5 2 0:Nutanix AHV Restore

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Overview

As of SEP sesam v. 5.0.0 Jaglion, SEP sesam provides efficient data protection for Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV). The Nutanix AHV module is supported on SEP sesam Linux Server and on SEP sesam Windows Server, using a Linux Client as a data mover.

The restore of Nutanix virtual machines (VMs) is quite similar to a regular file system restore.

You can also perform single file restore (SFR) via the web Restore Assistant. SFR is supported only in advanced UI mode. For details on switching the UI mode, see Setting the UI mode in the Restore Assistant.

The operations and options available after logging in may differ depending on the user type. Other Web UI display restrictions may depend on the custom roles with specific permissions and the UI mode.
For details, see About Authentication and Authorization and User Roles and Permissions.

Prerequisites

To ensure error-free operation of SEP sesam and improve performance, make sure that the following conditions are met:

• Check the Nutanix AHV support matrix for supported Nutanix AHV versions.
• Ensure that your Nutanix AHV environment is properly configured as described in Nutanix AHV Backup.
• SFR of backups from virtualization platforms requires the guestfs-tools package to be installed on Linux in order to access and mount the VM disk image on Linux. If the package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux.
• Make sure that there is enough free space on the target system to which you are restoring your data.

Restoring a Nutanix AHV virtual machine

Typically, you would restore a VM to its original location (Restore to original VM) if the original VM is unusable. By restoring a full VM backup, you create a new VM with the identical content and configuration as when the backup was made. You can also restore your VM under a new name or to a different location.

	Note
	A restore task can be scheduled like any other task. If you want to add a restore task to the schedule, see Scheduling Restore.

VM restore via the Restore Assistant

You can access the Restore Assistant in one of the following ways:

• via the GUI: by clicking the Restore Assistant icon in the toolbar or from Activities -> Restore Assistant
• from SEP sesam Web UI: left menu -> Restore Assistant
• or by entering the following address in the browser bar: http://[sesamserver]:11401/sep/ui/restore/.

Note

If you cannot access the web Restore Assistant, check if you have received the appropriate permissions for online restore. The operations and options available after logging in may differ depending on the user type. Other Web UI display restrictions may depend on the custom roles with specific permissions and the UI mode. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization and User Roles and Permissions.

Steps

The following steps are performed in simple UI mode. They cover the most common restore cases and are the recommended method for performing a restore. For more experienced users, some additional restore options are available in advanced restore mode. For details, see Standard Restore Procedure.

1. Open the Restore Assistant in the browser.
2. In the start window, select Nutanix-AHV and click Next.
3. In the Virtual Machine window, under Selection of the server, select your target Nutanix server to which the data will be restored.
   Then, under Selection of the virtual machine select the VM you want to restore and click Next.
4. In the Task window, under Task selection, select your source backup task.
   Under Backup selection, select the exact backup version you want to restore. Note that Generation restore is selected by default. You can use the calendar function in the upper right corner to set a date range for the displayed backups.
   Click Next.
5. In the Target window, under the Target selection select your target environment for restore. You can use the drop-down list to select or filter VMs by name.
   Then set additional restore options under the Execution options:
   • Do not overwrite an existing virtual machine: The VM is restored only if it does not already exist on the target system.
   • Restore an existing virtual machine with a new name: The VM is restored with a new name.
   • Overwrite an existing virtual machine: If the VM exists on the target server, it will be replaced with the restored version.
   Click Next.
6. Modify or set additional restore options under the Virtualization restore options:
   • Data mover: Select the data mover.
     
   • Recovery options: Specify whether or not to start the VM after restore.
     
   • Under Target options of the virtual machine select Storage Container (Nutanix) from the drop-down list.
   Click Next.
7. In the last step, check the summary of your restore task (restore type (based on task type, selected backup, its date and details, restore options, etc.) and click Start restore.

Restoring single files (SFR)

SFR of backups from virtualization platforms requires the guestfs-tools package to be installed on Linux in order to access and mount the VM disk image on Linux. If the package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux.

Note that this article only describes the procedure for restoring individual files of a Nutanix AHV VM. For details on restoring single files, see Single File Restore for Virtual Machines.

1. Open the Restore Assistant in the browser.
2. In the Start window, select Nutanix-AHV. The VM or single file restore option is selected by default. Click Next.


3. In the Virtual Machine window, under Selection of the server, select your target Nutanix server to which the data will be restored.
   Then, under Selection of the virtual machine, select the VM you want to restore and click Next.
4. In the Task window, under Task selection, select your source task. A backup task defines the source data that was backed up by the client.
   Then, under Backup selection, select the exact backup version you want to restore. You can use the calendar function in the upper right corner to set a date range for the displayed backups. Select the Single file restore option (in the lower right corner) and click Next.


5. In the Files window, select the SEP sesam Server or RDS to which you want to mount the backup. You can also specify an alternate mount path and/or advanced mount options. Then click the button Mount this backup in filesystem. A new window will appear showing the progress of the mount process.

Note

To be able to access and mount VM disk image on Linux, the guestfs-tools package must be installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS. If the guestfs-tools package is not installed on your SEP sesam Server or Linux RDS, it is not possible to mount VMDK and perform SFR. Refer to Installing guestfs-tools on Linux. Mounting is not possible if the savesets are stored on tapes or if the data is compressed or encrypted. Some other XPRFS restrictions also apply to mounting.

6. Once a virtual disk is mounted on the device server, select the files you want to restore and click Next.
7. In the Target window, under Target selection, select your target environment for the restore. You can use the drop-down list to select or filter VMs by name. You can also select a custom target path by browsing.
8. Under the Execution options, set additional restore options:
   • Do not overwrite existing items: Files are only restored if they do not already exist on the target system.
   • Create new version: Restore files under a new name.
   • Overwrite existing items: If the data exists on the target server, it is replaced with the restored version.
   Then decide how you want to restore your data (keep the original tree structure or flat):
   • Keep original tree structure: When restoring to the original location, the Keep original tree structure option is selected by default. The directory structure of the restored files is the same as the original directory structure of the backed up data.
   • Restore all items flat in the selected target directory: The backup is simply restored to a file without recreating the directory structure.
   • You can also select to skip ACL settings during restore.
   Click Next.
9. In the Options window, you can specify additional advanced options, such as selecting a data source (media pool, drive, etc.), set include/exclude filters, etc. For details on the available options, see Standard Restore Procedure.
   Click Next.
10. In the last step, check the summary of your restore task (restore type (based on task type), selected backup, its date and details, restore options, etc.) and click Start restore.

Monitoring restore

You can monitor the restore progress using the Web UI (Monitoring -> Restores) or view the status in the GUI (Main Selection -> Job State -> Restores). The restore overview provides detailed information on the last run of restore jobs, including task name, status (successful, error, in queue...), start and stop time of the last backup, data size, throughput, etc. For details, see SEP sesam Web UI.

See also

Installing guestfs-tools on Linux – Restore Assistant – Standard Restore Procedure – Nutanix AHV Backup

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