vRanger 7.8 - User Guide

The vRanger restore process

Restore

vRanger offers three main options for restoring from backup: restoring the full server from a repository, restoring a file or files from a repository, or restoring the server or file from a manifest. For more information, see the following topics:

•	Full restore

•	Restoring a file

•	Restoring from a manifest file

If you are restoring a VMware® VM, be aware of the following regarding the destination that you target for a restore:

•

You can change the storage-destination settings. Although vRanger uses the defaults from the original configuration, you change the host and storage targets. For example, you can restore a backup from a non-VVol datastore to a VVol datastore. In another example, you can restore a backup from a datastore that is governed by one storage policy to a datastore that is governed by a different policy, or no policy.

•	You can select different storage for the target of the primary VM file versus the disks.

•	If the target uses DRS, you must select the DRS, which governs which datastore in the cluster is used at restore time; you cannot select a specific datastore.

•	If your environment uses storage policies, datastores are listed under the applicable policy. Any datastores not associated with a storage policy are listed separately.

Full restore

Using vRanger, recovery of an entire virtual machine (VM) — or resource pool, VMware vSphere® vApp(s)™, and so on — is a simple process. A full restore returns the protected objects to the state as of the point in time at which the backup was performed. If the savepoint is for a differential backup, the restore process first restores the matched full backup, and then merges the data from the selected differential archive. For incremental savepoints, the full backup is restored along with each incremental archive taken between the full and the selected savepoint.

When restoring a parent object, such as a vApp, vRanger restores the VM data and the parent object’s metadata, allowing you to restore the entire object state and settings and the actual VM data.

During the normal restore process, information is pulled from the vRanger database to complete the restore job. If the vRanger server is lost, and the database cannot be recovered or is otherwise unavailable, you can reinstall a fresh version of vRanger and import the repository to regain access to your backups.

Restoring an encrypted VMware VM

vRanger leverages vSphere Virtual Machine Encryption to protect and restore encrypted VMs. When an encrypted virtual machine is restored, it will be restored in an unencrypted format. You must apply the encryption policy to re-encrypt the VM. If, when restoring an encrypted VM, you are overwriting an existing VM, then the machine will remain encrypted.

Restoring a physical server

vRanger restores physical savepoints to physical target servers using the vRanger Restore image — by using a CD or USB drive. This restore image provides a temporary boot environment into which the vRanger tools are loaded and run. After the restore is complete, the server can be rebooted into the restored operating system.

After the target server is configured, the process of restoring a physical savepoint is similar to restoring a VM. A full restore returns the server or servers to the state as of the point in time at which the backup was performed. If the savepoint is for a differential backup, the restore process first restores the matched full backup, and then merges the data from the selected differential archive. For incremental savepoints, the full backup is restored along with each incremental archive taken between the full and the selected savepoint.

 

IMPORTANT: When restoring to a physical server, ensure that you are restoring to hardware supported by the operating system and drivers in the savepoint being restored. Restoring a backup to dissimilar hardware might prevent the restored server from functioning.

For the procedures on restoring a physical savepoint, see Performing a full restore of a physical machine.

Restoring a file

Unlike traditional backup solutions that require file-level agents, vRanger can recover a file or files directly from the image-level backup, without mounting the image. Incremental backups are combined with the parent full image as needed.

One of the key problems with file-level restore (FLR) is finding the appropriate files. vRanger includes a cataloging feature that indexes backups of Windows® servers, and records the metadata to enable faster searching. For more information, see Performing an FLR using Catalog Search.

Restoring from a manifest file

Each savepoint contains a manifest file that can be used to restore the savepoint without access to the vRanger database. In addition, the Restore from Manifest function can be used to recover savepoints that are not part of a repository — those savepoints that have been recovered from tape, for example.

The Restore from Manifest function can be used for full restores of VMs and physical servers, and FLR. To restore a savepoint using the manifest file, see Restoring from manifest.