Export, Import, and Restore vSphere Distributed Port Group Configurations

Learn to export vSphere distributed port group configurations to a file. The configuration file allows you to preserve valid port group configurations, enabling distribution of these configurations to other deployments.

You can export port group information at the same time you export distributed switch configurations. See Back Up and Restore a vSphere Distributed Switch Configuration.

Export vSphere Distributed Port Group Configurations

Learn how to export a distributed port group configurations to a file. The configuration preserves valid network configurations, enabling distribution of these configurations to other deployments.

Procedure

1. Locate a distributed port group in the vSphere Client.
   1. Select a distributed switch and click the Networks tab.
   2. Click Distributed Port Groups.
2. Right-click the distributed port group and select Export Configuration.
3. (Optional) In the Descriptions field, type notes about this configuration.
4. Click OK.
   Click Yes to save the configuration file to your local system.

Results

You now have a configuration file that contains all the settings for the selected distributed port group. You can use this file to create multiple copies of this configuration on an existing deployment, or overwrite settings of existing distributed port groups to conform to the selected settings.

What to do next

You can use the exported configuration file to do the following tasks:

• To create a copy of the exported distributed port group, see Import a vSphere Distributed Port Group Configuration.
• To overwrite settings on an existing distributed port group, see Restore a vSphere Distributed Port Group Configuration.

Import a vSphere Distributed Port Group Configuration

Learn how to import to create a distributed port group from a configuration file.

If an existing port group has the same name as the imported port group, the new port group name has a number appended in parentheses. The settings from the imported configuration are applied to the new port group and the settings of the original port group remain unchanged.

Procedure

1. On the vSphere Client Home page, click Networking and navigate to the distributed switch.
2. Right-click the distributed switch and select Distributed Port Group > Import Distributed Port Group.
3. Browse to the location of your saved configuration file and click Next.
4. Review the import settings before completing the import.
5. Click Finish.

Restore a vSphere Distributed Port Group Configuration

Learn how to use the restore option to reset the configuration of an existing distributed port group to the settings in a configuration file.

Procedure

1. Locate a distributed port group in the vSphere Client.
   1. Select a distributed switch and click the Networks tab.
   2. Click Distributed Port Groups.
2. Right-click the distributed port group and select Restore Configuration.
3. Select one of the following and click Next:
   • Restore to previous configuration to roll your port group configuration back one step. You cannot restore the port group configuration completely if you have performed more than one step.
   • Restore configuration from a file lets you restore the port group configuration from an exported backup file. You can also use a distributed switch backup file as long as it contains configuration information for the port group.
4. Review the summary information for the restore.
   The restore operation overwrites the current settings of the distributed port group with the settings from the backup. If you are restoring the port group configuration from a switch backup file, the restore operation does not delete existing port groups that are not a part of the file.
5. Click Finish.