> Documentation > Backup and Restore Agents > Virtualization > Virtual Server Agent > Amazon > Restores

Restoring Full Instances

You can restore one or more instances (VMs) at a time. Instances can be restored in place (overwriting the source instances) or out of place (with a different name, or to a different protection domain or container).

For Service Pack 13 and later, when you perform an in-place restore operation using the Unconditionally overwrite Instance with the same name option, the restore operation retains the original UUID for the restored instance instead of recreating the instance from backup data.

You can specify the security group association for an instance as part of the restore.

Notes

  • When restoring to EC2 from a VPC backup, the instance type for the instance that was backed up must be supported in EC2. If the instance type is not available in EC2, the restore fails. For more information, see the section on "Instance Types" in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud User Guide for Linux or Windows instances.

  • If a volume name was not specified for a volume under the source instance, the volume ID for the source volume is displayed in the Instance and Volume column in the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, and the volume ID is used to name the restored volume unless you enter a different value in the Change Instance name to column for the volume.

  • For streaming backups and backup copies, if the VSA proxy used for backups and restores is running on an Amazon instance, the proxy must be available in the same user account as the instance being backed up or restored, or you must configure the AWS account that contains the proxy as an Admin account as described in Using Resources from an Admin Account. This requirement does not apply to IntelliSnap backups.

  • For both in-place and out-of-place restores, the restored instance is assigned a new instance ID that is different from the source instance.

  • AWS tags set by users for an Amazon instance are backed up and restored.

Limitations for Non-Amazon Proxies

If you use a proxy that is not located on an Amazon instance in the region that is being protected, the following limitations exist.

Commvault Considerations and Limitations

  • Differential disks or checkpoints of virtual machines (files with .avhd or .avhdx extensions) will not be uploaded to Amazon.

  • If the VSA proxy used for a restore is an Amazon instance, the proxy and the destination instance for the restore must be in the same zone.

Amazon Considerations and Limitations

The following list identifies issues that are known at the time of writing, and is subject to change. For more information, see VM Import/Export Requirements.

  • Imported virtual machine instances create instances that use hardware virtual machine (HVM) virtualization.

  • When restoring to VPC, the primary network interface must be a new interface that is created for cloud connectivity.

  • Importing virtual machines for paravirtual (PV) instances is not supported; but Linux PVHVM drivers are supported within imported instances.

  • Imported Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) instances must use Cloud Access (BYOL) licenses.

  • VM Import/Export Tools for AWS do not support GPT partitioned root volumes. Convert the virtual machine's root volume to an MBR partition and perform a new backup before converting the virtual machine to Amazon.

  • For virtual machines running Microsoft Windows (32- and 64-bit), the VM Import/Export for AWS supports MBR-partitioned volumes that are formatted using the NTFS file system.

  • For virtual machines running Linux or Unix (64-bit):

    • The VM Import/Export for AWS supports MBR-partitioned volumes that are formatted using ext2, ext3, ext4, Btrfs, JFS, or XFS file systems.

    • Imported Linux instances must use 64-bit images. Importing 32-bit Linux images is not supported.

  • You cannot restore to an Amazon EC2 guest instance that uses a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) host controller. This restriction applies for full instance restores, conversion to an Amazon EC2 instance, and replication to an Amazon EC2 destination instance.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > Amazon > backup_set.

  2. Initiate the restore from a subclient or backup set:

    • From a subclient: Right-click the subclient and select Browse and Restore.

    • From a backup set: Right-click the backup set, point to All Tasks, and click Browse and Restore.

  3. In the Browse and Restore Options dialog box, ensure that Full Virtual Machine is selected and click View Content.

  4. From the list of backed up instances in the Client tab, select one or more instances to be restored and click Recover All Selected.

    The Restore VM wizard launches and displays the Destination page.

  5. Specify the destination and the proxy to be used for the restore.

    By default, instances are restored in place to the original location for the source instances, and the restore is performed using the preferred VSA proxy for the virtualization client.

    • In Place: To restore an instance out of place, clear this check box.

    • Virtualization Client: Displays the virtualization client for the AWS account.

    • Proxy Client: By default, the preferred VSA proxy for the virtualization client is used for the restore.

      If you select a proxy that is outside of Amazon, the restore uploads volume information to S3 and uses the volumes to create the instance.

  6. Click Next.

    The wizard displays the Instances page.

  7. For an out-of-place restore, specify parameters for the restore:

    • Instance and Volume: This column shows the source instances.

      You can expand each instance to view the volumes in the instance.

    • Change Instance display name to: Enter the new display name for the instance.

    • Availability Zone: Select the destination zone.

    • To specify other Amazon Options, click Configure.

      The Amazon Cloud Options dialog box appears.

  8. Provide the following information:

    • VM Display Name - Displays the name of the instance.

    • Availability Zone - Select the destination zone.

    • AMI Selection: (Optional) Select an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that can be used to specify the software configuration for the restored instance. Note that only Private AMIs are listed. If you want to restore using a Marketplace AMI, you will need to know the AMI ID and enter it here.

    • Instance Type: From this list, select an instance type that provides the available CPU cores and memory for the instance.

    • Network Settings: Select an EC2 or a VPC network for the restored instances.

      • Network: If you select an EC2 network, the second Network and Private IP fields are not displayed.

        For a VPC network, select a subnet and network interface for the primary network interface.

      • Private IP: (Applicable only to VPC) If you select a new network interface as a VPC, specify a private IP that corresponds with the VPC.

        If you specify a specific Private IP, we will create and attach the network interface with that IP. If you leave the Private IP field blank, we will create a new network interface that will match with the chosen VPC, and then attach it.

      • Network: (Applicable only to VPC) For a VPC network, select a subnet and network interface for the secondary network.

      • Private IP: (Applicable only to VPC) If you select a new network interface as a VPC, specify a private IP that corresponds with the VPC.

        If you specify a specific Private IP, we will create and attach the network interface with that IP. If you leave the Private IP field blank, we will create a new network interface that will match with the chosen VPC, and then attach it.

      • Security Groups: Select a security group for the specified network.

  9. Click Next.

    The wizard displays the Restore Options page.

  10. Optional: Select restore options:

    • Power ON Instance after Restore: Select this check box to start the instance automatically after the restore is complete.

    • Unconditionally overwrite Instance with the same name: Select this check box to replace an instance with the same name at the specified destination.

  11. Click Next.

    The wizard displays the Job Options page.

  12. Run the job immediately or configure a schedule for the restore.

  13. Click Next.

    The wizard displays a Summary page for the restore.

  14. Click Finish to submit the restore job.

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