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VMware provides a utility, VMware Converter, for creating a virtualized image, called a virtual machine, from a physical server. VMware Converter makes it easy to make a copy of the current system on VMware ESX. Although the procedure for applying kernel patches and support packages is the same as on a physical server, the OS and DBMS installation steps and the system copy from the current server to the migration server can be omitted.

If configuring the new server on VMware ESX, create a new virtual machine and install the new version of the OS. Although the subsequent procedure is the same as for a physical server, the snapshot function available with VMware ESX provides a major benefit. Snapshots save an image of the entire system at a particular instant and allow you to return to the state when the snapshot was taken. An upgrade is normally an irreversible process, and if the upgrade fails, there is no way of going back. This makes the snapshot function particularly valuable in case of mistakes that may occur during the upgrade procedure -- even elaborate rehearsals cannot completely eliminate human error.