vSphere Plugin: Recover a VMFS VM from FlashArray Snapshot

User Guides for VMware Solutions
Audience
Public
Content Type
User Guides
Source Type
Documentation

Starting in plugin version 5.2.0, plugin users are able to restore VMFS backed VMs through the plugin using array-based snapshots as the recovery point. These workflows provide a more streamlined way of recovering a VMFS-backed VM from a FlashArray volume snapshot without having to log into the FlashArray for any of the operations.

Note: The plugin "Restore from Snapshot" VMFS feature does not support encrypted VMs.
Note: There is a known issue in the vSphere plugin where right-clicking on a VMFS-backed VM will give a recovery wizard. This option should be grayed out and is not expected to function. This will be fixed in a future version of the vSphere plugin.
There are two different paths to accomplish this task:
  1. Use the Configure section for the VMFS datastore to select a specific array-based snapshot at the onset of the workflow
    • Because the snapshot is picked at the beginning of the workflow, this skips some steps in the wizard from path 2 below
  2. Right click on the VMFS datastore you want to recover the VM from and use the Recover VMs from Snapshot workflow.

The steps taken by the two different workflows are ultimately the same. At a high level, they are:

  1. The user selects the VMFS datastore that is backed by a FlashArray volume that has FlashArray snapshots to recover a VM from.
  2. The user selects the snapshot to recover the VM from.
  3. The plugin gathers details on the FlashArray volume and snapshots that back the VMFS datastore.
  4. The plugin copies out the snapshot to a new temporary volume on the FlashArray.
  5. The plugin connects this temporary volume to the pertinent host or host group on the FlashArray.
  6. The plugin creates a temporary datastore on the pertinent hosts backed by the temporary FlashArray volume.
  7. The plugin presents the discovered .vmx files on the temporary datastore to the user.
  8. The user selects the .vmx file associated with the VM they would like to recover.
  9. The user selects a compute resource to place the VM on.
  10. The user modifies the name of the recovered VM.
  11. The plugin registers the recovered VM on the datastore that was initially selected by the user.
  12. The plugin destroys the temporary datastore on vSphere, the temporary volume on the FlashArray and eradicates the temporary volume on the FlashArray.

Configure Section Path

1. (1) select the VMFS datastore you want to recover the VM from under the Storage view. Then, select (2) Configure, (3) Snapshots, (4) select the array-based snapshot you want to recover from, then click the (5) RECOVER VMS FROM SNAPSHOT button.

2. (1) Select the virtual machine to be restored from the list of .vmx files populated and (2) click NEXT.

3. (1) Select the host that the VM should be associated with and (2) click NEXT.

4. (1) (Optional) Modify the VM's name as needed and (2) click NEXT.

5. (1) Click FINISH to complete the workflow.

The recovered VM will now be in Hosts and Clusters view as a powered off VM.

Right Click on VMFS Datastore Path

For this path, things are largely the same as the Configure Section Path, except the path starts from right-clicking on the VMFS datastore you want to recover from.

1. (1) Right-click the VMFS datastore you want to recover the VM from, (2) hover over the Everpure option and finally (3) click Recover VMs from Snapshot.

2. (1) Select the snapshot you want to recover the VM from then (2) click NEXT.

3. Follow steps 2-5 under the Configure Section Path above.

If you would like a video demo of the workflow, please watch the following video: