PowerProtect Data Manager 19.16 Virtual Machine User Guide

Direct restore to ESXi

If the virtual machine you protected with PowerProtect Data Manager was a vCenter virtual machine, but the virtual machine and vCenter server are now lost or no longer available, direct restore to ESXi enables you to recover the virtual machine directly to an ESXi host without a vCenter server.

1. From the PowerProtect Data Manager UI, select Restore > Assets, and then select the Virtual Machine tab.
   The Restore window displays all of the virtual machines available for restore.
2. Select the checkbox next to the desired virtual machine and click View Copies.
   NOTE:If you cannot locate the virtual machine, you can also use the filter in the Name column to search for the name of the specific virtual machine or click the File Search button to search on specific criteria.
   The Restore > Assets window provides a map view in the left pane and copy details in the right pane.

   When a virtual machine is selected in the map view, the virtual machine name displays in the right pane with the copy locations underneath. When you select a specific location in the left pane to view the copies, for example, on a DD system, the copies on that system display in the right pane.

3. On the Restore > Asset window:
   1. In the left pane, click to the right of the icon for the asset. The table in the right pane lists the backup copies.
   2. Select one of the available copies that display in the table.
   3. Click Direct Restore to ESXi.
   The Direct Restore to ESXi wizard appears.
4. On the Options page:
   1. (Optional) Select Reconnect the virtual machine's NIC when the restore completes, if desired. This option is selected by default.
   2. For low-bandwidth environments, select Enable DDBoost Compression.
      This option reduces network usage by compressing data on the protection storage system before transfer to the VM Direct Engine, which decompresses the data. Compression reduces restore times but increases CPU usage on both systems.
   3. You can select Troubleshooting mode to enable debug logging, and then select the level of logging to use:
      • Info—Includes information such as status changes. This is the default log level for scheduled backups and restores.
      • Debug—Additional information that helps with problem diagnosis.
      • Trace—The most detailed amount of information for complex problem diagnosis.
   4. Click Next.
5. On the ESX Host Credentials page:
   1. In the ESX Host field, type the IP of the ESXi server where you want to restore the virtual machine backup.
   2. Specify the root Username and Password for the ESXi Server.
   3. Click Next.
6. On the Datastore page, select the datastore where you want to restore the virtual machine disks, and then click Next.
   • To restore all of the disks to the same location, keep the Configure per disk slider to the left, and then select the datastore from the Storage list.
   • To restore disks to different locations, move the Configure per disk slider to the right, and then:
     1. For each available disk that you want to recover, select a datastore from the Storage list.
     2. Select the type of provisioning you want to apply to the disk from the Disk Format list.
7. On the Summary page:
   1. Review the information to ensure that the details are correct.
   2. Click Restore.
8. Go to the Jobs window to monitor the restore.
   A restore job appears with a progress bar and start time.