settings are preserved during migration for eligible UEFI (Generation 2) VMs. If Secure Boot is enabled on the source VM, it remains enabled on Azure Local after migration, helping maintain workload security posture.

Can I use private endpoints with Azure Migrate for Azure Local migrations?

Private endpoint connectivity is not currently supported for Azure Migrate projects configured for migrations to Azure Local.

How do I enable guest management on my migrated VMs?

Guest management is not enabled by default on migrated VMs. To enable guest management on migrated VMs, see Enable Guest Management on Azure Local VMs enabled by Azure Arc.

Can I use the same Azure Migrate project for both Hyper-V and VMware migrations?

No, this scenario isn't supported in this release. Create a separate project for each source from which you wish to migrate.

I have the Azure Connected Machine Agent deployed on my source VMs that I wish to migrate. Do I need to uninstall the agent on my VMs before migration?

Yes, you must uninstall the Azure Connected Machine Agent from your source VMs before replication. Follow the steps to uninstall the agent. Not doing so results in unsupported behavior.

When the VM is migrated, it will be created as a native Azure Local VM in the Azure Local instance. Removing the Azure Connected Machine Agent from the source VMs before migration ensures that the migrated VM is the only valid projection of the virtual machine in Azure.

How can I throttle the bandwidth used for replicating and migrating VMs with Azure Migrate?

See the FAQ at Common Questions About the Migration and Modernization Tool for details on throttling replication and migration bandwidth.

Can I migrate DNS server VMs to Azure Local using Azure Migrate?

Yes, starting with Azure Local 2607, a migrated DNS server VM can use the IPv4 address configured as the DNS server on its destination workload logical network.

This capability isn't supported on clusters that use Software Defined Networking (SDN) enabled by Azure Arc. It applies only to workload logical networks. The DNS servers used by the Azure Local infrastructure must remain external to the Azure Local instance. For more information, see DNS server considerations.

On Azure Local versions earlier than 2607, assigning a logical network's DNS server IP address to a VM isn't supported and migration fails with an address already in use error.

What is a seed disk, and can I delete it?

During initial replication, Azure Migrate creates a temporary seed disk for each source disk on the selected Azure Local storage path. The seed disk contains the replicated source data and subsequent changes. During migration, Azure Migrate uses it to create the final disk attached to the migrated VM.

Don't rename, modify, or delete a seed disk. It is a service-managed part of the active replication and can be reused if migration is retried. If the seed disk is deleted, replication or migration can fail, and you might have to stop and enable replication again, which restarts initial replication.

After you verify that the migrated VM works as expected, use the standard Complete migration operation. This operation deletes the protected item and its replication artifacts, including seed disks and any seed ISO attached to the migrated VM, without deleting the migrated VM. If you don't complete migration, these artifacts remain on the target system and continue to use storage.

A forceful completion might leave seed disks or other artifacts behind. Before manually deleting a leftover artifact, confirm that the protected item no longer appears in the Replications view and that the artifact doesn't belong to another active replication.

Can I forcefully stop replications or complete migrations?

Yes. You can forcefully stop replications and complete migrations if your target appliance becomes unresponsive or the migrate project is in a bad state. In the Azure portal, this option appears as “Forcefully stop replication” or “Forcefully complete migration”, and is only available after a normal stop or complete operation fails. From PowerShell, you can use the Remove-AzMigrateLocalServerReplication (Az.Migrate) cmdlet to forcefully stop replication or complete migration only when standard operations don’t succeed.

Force deletion may not clean up all associated resources. Seed disks and migration logs may remain. Before manually deleting a leftover artifact, confirm that the protected item no longer appears in the Replications view and that the artifact doesn't belong to another active replication.

How can I migrate the same source VM again after initial migration?

After you migrate a VM, the migration resource is marked as migrated and replication is disabled. To migrate the same source VM again, you need to "Complete Migration" on the migrated resource in the Azure portal. This action cleans up the migration state and allows you to enable replication again for the same source VM.

Will my migrated VM be a Hyper-V Generation 1 or Generation 2 VM on Azure Local?

The boot type of the source VM is retained during migration. If the source VM is using BIOS, the migrated VM on Azure Local will be a Hyper-V Generation 1 VM. If the source VM is using UEFI, the migrated VM on Azure Local will be a Hyper-V Generation 2 VM. For more information on Generation 1 VM limitations, see Azure Local VM management.

Can I use a preconfigured Microsoft Entra ID application to register a migrate appliance?

Yes. You can use a preconfigured Microsoft Entra ID application to register a migrate appliance. This approach is useful for enterprises that prefer to use existing, pre-approved Microsoft Entra ID applications that comply with internal security and governance policies. It also avoids requiring users to sign in directly on the appliance, which can be restrictive in environments where tenant-level permissions are limited or Device Code Flow is disabled.

See Register an Azure Migrate appliance with a preconfigured Microsoft Entra ID application for detailed instructions on how to set this up.

You must create and use a separate Microsoft Entra ID application for each appliance in your project - one for the source appliance and one for the target appliance. Reusing the same Microsoft Entra ID application for both appliances isn't supported.

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