Instant restore provides a rapid virtual machine recovery. It restores the machine’s configuration files to the VMware datastore, prepares a virtual machine, and mounts the disks to run directly from the backup copy. This allows the Xopero ONE administrator to start using the virtual machine almost immediately, without waiting for the full restore to complete.
Instant restore is not intended for production use and should be used only for disaster recovery. For restoring production data, use the whole VM recovery option.
Open the Storages tab in XMS.
Select the browse button and choose the vault where the virtual machine backup is located.
Select the backup plan and the version of the virtual machine you want to restore.
After choosing the backup plan and VM version, click Restore under the backup copy you wish to recover and select the Instant restore option from the drop-down list.
Specify whether to restore the VM to its original location or a new one:
Original location — the original location option automatically applies all settings from the backup, restoring the virtual machine to the same ESXi/vCenter, datastore, compute resource, and VM folder, with the same virtual network configuration. The only setting you can modify is the VM name.
New location — this option allows you to manually choose the location to which the VM will be restored and adjust additional settings:
Enter the VM's name, and click Next.
Decide whether the restored machine should start automatically and select the port to use.
Double-check your settings and start the restoration process by clicking the Start now button.
The machine will be available on your VMware server. If everything is configured correctly, a new entry will appear in the Tasks tab and will remain active until you stop it.
After you finish working with the machine, you can shut it down by canceling the current instant restore job. To do this, click the X button and confirm that you want to cancel the instant restore task.
VMware environment — this field allows you to select the ESXi host or vCenter where the data will be restored (the list displays only servers that are connected to Xopero ONE).
Compute resource — lets you choose the compute resource infrastructure to process the recovered data.
Datastore — the location where the virtual machine files will be stored. Xopero ONE operates within the selected VMware environment.
VM folder — lets you select the specific directory on the datastore where the VM will be restored.
Virtual network — allows you to select your virtual network resource.
When the backup of a virtual machine is stored in cloud storage, the instant restore feature may work slower because it requires random-access read operations.
This article explains how to configure and run a VMware test restore.
Log in to XMS, go to the Restore tab (Plans > Restore) and click the + Add plan button in the top toolbar.
Define the name of the backup plan, then click Select storage and choose the storage containing the VMware backup.
In the Choose item section, select the resource to restore data from.
Next, choose a backup plan from the list (the system will automatically select the latest backup). Then, select one of the two restore type options:
Whole machine — this option restores the entire machine’s data to VMware from the backup. Selecting this option lets you choose the : Automatic (recommended), HotAdd, or LAN. You can also reduce network bandwidth for the restore operation.
Make sure the selected agent has access to the chosen storage. If it doesn’t, or you need to change it, click the Change button at the bottom.
After selecting the restore type, the restore options aside will appear. You can restore the virtual machine to its original location or connect it to a different one:
Original location — the original location option automatically applies all settings from the backup, restoring the virtual machine to the same ESXi/vCenter, datastore, compute resource, and VM folder, with the same virtual network configuration. The only setting you can modify is the VM name.
New location — this option allows you to manually choose the location to which the VM will be restored and adjust additional settings:
In the verification section, you can define how long the system should wait while restoring and booting the virtual machine (the process of starting the computer and loading the operating system after restoration). You can also enable options to power on the virtual machine, take a screenshot after startup for verification, and delete the machine after a successful restore.
Define when the plan should be executed. You can also exclude specific hours using the backup window and enable the option to not suspend the plan during the restore process.
In Advanced settings, you can configure error handling and set the number of task retries in case of an error.
Save the plan and wait for it to run on schedule, or click Save & run to start it immediately. You can monitor active test restore tasks in the Tasks tab.
You can verify the correctness of the completed test restore task in the Tasks tab.
Click the task details button on the right to view additional information, such as a screenshot of the restored machine.
In addition to the task summary, you can enable email notifications with the recovery task summary. To receive them, go to ⚙ Settings, open Email notifications, and then select the Restore verification summary option.
VMware environment — this field allows you to select the ESXi host or vCenter where the data will be restored (the list displays only servers that are connected to Xopero ONE).
Compute resource — lets you choose the compute resource infrastructure to process the recovered data.
Datastore — the location where the virtual machine files will be stored. Xopero ONE operates within the selected VMware environment.
VM folder — lets you select the specific directory on the datastore where the VM will be restored.
Virtual network — allows you to select your virtual network resource.
This method sends all data to the VMware host, so ensure there is enough space to perform the test restore.
When defining the machine name, make sure it doesn’t duplicate an existing name, or check the Create copy if the machine already exists option.
This article explains one of the VMware restore options: the iSCSI target method.
Xopero ONE offers a granular recovery feature that allows you to restore individual files and folders from a VMware virtual machine backup. This makes the restore process faster and more efficient in many unexpected situations.
Open the VMware tab (Virtual Machines > VMware) in XMS, then click the Manage & Restore button next to the host whose backup you want to restore.
Select the VM you want to restore and click the restore button.
After choosing the backup plan and VM version, click Restore under the backup copy you wish to recover and select the iSCSI target option from the drop-down list.
In the next aside, XMS displays all disks included in your virtual machine backup. You can choose which drives to include in your iSCSI target by clicking the Restore all button or selecting specific disks using the checkboxes and clicking Restore selected.
Next, configure the following settings:
iSCSI worker — allows you to select the device that will host and share the iSCSI target. You can choose any device added to the system that supports iSCSI target creation.
iSCSI settings — allows you to select the network adapter through which the target will be shared, as well as the port to be used — by default, port 3260 (dedicated for iSCSI targets).
Click the Run iSCSI button to start the process. If everything is configured correctly, a new entry will appear in the Tasks tab and will remain active until you stop it.
Once the iSCSI target is running, you only need to access it. To do this, use an iSCSI initiator (on Windows).
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog, then type iscsicpl and press Enter to open the iSCSI Initiator Properties.
Use the Quick Connect option to locate your iSCSI target — enter the address of your iSCSI worker into the Target field and click Quick Connect... button.
At this point, the target is connected to your device. Now, you have to open Disk Management.
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog, then type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter to open the Disk Management tool.
Look for a disk that is marked as Offline ℹ.
The system will display a report of the targets discovered at the specified address and indicate the connection status (whether it was successful or not).
Click the Done button to close the report. The target should now appear in your Discovered Targets list with a connected status.
Right-click the offline disk and select the Online option to bring it online.
Once the disk is online, you will see the drive letters assigned to its partitions. You can now open File Explorer to access your files.
Devices running macOS are not supported for restoring VMware data.
Learn more about the VMware recovery process in Xopero ONE.
Xopero ONE offers several methods to restore virtual machines directly to VMware. Below you will find the available VM recovery methods for VMware environment — choose the option that best fits your needs.
This process involves restoring the machine’s configuration files to the VMware datastore, preparing a virtual machine, and mounting the disks to run directly from the storage. As a result, you can start your virtual machine within just a few minutes.
This method is not intended for production use. It serves as a disaster recovery feature. If you need to restore a virtual machine to VMware after a failure, run both the instant restore and whole VM recovery tasks simultaneously. This way, you can access the virtual machine within minutes using instant restore, and once the whole VM recovery task is completed, you can stop the instant restore process and switch to the fully restored, production-ready virtual machine.
The granular recovery feature allows you to restore individual files and folders from a VMware virtual machine backup. This makes the restoration process faster and more convenient in many unexpected situations. Using the iSCSI protocol, the Xopero ONE agent accesses files directly from the storage, enabling you to recover only the specific files you need without restoring unnecessary data.
This feature allows you to create a new virtual machine either in its original location or in a different one. It is the most traditional method of restoring a virtual machine — Xopero ONE restores the virtual machine data directly from the storage to the VMware datastore.
Learn how to use the most traditional method of restoring a virtual machine.
Open the VMware tab (Virtual Machines > VMware) in XMS, then click the Manage & Restore button next to the host whose backup you want to restore.
Select the VM you want to restore and click the restore button.
After choosing the backup plan and VM version, click Restore under the backup copy you wish to recover and select the Whole machine option from the drop-down list.
Specify whether to restore the VM to its original location or a new one:
Original location — the original location option automatically applies all settings from the backup, restoring the virtual machine to the same ESXi/vCenter, datastore, compute resource, and VM folder, with the same virtual network configuration. The only setting you can modify is the VM name.
New location — this option allows you to manually choose the location to which the VM will be restored and adjust additional settings:
After adjusting the VMware options, click Next to open the Restore data aside and configure the following settings:
VMware power state — lets you choose whether the virtual machine should start immediately after the restore or remain offline.
Transport method — allows you to choose one of the available transport methods:
Once configured, click Start now to begin the restoration process.
VMware environment — this field allows you to select the ESXi host or vCenter where the data will be restored (the list displays only servers that are connected to Xopero ONE).
Compute resource — lets you choose the compute resource infrastructure to process the recovered data.
Datastore — the location where the virtual machine files will be stored. Xopero ONE operates within the selected VMware environment.
VM folder — lets you select the specific directory on the datastore where the VM will be restored.
Virtual network — allows you to select your virtual network resource.
Automatic (recommended) — Xopero ONE will automatically determine the best available transport method for each worker and apply it accordingly.
HotAdd — available only for virtual appliance workers (see for more details). This method creates a snapshot and a linked clone of the target virtual machine. The disk is then attached to the worker, which reads the linked clone’s virtual disks for backup.
SAN — this mode requires the backup server to have access to the SAN storage containing the virtual disks. A SAN backup worker must be a physical machine. In this mode, data is read directly from the VMware LUN storage where the virtual disks are located.
LAN — also called NBD/NBDSSL. In this mode, the ESXi host reads data from the storage and sends it over the network to the worker. This method is typically used when no other transport option is available.
Restore settings — allows you to limit the internet bandwidth.
Device used to restore the data — lets you choose the device (worker) directly responsible for restoring your virtual machine. You can have multiple workers and assign different ones to each backup plan or restore process. A worker can be either a physical or a virtual machine.
Devices running macOS are not supported for restoring VMware data.
