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Restore specific virtual disks from backups

Contributors netapp-mwallis
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You can restore existing virtual disks (VMDKs), or deleted or detached virtual disks, from either a primary or secondary backups of traditional VMs. This enables you to restore only specific VM data or applications, so that you don't need to restore the entire VM and all of its associated virtual disks in situations where only specific data is affected. After the virtual disk is restored, it is attached to its original VM and is ready to use.

You can restore one or more virtual machine disks (VMDKs) on a VM to the same datastore or to different datastores.

Tip For improved performance of restore operations in NFS environments, enable the VMware application vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI).
Before you begin

  • A backup must exist.

  • The VM must not be in transit.

    The VM that you want to restore must not be in a state of vMotion or Storage vMotion.

About this task

  • If the VMDK is deleted or detached from the VM, then the restore operation attaches the VMDK to the VM.

  • A restore operation might fail if the storage tier of the FabricPool where the VM is located is unavailable.

  • Attach and restore operations connect VMDKs using the default SCSi controller.
    However, when VMDKs that are attached to a VM with a NVMe disk are backed up, the attach and restore operations use NVMe controller if available.

Steps

  1. From the NetApp Backup and Recovery menu, select Restore.

  2. From the drop-down list to the right of the name search field, select VMware.

  3. Enter the name of the resource you want to restore or filter for the vCenter, datacenter, or datastore where the resource that you want to restore is located.

    A list of virtual machines appears that match your search criteria.

  4. Find the VM that you want to restore from in the list, and select the options menu button for that VM.

  5. In the resulting menu, select Restore virtual disks.

    A list of snapshots (restore points) created on that virtual machine appears. By default, the latest snapshots are shown for the time frame that you select in the Time frame dropdown.

    For each snapshot, any illuminated icons in the Location column indicate the storage locations where the snapshot is available (primary, secondary, or object storage).

  6. Enable the radio button for the snapshot you want to restore.

  7. Select Next.

    Snapshot location options appear.

  8. Select the restore destination for the snapshot:

    • Local: Restores the snapshot from the local location.

    • Secondary: Restores the snapshot from a remote storage location.

    • Object store: Restores the snapshot from object storage.

      If you choose secondary storage, select the destination location from the drop-down list.

  9. Select Next.

  10. Choose the destination settings and pre- and post-restore options:

Destination selection
Restore to original location

When restoring to the original location, you cannot change the destination vCenter, ESXi host, datastore, or name of the virtual disk. The original virtual disk is overwritten.

  1. Select the Original location pane.

  2. In the Destination settings section, enable the check box for any virtual disks you want to restore.

  3. Choose from the following options:

    • Pre-restore options section:

      • Prescript: Enable this option to automate additional tasks by running a custom script before the restore operation begins. Enter the full path for the script that should be run and any arguments that the script takes.

    • Post-restore options section:

      • Postscript: Enable this option to automate additional tasks by running a custom script after the restore is complete. Enter the full path for the script that should be run and any arguments that the script takes.

  4. Select Restore.

Restore to alternate location

When restoring to an alternate location, you can change the destination datastore. The virtual disk is attached to the original VM after the restore operation regardless of the datastore you choose.

  1. Select the Alternate location pane.

  2. In the Destination settings section, enable the check box for any virtual disks you want to restore.

  3. For any virtual disks you selected:

    1. Choose Select datastore to choose a different datastore restore target for the virtual disk.

    2. Select Select to confirm your choice and close the selection window.

  4. Choose from the following options:

    • Pre-restore options section:

      • Prescript: Enable this option to automate additional tasks by running a custom script before the restore operation begins. Enter the full path for the script that should be run and any arguments that the script takes.

    • Post-restore options section:

      • Postscript: Enable this option to automate additional tasks by running a custom script after the restore is complete. Enter the full path for the script that should be run and any arguments that the script takes.

  5. Select Restore.