PowerProtect Data Manager 19.11 Virtual Machine User Guide

Restoring a virtual machine or VMDK

After virtual assets are backed up as part of a virtual machine protection policy in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI, you can perform image-level and file-level recoveries from individual or multiple virtual machine backups, and also restore individual virtual machine disks (VMDKs) to their original location.

PowerProtect Data Manager supports multiple data movers for restoring virtual machines, depending on the restore type and the vSphere capabilities. Restores are performed using one of the following data movers:

• Transparent Snapshot Data Mover—Starting in PowerProtect Data Manager version 19.9, Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) is the default protection mechanism that is used for crash-consistent virtual machine policies when vCenter and ESXi version 7.0 U3c or later is deployed in the environment. Review the section Prerequisites to restore a virtual machine for specific restore type requirements for TSDM.
• VADP—VMware vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) is the protection mechanism that is used for application aware virtual machine policies and crash-consistent policies that do not meet the TSDM software requirements. VADP is the only protection mechanism available in PowerProtect Data Manager versions 19.8 and earlier.
• Storage vMotion from protection storage to primary storage.

All types of recoveries are performed from the Restore > Assets window. Recovery options include the following:

• Restore to Original VM: Restore the virtual machine to its original location on the vCenter server, along with (optionally) the virtual machine configuration that existed at the time of the backup.
• Restore Individual Virtual Disks: Restore select virtual disks to their original location on the vCenter server.
• Create and Restore to New VM: Create a new virtual machine using a copy of the original virtual machine backup, and restore this backup to the new virtual machine.
• Instant Access VM: Instant access to the virtual machine backup for browse and restore.
• File Level Restore: Restore individual files/folders the original or a new virtual machine
• Direct Restore to ESXi: Recover the virtual machine directly to an ESXi host without a vCenter server.

The Restore button, which launches the Restore wizard, is disabled until you select one or more virtual assets in the Restore > Assets window. Selecting multiple assets disables the View Copies button, since this functionality is available within the first page of the Restore wizard.

To access the Restore and Overwrite Original VM, Create and Restore to New VM, and Instant Access VM recovery types, or the Restore Individual Virtual Disks option, select one or more virtual assets and then click Restore to launch the Restore wizard.

To access the File Level Restore and Direct Restore to ESXi recovery options, select a virtual asset and then click View Copies.

In both instances, you must select a backup copy in the first page of the Restore wizard before you can go to the Options page, which displays the available recovery options.

The following sections describe each recovery option and provide instructions to perform the recovery.