How restore operations are performed
For VMFS environments, the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere uses clone and mount operations with Storage VMotion to perform restore operations. For NFS environments, the plug-in uses native ONTAP Single File SnapRestore (SFSR) to provide greater efficiency for most restore operations. For vVol VMs, the plug-in uses ONTAP Single File Snapshot Restore (ONTAP SFSR) and SnapMirror Restore for restore operations. The following table lists how restore operations are performed.
Restore operations | From | Performed using |
---|---|---|
VMs and VMDKs |
Primary backups |
NFS environments: ONTAP Single File SnapRestore |
VMs and VMDKs |
Secondary backups |
NFS environments: ONTAP Single File SnapRestore |
Deleted VMs and VMDKs |
Primary backups |
NFS environments: ONTAP Single File SnapRestore |
Deleted VMs and VMDKs |
Secondary backups |
NFS environments: Clone and mount with Storage VMotion |
VMs and VMDKs |
VM-consistent primary backups |
NFS environments: ONTAP Single File SnapRestore |
VMs and VMDKs |
VM-consistent secondary backups |
NFS environments: Clone and mount with Storage VMotion |
vVol VMs |
Crash-consistent primary backups |
ONTAP Single File SnapRestore for all protocols |
vVol VMs |
Crash-consistent secondary backups |
ONTAP SnapMirror Restore for all protocols |
FlexGroup VMs |
Primary backups |
NFS environments: VMFS environments: Not supported for FlexGroups |
FlexGroup VMs |
Secondary backups |
NFS environments:
VMFS environments: Not supported for FlexGroups |
You cannot restore a vVol VM after a vVol container rebalance. |
Guest file restore operations are performed using clone and mount operations (not Storage VMotion) in both NFS and VMFS environments.
During a restore operation, you might encounter the error Host unresolved volumes is null or Exception while calling pre-restore on SCV….Error mounting cloned LUN as datastore… This occurs when the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere attempts to resignature the clone. Due to VMware restrictions, the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere cannot control the automatic resignature value in advanced ESXi host configurations.For NVMe over TCP and NVMe over FC storage, SCV cannot add controllers dynamically when a new subsystem is added. You should make the necessary mapping before the mount operation. |
Refer to KB article: SCV clone or restores fail with error 'Host Unresolved volumes is null for more information about the error.