You can use the vCenter Server Appliance GUI installer to restore a vCenter Server Appliance to an ESXi host or a vCenter Server instance. The restore procedure has two stages. The first stage deploys a new vCenter Server Appliance. The second stage populates the newly deployed vCenter Server Appliance with the data stored in the file-based backup.

Figure 1. vCenter Server Appliance Restore Workflow
Restore workflow

Perform a file-based restore of a Platform Services Controller only when the last Platform Services Controller in the domain fails. If there are other Platform Services Controller instances in the same vCenter Single Sign-On domain, deploy a new Platform Services Controller instance and join it to the existing Single Sign-On domain.

Figure 2. Platform Services Controller Appliance Restore Workflow
Restore workflow

Prerequisites