Converting from a physical to virtual environment

Another option in many of the tools that can be used to help us when we create machines is the physical to virtual functionality, sometimes referred to as the P2V concept; furthermore, this provides us with the capability to build any machine, run the conversion process to take the physical machine, and then convert it to a virtual machine. This functionality allows you to build a custom pentesting platform machine and then perform the conversion and carry the machine anywhere you go out in the field. We have a couple of options that we will discuss. There is a free option that we can use provided by VMware called vCenter Converter. With this tool, you can convert not only physical Windows machines, but also Linux. To try it out and see how well it works, you can download it from http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/. We have another option, that is, use the feature from our VMware Workstation installation. This is our preferred option. If you open the software, you will see there is an option to convert a physical machine to virtual, and this option is called Virtualize a Physical Machine…. Note that here you will have to install the converter the first time you select the option within VMware Workstation, as shown in the following screenshot: