NetVault Plug-in for VMware 13.1

On the Create Restore Job — Choose Saveset page, the saveset table provides a list of available savesets. The table shows the saveset name (Job Title and Saveset ID), creation date and time, saveset size, and saveset status.

The saveset status is indicated using the following icons.


Icon	Description
	Saveset is online (all segments are online).
	Saveset is partially online (some segments are online).
	Saveset is offline (all segments are offline).

The saveset list is sorted by creation date. You can sort the list by a different column or reverse the sort order by clicking the column heading. The arrowhead next to the column name indicates the sort order.

To filter the saveset list, use the following filter options:

Filter

Description

Client

Displays savesets created for particular clients. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Client box.

In the Choose Client dialog box, select the clients.

To close the dialog box, click OK.

Plugin Type

Displays savesets created using a particular plug-in. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Plugin Type box.

In the list, select the plug-in.

Date

Displays savesets created during a specified period. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Date box.

In the list, select the option that you want to use.

The available options are Last 24 hours, Last Week, Last Month, Last 6 Months, Last Year, and Any.

Job

Displays savesets created for particular jobs. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Job box.

In the Choose Job dialog box, select the jobs.

To close the dialog box, click OK.

Select the saveset that you want to use, and click Next.

When you select a saveset, the following details are displayed in the Saveset Information area: Job ID, job title, tag, server name, client name, plug-in name, saveset date and time, retirement setting, Incremental Backup or not, archive or not, and saveset size.

On the Create Selection Set page, open the applicable container nodes — that is, the vCenter, Datacenter, ESXi Host Cluster, and ESXi Server — to list the virtual machine images stored in the saveset.

Open the image from which you want to restore the files.

Open the Volumes node.

To display the directory tree, open the disk partitions.

Select the files and directories that you want to restore.

Verify that the target you are restoring to has enough space available to accommodate the restored files.

Click

In the Plug‑in for VMware Restore Options dialog box, click the Restore Files tab, and configure the following options:


Option	Description
Files Restore	To perform file-level restores from image-level backups, select this option. NOTE: If you do not select this option and if the target contains insufficient space, the jobs fails.
Target Directory	Type the full path to the directory to which you want to restore the virtual machine disk and configuration files. The target directory must be local to the NetVault Client on which the Plug‑in for VMware is running. Currently, mapped network drives, mounted network shares, and UNC paths are not supported. The plug-in does not verify whether you have specified a local or remote directory. If plug-in cannot access the specified path, the job fails.

To save the settings, click Save, and then click Next.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job.

Assign a descriptive name that lets you easily identify the job for monitoring its progress. A job name can contain alphanumeric and nonalphanumeric characters, but it cannot contain non-Latin characters. There is no length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.

In the Target Client list, verify that the client from which data was backed up is selected.

This client is selected by default. Do not change this setting.

Select or create the Schedule Set, Restore Source Set, and Advanced Options Set.

For more information about these sets, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

To submit the job for scheduling, click Submit.

You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs page. For more information about these functions, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

Restore selection tree icons

Table 10. Restore selection tree icons
Icon	Description
	Virtual machine
	Failed virtual machine (is displayed in a saveset for stopped job)
	Volume
	Partition
	Configuration file
	NVRAM file
	Virtual machine disk file
	Disk extent information file
	Log file
	Catalog file

Recovering a virtual machine using Instant Restore

The ability to instantly restore a virtual machine is only available for backups that were created using continuous data protection (CDP) and a NetVault Core that uses QoreStor 7.1.2 or later for data storage.

To recover a virtual machine using Instant Restore

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job.

On the Create Restore Job — Choose Saveset page, from the saveset table provided select the saveset that contains the CDP backup that you want to restore.

On the Create Select Set page, select the CDP image that you want to restore.


	NOTE: If multiple VMs exist, select only one VM. For a successful restore, do not omit individual disks from the VM.

On the Create Selection Set page, click Edit Plug-in Options.

Plug‑in for VMware Restore Options dialog box, depending on your VMware environment, configure one of the following options:

•

Cluster setup: In a cluster setup managed by a VMware vCenter Server, configure the following options on the Restore virtual machine to vCenter tab.

Option

Description

Recover virtual machine to vCenter

To restore a virtual machine or one or more virtual drives to the same vCenter Server or a different one, select this option.

Options required for Instant Restores to same and alternate vCenter

Use Instant Restore

Under Instant Restore Details, to restore the VM to a temporary datastore before completing a permanent restore, select this option.

Migrate Instant Restore VM

Optionally, if you selected Use Instant Restore, to automatically migrate the restored VM from the temporary datastore to a permanent location, select this option and then enter the path of the Target Datastore.

Remove devices (Network, CD-Rom) of VM

Optionally, to exclude devices such as networks and CD-Roms from the restored VM, select this option.

Options required for Instant Restore to an alternate vCenter

Alternate Resource Pool Path

A resource pool represents the processor and memory resources that are available to an ESXi Server Host or a cluster of hosts. These resources are made available to the individual virtual machines controlled by the host. Resource pools can be configured in terms of absolute minimum and maximum quantities or relative shares. To run a virtual machine, it must be allocated a resource pool.

By default, a virtual machine is allocated to its original resource pool during restore. To allocate a virtual machine to an alternate resource pool, specify the target resource pool in this box. Use the following format to specify the resource pool:

/Pool-A/Pool-B/.../Pool<n>

Here, Pool<n> is the target resource pool, Pool-A is the child of the root resource pool, Pool-B is the child of Pool-A, and so on. This format allows you to specify a resource pool at any arbitrary depth within the hierarchy. To allocate the virtual machine to the root resource pool, type the “/” character.

Note the following:

•

If you do not specify any resource pool, the virtual machine is allocated to its original resource pool (as at the time of backup).

•

If you specify an invalid or inaccessible resource pool, the plug-in follows the path hierarchy backwards to find a valid resource pool. It allocates the virtual machine to the first valid ancestor pool in the path and logs an error message.

Alternate Datastore

A datastore represents a storage location for virtual machine files. It can be a VMFS volume, directory on Network Attached Storage, or local file system path. A datastore is platform- and host-independent.

To change the datastore for a virtual machine, specify the destination datastore name for the virtual machine. You can use this option when the original datastore is unavailable, inaccessible, or cannot hold the virtual machine due to lack of space. Verify that the name is correct and the datastore is accessible to the ESXi Server Host. When you configure an alternate datastore, all virtual drive and configuration files associated with a virtual machine are restored to a single datastore. Verify that the target datastore has sufficient disk space to hold the virtual machine files.

Restore fails if the datastore is invalid or inaccessible or does not have sufficient space to store virtual machine files.

NOTE: Although Instant Restore creates its own NFS datastore on QoreStor, a value for Alternate Datastore is required. For migration, use the same value.

Alternate ESXi Host Address

By default, the plug-in enters the address for the current ESXi host in this field. If you want to restore the virtual machine to a different ESXi host, update the address for the ESXi host in this field. The host can be for the same vCenter Server or a different one.

To Instant Restore to an alternate vCenter, an alternate ESXi host address is required.

Alternate vCenter Address

If you want to restore the virtual machine to a different vCenter, update the address for the vCenter in this field. The host can be for the same vCenter Server or a different one.

To Instant Restore to an alternate vCenter, an alternate vCenter address is required.

Port Number

If you want to use a custom port number, type it here. Otherwise, the plug-in uses 443 as the default port.

User Name

Specify a user account that can be used to log in to the vCenter Server. The user account must have privileges to register or create virtual machines

Password

Type the password for the user account.

•

Standalone ESXi Server setup: In a standalone ESXi Server setup, click the Restore virtual machine to standalone ESXi host tab, and configure the following options.


Option	Description
Alternate Datastore	A datastore represents a storage location for virtual machine files. It can be a VMFS volume, directory on Network Attached Storage, or local file system path. A datastore is platform- and host-independent. To change the datastore for a virtual machine, specify the destination datastore name for the virtual machine. You can use this option when the original datastore is unavailable, inaccessible, or cannot hold the virtual machine due to lack of space. Verify that the name is correct and the datastore is accessible to the ESXi Server Host. When you configure an alternate datastore, all virtual drive and configuration files associated with a virtual machine are restored to a single datastore. Verify that the target datastore has sufficient disk space to hold the virtual machine files. Restore fails if the datastore is invalid or inaccessible or does not have sufficient space to store virtual machine files.
Use Instant Restore	Under Instant Restore Details, to restore the VM to a temporary datastore before completing a permanent restore, select this option.
Remove devices (Network, CD-Rom) of VM	Optionally, to exclude devices such as networks and CD-Roms from the restored VM, select this option.

To save the settings, click OK, and then click Next.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job.

In the Target Client list, verify that the client from which data was backed up is selected.

This client is selected by default. Do not change this setting.

Select or create the Schedule Set, Restore Source Set, and Advanced Options Set.

For more information about these sets, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

To submit the job for scheduling, click Submit.

You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs page. For more information about these functions, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

When the job is complete, the status reads VM is waiting. Ready for abort, which means that the temporary VM is available on the QoreStor repository to view from VMware.

On the Job Status page, after the restore job is finished, complete one of the following options:

•

If you selected Migrate Instant Restore VM, then the restored VM is available on the migration location. NetVault automatically removes the temporary datastore and the restore completes.


	CAUTION: If you abort the Instant Restore job while the migration of the VM is in progress, the temporary datastore and its associated IP addresses remain on the QoreStor server and will need to be manually removed. For more information, see the NetVault QoreStor Administrator’s Guide.

•

If you only selected Use Instant Restore, then complete one of the following options:

•

Optionally, manually migrate the VM using vCenter to your preferred location. After you migrate the VM, NetVault stops the restore job and removes the temporary datastore.

•

Optionally, to stop the restore process and automatically remove the temporary datastore, power off the VM using the VM or vCenter.


	CAUTION: If you delete the VM using vCenter, then NetVault does not remove the temporary datastore and you will need to manually remove it from the QoreStor server.

•

Abort the job without migrating the VM. This option deletes the restored VM from the temporary datastore.

Restoring virtual machine disk and configuration files

The procedure for restoring virtual machine disk and configuration files from an image-level backup includes the steps outlined in the following sections:

•

Restoring data

•

Recovering a virtual machine from the restored files

To restore virtual machine disk and configuration files

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job.

The saveset status is indicated using the following icons.


Icon	Description
	Saveset is online (all segments are online).
	Saveset is partially online (some segments are online).
	Saveset is offline (all segments are offline).

To filter the saveset list, use the following filter options:

Filter

Description

Client

Displays savesets created for particular clients. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Client box.

In the Choose Client dialog box, select the clients.

To close the dialog box, click OK.

Plugin Type

Displays savesets created using a particular plug-in. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Plugin Type box.

In the list, select the plug-in.

Date

Displays savesets created during a specified period. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Date box.

In the list, select the option that you want to use.

The available options are Last 24 hours, Last Week, Last Month, Last 6 Months, Last Year, and Any.

Job

Displays savesets created for particular jobs. The default selection is Any.

To use this filter, click the Job box.

In the Choose Job dialog box, select the jobs.

To close the dialog box, click OK.

Select the saveset that you want to use, and click Next.

On the Create Selection Set page, select the image from which you want to restore the disk and configuration files.

Verify that the target you are restoring to has enough space available to accommodate the restored files.

Click

In the Plug‑in for VMware Restore Options dialog box, click the Restore Files tab, and configure the following options:

Option

Description

Files Restore

To perform file-level restores from image-level backups, select this option.

NOTE: If you do not select this option and if the target contains insufficient space, the jobs fails.

Target Directory

Type the full path to the directory to which you want to restore the virtual machine disk and configuration files. The target directory must be local to the NetVault Client on which the Plug‑in for VMware is running. Currently, mapped network drives, mounted network shares, and UNC paths are not supported.

The plug-in does not verify whether you have specified a local or remote directory. If plug-in cannot access the specified path, the job fails.

Split Restored Virtual Disks

This option can be used when restoring virtual drive files to the local file system. If the check box is selected, the plug-in splits the “.vmdk” file into 2 GiB files. If you clear the check box, the plug-in restores the “.vmdk” file is as a single disk file.

This option is only available to backups created using Plug‑in for VMware 10.0.5 and later. To force this behavior when restoring a backup created using Plug‑in for VMware 10.0.1 or an older version, configure this option in the vmware.cfg file:

Open the vmware.cfg file in any text editor.

You can find this file in <NetVault home>\config on Windows and <NetVault home>/config on Linux.

Add the following lines:

[Custom:RestoreSplitVMDK]

Value=TRUE

Save the file.

The setting for this option in the Plug‑in for VMware Restore Options dialog box overrides the setting in the vmware.cfg file.

To save the settings, click Save, and then click Next.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job.

In the Target Client list, verify that the client from which data was backed up is selected.

This client is selected by default. Do not change this setting.

Select or create the Schedule Set, Restore Source Set, and Advanced Options Set.

For more information about these sets, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

To submit the job for scheduling, click Submit.

You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs page. For more information about these functions, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 13.1 - User Guide

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