MultiPortal has released Migrator 2.0.0, an appliance designed to move virtual machines from VMware vSphere to Proxmox VE while cutting downtime and automating much of the work that normally comes with a migration. The tool replicates machines while they keep running, keeps the destination copy in sync, and leaves the final cutover for a maintenance window chosen by the administrator.
VMware-to-Proxmox migration in 20 seconds
- Migrator 2.0.0 is the first public release of MultiPortal’s appliance for moving VMs from VMware vSphere to Proxmox VE.
- It uses VMware Changed Block Tracking to copy only the blocks in use initially, then only the ones that have changed afterward.
- Continuous mode keeps the source machine running and lets the cutover happen in seconds.
- It automates VirtIO, VMware Tools, the QEMU Guest Agent, networking, disks, and Windows drive letters.
- Every customer gets five free migrations to try the tool on their own virtual machines.
The pitch starts from a familiar problem in migrations between virtualization platforms. Moving the disks is only part of the job; a full migration also requires adapting the guest operating system to the new virtual hardware, rebuilding network interfaces, checking disk order, and deciding where each machine will end up inside the new cluster.
MultiPortal Migrator tries to bring those tasks together into a single workflow. The appliance is installed inside the customer’s own infrastructure and connects VMware vSphere with Proxmox VE, so credentials, inventory, and VM data stay on the customer’s network.
The copy can happen while the machine keeps running
One of Migrator 2.0.0’s central features is its use of VMware’s Changed Block Tracking (CBT). Instead of always copying the entire disk, the tool identifies the blocks in use during the initial copy and, in later rounds, transfers only the ones that have changed.
MultiPortal cites a Debian 12 machine with a 40 GB virtual disk as an example. In one of the company’s lab tests, the initial copy moved 2.8 GB. The two subsequent sync rounds moved 704 KB and 9.9 MB respectively, while the final cutover phase took 10 seconds. These are MultiPortal’s own lab figures, not a performance guarantee for every infrastructure.
The tool also accounts for an important edge case in migrations: not every storage system lets you assume an unallocated area of a disk will return zeros. When it can’t guarantee that, Migrator performs a full copy and logs the decision.
Data is transferred from the ESXi host running the machine, passes through the appliance, and lands directly on the storage of the selected Proxmox VE node. According to the 2.0.0 documentation, there’s no intermediate storage staging area for the disks, and no agents need to be installed on the ESXi hosts.
Several migrations can also run in parallel. The system allows between one and 32 simultaneous migrations, with four as the default setting. Machines coming from the same standalone ESXi host are processed one at a time, while different sources can run in parallel with each other.
Three ways to move a VM depending on how much downtime you can afford
Migrator offers three modes. The first is Continuous, based on CBT. The source machine stays active while Proxmox VE receives and updates its copy. Once the sync is ready, the administrator decides when to make the cutover.
The second is Warm, which uses an initial copy while the machine keeps running and applies the final changes during the platform switch. The third is Cold, which shuts the VM down and copies the entire disk.
The choice isn’t left entirely up to the administrator. The wizard analyzes each machine and its storage to recommend a mode and explains when an alternative isn’t available. Warm and Continuous modes need destination storage that supports snapshots, while Cold has fewer restrictions.
The tool’s underlying philosophy is to separate the transfer from the moment of the cutover. A machine that’s already in sync doesn’t switch platforms until the person responsible approves the cutover. If a problem shows up after shutting down the source, Migrator can roll back the destination and power the original machine back on.
For environments with many virtual machines, that distinction affects planning. Teams can prepare migrations ahead of time and reserve a specific window for the cutovers, instead of letting the length of the copy determine when the work is done.
Guest OS preparation is automated too
The other major piece of Migrator lives inside the virtual machines themselves. During preparation, the appliance can remove VMware Tools, install the VirtIO drivers Windows needs to correctly recognize disks and networking on Proxmox VE, and add the QEMU Guest Agent.
It also preserves the order of network interfaces and disks. On Windows, it keeps drive letters and volume layout intact. It then builds the VM configuration on Proxmox VE with the matching firmware, VirtIO SCSI controller, and the necessary network interfaces.
The process uses guest OS credentials that the administrator stores in the appliance. If a VM needs preparation but Migrator can’t carry it out, the system can reject the migration setup instead of waiting until the cutover to discover the problem.
From VMware vSphere to Proxmox VE with reusable rules
The configuration also tries to spare administrators from repeating the same decisions for every machine. Mappings let you tie VMware networks to Proxmox networks, associate datastores with storage pools, and define how machines are spread across cluster nodes.
Rules can be reused across different migrations. At the same time, each VM can have exceptions to change its name, assign a specific VMID, or route particular disks to different storage.
The system checks VMID availability before starting a job and can suggest valid names when the original doesn’t meet Proxmox VE‘s conditions. It also offers two placement policies: Balanced, which spreads machines across nodes, and Throughput, which favors nodes capable of moving data faster.
Before moving machines, Migrator also includes assessments of the VMware environment. An assessment stores a dated snapshot of the infrastructure and classifies VMs as Ready, Unknown, Review, or Blocked, along with the reason behind each status. It can also record information about current VMware licenses, including sockets, cores, and annual cost, to use as part of project planning.
The console shows the progress of each migration, including phase, per-disk progress, speed, estimated time, and sync rounds. When a machine is ready for cutover, the system generates an alert. Once finished, each migration produces a PDF report and a spreadsheet, and the history keeps a record of completed jobs.
What a company needs before getting started
Migrator 2.0.0 supports VMware vSphere 8 as a source, either through vCenter Server or standalone ESXi hosts, and works with VMFS, NFS, and vSAN datastores. The destination is Proxmox VE 9.x nodes or clusters.
On the Proxmox VE side, MultiPortal’s documentation lists support for Ceph RBD, LVM-thin, ZFS, directory storage, NFS, and SMB/CIFS. Tested guest systems include Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025, plus Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, Debian 12, Rocky Linux 8 and 9, and CentOS 7.
Continuous mode and migrations from vSAN require the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK). MultiPortal notes that Broadcom no longer distributes it publicly, so customers have to obtain it directly from Broadcom and load it into the appliance.
The appliance itself can run on Proxmox VE 9.x from a qcow2 or OVA image, with a suggested configuration of 2 vCPU and 4 GB of memory. Connection validation also makes some administrative changes, such as installing the appliance’s SSH key on the relevant hosts, deploying the sesparse tool on the nodes, and creating an API token for pvemigrator.
The licensing model also includes a trial option. MultiPortal offers five free migrations per customer, with the option to re-run the same VM without using up another migration. A license key is required to create migrations, but sources, destinations, inventory, mappings, and assessments can all be set up beforehand.
The release positions Migrator 2.0.0 in a landscape where migrating from VMware to Proxmox VE no longer just means converting virtual disks. MultiPortal’s approach tries to turn an operation that normally requires coordinating storage, operating systems, networking, virtual hardware, and maintenance windows into a procedure planned from a single console.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MultiPortal Migrator 2.0?
It’s an appliance for migrating virtual machines from VMware vSphere to Proxmox VE. Version 2.0.0 is its first public release.
Can you migrate a VMware VM without shutting it down?
Yes. Continuous mode uses Changed Block Tracking to keep the Proxmox VE copy in sync while the original machine keeps running. Shutdown and cutover happen once the administrator approves them.
What happens to the drivers and VMware Tools?
Migrator can automatically prepare the guest system, remove VMware Tools, install VirtIO drivers, and add the QEMU Guest Agent, while preserving the order of networks and disks.
Which VMware and Proxmox VE versions are supported?
Version 2.0.0 supports VMware vSphere 8 as the source and Proxmox VE 9.x as the destination, with the storage backends listed in MultiPortal’s documentation.
