Restoring full VM backups

You can restore a full VMware backup to re-create all of the files for a VMware virtual machine (VM) directly to the VMware server. This method replaces the deprecated method of restoring backups that were created by using the VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) tools. This restore method does not require you to use the VMware converter tool before you restore the backup to the VMware server. You cannot use this restore method to restore individual files from a full VM backup.

Before you begin

This feature is available only if the client operates as a data mover for IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware.

To restore a full VMware backup that was created by using VCB tools in IBM Spectrum Protect Version 6.2.0 or earlier, see the topic "Restoring full VM backups that were created with VMware Consolidated Backup".

Procedure

Depending on the target location for the restore, complete the appropriate step:
- If the restore of the full VM backup is going to overwrite the existing VMware virtual machine, delete the existing virtual machine.
- If you restore the full VM backup to a new virtual machine, you do not need to delete the existing virtual machine. You can delete the existing virtual machine if you prefer, otherwise proceed to the next step.

Query the virtual machine for VMware backups, by completing the following steps:

From the off-host backup server, run the following command:

dsmc q vm *

The command lists the available backups, for example:

 #       Backup Date       Mgmt Class           Type   A/I Virtual Machine
---     -----------       ----------           ----   --- ---------------
  1   12/03/2009 03:05:03   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest1
  2   09/02/2010 10:45:09   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest11
  3   09/02/2010 09:34:40   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest12
  4   09/02/2010 10:10:10   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest13
  5   12/04/2009 20:39:35   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest14
  6   09/02/2010 11:15:18   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest15
  7   09/02/2010 02:52:44   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest16
  8   08/05/2010 04:28:03   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest17
  9   08/05/2010 05:20:27   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest18
 10   08/12/2010 04:06:13   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest19
 11   09/02/2010 00:47:01   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest7
 12   09/02/2010 01:59:02   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest8
 13   09/02/2010 05:20:42   DEFAULT              VSTORFULL  A  vm_guest9
ANS1900I Return code is 0.
ANS1901I Highest return code was 0.

From the results that are returned by the query command, identify a virtual machine to restore.

Restore the full VMware backup, by using the restore vm command. To restore the backup to a virtual machine with a new name, use the -vmname option. For example, in the following command the virtual machine is restored and a new name is specified for the restored virtual machine:
```
dsmc restore vm my_old_vmname -vmname=new_vm_name -datastore=myPath
```
When the restore is complete, the virtual machine is powered off. Start the virtual machine from the VMware vCenter.

What to do next

If you are restoring application protection backups, see Shadow copy considerations for restoring an application protection backup from the data mover.