Restoring VMware data
VMware restore jobs support Instant VM Restore and Instant Disk Restore scenarios, which are created automatically based on the selected source.
Before you begin
- Ensure that a VMware backup job was run at least once. For instructions, see Backing up VMware data.
- Ensure that appropriate roles are assigned to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus users so that they can complete backup and restore operations. Grant users access to hypervisors and backup and restore operations through the Accounts pane. For more information, see Managing user access and Managing user accounts.
- Ensure that the destination that you plan to use for the restore job is registered in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. This requirement applies to restore jobs that restore data to original hosts or clusters.
- When restoring a virtual machine by using clone mode and by using the original IP configuration, ensure that credentials are established through the Guest OS Username and Guest OS Password options within the backup job definition.
About this task
If a VMDK is selected for restore operation, IBM Spectrum Protect Plus automatically presents options for an Instant Disk restore job, which provides instant writable access to data and application restore points. An IBM Spectrum Protect Plus snapshot is mapped to a target server where it can be accessed or copied as required.
All other sources are restored through Instant VM restore jobs, which can be run in the following modes:
- Test mode
- Test mode creates temporary virtual machines for development or testing, snapshot verification, and disaster recovery verification on a scheduled, repeatable basis without affecting production environments. Test machines are kept running as long as needed to complete testing and verification and are then cleaned up. Through fenced networking, you can establish a safe environment to test your jobs without interfering with virtual machines used for production. Virtual machines that are created in test mode are also given unique names and identifiers to avoid conflicts within your production environment. For instructions for creating a fenced network, see Creating a fenced network through a VMware restore job.
- Clone mode
- Clone mode creates copies of virtual machines for use cases that require permanent or long-running copies for data mining or duplication of a test environment in a fenced network. Virtual machines created in clone mode are also given unique names and identifiers to avoid conflicts within your production environment. With clone mode, you must be sensitive to resource consumption because clone mode creates permanent or long-term virtual machines.
- Production mode
- Production mode enables disaster recovery at the local site from primary storage or a remote disaster recovery site, replacing original machine images with recovery images. All configurations are carried over as part of the recovery, including names and identifiers, and all copy data jobs associated with the virtual machine continue to run.
The size of a virtual machine that is restored from a vSnap copy to an IBM Spectrum Protect restore point will be equal to the thick provisioned size of the virtual machine, regardless of source provisioning due to the use of NFS datastores during the copy operation. The full size of the data must be transferred even if it is unallocated in the source virtual machine.
When you restore VMware data from an IBM Spectrum Protect archive, files initially will be migrated from tape to a staging pool. Depending on the size of the restore operation, this process could take several hours.
Procedure
To define a VMware restore job, complete the following steps:
What to do next
- Cleanup
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Destroys the virtual machine and cleans up all associated resources. Because this is a temporary virtual machine to be used for testing, all data is lost when the virtual machine is destroyed.
- Move to Production (vMotion)
- Migrates the virtual machine through vMotion to the datastore and the virtual Network defined as the production network.
- Clone (vMotion)
- Migrates the virtual machine through vMotion to the datastore and virtual Network defined as the test network.