5 2 0:Citrix XenServer Restore

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Overview

SEP sesam supports restoring full virtual machines (VMs) as well as hypervisor hosts, either to their original location or an alternative target. Additionally, a failed hypervisor host can be restored to any compatible Linux machine.

SEP sesam also enables single file restore (SFR) — item-level recovery of files, folders, and volumes from FULL, DIFF, or INCR backups of Citrix XenServer virtual machines, provided the saveset is stored on a supported storage type (default Path datastore, Si3 deduplication store, or HPE StoreOnce). During the restore, the virtual disk is mounted, allowing the operating system to create a virtual drive from the file, assign it a drive letter, and make it accessible locally on your server.

This article describes the procedures and options for restoring Citrix XenServer virtual machines. For information on performing single file restore, see Single File Restore for Virtual Machines.

Restore interface

To perform restore in SEP sesam, you can use the web-based Restore Assistant. From v. ≥ 5.2.0 Artemis the restore procedure in the GUI is no longer available and Restore Assistant is the only method for restoring your data.

For more information on how to access the Restore Assistant and the general description of the restore procedure and available options, see Standard Restore Procedure.

	Tip
	If you prefer a visual guide, a video tutorial on the restore procedure is available in Backup of Citrix XenServer (XCP-ng/Hypervisor) on the SEP sesam YouTube channel.

The functions and options available in the Restore Assistant may vary based on the selected UI mode and your user type. Some advanced restore options and functions are exclusively available in the Advanced view of the Restore Assistant. Access and functionality may also be restricted by custom roles with specific permissions. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization and User Roles and Permissions.

Restoring Citrix XenServer virtual machine

When restoring from a full VM backup, a new Citrix VM is created with the same content and configuration as it had at the time of the backup. However, several options are available:

• restoring a virtual machine to its original location (Restore to original VM)
• restoring a VM with a new name
• restoring a VM to a different location
• restoring only the disk data of a VM without its configuration.

Create a new restore task for the VM you want to restore.

	Note
	It is not possible to restore a VM from a Citrix XenServer host 7.x backup to a host running an older version of Hypervisor (6.x).

The following steps are performed in simple view, which covers most common restore cases. If you are an experienced user, advanced restore options are available in the advanced restore mode.

	Note
	This procedure provides specific instructions for restoring a Citrix XenServer virtual machine. For general description of the restore procedure in Restore Assistant, refer to Standard Restore Procedure.

1. Open the Restore Assistant: In the Start window, select Citrix XenServer task type, and then click Next.

Screenshots



2. Select the virtual machine: In the Virtual Machine window, choose your Citrix server as the source for restoring your data. Then, select the VM you want to restore and click Next.
3. Configure task details: In the Task window, under Task selection, select your source backup task. Under Backup selection select the specific backup version you want to restore. Ensure that Virtual machine restore is selected, and then click Next. Note that Generation restore option is selected by default and cannot be changed.
4. Select the target environment: In the Target window, select your target environment for the restore. You can also create a new VM with a different name. Select any additional restore options under Execution options as needed, and click Next.
5. Customize restore options: In the Options window, you can modify or set additional restore options as required, such as Virtualization restore options, Recovery actions, Optional data source selection and Advanced restore options.

	Tip
	To restore the VM's disk data while leaving the configuration settings unchanged, use the following command in the Options for restore field: -a replace_vm_disk. This command applies when the original source VM still exists and you're restoring to the original location (option Restore to original VM).

6. When restoring a differential or incremental backup from a Citrix VM, SEP sesam has to merge the backup chain into a single file. By default, the <SESAM_VAR>/work directory is used for this. Ensure that there is enough space in the <SESAM_VAR>/work directory or change the location of this temporary directory by setting the path to a new directory or another storage device where more storage space is available. To specify a directory other than the current <SESAM_VAR>/work directory, add -a tmpdir=/<path>/<selected_directory> in the Restore options field.
7. Start the restore: In the final step, review the summary of your restore task, and click Start restore.

Restoring Citrix XenServer host

If you want to restore a Citrix XenServer host from a specific backup, restore the host backup created with SEP sesam to a random Linux machine.

1. Open the Restore Assistant: In the Start window select Citrix Hypervisor, select Restore backup into dump file under advanced options, and click Next.
2. Configure restore settings: Define the settings and options for the restore as required. For detailed explanations of available options, refer to Standard Restore Procedure.
3. Restore the host backup: After restoring the file, copy it to the Citrix XenServer system and execute the following command:

    xe host-restore file-name=<host_backup_filename>

   This process copies the compressed image back to the hard disk of the Citrix XenServer host. The restore command unpacks the compressed backup file and restores it to its normal form, but it is written to a different partition (/dev/sda2) and does not overwrite the current version of the file system.
4. Use the restored version: To use the restored version of the root file system, reboot the Citrix XenServer host via the Citrix XenServer installation CD and select the Restore from backup option.
5. Complete the restore: After the restore is complete, reboot the Citrix XenServer host again to start it with the restored image.

Known issues

If you have problems with Citrix XenServer, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

See also

Single File Restore for Virtual Machines – Restore Assistant – Citrix XenServer Backup – Citrix XenServer Requirements and Configuration

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