In this post I will detail the steps required to restore a VCSA from a file level backup. Hopefully this will be a post no one will ever need. But if you do find your self in a situation that requires a restore from backup, then I hope this post helps.
This is a list of the things you will need before you start.
- A working FTP backup
Yes I know, its obvious but if you have a FTP backup you have never tested then you may be in for a very unpleasant surprise when you need it. Always test your backups. - VCSA ISO image that is the same version as the backup
The restore process will not let you recover to a version of the VCSA that is different to the backup. So if you have installed version 7.0 and upgraded a couple of times, you will need to get the version you are (was) currently on and run the restore from that version. - VCSA Size
You will Need to know the size of the old VCSA as you will be asked this with deploying the new VCSA. If you guess the size to small the restore will fail.
One other thing to mention is that for the first part of the recovery the old VCSA can be on but when the new VCSA is deployed the old VCSA needs to be off otherwise you will have an IP conflict. For this post I powered of the old VCSA before I started.
Once I have the ISO of the VCSA I double click (Im using windows) and mount the ISO. I can now browse to the virtual DVD drive and go to D:\vcsa-ui-installer\win32\intaller.exe
Running intaller.exe will open the install screen. In this case I click on the restore option.
The Introduction displays a description of the process. Click Next to continue.
After reading the end user agreement tick the accept tick box and click next
Here you need to enter to location of the backup. You will actually need to enter the correct directory of the backup to be recovered if you know it. if not just enter the ftp root location and click Next.
Now the wizard is showing me the directory structure on the FTP server and asking me to select the correct backup directory. I do that and click Select. Note. that if you do not know the version of the VCSA backup, it is shown in the directory name.
If the backup is valid than the summery page is displayed. Click Next.
Next I am prompted to enter the details of the host I am going to deploy the recovered VCSA VM on. Fill in the details and click Next.
The setup/restore wizard will connect to the host. Click Yes to accept the thumbprint and continue.
We are now prompted to enter the new VCSA details. Enter the VCSA VN name and the VAMI password. Click Next when done.
Next we select the size of the VCSA VM. If you select a size to small the setup will fail. I don’t know what will happen if you select a size to big. If the old VCSA VM is still on a host you could determine the size you need. Select the size needed and click Next.
Next we select the storage for the VCSA VM and its provisioning mode. Click Next when done.
We will now be presented with the networking details of the VCSA. I don’t know what will happen if you change any of these. Click Next to continue.
The new VCSA will be deployed to the target host. This will take a while so go make a cup of tea.
After a while the VCSA will be deployed, stage 1 is now complete. Click Continue.
Stage 2 of the recovery will now start. The backup will now be restored to the newly deployed VCSA. Click Next.
Confirm the backup details and click next.
Confirm the details and click Finish.
Note, if you gave the wrong size of the VCSA you will get an error here and will have to start again. Otherwise click OK.
The restore will start. Go and make another cup of tea.
Once the process finishes the setup wizard just stops on this page.
The restore is now complete. Now you can connect to the new VCSA and manage it normally.
I noticed that in the VAMI the NTP config was lost.
There you go. A VCSA restored from backup. Hopefully not something you ever really want to do but something you may find you have to.