If you cloned a disk or restored from backup, you might have two VGs with the same name. Run:
The converter uses SSH and SFTP to deploy a small query agent (sysinfo) to the source. Unable to query live Linux source machine
Network security layers can block the SSH connection required for the process.
sudo bash -c '( echo "DISKLABEL=msdos" for disk in /dev/sd[a-z] /dev/hd[a-z] /dev/vd[a-z]; do [ -b "$disk" ] && sudo fdisk -l "$disk" | grep "^$disk" | while read line; do start=$(echo $line | awk "print \$2") end=$(echo $line | awk "print \$3") size=$(echo $line | awk "print \$4") echo "PARTITION: $disk,$start,$end,$size" done done ) > /tmp/vmware_disk_layout.txt' If you cloned a disk or restored from
The "Unable to query the live Linux source machine" error in VMware vCenter Converter Standalone typically occurs when the tool cannot execute its discovery scripts on the target machine . This is usually due to restrictive permissions, non-standard shell configurations, or network blockages. "unable to query the live source machine" in P2V convert
Add the following line at the end of the file (replace migrationuser with your actual username): migrationuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL Use code with caution.
VMware Converter expects a standard MBR or GPT partition table. Nested partitions, hybrid MBR, or missing partx support cause failures. sudo bash -c '( echo "DISKLABEL=msdos" for disk
Storage layout, partition tables, and file systems (e.g., ext4, XFS). Network interface configurations.
After deploying the agent, Converter communicates back to the Converter server on a dynamic high port (typically TCP/443 or 902 for SSL, and an ephemeral port range). If the Linux source has an outbound firewall (iptables/nftables) or an intermediate network firewall, this can break the query.
When faced with this error, systematically run through this quick-reference checklist: VMware Converter expects a standard MBR or GPT
The Converter creates a temporary working directory under /tmp on the source Linux machine to extract and run its sysinfo utility. If there are problems writing to or executing files in this location, the query will fail.
file, as the converter cannot interact with a TTY during the automated query. 2. SSH and Environment Conflicts