You can revert a virtual machine from a snapshot. Reverting is useful when you want to bring data back to the point in time when the snapshot was taken.
The revert operation is faster than a regular restore operation because files are directly copied from the snapshot to their original volumes.
This operation overwrites any modifications to the data since the time when the snapshot was created. This option is available if the storage array that you are using supports revert.
The revert operation for virtual machines is supported on NetApp File Servers, but revert from SnapVault or SnapMirror snapshots are supported only for NetApp cluster mode (ONTAP version 8.3) and OnCommand unified manager (OCUM) version 6.2 or later. Other file servers are not supported. To perform a revert operation, the SnapRestore license is required on the NetApp file server.
Before performing a revert operation, ensure that all disks reside on the NetApp NFS data store. If the data does not reside on the NetApp NFS data store, you cannot perform the revert operation.
Before You Begin
Caution
- Reverting is an irreversible operation. After performing a revert operation, you cannot use the associated storage policy for further auxiliary copy operations.
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On Windows clients, disable automount using the following command:
diskpart> automount disable -
The hardware specific revert operation reverts the volume back to the pre-snap state.
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For NetApp 7-Mode, if the volume being reverted is the source of a vault or of a mirror copy and if the protection topology is Primary-Vault, Primary-Mirror, or Primary-Vault-Mirror, the baseline snapshot on the primary volume will be shifted to the snapshot of the reverted volume. If the protection topology is Primary-Mirror-Vault or Primary-Mirror1-Mirror2, the baseline snapshot for Mirror-Vault and the baseline snapshot for Mirror1-Mirror2 are not shifted, which might lead to auxcopy job failures.
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For NetApp C-Mode, the revert operation does not shift the baseline snapshot. If the revert operation results in the deletion of the baseline snapshot, the revert operation will fail.
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The revert operation might delete some snapshots. To avoid failures, when selecting IntelliSnap jobs for auxcopy or backup copy operations, unpick all IntelliSnap jobs that have deleted snapshots as a result of a revert operation. Running auxcopy or backup copy operations with IntelliSnap jobs from deleted snapshots might produce failures.
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Review the supported configurations for revert operation. For more information, see Revert for Storage Arrays.
Procedure
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From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > virtualization_client > VMware.
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Right-click the backup set and click All Tasks > Browse and Restore.
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Click OK on the Restore Options dialog box.
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Select the virtual machine that you want to revert and click Recover All Selected.
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From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced.
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Select the Use hardware revert capability if available option.
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Click Yes to confirm the revert operation.
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Click the Copy Precedence tab and select the number of the storage policy copy to use for restoring data.
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Click OK from the Advanced Restore Options dialog box.
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Click OK to start the revert operation.
Note
If you are using ONTAP version 8.3 and OCUM 6.2, revert is supported from the secondary snap for restores on NFS volumes.