Question
What DPX Agentless Recovery options are available?
Answer
Agentless VMware Backup provides the following types of restores:
Instant VM Restore | Uses LUN mapping from a snapshot to the original or alternative ESX host, making an entire VM available for use. No data is transferred. |
Full VM Restore | Recreates the entire VM by physically transferring data to a local datastore. Restores to an original or alternative location. Storage relocation is used in most cases. |
Instant VMDK Restore | Uses LUN mapping to restore one or more selected VMDK files from a snapshot to an original or alternate ESX host. No data is transferred. This method is similar to Instant VM Restore, but it restores VMDKs rather than an entire VM. |
Full VMDK Restore | This restore method restores one or more VMDKs from a snapshot to a VM. This method is similar to Full VM Restore, but it restores VMDKs rather than an entire VM. Storage relocation is used in most cases. |
VMDK Instant Access | This restore method uses iSCSI LUN mapping to map a VMDK to any other node in the data protection Enterprise. |
The following table summarizes conditions associated with the different types of restore operations:
Restore Operation | Restore Source (Backup Type) | Restore Target | DPX Required on Restore Target | Restore Requires iSCSI Initiator Enabled on Host | Restore Requires iScsi Initiator Enabled on VM | Storage Relocation Used |
Instant VM Restore | Agentless VMware Backup snapshot | ESX Server | No | Yes | No | No |
Full VM Restore | Agentless VMware Backup snapshot | ESX Server | No | Yes | No | Yes, in most cases, otherwise cloning is used. |
Instant VMDK Restore | Agentless VMware Backup snapshot | VM | No | Yes | No | No |
Full VMDK Restore | Agentless VMware Backup snapshot | VM | No | Yes | No | Yes, in most cases, otherwise cloning is used. |
VMDK Instant Access | Agentless VMware Backup snapshot | Physical machine or VM. The DPX agent must be installed on either. | Yes | No | Yes | No |