Source:Citrix XenServer Restore

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Any form of reproduction of the contents or parts of this manual is allowed only with the express written permission from SEP AG. When compiling and designing user documentation SEP AG uses great diligence and attempts to deliver accurate and correct information. However, SEP AG cannot issue a guarantee for the contents of this manual.

Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3 Grolar/4.4.3 Beefalo. For previous documentation version(s), check Citrix XenServer archive.


Overview

Restore of virtual machines (VMs) is quite similar to regular file system restore. Restore is triggered from the menu bar -> Activities -> Restore. Restore wizard guides you through the process of restoring your data. The default storage repository must be defined in the Xen center, otherwise the restore will fail.

SEP sesam supports restoring full virtual machines (VMs) as well as XenServer hosts to the original target from where the backup image was captured or to an alternative target; in case of a failed XenServer host you can restore it to a random Linux machine.

As of SEP sesam v. 4.4.3 Beefalo, you can also restore single files from the FULL, DIFF or INCR backups if the saveset is stored on a data store or Si3 deduplication store. By mounting VHD the operating system creates a virtual drive from the file, assigns a drive letter, and makes the drive available locally on your server. For details, see section Restoring single files.

Restore options

You can restore one VM at a time. Depending on your selection of options, you can choose different combinations of restore options to perform restore according to your needs:

  • Do not overwrite existing files: The VM will not be restored if it already exists on the target server. A new VM name has to be specified as target. The MAC address of a restored VM is newly created.
  • Overwrite existing files: During a restore with the option overwrite the original VM is deleted even if another name for the target VM is specified. The MAC address is the same as during backup.
  • Create new version: A new VM is created. The MAC address is newly created.
  • Auto recover after restore: By default VM is always registered after the restore on XenServer and with it in Xen center.
  • Auto recover and online after restore: Registers and starts the VM and brings it online.
  • No recover after restore: The VM is not registered after the restore on XenServer.

Additionally, by using a command -a replace_vm_disk you can restore only VM's disk data, without restoring VM configuration settings. For details, see step 9b about using the Expert options.

Restoring Citrix XenServer virtual machine

Typically, you would restore a virtual machine to its original location (Restore to original target path) if the original VM is inoperative. By restoring a full VM backup, you create a new VM with the identical content and configuration to what it was when the backup was performed. You can also restore your VM to a different location or choose to restore only VM's disk data (without configuration) to the same restore target.

Create a new restore task for the VM you want to restore.

Information sign.png Note
It is not possible to restore a VM from a Citrix XenServer host 7.x backup to a host running an older version of XenServer (6.x).
  1. From the SEP sesam GUI menu bar, select Activities -> Restore. The New restore task window opens.
  2. Select the VM that you want to restore. You can search savesets by task name.
  3. When searching by task name, use the drop-down list of available tasks and select the one you want to restore from. This option is selected by default.
  4. From the drop-down list under the Saved in period, specify the time frame for which you want to conduct the search. Click Next.
  5. Citrix restore filter en.jpg
  6. The search results are displayed. From the list of savesets matching your query, select the task you want to restore. Click Next.
  7. Citrix restore select task en.jpg
  8. Review your restore task configuration and set additional options if necessary.
    • Details of the selected saveset are displayed at the top of the window. The name of the restore task is automatically generated in the Name field. You can edit the name and insert a comment below.
    • The Drive field shows the drive with backed up data.
    • The Interface field shows the server with the attached data storage containing the selected saveset.
    • The Target node drop-down list shows the target server to which the data will be restored. In case the cluster configuration is corrupted, you can add a single Citrix XenServer as a client and use this as a target node.
  9. Then set the target path. Under the Target Path, select the relevant option: Restore to original target or New restore target. In the latter case, enter a new name for the restored VM. If no target path is defined, the VM is restored to the default location.
  10. Under the Execution options drop-down list, select one of the following options:
    • do not overwrite existing files (set by default): The VM will not be restored if a VM with the same name already exists on the target server. In such case, the following error is displayed: Error: Restore failed. A virtual machine with the same name already exists..
    • overwrite existing files: If a VM with the same name exists on the target server, it will be replaced by the restored version, but its MAC address will remain the same. Note that if two VMs with the same name exist on the target server, the restore fails with: Error: Restore failed. A virtual machine with the same name already exists.
    • create a new version: If a VM exists on the target server, the restored VM will be restored under a different name.

    Citrix restore save en.jpg

  11. You can specify additional restore settings by clicking the Expert options button. As of v. 4.4.3. Beefalo, the Expert Options button for specifying more advanced restore options is only available in the Advanced and Expert UI mode. It is not available for users that run the GUI in Basic mode. In the latter case, you first have to change the Basic UI mode to Advanced or Expert, as described in UI Mode. Note that the pre/post script is not available for Citrix Xen restore.
    1. Information sign.png Note
      When restoring a differential or incremental backup from Citrix Xen VM, SEP sesam has to merge the backup chain into a single file; by defult, <SESAM_VAR>/work directory is used for this. Ensure that there is enough space in the <SESAM_VAR>/work directory or change the location of this temporary directory by setting the path to a new directory or another storage device where more storage space is available. To specify a different directory (other than the current <SESAM_VAR>/work directory), use the Expert options button to add -a tmpdir=/<path>/<selected_directory> in the Restore options field, as shown in the screenshot below.
    2. Citrix restore options.jpg

    3. You can also use the Expert Options dialog to specify additional restore commands. For example, if you only want to restore VM's disk data but leave the configuration settings of a VM as they are, you can specify the following command in the Restore options field:
    4. -a replace_vm_disk This command can only be used if the original backup source VM still exist and if you restore to the original location by specifying the Restore to original target path (see setting the target path in step 7).
  12. If you want to start your VM restore immediately, click Start. If you want to save the restore task, click Save.

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

Restoring XenServer host

In case you want to restore a XenServer host from a specific backup, restore the host backup created with SEP sesam to a random Linux machine.

  1. You have to restore the file as regular file restore.
  2. Citrix host restore Grolar de.jpg
  3. After you have restored the file, copy it to the Xen system and execute the following command:
  4. xe host-restore file-name=<host_backup_filename> This copies the compressed image back to the hard disk of the XenServer host on which the command is run. The restore command actually unpacks the compressed backup file and restores it to its normal form, but it is written to another partition (/dev/sda2) and does not overwrite the current version of the file system.
  5. To use the restored version of the root file system, you need to reboot the XenServer host using the XenServer installation CD and select the Restore from backup option.
  6. After the restore is completed, reboot the XenServer host again to start it up from the restored image.

Restoring single files

With v. 4.4.3 Beefalo, SEP sesam introduces single file restore – item-level restore of files, folders, and volumes from the FULL, DIFF or INCR backup of Citrix XenServer virtual machine by mounting VHD on a device server and browsing the content of a virtual disk file.

Before starting a restore, check the supported file systems and restrictions.

Mounting Citrix XenServer virtual disk (VHD file)

Create a new restore task for individual item(s) you want to restore.

  1. From the SEP sesam GUI menu bar, select Activities -> Restore. The New restore task window opens.
  2. Select what you want to restore. You can search savesets by task name or by filename or path.
    • When searching by task name, use the drop-down list of available tasks and select the one you want to restore from. This option is selected by default.
    • If you are searching by filename/path, select the option Filename or path in a saveset and enter your search expression in the search pattern field.
  3. Under the Saved in period drop-down lists, specify the time frame for which you want to conduct the search. Click Next.
  4. The search results are displayed. From the list of savesets matching your query, select the version from which you want to restore an individual file. Then select the check box Mount virtual disk(s). Note that some restrictions apply.
  5. Citrix restore mount Beefalo.jpg
  6. Mount is triggered and all VHDs of the selected VM are mounted to the device server using one or more unused drive letters of the Windows system e.g., D:, E:, etc. This may take a few seconds. Click OK.
    Citrix restore mount to device server Beefalo.jpg
  7. You can now either use the file explorer on your server to browse and copy the needed files directly to the target location, or click Next to select the required files in the Select Files dialog.
  8. If you clicked Next, in the Select Files window select the data you want to restore and click Next.
  9. Citrix select files Beefalo.jpg
  10. On the fourth step of the restore wizard (Target Settings), select a restore target where you want to restore your files.
  11. You can start your single file restore immediately by clicking Start. If you want to save the restore task, click Save.
  12. Click OK to unmount the saveset and close your restore session.

You can view the status of your restore jobs by selecting Job state -> Restore from the Main selection. Restore overview provides detailed information on the last run of restore jobs, including the task name, status (successful, error, in queue ...), start and stop time of the last backup, data size, throughput, client, media pool and message.

Known issues

If you have problems with Citrix XenServer, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

See also

Citrix XenServer BackupCitrix XenServer Requirements and Configuration