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    Cloud Backup:Restore a VMware VM to an ECS instance

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    Cloud Backup:Restore a VMware VM to an ECS instance

    Last Updated:Nov 26, 2025

    If a VMware virtual machine (VM) fails, you can create an ECS image from a VM backup and use the image to quickly create an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance. This process restores the entire machine from your on-premises environment to the cloud and ensures business continuity.

    Background information

    You can typically restore a VMware VM locally if its service is interrupted. For more information, see Restore a VMware VM. However, if an infrastructure failure occurs, such as an ESXi host breakdown or a data center failure, you must restore the entire VM to an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance. You can perform this restore operation in the Cloud Backup console. This ensures business continuity and stability.

    To restore an entire VMware VM to an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance, Cloud Backup uses an intermediate ECS instance to create an ECS snapshot of the VM. Cloud Backup then creates an ECS image from the snapshot. After the image is created, Cloud Backup automatically deletes the intermediate instance and keeps only the ECS image. You can use this custom image to create an ECS instance.

    Prerequisites

    The VMware VM has been backed up. For more information, see Back up a VMware VM.

    Usage notes

    • You can create an ECS image for only one VMware VM at a time.

    • The VMware VM must meet the operating system and VMware platform Limits for Alibaba Cloud ECS instances.

    • The intermediate ECS instance is billed based on the billing rules of ECS. The generated ECS image incurs snapshot storage fees. For more information about the pricing, see ECS Product Billing.

    Procedure

    Step 1: Generate an ECS image

    1. In the Cloud Backup console, navigate to the Backup > VMware Backup & Disaster Recovery page. In the top navigation bar, select the region where your resources are located.

    2. On the Backup Jobs tab, find the backup record of the VM that you want to restore, and click Create ECS Image in the Actions column.

    3. In the Create ECS Image dialog box, configure the VM to be restored and the intermediate instance.

      1. Select the VM to restore, and then click Next.

      2. In the Configure Intermediate Instance step, configure the intermediate instance as described in the following table.

        Parameter

        Description

        Instance Name

        The name of the intermediate ECS instance.

        VPC

        Select the VPC where the ECS instance resides from the VPC drop-down list.

        vSwitch

        Select the vSwitch of the VPC from the vSwitch drop-down list.

        Instance Family

        The instance family of the intermediate ECS instance.

        Instance Type

        The instance type of the intermediate ECS instance. For more information, see Overview of instance families.

        Disk Type

        The storage class of the intermediate ECS instance. Options include Ultra Disk, ESSD AutoPL disk, enterprise SSD (ESSD), and Standard SSD.

        Note

        Standard SSDs and ultra disks are previous-generation disk products. They are gradually being phased out in some regions and zones.

        Security Group

        Select the security group to use for the restore from the Security Group list.

    4. Click Create.

      View the progress of the restore job on the Restore Jobs tab. After the job status changes to Completed, click the ECS image link to view information about the generated ECS image.

    Step 2: Create an ECS instance from the ECS image

    1. On the Restore Jobs tab, click the name of the ECS image in the Restore Destination column of the target restore job.

      You are redirected to the Images page of the ECS console, where the target image is filtered.

      Note

      Alternatively, navigate to the Images page of the ECS console. On the Custom Images tab, find the image. The image name is a combination of "Intermediate Instance" and the intermediate instance ID.

    2. On the Custom Images tab, click Create Instance in the Actions column for the target image.

    3. On the Custom Launch tab, the region and image information is automatically populated. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the other configuration items and then click Create Order.

      After the instance is created, the new ECS instance contains the complete system environment and data from the original VMware VM. You can use it immediately to resume your services.

    Step 3: (Optional) Delete the ECS image

    Important

    After an ECS image is deleted, it cannot be recovered. Delete the image only after you confirm that a backup is available for the target ECS instance.

    After you restore the VMware VM to an ECS instance using the ECS image, delete the ECS image if you no longer need it.

    1. On the Restore Jobs tab, click the name of the ECS image in the Restore Destination column of the target restore job.

      You are redirected to the Images page of the ECS console.

    2. On the Custom Images tab, click Delete Image in the Actions column for the target image.

    3. In the Delete Image dialog box, set Delete Snapshots to Yes, and click Confirm.