What is a "cold migration" in the context of VMware?

Cold migration refers specifically to the process of moving a virtual machine (VM) that is powered off from one datastore or host to another. This procedure is commonly carried out during maintenance tasks, data center relocations, or when optimizing resource allocation.

When a VM is powered off, it ensures that there are no active data transactions or processes that could risk data integrity during the migration. This makes cold migration preferable in scenarios where minimizing risks to the data is a priority.

The outcomes of a cold migration include the complete transfer of the VM's disk files and its metadata to the new location. Moreover, since the VM is not running, there is no downtime for users associated with that VM during the migration, as they are already disconnected due to the powered-off state.

This process is a fundamental administrative task in VMware environments, allowing administrators to optimize their workloads effectively without the risk of data loss.