VM templates and vApps in a vSphere environment

Data Protection for VMware supports backing up and restoring VM templates and vApps.

A VM template is a master image of a VM. The template can include an installed guest operating system and a set of applications.

VM templates can be restored to the original VM template, or to an alternative VM template and data store location. Because Data Protection for VMware marks the VM template as one unit, a single file restore of a VM template is not feasible. A single virtual disk cannot be restored, nor can a single virtual disk backup be attached on an ESX host to a target VM.

VMs that are contained in a vApp can be backed up and restored. A vApp is a logical entity that consists of one or more VMs. By using a vApp, you can specify and include all components of a multitier application. A vApp also includes the operational policies and associated service levels of the application contained in the vApp.

The VMs in the vApp are identified in the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI as VMs. While you select the VM to back up, you cannot select a vApp. When you restore the VM, the VM is added to one of the following locations:
  • If the vApp is present with the original full inventory path, the VM is restored to that location.
  • When the original full inventory path is not present or was changed, the VM is restored to the top-level default location on the target ESX host. No containers are created during the restore operation.
When backing up a VM template, and a full backup does not exist for this VM template, the following occurs:
  • If the selected backup type is incremental-forever-incremental, and the VM template contains changes, the backup type changes to incremental-forever-full.
  • If the selected backup type is incremental, and the VM template contains changes, the backup type changes to full.
  • If the selected backup type is full, and the VM template contains changes, the VM template is backed up.
  • If the selected backup type is incremental-forever-full, this type ensures that the VM template is backed up regardless of whether it contains changes.