Dell PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance 5.13.0.0 Administrator Guide for DM5500

Restore a service or VMDK

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

PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance supports multiple data movers for restoring services, depending on the restore type and the Hypervisor Platform capabilities. Restores are performed using one of the following data movers:

• Transparent Snapshot Data Mover—Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) is the default protection mechanism that is used for crash-consistent service policies when Hypervisor Manager and Hypervisor version 7.0 U3c or later is deployed in the environment. Review the section Prerequisites to restore a service 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 service policies and crash-consistent policies that do not meet the TSDM software requirements.
• 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 service: Restore the service to its original location on the Hypervisor Manager server, along with (optionally) the service configuration that existed at the time of the backup.
• Restore Individual Virtual Disks: Restore select virtual disks to their original location on the Hypervisor Manager server.
• Create and Restore to New service: Create a service using a copy of the original service backup, and restore this backup to the new service.
• Instant Access service: Instant access to the service backup for browse and restore.
• File Level Restore: Restore individual files/folders the original or a new service.
• Direct Restore to Hypervisor: Recover the service directly to an Hypervisor host without a Hypervisor Manager 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 Hypervisor 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.