Topics | How To | Full System Restore | Related Topics
Backup Options for Each Restore Level
VMware vSphere VADP Environments
VMware Permission Requirements
Restore Considerations for This Agent
Registry Keys for Virtual Server iDataAgent Restores
The following page describes the agent-specific restore options. Additional restore options are accessible from the Related Topics menu.
The Virtual Server iDataAgent provides three restore levels:
The following sections describe each restore level in detail.
| To utilize the options described in the following sections, the Browse and Restore operation must be performed at the backup set level. |
When a virtual server disk is restored, it may either be restored and left unmounted or restored and mounted as an entire virtual machine. If restored and left unmounted, restore time and resources are enhanced with the added benefit of saving disk space on the source computer. If restored and mounted as a virtual machine, the entire virtual machine will be ready for use in the exact image of its last backup.
For VMware, the Container File is the equivalent of the VMware VCB Full Image. As such, the vmware-mount.exe utility can be used to mount the restored container file as a fully functional volume on the destination computer. Once mounted, data can be extracted directly from volume as needed.
For added flexibility, virtual machines can be restored to any datastore on the ESX Server using the credentials of either the desired ESX Server or the Virtual Center itself. The Browse Virtual Center/ESX Servers for destination option in the Restore Options dialog box provides the facility to select the desired location to which the virtual machine will be restored. These options provide the flexibility to distribute restore virtual machines to a location with greater space and resource availability should the virtual machine's original location prove not optimal. Additionally, the virtual machine can be powered on automatically once the restore operation has completed.
The Virtual Server iDataAgent can be used to restore data in vSphere VADP and combined VCB/vSphere VADP environments provided several requirements are met. See Data Protection and Recovery with VCB and vSphere VADP for complete details on these configurations and their requirements.
See Restore Virtual Server Disks as Virtual Machines for step-by-step instructions.
Volume-level restores are supported only for VMware volume backups.
Volumes can be restored in one of three formats, all of which are available in the Restore Options dialog box:
See the following for step-by-step instructions:
File-level restores from VMware backups are supported for disk, volume, and file-level backups. For disk and volume-level backups, the Collect Metadata option must have been selected in the Backup Options dialog box prior to the backup operation. File-level restores from Microsoft Virtual Server/Hyper-V backups are supported for disk-level backups providing the Collect Metadata option was selected in the Backup Options dialog box prior to the backup operation.
File-level restores follow the same restore methods used by a conventional File System iDataAgent. See Restore Backup Data for more information.
Support for each restore level depends on the backup level used during the initial backup operation. The following table illustrates the restore options available for each backup level:
Backup Level |
Restore Level |
Notes |
| VMware Virtual Servers | ||
|
Disk-Level |
Disk-Level (as virtual machine) Disk Level (as container file) |
|
|
Disk-Level with Metadata Collection |
Disk-Level (as virtual machine) Disk-Level (as container file) File-Level |
File-level recoveries supported only on Windows-based VMware virtual servers formatted with the NTFS file system. |
|
Volume-Level |
Volume-Level (as physical volume) Volume-Level (as container file) |
Supported only with volumes formatted with the NTFS file system. |
|
Volume-Level with Metadata Collection |
Volume-Level (as physical volume) Volume-Level (as container file) File-Level |
Supported only on Windows-based VMware virtual servers formatted with the NTFS file system. |
|
File-Level |
File-Level |
Supported only on Windows-based VMware virtual servers. |
| Microsoft Windows Virtual Servers/Hyper-V | ||
|
Disk-Level |
Disk-Level (as virtual machine) Disk-Level (as container file) |
|
|
Disk-Level with Metadata Collection |
Disk-Level (as virtual machine) Disk-Level (as container file) File-Level |
File-level recoveries from disk-level backups supported only on Windows-based virtual servers formatted with the NTFS file system. |
|
Volume-Level (Not supported) |
||
|
File-Level (Not supported) |
|
|
VMware vSphere VADP environments are supported with the VStorageEnable registry key, as well as additional support requirements. Refer to Data Protection and Recovery with VCB and vSphere VADP for complete information on protecting data in vSphere VADP environments.
Prior to performing any backup or restore operations, several port requirements must be met. These requirements are as follows:
Users performing backup and restore operations must have credentials with sufficient permissions granted on the Virtual Center or ESX Server. These permissions are outlined in the following table:
Privilege Category |
Privilege Sub-category |
Privilege |
| Global | Cancel Task | |
| Virtual Machine | Inventory |
Create Remove |
| Configuration | Power On | |
| State |
Create Snapshot Remove Snapshot |
|
| Provisioning |
Customize Allow Disk Access Allow Read-Only Disk Access Allow Virtual Machine Download Allow Virtual Machine Files Upload |
|
| Resource | Assign Virtual Machine to Resource Pool | |
| Datastore | ||
For VCB environments, the VCB Role is sufficient for both backup and restore operations.
For vSphere VADP environments, the VCB Role can be used for backups, but require the following additional privileges for restore operations:
In both VCB and vSphere VADP environments, user-defined roles can be created provided the above-mentioned privileges are included in those roles.
Before performing any restore procedures for this agent, review the following information:
For container, volume, and file-level restores from disk and volume-level backups using any Unix (AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris) MediaAgent, perform the following steps:
The following sections enumerates the types of restore destinations that are supported by the Virtual Server iDataAgent. See Restore/Recover/Retrieve Destinations - Support for a list of Agents supporting each restore destination type.
When restoring disk-level backups as virtual machines, the Virtual Server iDataAgent provides the facility to restore the virtual machine to the same path/destination on the client computer from which the virtual machine originated; this is referred to as an in-place restore.
Additionally, file-level restores may be performed with this method. To accomplish this, only the Virtual Server iDataAgent is required. See Restore Files In-Place to a Virtual Machine for step-by-step instructions.
All restore levels provide the facility to restore data to a different directory on the client computer from which the data originated; this is referred to as an out-of-place restore to a different path/destination. You can also restore data to a different client computer in the CommCell using the same path/destination. This can include restoring either individual files, volumes, or entire virtual machines (VMware only) to another computer.
Keep in mind the following considerations when performing out-of-place restores: