FortiClient EMS installation modes

[AEK]

Hi EMS admins

Starting from 7.4.4, in addition to the EMS binary installation method on Linux VM, Fortinet introduced a new installation mode which is VM image: a customized/hardened Linux with pre-installed EMS software, where we can't access the Linux shell, and only the new EMS shell is available.

My questions are:

1. As there are now 2 installation modes, is there one specific mode that is recommended?
2. As this is the first release with the VM image install mode, is it recommended to install it in production? I mean is it enough stable? Will I find all the commands I need for all kinds of configuration and troubleshooting that I may need? E.g.: Can I check OS and DB log files? Can run tcpdump or similar sniffer command for traffic troubleshooting?
3. I guess the standalone installation mode (with binary file) will be discontinued and the VM image install will be the unique available mode, right? So if I have now a standalone installation in my current prod and want to anticipate by moving to VM image mode, is there an available conversion method? Or should I proceed with a migration?