Restore a vCenter Server Image-based Environment

You can use a third-party product that uses vSphere APIs to restore a virtual machine that contains vCenter Server.

You can perform an image-based restore of a virtual machine that contains vCenter Server. The virtual machine must use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) with correct DNS resolution, or the host name of the machine must be configured to be an IP address.

You can restore a virtual machine to the original location by either overwriting the backed up virtual machine or by creating a new virtual machine that contains the restored vCenter Server on the same ESXi host. You can also restore the virtual machine on a new ESXi host.

You can restore a virtual machine that contains vCenter Server directly on the ESXi host that is running the third-party appliance when the vCenter Server service becomes unavailable or when you cannot access the third-party user interface by using the vSphere Client.

Important: Restoring virtual machines that have snapshots or that are configured with Fault Tolerance is unsupported.

Figure 1. vCenter Server Restore Workflow

Restore a vCenter Server Instance

You can use a third-party product to restore a vCenter Server environment.

Important: You can back up and restore only virtual machines that contain vCenter Server instances. You cannot back up and restore physical machines that are running vCenter Server by using a third-party product.

Procedure

1. Restore the vCenter Server virtual machine onto the ESXi host using a third-party solution.
2. Use the service-control --status --all command to verify that the services have started.
   Wait for all the vCenter Server services to start, which can take several minutes.
3. Launch the vCenter Server Management Interface, https://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN:5480.
4. When you launch the vCenter Server Management Interface, based on the change in the vCenter Server appliance data you will see one of the following:
   1. If there is a change in the vCenter Server appliance data that needs to be synchronized, reconciliation window will be displayed. Follow the prompts to complete the reconcilation and then provide the Single Sign-On credentials to log into the vCenter Server Management Interface.
   2. If there is no change in the vCenter Server appliance data, the vCenter Server Management Interface login screen will be displayed.

What to do next

Power on the restored virtual machine that contains the restored vCenter Server instance.

Restore a vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode Environment

You can restore a vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode environment using a third-party solution.

Important: You can back up and restore only virtual machines that contain vCenter Server instances. You cannot back up and restore physical machines that are running vCenter Server by using a third-party product.

Procedure

1. Restore the vCenter Server virtual machine onto the ESXi host using a third-party solution.
   The services are masked and are not yet running.
2. Use the systemctl status applmgmt command to verify that the systemd instance of the applmgmt service has started.
   Wait for all the vCenter Server services to start, which can take several minutes.
3. Log into the vCenter Server Management Interface, https://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN:5480.

What to do next

Power on the restored virtual machine that contains the restored vCenter Server instance.