Installing NW7.02 testdrive under VMware ESXi 5.1.0 hypervisor?

[richard_gray]

I'm trying to install the Technology Preview SAP NetWeaver Gateway 2.0 - Application Server on Linux and MaxDB on a  VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi) host.  Because the VMware software is a 'lite' freeware version, it lacks the import functionality that presumably would let me easily install the pre-built SUSE 11 virtual machine..  A co-worker who'd set up several VMs from scratch (make New VM, install OS from .iso) told me I should be able to do this with command line tools on the ESXi host. 

Because this SUSE VM is prebuilt, so it looks to be a matter of importing it.  Seems like there are two steps to perform

1. move the VM into place as /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/SLES_11_SP1_SAP_Testdrive-1.0.13
   
   
2. register it:
   vim-cmd solo/registervm /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/SLES_11_SP1_SAP_Testdrive-1.0.13/SLES_11_SP1_SAP_Testdrive.x86_64-1.0.13.vmx

In looking for ways to import, I came across posts which state that ESXi VMs can only use the monolithic flat vmdk format.  So the SUSE VM will need to be converted?  I grabbed a copy of VMware's vCenter Converter Standalone (version 5.0.1), but when I tried to get it to convert the SUSE VM, I get this error:

Unable to obtain hardware information for the selected machine.

Anyone know how to get around this problem? 

If I can't get this pre-built VM installed, are there other options?

• grab a SUSE (or other fine Linux?) .iso file, install/tune the OS manually, then install the SAP portion of this testdrive?
• OVF(?) appliance install available?
• other test drive version?

The lightest possible system will do - I just need a modern system to generate BC-XOM print traffic.  This testdrive feels like overkill.  I just need enough for spad, sp01, etc.

Thanks!

Rich

[richard_gray · Accepted solution]

Answering my own question, it turns out that the work around is to run the SUSE VM in another VM player first (I used a copy of VMware Player 5 - I suspect that pretty much any VM player would work.)  I ran the SUSE VM up to the point of the initial login then shut it down.  This was enough to cause the player to fill in the information that VMware's vCenter Converter Standalone needed.  I could then use the converter to process the VM, delivering the converted VM directly into the vSphere Hypervisor installation.  I was then able to start the converted VM under the vSphere Hypervisor, complete the SUSE OS configuration and install the SAP testdrive.