Restoring data from a VMware backup
You can use several methods for restoring data from backups to a VMware virtual machine. The restore method depends on the type of backup and on the version of Tivoli® Storage Manager client software that you use to run the restore.
- Full VM restore
- Use the restore vm command to restore an entire
virtual machine from a full VM backup. When you restore a full VM
backup, the restored image replaces the virtual machine or a new virtual
machine is created. In a full VM restore, you restore all of the VMware
files and the system state on Windows systems. If you have access to Tivoli Storage Manager recovery agent,
you can restore individual files.
- Depending on the version of Tivoli Storage
Manager that is
running on the VMware client, use the appropriate method to restore
a full VM backup:
- Versions of Tivoli Storage Manager earlier than 6.2.2:
- Restore the full VM backup by using VMware Consolidated Backup.
For more information, see the following topic:
Restoring full VM backups that were created with VMware Consolidated Backup
- Tivoli Storage Manager Version 6.2.2 or later:
- Restore the full VM backup by using the vStorage API. Tivoli Storage Manager V6.2.2 or later can restore full VMware backups that were created with versions of Tivoli Storage Manager earlier than V6.2.2. For more information, see the following topic:
- File-level restore
- Use the restore command to restore individual
files from a file-level VM backup. Use this method when you cannot
practically restore an entire VMware image. The following restrictions
apply to file-level restores:
- You can use the file-level restore method only if a file-level backup of the virtual machine exists.
- You cannot restore an entire virtual machine from file-level backups because the restore command does not re-create Windows system states.
- You cannot use this method to restore individual files from a full VM backup of a virtual machine.
- Depending on the configuration of the virtual machine where you
restore the files, use the appropriate method to restore files from
a file-level backup:
- A Tivoli Storage Manager client is not installed on the VM:
- Restore the files from the vStorage backup server that backed up the virtual machine.
- A Tivoli Storage Manager client is installed on the VM:
- Restore the file from the Tivoli Storage Manager client that is installed on the virtual machine.
- 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. - Scenarios for running full VM instant access and full VM instant restore from the backup-archive client command line
Full VM instant access and full VM instant restore operations require a license for Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments. You can perform either of these operations from the backup-archive client command line. Instant access and instant restore operations and options are supported only for VMware virtual machines that are hosted on VMware ESXi 5.1 servers, or later versions. - Scenario: Restoring file-level VM backups
On Microsoft Windows systems, you can restore specific files from a file-level backup of a VMware virtual machine. A file-level restore is useful for restoring individual files that might be lost or damaged. You cannot use this method to restore files that were part of a full VM backup. Before you can restore files from the off-host backup server onto the VMware virtual machine, the off-host backup server must be configured as a proxy server. - Restoring full VM backups that were created with VMware Consolidated Backup
You can restore a full VMware backup to re-create all of the files for a VMware virtual machine (VM). Complete these steps to restore full VM backups that were created by using VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) running on Tivoli Storage Manager Version 6.2.0 or earlier.