Unitrends supports instant recovery of VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines.
The following table describes the prerequisites and considerations for VMware instant recovery.
Prerequisite or consideration |
Description |
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vCenter version and license |
To perform instant recovery (in live mode), the ESXi server used as the instant recovery target must be managed by a vCenter that meets the following requirements:
Note: You can perform the audit process using a stand-alone ESXi server, but instant recovery in live mode is not supported. |
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ESXi server |
The ESXi server used as the instant recovery target must meet the following requirements:
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Backup |
You must have a backup to recover a virtual machine. The backup used for the instant recovery must be:
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VM hardware version |
Since Unitrends does not create clones, the restored virtual machine is configured with the latest hardware version that is supported by the target hypervisor. For example, if a hardware version 8 VM is restored to an ESXi 5.5 server, the restored VM is hardware version 10. |
Consider the following as you plan for disaster recovery of Hyper-V virtual machines.
The following Unitrends software requirements must be met to perform Hyper-V instant recovery:
• | The Unitrends appliance must be running release 8.0 or higher. |
• | Unitrends Windows agent release 8.0 or higher must be installed on the Hyper-V server hosting the VMs and on the Hyper-V server used as the restore target. |
• | Unitrends recommends reloading the list of VMs on the appliance after installing the agent on the Hyper-V server hosting your VMs. To reload the list of VMs, select Options > Inventory Sync. |
• | Backups taken with a pre-8.0 agent can be used as long as agent release 8.0 or higher has been installed on the server hosting the VMs. This agent is required for the appliance to retrieve generation information. |
The following Hyper-V server requirements must be met to perform Hyper-V instant recovery:
• | The restore target must be: |
– | Windows Server 2012 or higher with the Hyper-V role enabled |
– | Hyper-V Server 2012 or higher |
Note: Backups from older versions of Hyper-V can be used for Hyper-V instant recovery as long as the target server is 2012 or higher, and the Unitrends appliance and Windows agent on the Hyper-V host are running version 8.0 or higher.
• | For the restore target, you must use a Hyper-V server that is the same version or higher, as the Hyper-V server hosting the original VM. It is recommended that you restore to a Hyper-V server whose version matches that of the original, where possible. |
• | You can perform instant recovery using local backups or backup copies. The restore target can be the original Hyper-V server or an alternate Hyper-V server. The target server must be added to the Unitrends appliance from which you are performing the instant recovery. |
The following Hyper-V VM requirements must be met to perform Hyper-V instant recovery:
• | All disks created on the Hyper-V VM must have unique names. |
• | Since Unitrends does not create clones, the restored VM is configured with the latest hardware version that is supported by the target Hyper-V server. |
• | For Generation 2 virtual machines, the restore target must be Windows/ Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 or higher. |
• | Disks excluded during backup, including independent and physical RDM disks, are not restored with instant recovery for Hyper-V. |
• | Hyper-V Instant Recovery is not supported for Host component (AzMan Security Database for Hyper-V) backups of the original VM. These are not bootable backups. |
The following requirements must be met to recover a clustered VM:
• | Hyper-V instant recovery supports clustered and non-clustered virtual machines. |
• | The target Hyper-V server determines the cluster status of the new VM. To create a clustered VM with instant recovery, you must select a cluster as the target Hyper-V server. If you select an individual member node, the resulting VM is not clustered. |
• | When creating a clustered VM with instant recovery, you must select the network switch common to all nodes in the cluster. If you do not select this switch, the new VM will lose network connectivity if it fails over to another cluster node. |