Configure One-Time Restore to ESXi

Before starting a One-Time Restore to ESXi, ensure you have checked all requirements and limitations, including setting up a Recovery Location.

From Backup Dashboard

  1. Log in to the Management Console under a SuperUser account
  2. In the Backup Dashboard, tick the checkbox to the left of the device(s) to restore
  3. Click One-Time Restore

  4. Select the ESXi / VMDK target

  5. Select the Customer
  6. Select the Recovery Location for the restore or click + Add recovery Location to follow the steps to create a new Recovery Location

  7. Click Next
  8. Confirm compatibility of device(s) and click Next

  9. Enter the security code/encryption key or passphrase for the device(s). This can be either:
    • Private encryption key - Created by yourself when installing Backup Manager on the device. If you have lost the encryption key/security code for the device, you will need to Convert devices to passphrase-based encryption
    • Passphrase encryption - These are generated on demand for automatically installed devices. You can find information on this here

    If you are logged in as a security officer, this will be detected automatically.

  10. Click Next
  11. Select the date and time of the backup session to restore

    During this step, all available sessions for all devices listed will be loaded in the backup session column. Please allow time for these to load, if the load of sessions fails, a message stating so will be displayed with a refresh button to try again.

  12. Choose the restore format:
    • ESXi
    • Local VMDK
  13. Configure the Optional Recovery Settings for ESXi by clicking Optional Settings to the right of the storage location:

    • FRS and DFRS services - If you are restoring Active Directory with multiple domain controllers, you should change the FRS and DFSR services to authoritative in the domain controller that will be started in the first place. Avoid marking several FRS/DFSR services as authoritative in the production environment as it can result in data loss. When the feature is on, the FRS and DFSR services are started on the target VM in the authoritative mode. The NETLOGON and SYSVOL shares become available, so the Active Directory and DNS services become functional again

      More information about FRS/DFSR is available in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Article IDs: KB2218556 and KB290762

    • Restore OS disk only - Restoring the OS disk only will speed up restores
    • LocalSpeedVault - If a LocalSpeedVault (LSV) is enabled on a backup device, the data is sent to both the LSV and the cloud or private storage location. During a restore, data is automatically downloaded from the LSV first to the local device which makes restore faster. If the LSV is not available or not synchronized, the restore data will be pulled from the cloud or private storage location. This takes place automatically and cannot be reconfigured
  14. Click Next to configure the Virtual Machine Settings:

    Available for ESXi restore format only, these are not available if Local VMDK is selected

    • Connected Server(s) - Select the server where the Virtual Machine will be allocated as added in Step 5: Add Storage Location and Server Connections
    • Data Center
    • Host
    • Storage
    • Resource Pool
    • Network
    • Connect on startup - connect to the selected network on startup
    • CPU Cores - Select the number of CPU Cores to be allocated to the new virtual machine
    • RAM (GB) - Select the amount of RAM in Gigabytes to be allocated to the new virtual machine
    • Apply original device configuration - When enabled, the same CPU and RAM settings as used on the source device will be applied
    • VM IP address – Assign a custom IP address to the virtual machine
    • VM subnet mask – Assign a custom subnet mask to the virtual machine
    • VM gateway – Assign a custom gateway to the virtual machine
    • VM DNS servers – Assign the list of custom DNS servers (separated by comma), Example:

      8.8.8.8 or 8.8.8.8,7.7.7.7

  15. Click Next to progress to the Report window to enter one or more email addresses to receive a report when:
    1. The recovery is complete (Successful or Failed)
    2. The recovery was successful
    3. The recovery failed

      4. Multiple addresses should be separated using a comma or semi-colon

    If you do not want to add an email address to receive reports, click Skip this step

  16. To remove all branding from the reports, use the Remove Cove branding toggle per device, or above the device list to apply the changes to all devices in this window

  17. Confirm assigning the plan to the device(s)
  18. Wait for the plan to be assigned until you see a confirmation banner on the page

  19. Click Finish

From One-Time Restore Overview

  1. Log in to the Management Console under a SuperUser account
  2. Navigate to the One-Time Restore overview by selecting Continuity > One-time Restore from the vertical menu on the left hand side
  3. Click One-time restore from the top bar

  4. The wizard will open to target selection window, follow the above steps from Step #4 onwards

Recovery Reports

When the device(s) assigned to the plan have Successful recovery report email or Failed recovery report email recipient address(es) configured, and once the test has completed, those recipients will receive the report in their email inbox.

Here is an example report with Cove branding:

Here is an example without Cove branding: