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Full VM Restore for VMware

Full Virtualization for VMware creates a new VM that contains a duplicate of the original server. Each partition of the snapshot is physically transferred to its disk volume on the new VM during virtualization. In other words, Full Virtualization creates a virtual disk with the same layout as the corresponding disk of the backed-up source machine and populates it with the backed-up data. This method is often used to create permanent VMs that can be put into production.

Tip. All the source disks will be created as .vmdk files on the specified datastore, based on the snapshot image from the secondary storage system.

See also. See the prerequisites before restoring your VMware assets that you backed up by using Catalogic DPX Agentless Backup: Restore Considerations for Agentless VMware Backup. In addition to virtual machines, you can also restore specific files or directories in them. For more details about restoring files, see Agentless File Restore.

Creating a Full VM Restore Job for VMware

  1. Go to Job Manager in the sidebar.

  2. Click New Restore Job to open the New Restore dialog.

  1. Select Full VM Restore and click Next.

  1. The VM object list shows all VMs that you backed up by using the DPX Agentless Backup. The available objects to restore can be sorted by Name, Type, associated Job Name, the Backup Date/Time, or Size. Find the VM you want to restore. Alternatively, select Latest Recovery Point. Click Next.

  1. In the Recovery Points pane, select the recovery point to restore. You can select the Latest Recovery Point or either one of the other recovery points in the list. The available recovery points can be sorted by Backup Date/Time, Job Name, or Secondary Node. Click Next.

  1. In the Options pane, specify the Job Name. The name may be up to 64 characters long and may only contain letters, digits and - _ characters.

  2. Specify job options using toggles. See below.

Basic Job Options

Power on the virtual machine after restoring

Toggle on

The newly restored virtual machine will be powered on when restore is completed.

Toggle off

The VM will be restored in the powered-off state.

Delete the source virtual machine if it exists

Toggle on

Upon restore completion, DPX will attempt to delete the source virtual machine (if it exists and if DPX still has access to it).

Toggle off

The source VM will remain unchanged in its location. Note. If no alternate location was chosen for the restored VM, both VMs will exist simultaneously in the same location. The old machine will not be overwritten by the restore job.

Delete the restore job on successful completion

Toggle on

The restore job defined in this process will be deleted upon successful completion. If the job fails, it will not be deleted.

Toggle off

The restore job will be saved and will be accessible later in Job Manager.

Job e-mail notification

Toggle on

The notification is sent as specified below the toggle (additional fields will appear – see below).

Toggle off

The notification is sent to the default e-mail address configured in the Administrator E-mail Settings section.

E-mail Notification Fields

Subject

The subject of your message. The subject line usually contains a combination of straight text and variable elements. Variables, which must begin with %, are replaced with actual corresponding values. If you enclose variables in double quotation marks, those variables are treated as literal values. You can embed the following variables:

  • %JOBNAME

  • %JOBID

  • %JOBTYPE

  • %RC

Use %RC to include the return code in the message for this run of the job, when applicable.

To

The email address of the primary recipient of your message. Only one “To” address is permitted.

Cc

Carbon Copy. The email address(es) of the secondary recipient(s) of your message. Use a semicolon to delimit multiple email addresses.

Bcc

Blind Carbon Copy. The email address(es) of the secondary recipient(s) not identified to other recipients. Use a semi-colon to delimit multiple email addresses.

Note. Note that the following characters are invalid in all fields: < > ; and '.

Note. DPX emailing must be enabled when you first configure your Enterprise. At that time, you supply general system information, including SMTP Host Name and SMTP Port. See the Administrator E-mail Settings section.

  1. Optionally, you can specify other job options (see below). If you wish to continue with default options, click Save.

Custom VM Restore options

You can create the VM in a location that is different from the location in which the source virtual machine exists. Select the Enterprise, VMware node, VMware ESXi host, VMware vCenter, and VMware folders in the navigation pane, and select the virtual machine. Review or change the Virtual Resources items (see below).

Target Host

  • Select the Node Name from the drop-down list.

  • Select a Host available within the Node from the drop-down list.

DPX will attempt connecting to the vCenter under the node name specified. Selections available in the following sections are imported from the vCenter.

Target Resources

  • Select Resource Pool or VApp.

  • Select the network you want to locate the new VM in.

  • Select the iSCSI Adapter.

  • Select the VM Folder the new VM will be restored to.

Schedule

Schedule the restore job. The time field is using your browser’s time zone. For example, if you have DPX in London and access the DPX web interface from New York, specify the time in US Eastern Time.

Important. When specifying a schedule, make sure the Delete the restore job on successful completion toggle is switched off. Otherwise, the job will be deleted upon its first successful completion.

Also please note that in the current version of DPX, restore jobs cannot be edited. This also includes job scheduling.

  1. Click Save. A Run Job prompt will be shown.

  1. Click Yes to run the job immediately or No if you want to run it later from the Job Manager. After a successful job run, the restored virtual machine will be visible in the vCenter:

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