Restoring Full Virtual Machines to vCloud

If you have configured vCloud credentials on the VMware instance properties, you can back up and restore virtual machines in the vCloud. Virtual machines can be restored in place (to the same location in the vCloud datacenter where the VM resided at the time of the backup) or out of place with the following options:

• New VM name

• To the same vApp or a different vApp

• To the same organization virtual data center (vDC) or to a different organization vDC for the same organization

In most cases, you should only restore a virtual machine to its original location (an in-place restore) if the original VM is unusable or if you want to revert a VM to its state at an earlier point in time.

You can also restore the vApp configuration of the source VM, including the network configuration, lease configuration, and VM startup order.

You cannot restore to a vDC for a different organization.

If the network name for the original VM is available in the destination vApp, the virtual machine NIC is connected to that network in vCloud; otherwise the restored VM will not have network connectivity.

If you enter a name for a destination vApp that does not exist in the vCloud, the vApp is created in the same vDC as the original VM; since the new vApp does not have any network associations, the restored VM will not have network connectivity.

To display vCloud restore options, the vCloud host name and user credentials must be configured on the virtual server instance as described in Configuring a VMware Instance for vCloud Backup.

Procedure

Follow the steps given below to restore a full virtual machine:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > VMware.

2. Right-click the backup set that contains the data to restore and select All Tasks > Browse and Restore.

   In the Browse and Restore Options dialog box, Full Virtual Machine is selected by default.

3. Click View Content.

   A Client tab shows the contents of the most recent backup for the backup set.

4. Select one or more virtual machines in the left pane.

   The configuration and VMDK files for the selected virtual machines are displayed in the right pane.

5. Click Recover All Selected at the bottom of the window.

   The Restore VM wizard launches and displays the Destination page.

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

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

   • In Place: To restore a virtual machine out of place. clear this check box.

   • vCenter Client: To restore to a different vCenter, select the destination vCenter from the vCenter Client list.

     You can also select Add vCenter from the drop-down list, and then enter the name of the destination vCenter and provide user credentials.

   • vCloud: This option only appears if vCloud credentials were configured on the VMware instance.

     Click Change to specify a different vCloud host and provide user credentials.

   • Proxy Client: To use a different proxy for the restore, select the proxy from this list.

     You can choose a different proxy in the following scenarios:

     • The proxy used for the backup is no longer available.

     • Using the proxy on the destination host for the restore is faster.

     • If you are using a specific transport mode such as HotAdd or SAN, you can choose a proxy that facilitates the required transport mode.

       Note

       For restores of virtual machine files or guest files, this client is the destination where files are restored. For restores of full VMs or attaching virtual disks to an existing VM, this client manages the restore to the host ESX server.

7. Click Next.

   The wizard displays the Virtual Machines page. The VM and Disks column shows the source virtual machines with disks underneath each virtual machine.

   By default, virtual machines are restored with the same VM name and to the same ESX server, datastore, and resource pool or vApp where the VM was at the time of backup.

   • You can change the name when restoring a VM.

   • You can restore a VM to a different vCenter, ESX server, or ESX cluster to distribute restored virtual machines to locations with greater space and resource availability. This is useful when the virtual machine's original location does not provide optimal space and resources.

   • If a new datastore is selected, the virtual machine is automatically associated to the new datastore selected.

   • You can select a specific resource pool or vApp on the destination host. (vApp is a customized form of resource pool.)

   • You can filter a disk so that it is not restored by selecting Do Not Attach for the row showing the disk under the Datastore column.

   When restoring multiple VMs, you can select rows for multiple VMs, then click the ESX Server or Datastore column to change the ESX host or datastore for all of the selected VMs.

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

   • VM and Disk: Displays the names of source VMs. Expand each virtual machine to view the disks in that virtual machine.

   • Change VM display name to: Enter the new display name for the virtual machine.

     When performing an out-of-place restore from VMware to vCloud, enter a new name for the restored VM instead of appending a string to the VM name.

     The VM name can be changed for an in-place or out-of-place restore.

   • ESX Server: To restore to a different ESX server or cluster, click in the row for the virtual machine, and then click the browse button (...) and select the destination ESX server or cluster for the virtual machine.

     Note

     Ensure that the ESX server supports the hardware version of the virtual machine. If the hardware version of the virtual machine is not supported by the ESX server, the restore job will complete successfully but the virtual machine will be inaccessible.

     You can also select a datastore on the ESX server where you want to restore the disks of the virtual machine.

   • Datastore: To change the datastore for any virtual machine disk, click in the row for the disk, and then select a datastore from the list of available datastores.

     The list displays all datastores available on the specified ESX server.

     To filter a disk so that it is not restored, select Do Not Attach for the row showing the disk under the Datastore column.

   • To enter other options for the restore destination, click Configure in the vCenter Options column for the VM, and provide the following details on the VMware vCloud Director Options dialog box:

     • VM Display Name: Shows the display name for the destination VM.

     • ESX Server: Click ... to select a new destination ESX server or cluster.

     • Datastore: Select a datastore to be used for virtual disks.

     • Organization: Enter the name of the organization.

     • Org vDC: Click ... to select the organization vDC to be used for the restored VM.

     • vApp Name: Select or type the name of the vApp to which the VM should be restored. If you type a name and the specified vApp does not exist, one will be created using the name you enter.

     • vApp Owner: Select or type the name of the user who owns the destination vApp.

     • Network Adapter Configuration: Select or type the names of network adapters to be used for the restored VM. To restore without network connectivity, you can leave the Network Adapter boxes blank.

     • Click OK to save the options.

9. Click Next.

   The wizard displays the Restore Options page.

10. Optional: Select restore options:

    • Power ON Virtual Machine after Restore: Select this check box to start the virtual machine automatically after the restore is complete.

    • Unconditionally Overwrite VM with the same name: If a virtual machine with the same name exists on the destination, select this check box.

      This option can be used to restore one or more virtual machines to their states at the time of the backup.

      If this option is used when restoring a virtual machine that has independent disks, the independent disks and their VMDKs are removed from the datastore and are not restored.

      When this option is selected and the restore does not use Changed Block Tracking, the original VM is deleted and a new VM is created from the backup. Any configuration settings for the original VM, such as OpenStack settings, are not retained.

    • Restore vApp Configuration: Restore the vApp network configuration, lease configuration, and virtual machine startup order of the source VM to the new vApp.

    • Disk Provisioning: Use the default value (Original) to retain the provisioning method used at the time of backup.

      Select a value from the Disk Provisioning drop-down to force a specific disk provisioning method: Thick Lazy Zero, Thick Eager Zero, or Thin.

    • Transport Mode: Use the default value (Auto) to let the Virtual Server Agent determine the most suitable transport mode based on the setup.

      Select a value from the Transport Mode list to force a specific transport method: SAN, HotAdd, NBD, or NBD SSL.

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.