Recovering a Database VM

If the data in a database VM is corrupted, VMware Data Services Manager enables you to recover the database VM to resolve the issue. If the Namespace used to create the database VM is associated with both the Provider Administrator and the owner of the database VM, the Provider Administrator, can recover the database VM. An Organization Administrator can recover database VMs that are part of the organization. An Organization User can recover database VMs created by the Organization User.

You can recover a database VM either to an existing backup of the database VM or to a customised time and date that you specify. When you choose to specify a customised date and time for the recovery operation, the database VM recovers to the backup that is closest to the mentioned date and time. If you have not enabled automated backups for a database VM, you cannot recover it to a customised date and time of your choice. You have to align the recovery of such database VMs to the existing manual backups.

Note: Once you perform the recover operation of a database VM, the client connections of the database VM are down until the recovery operation is completed.

About the Recover Operation and Replicas

You cannot recover replicas of a Primary database. If you recover a Primary database from a backup that is created earlier than the replica, the replicas of the Primary database become INACTIVE. You need to delete the replicas in the INACTIVE state and create replicas of the Primary database again.

Prerequisites

• The database that you want to recover must be powered on and online.
• The database that you want to recover must have either automated backups enabled or should have manual backups.

Procedure

Perform the following procedure to recover a Standalone or Primary database:

1. Select Databases from the left navigation pane.

   This action displays the Databases view, a table that lists the provisioned databases.

2. Examine the database VMs listed in the table, identify the database you want to recover, and navigate to that table row.

3. Click the DATABASE ACTIONS button in the top right corner of the view, and select Recover from the drop-down menu.

   The Recovery form displays.

4. Set the following properties to recover the database:

   Property Name	Value	Default Value
   Recovery Point	Use the drop-down list to select either Recover from Backup or Custom Timing.	Recover from Backup
   Choose Backup	When you select Recover from Backup, select the backup from the drop-down list.	The latest backup of the database that is available
   Choose Date	When you select Custom Timing, set the date of recovery.	The date of the latest backup
   Choose Time	When you select Custom Timing, set the time of recovery.	The time of the latest backup

   Note: If you select Custom Timing as the Recovery Point in the Recovery form, information is displayed regarding the range of date and time at the top of the form to guide you in specifying the date and time of recovery.

5. Click RECOVER in the Recovery form.

   The Confirm Recovery dialog displays that provides you information about the recovery function.

6. Click CONFIRM in the Confirm Recovery dialog.

7. Monitor the progress of the operation in the Operations tab or in the Database Operations view:

   1. Locate the RECOVER DB operation type and click it.

   2. Select the State History tab to view the subtasks of the operation and their status.

   3. If the operation fails, select the Error Info tab to examine the returned error information.

      Note: If the operation fails despite troubleshooting and a retrial, you can restore the database VM from a point in time.

When the database has automated backups enabled, a successful restore operation of the database VM triggers VMware Data Services Manager to initiate a full backup of the recovered database.