Source:Citrix XenServer Restore

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Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3 Grolar. 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. For step-by-step procedure, see Standard Restore Procedure.

Restore execution options

The following options are available when restoring Citrix XenServer:

  • 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.

Restoring Citrix XenServer virtual machine

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

  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 save sets 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 save sets 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 save set 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 save set.
    • 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 option New restore target and 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. Note that the pre/post script for restore is not available for Citrix Xen restore.
  12. 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), open the Expert options in the restore wizard and add -a tmpdir=/<path>/<selected_directory>, as shown in the screenshot below.

    Citrix restore options.jpg

  13. 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.

Known issues

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

See also

Citrix XenServer BackupCitrix XenServer Requirements and Configuration