The Simple Question
Can I convert an existing VM to a Virtual Server (e.g. VMWare)? I'm using Oracle's one and only awesome product, VirtualBox, and I'm trying to setup a SharePoint Farm to migrate our existing, non-virtual SharePoint Farm to.
The Long-winded Background
I'm new to virtual servers, but not new to developing in VMs... so apologies if I show any ignorance or make any bogus assumptions in this post...
I'm implementing a Disaster Recovery plan for SharePoint 2007 and I've read several whitepapers offering best practices and solutions. But instead of setting up another server with high-availability mirroring and using PowerShell to copy over IIS and the 12 hive on a scheduled basis, I would like to simply have a virtual server image that I can back-up on a scheduled basis.
I wish to create the VM in VirtualBox, install the technologies below, and then attempt to transform it into a server. I'm open to any comments, suggestions, best practices, what have you.
Technologies
- Windows Server 2003 SP2 (upgrading to 2008)
- SQL Server 2005 (upgrading to 2008)
- SharePoint 2007 (upgrading to 2010)