PowerEdge: How to backup and restore ESXi configurations

Summary: This article shows how to capture a backup of ESXi configuration and restore it when ESXi must be reinstalled.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

Goal:

Backup and restore ESXi configuration for scenarios where ESXi must be reinstalled. 

Fact:
VMware ESXi

Solution:

  1. To backup ESXi configuration:
    1. Run the following command: vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/backup_config
    2. Export the configuration file by going to the URL in the output. (Replace * in the URL with the IP address.)
      Putty
    3. If unable to download the config file through the browser, it can be found in /scratch/downloads/<<GUID from output in step b>>/configBundle-hostname.local.tgz. Use winscp to transfer the file from ESXi to the local machine or copy to a datastore
  2. Restore configuration back to ESXi host:
    1. Make sure the same build of ESXi from where the backup was taken from, is installed back onto the host.
    2. Copy the backup file back to the ESXi host. Use winscp to copy the config file back to the host /tmp directory.
    3. Rename the file from configBundle-<host name>.tgz to configBundle.tgz.
      Example: 
      cp configBundle-esxi7001.vmlab.local.tgz configBundle.tgz
    4. Put the host into maintenance mode.
    5. Run command: 
      vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/restore_config /backup_location/configBundle.tgz
    6. If there is an error stating UUID mismatch, then add a 1 to force the override of the Universal Unique Identifier (UUID).
      Example: 
      vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/restore_config 1 /tmp/configBundle.tgz

Affected Products

PowerEdge XR2, PowerEdge R470, PowerEdge R540, PowerEdge R550, PowerEdge R640, PowerEdge R6415, PowerEdge R650, PowerEdge R650xs, PowerEdge R6515, PowerEdge R6525, PowerEdge R660, PowerEdge R660xs, PowerEdge R6615, PowerEdge R6625, PowerEdge R670 , PowerEdge R740, PowerEdge R740XD, PowerEdge R740XD2, PowerEdge R7415, PowerEdge R7425, PowerEdge R750, PowerEdge R750XA, PowerEdge R750xs, PowerEdge R7515, PowerEdge R7525, PowerEdge R760, PowerEdge R760XA, PowerEdge R760xd2, PowerEdge R760xs, PowerEdge R7615, PowerEdge R7625, PowerEdge R770, PowerEdge R7715, PowerEdge R7725, PowerEdge R840, PowerEdge R860, PowerEdge R940, PowerEdge R940xa, PowerEdge R960, PowerEdge T350, PowerEdge T360, PowerEdge T430, PowerEdge T440, PowerEdge T550, PowerEdge T560, PowerEdge T630, PowerEdge T640, PowerEdge XR11, PowerEdge XR12, PowerEdge XR4000r, PowerEdge XR4000w, PowerEdge XR4000z, PowerEdge XR4510c, PowerEdge XR4520c, PowerEdge XR5610, PowerEdge XR7620, PowerEdge XR8000r, PowerEdge XR8610t, PowerEdge XR8620t ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000205963
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 11 Mar 2025
Version:  2
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