Steps to Create a Virtual Machine (Full and Instant Virtualization)

The steps in this procedure occur in the HTML5-based DPX Management Interface.

1. Log in to the HTML5-based DPX Management Interface. From the navigation pane, go to Job Manager.

2. Click New Restore Job. The New Restore window will open to the Restore Type pane.

3. On the Restore Type pane, select either one of the following items from the Type of Restore:

   • Full VM Restore will recover the virtual machine to the original or an alternate host, physically transferring the data to the restore target.

   • Instant VM Restore will recover the virtual machine to the original or an alternate host using LUN mapping of the backup instance to the host storage.

   Click Next.

4. On the Object To Restore pane, select the object to be restored. The available objects to restore are sorted by Name, Type, associated Job Name, the Backup Date/Time, or by Size. Click Next.

5. On the Recovery Points pane, select the recovery point to restore. You can select the Latest Recovery Point or either one of other recovery points in the list. Click Next.

6. On the Options pane, enter a name of the restore job in the Name. Optionally, you can edit the following options: Change Virtual Machine Properties Virtual Machine Name Virtual Machine Memory (MB) CPU Count Alternate Destination 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:

   • Resource pool or VMware vApp

   • Network

   • iSCSI Adapter

   • VMware folders

   • Target data store

   Enable Network Interface after creating Power On Virtual Machine after creation In addition, you can edit the following Advanced Options: Delete the Virtual Machine if exists on Host Delete Restore Job when completed successfully Job Email Notification You can receive a notification message for the restore job on email. Enter the subject and recipient email addresses in the To, CC, and BCC fields. Schedule Schedule the restore job. The time field is using your browser's time zone. For example, if you have Catalogic DPX in London and access the HTML5-based Management Interface from New York, specify the time in US Eastern Time.

7. Click Next to open the Run Job window. In the job window, you will be prompted to run the restore job or do it later manually.

Virtual Machine Name	Enter the name you want for the new VM. The name must not be one that already exists on the ESX server or vCenter Server. An IP address is a valid machine name. This is the name as displayed on the ESX server or vCenter Server and is not necessarily the same as the host name. Radio buttons control assignment of host name.
Use original host name	Use this option to assign the host name of the source node to the VM. This method is used when the source node is no longer available and you want to replace it transparently, with the same host name.
Use host name	Use this option to create a VM with a host name and IP address different from the host name and IP address of the source node. This method is used when the source node is up and you need to distinguish the new VM from the source node. The host name you enter is limited to 15 characters.
Virtual Machine Memory	Enter the amount of memory in megabytes that must be available on the VM. Different configurations require different minimum memory. The memory of the original machine is a good starting point. The default is 1 gigabyte.
Virtualization Type	Select either Full Virtualization or Instant Virtualization from the menu. For a description of the two types of virtualization, see Restoring VMs.
Instant Virtualization	Instant Virtualization will create a single basic disk for each source volume, with the primary partition aligned at sector 512 (256 KB) for optimal performance. For more detail, see the description of alignment under Full Virtualization.
Full Virtualization	Two radio buttons control partition alignment of VM file systems when Full is chosen. Windows operating systems prior to Vista and 2008 start the primary (file system) partition at sector 63 (31.5 KB). This leads to an unaligned file system partition, which can degrade performance, especially in virtual environments with RAID array storage. Windows Server 2008 or later and Vista create aligned partitions by default and thus are not affected by unalignment issues. (However, note that a Windows 2003 machine upgraded to Windows 2008 or later may retain unalignment.) Alignment is generally preferred for performance reasons, but unalignment may be preferred for disaster recovery reasons, where you want to return to the original physical environment. Alignment options only apply to Windows. For Linux, the VM file system is always aligned and the alignment options do not appear. Warning: DPX does not support Full Virtualization with RRP from Clustered Data ONTAP if the backup source volume was larger than 2 TB. These backups must be restored using Bare Metal Recovery, see Bare Metal Recovery.
VMDK Provisioning	Select either Thick or Thin disk provisioning from the pull-down menu. Thick is the default.

File Alignment Options

Align virtual machine file system

This selection is the default for Windows. Full Virtualization will create a single basic disk for each source volume, with the primary partition aligned at sector 512 (256 KB). If the primary partition of the source machine disk is unaligned it will be aligned on the VM.The aligned partition on the VM will always start at sector 512, irrespective of the alignment on the source machine. Alignment can improve I/O performance, especially for sequential I/O. This behavior also applies to dynamic disks. A single basic disk will be created for each source volume. If you think you may at some point in the future need to return to the original physical environment, do not choose this option. If you do not select this option, a Windows Full Virtualization job proceeds, but it will be a standard Full Virtualization job, not Full Virtualization with RRP. Note. For the Linux systems with volumes less than 2 TB in size, the file system is always aligned and this radio button does not appear.

Retain file system alignment of physical machine

If the primary partition of the physical disk is unaligned the VM will also be unaligned. That is, the VM primary partition will start at sector 63 (31.5 KB). If the primary partition of the physical disk is aligned the VM will retain that alignment. Note. If you select this option, Windows Full Virtualization jobs will proceed but will not utilize RRP to provide rapid availability. For more information about RRP, see Rapid Return to Production (RRP). Although retaining unalignment can degrade performance on the VM, unalignment may be preferred for V2P disaster recovery scenarios. That is, you may want to preserve on the VM the disk layout of the source machine to allow migration back to the configuration of the original source machine. The maximum supported source volume size for Full Virtualization with storage alignment or for Instant Virtualization is the VMware limit of 2 TB minus 16 MB (16 MB is reserved for storage alignment and other metadata). The maximum supported source physical disk for Full Virtualization without storage alignment is the VMware limit of 2 TB.

VM Power On Option

Start VM after it is created

Select the check box if you want the new VM to power on as soon as it is created. Note. While a RRP job or Full with RRP job is in progress, you cannot change the on/off state of the Instant Virtualization VM in vSphere Client. You must wait for the job to complete. For more information about RRP, see Rapid Return to Production (RRP). For details related to RRP and VM power states, see Power State Considerations for RRP.

1. Click Next to open the Host wizard screen.

2. Log in to the ESX server or vCenter Server for the new VM. The following describes fields and appropriate actions:

IP Address / Name	Enter a fully resolvable name or IP address for an ESX server or vCenter Server. Note. For Windows clients, to enable Full with RRP (that is, Full Virtualization with RRP used in the background to quickly create a production machine), you must log on to vCenter, not an ESX server. If you log on to an ESX server, the Full Virtualization job will run, but without RRP in the background. Later in the virtualization wizard, on the Review Selection screen, you can confirm that your virtualization job is Full with RRP.
User Name	Enter the user name for logging into the ESX server or vCenter Server. (Do not confuse this with the user name for logging into DPX.)
Password	Enter the password for logging into the ESX server or vCenter Server. (Do not confuse this with the password for logging into DPX.)

1. Click Next to open the Select Resources wizard screen.

2. DPX discovers resources on the ESX server or vCenter Server. Choose the appropriate resources from the drop down menus in the Select Resources wizard screen. The following describes fields and appropriate actions.

Host	Select from the pull-down menu the ESX server to host the new VM.
Datastore for VM	This field specifies the volume on the host (ESX server) that will contain the files of the new VM, including virtual disks. Select from the pull-down menu the datastore (volume) you want to use. VMFS and NFS/CIFS datastores are supported for all types of virtualization jobs. Setting the option Retain file system alignment of physical machine, on the Virtual Machine Information page of the wizard, forces a Full Virtualization job without RRP.
Resource Pool	This field specifies a resource partition for the VM, including CPU and memory. Select from the pull-down menu the resource pool for the new VM.
Network	This field specifies one of the virtual networks of the specified host to be used by the VM. Select from the pull-down list a network to which the new VM will be connected. Note. In the next wizard screen, you select an IP address for the new VM. That IP address must be in the range set for this network switch (same subnet).
iSCSI Adapter	This field specifies a software or hardware iSCSI storage adapter for the VM. Select an adapter from the pull-down list. The adapters displayed are those present on the host.
VM Folder	This field specifies a folder for the VM, the folders listed are created in the VMs and Templates view in the vCenter Server interface. Select a folder from the pull-down list.

1. Click Next to open the Enter Network Information wizard screen.

2. The Enter Network Information wizard screen establishes the location of the new VM on the network.

Configure Virtual Machine Network	The first field has two choices: • If you select Dynamic (DHCP), IP addresses will be obtained dynamically from a DHCP server. • Static is the default selection for this field. Is you choose Static, you must enter IP addresses in the IP fields in this wizard screen. If you selected Static, enter IP addresses for each of the following items: Virtual Machine IP, Virtual Machine Subnet, Virtual Machine Gateway, Virtual Machine DNS.
Virtual Machine IP	Enter a unique IP address. In the next step you specify a virtualization proxy server. If the IP address of the new VM is on a different subnet from the virtualization proxy server, ensure a DHCP server is reachable; this may require a DHCP relay.
Virtual Machine Subnet	Enter the network mask address of the new VM. This is the subnet for the VM’s network selected in the Network field in the previous wizard screen.
Virtual Machine Gateway	Enter the IP address of the physical machine that connects the local subnet (specified in the Virtual Machine Subnet field directly above) to other subnets.
Virtual Machine DNS	Enter the IP address of a Domain Name Server to be used in the VM network configuration.
Virtual Machine DNS Search Path	Enter the suffix that gets appended to the right of the hostname when doing a DNS search.

Click Next to open the Select Virtualization Options wizard screen.

1. The Select Virtualization Options wizard screen enables you to select a virtualization proxy server to coordinate the virtualization process. After selecting a virtualization proxy server, specify the location of the ISO to use to boot the new VM. You can specify the ISO location either from a populated list or by entering the location on the datastore. If you prefer to enter a location, first click Specify Location, select a datastore from the Datastore list, then enter the full path in the Specify Location field. The following describes fields and appropriate actions:

Virtualization Proxy	Select a virtualization proxy server node from the pull-down menu. The master server is the default. Choosing another server closer on the network to the ESX server can minimize network transmission load. All the listed nodes are client nodes. Only nodes set to be capable of serving as a virtualization proxy server are listed. This setting is done during installation. See Windows Installation on non-SharePoint Nodes in the Reference Guide. For virtualization proxy server considerations, see Virtualization Proxy Server Considerations. If the IP address of the VM is on a different subnet from the virtualization proxy server, ensure a DHCP server is reachable; this may require a DHCP relay.
Datastore	This field lists datastores accessible from the ESX server. Select a datastore. If you want to provide a specific path to the ISO, first click Specify Location, below, then select a datastore.
Select File	If you want to select a datastore from a list, accept Select File, which is selected by default, then select a datastore. If the datastore contains many files other than the ISOs, the file retrieval can take some time. To stop the retrieval, click Cancel Retrieve.
Specify Location	If you want to specify a pathname for the ISO file, select Specify Location, select a datastore, then enter the pathname.

1. Click Review to open the Review Selection wizard screen. The Summary wizard screen displays all your entries for fields in the virtualization wizard screens.If you want to change an entry, click Back, as necessary, to go the appropriate wizard screen, then change the entry, and click Next to continue again to the Summary screen. The Type field, near the top of the screen, will indicate the type of virtualization job (Instant Virtualization, Full Virtualization, or Full with RRP. This allows you to check whether or not RRP will be used for a Full Virtualization job. If you logged on to an ESX server instead of vCenter, a Windows Full Virtualization job will indicate Full, not Full with RRP. In such cases, the job will run but without RRP in the background. (For Linux, a Full Virtualization job is always Full with RRP.)

2. If the displayed values are satisfactory, click Finish. The Save Job dialog box appears.

3. You need to save the virtualization job before running it. Enter values in the Save Job dialog box:

Save Job	Select a job from the pull-down menu if you are redefining an existing virtualization restore job.
Job Name	Use this field to name a job. Generally, you can use up to 14 alphanumeric characters, no spaces, for a job name.
Job Folder Name	Select a job folder from the pull-down list. For more information about job folders, see Configure Job Folders in the Reference Guide.
Comment	You can use this field to enter or change comments.
Delete Job when Done	If checked, your job definition will be deleted once the job completes successfully. It will not be deleted if the job fails. In most cases, you should leave this check box unselected since you will usually want to re-run a job. If you select the check box, the values you entered for it will be lost after the job runs.

1. Click OK.

2. With the virtualization job still open, click either Run or Run and Monitor in the Job Tasks section of the task panel. After the job has successfully completed, the new VM will become available.

3. For Red Hat 7.x only, use Linux network configuration commands (such as ifconfig) to handle the new consistent network device naming convention for Red Hat 7.x. Configure the NIC IP address, subnet mask, and gateway IP address.