Q:

Create an Ovirt cluster Node first, Engine later

this is the current state in my company - non relevant details omitted: we have a production server which hosts a CRM in a VM using virtualbox. Let call this server "SMALL" as it is a small tower server. I can not switch off such a server until I've migrated/rebuilt the VM in a new server.
We have no experience with virt tecnologies like ovirt/vmware/hyper-V, with the exception of the testing ovirt install I've made on my laptop using the all-in-one plugin! We have used desktop virtualization technologies for a while now (from virtual box to local installs of kvm+libvirt).
The idea:
We are going to buy a new server, let call it "BIG", and we would like to use the "BIG" machine as an oVirt node, setting the "SMALL" one as ovirt-engine.
The deploy scenario 1: can I build an oVirt node without the engine and create a new VM on it, migrate there the CRM (the "how" is out of the scope of this thread) and let it run?
Later, when the CRM will be online in the "BIG" node, I would like to format the "SMALL" server and put an ovirt-engine on it. is this possible?
deploy scenario 2: add a step on top of the previous procedure: use a temp engine, even on a notebook, and deploy the oVirt node as described above. How can I migrate the whole engine later on the "SMALL" server, considering it has been already configured on a temp machine?
deploy scenario 3: I'm open to any other suggestion! :-)
thank you,
MN

A:

If you can afford downtime, why not simply backup the VM, install oVirt and restore the VM into an oVirt based VM?
Also, if the "small" box is going to be the engine, you can simply install the engine on it while the original VM runs in vbox, attach the "big" box as a host, and then move the VM into oVirt.
Another option is the self hosted engine, basically, deploy engine as a VM on the "big" box, move the VM, and later maybe also add the "small" box as a second host, so you can have a two node cluster.

