ESXi Continuous Export - Virtual Export (4033302)

Using AppAssure 5 Live Recovery instant recovery technology, you can instantly recover or restore data to your physical machines or to virtual machines from stored recovery points. This article serves as a how-to guide for users performing a continuous ESXi export.

If you have replication set up between two cores (source and target), you can only export data from the target core after the initial replication is complete.

You can choose to perform a one-time or continuous export. Complete the steps in this procedure to perform a continuous export.

AppAssure 5 (5.4.1 and Newer)

To perform a continuous (virtual standby) ESXi export

1. Select the Virtual Standby tab in the AppAssure Core Console
2. Click on + Add to start the Export Wizard
3. Select the Protected Machine you would like to export and select Next.
4. In the Recover to a Virtual Machine section, choose ESX(i) as your target machine.
5. Enter the Host Name and credentials that will allow you to create a VM. Select Next
6. Select the Resource Pool and the desired VM Configuration Location.
7. Edit the VM name if necessary.
8. In the Memory section :
   • Click Use the same amount of RAM as the source machine to identify that the RAM use is identical between the virtual and source machines.
   • Or click Use a specific amount of RAM to specify how much memory the virtual machine should have after the export.
9. Chose the disk provisioning that you desire.
10. The Automatic option for Disk Mapping will let the application choose the datastore where the VMDK(s) will reside. If you wish to place the VMDK(s) on a datastore you choose, select Manual. If you wish to store the VMDK(s) traditionally, select With VM.
11. Click Perform initial ad-hoc export to test the export of the data.
12. Select the VMX version desired. Select Next
13. Select the volumes that you want to recover to Virtual Machine.
    If in the previous step you chose to manually choose the target datastore, you can now select the datastore where you want to place your VMDK(s). Select Next
14. Review your select options by selecting the sections in the Wizard. Once you are satisfied with your selections, click on Finish to start the export and close the wizard.

AppAssure 5 (5.3.7 and Prior)

To perform a continuous (virtual standby) ESXi export

1. In the AppAssure 5 Core Console, click the Machines tab, and then do the following:
   • In the list of protected machines, select the machine or cluster with the recovery point for which you want to export.
   • In the Actions drop-down menu for that machine, click Export, and then select ESXi Export.The Select Export Type dialog box appears.
2. In the Select Export Type dialog box, click Continuous (Virtual Standby). Click Next.
3. The Virtual Standby Recovery Point to VMware vCenter SErver/ESXi dialog box displays.
4. Enter the parameters for accessing the virtual machine as described in the following table.
   
   

   Text Box	Option
   Host name	Enter a name for the host machine.
   Port	Enter the port for the host machine. The default is 443.
   User name	Enter the logon credentials for the host machine.
   Password	Enter the logon credentials for the host machine.

5. Click Connect.
6. In the Options tab, enter the information for the virtual machine as described in the following table.
   
   

   Text Box	Option
   Virtual Machine Name	Enter a name for the virtual machine.
   Memory	Specify the memory usage. You can choose from the following options: Use the same amount of RAM as a source machine Use a specific amount of RAM, and then specify the amount in MB
   ESXi Datacenter	Enter the name for the ESXi datacenter
   ESXi Host	Enter the credentials for the ESXi host.
   Data Store	Enter the details for the data store.
   Resource Pool	Enter a name for the resource pool.

7. In the Volumes tab, select the volumes that will be exported to a VM. Click Perform initial ad-hoc export if you want the first export to run immediately after all settings are saved. If not, the first export will launch after the first transfer.
8. Click Save.