Restore to New VMware Guest

If you run a restore of a VM backup using the where=/ restore option and select all files under the VM’s directory, the vSphere Plugin will create a new VM with the same attributes (disks, controller, CPU type, …) on your ESXi host and restore the disks to this new VM. If you do not specify a new name for the restored VM, then the new VM’s name will be the original VM’s name with the restore job’s jobid appended like: originalName-123.

* lsmark
/@vsphere/3/vsphere_generation.profile
/@vsphere/3/3.ovf
/@vsphere/3/1.bvmdk
/@vsphere/3/2.bvmdk

The SAN advanced transport mode is currently unsupported for restore. The vSphere Plugin will use NBD for VM restores.

The ESXi host and the datastore that will be used to restore your guest VM will be detected automatically. However, you can change the default destination by modifying the plugin restore options in the bconsole menu:

Run Restore job
JobName:         RestoreFiles
Bootstrap:       /tmp/regress/working/127.0.0.1-dir.restore.1.bsr
Where:           /tmp/regress/tmp/bacula-restores
...
Plugin Options:  *None*
OK to run? (yes/mod/no): mod
Parameters to modify:
     1: Level
...
    13: Plugin Options
Select parameter to modify (1-13): 13
Automatically selected : vsphere: host=squeeze2
Plugin Restore Options
datastore:              *None*
restore_host:           *None*
new_hostname:           *None*
vsphere_server:         *None*
datastore_allow_overprovisioning: *None*               (yes)
datastore_minimum_space:    *None*
override_vm:            *None*              (no)
power_on:               *None*              (no)
Use above plugin configuration? (yes/mod/no): mod
You have the following choices:
     1: datastore (Datastore to use for restore)
     2: restore_host (ESXi host to use for restore)
     3: new_hostname (Restore guest VM to specified name)
     4: vsphere_server (vSphere server defined in vsphere_global.conf to use for restore)
     5: datastore_allow_overprovisioning (Allow over provisioning when creating a new VM)
     6: datastore_minimum_space (Minimum free space to keep in a Datastore (in MB))
     7: override_vm (Restore to original VM, overriding it's disks (new_hostname value will be ignored))
     8: power_on (Power on VM after restoration)
Select parameter to modify (1-6): 3
Please enter a value for new_hostname: test
Plugin Restore Options
datastore:           *None*
restore_host:        *None*
new_hostname:        test
vsphere_server:      *None*
datastore_allow_overprovisioning: *None*               (yes)
datastore_minimum_space: *None*
override_vm:         *None*              (no)
power_on:            *None*              (no)
Use above plugin configuration? (yes/mod/no): yes

The restore options may also be modified with using the BWeb restore interface.

Choose datastore, ESXi or new VM name at restore time

Supported restore options are listed and detailed below:

Option	Required	Default	Info	Example
datastore	No		Datastore to use for restore	myDatastore
restore_host	No		ESX host to use for restore	host.mydc.com
new_hostname	No		Name to apply to the new restored host (VM)	myVMRestored1
vsphere_server	No		vSphere server defined in vsphere_global.conf to use for restore	host3
datastore_allow_overprovisioning	No	yes	Allow over provisioning when creating a new VM	no
datastore_minimum_space	No		Minimum free space to keep in a Datastore (in MB)	430899200
thin_provisioned	No	yes	Create thin provisioned disks	no
override_vm	No	no	Restore to original VM, overriding it’s disks (new_hostname value will be ignored)	yes
power_on	No	no	Power on VM after restoration	yes
no_vmdk	No	no	Restore except vmdk contents	yes
force_san	No	no	Force the use of the SAN transfer	yes
no_network	No	no	Do not activate the network	yes
new_network	No		Name or Moref of a new network resource to apply, overriding the original one, during the restore.	network-7583
new_network_device_name	No		Name of the original network resource that will be overridden (by the new_network defined value), during the restore. If not specified, all original network resources will be overridden.	vlan-1

Note

You need to have at least one VM configured on your ESXi server to restore a VM from Bacula automatically. We plan to remove this limitation in a future version.

The vSphere Plugin can check the space available in the datastore during restore. It is possible to disallow Over Provisioning and reserve a minimum amount of space in the datastore. These two options can be set in the vsphere_global.conf file but can be overwritten from the restore menu.

Click here to see all available directives for the vsphere_global.conf file.

[vsphere]
    username = root
    password = xxxx
    server = 192.168.0.68
    url = https://192.168.0.68/sdk
    thumbprint = 34:F5:0F:10:82:59:EF:2D:DB:96:CC:5B:C4:66:33:83:DC:91:AF:01

    datastore_minimum_space = 64MB
    datastore_refresh_interval = 10
    datastore_allow_overprovisioning = false

Additional Information

Starting with Bacula Enterprise 12.2, the vSphere Plugin includes the vApp options in the OVF description of the virtual machine.

Starting with Bacula Enterprise 12.3, the vSphere Plugin can power on the virtual machine after a successful restore. Just select the option power_on in the bconsole plugin restore options.