Restore a VMware VM to an ECS instance | Cloud Backup - Cloud Backup

When a VMware VM fails, create an ECS image from the VM backup and use it to launch an ECS instance, restoring your on-premises workload to the cloud.

Background

A local restore of a VMware virtual machine handles minor service disruptions. For major infrastructure failures such as ESXi host outages or data center disasters, restore the VM as an ECS instance through Cloud Backup.

Cloud Backup uses an intermediate ECS instance to create a snapshot from the backup data and then generate an ECS image from that snapshot. After the image is created, the intermediate instance is automatically deleted. You can then use the custom image to create ECS instances.

Prerequisites

You have backed up the VMware virtual machine.

Usage notes

You can create an ECS image for only one VMware VM at a time.
The VMware VM must meet the limitations on operating systems and VMware platforms for ECS.
The intermediate instance is charged under ECS billing rules. The generated ECS image incurs snapshot storage fees.

Procedure

Step 1: Generate an ECS image

In the Cloud Backup console, go to the Backup > VMware Backup & Disaster Recovery page. In the top navigation bar, select the region.
On the Backup Jobs tab, find the backup job for the target VM, and click Create ECS Image in the Create ECS Image column.

In the Create ECS Image dialog box, configure the VM to restore and the intermediate instance.

In the VMs to Restore step, select the target VM, and click Next.

In the Configure Intermediate Instance step, configure the intermediate instance.

Parameter	Description
Instance Name	The name of the intermediate ECS instance.
VPC	From the VPC list, select the VPC for the intermediate instance.
vSwitch	From the vSwitch list, select the vSwitch for the intermediate instance.
Instance Family	The instance family of the intermediate ECS instance.
Instance Type	The intermediate ECS instance type. ECS instance overview.
Disk Type	The disk type for the intermediate instance. Options include Ultra Disk, ESSD AutoPL disk, ESSD, and Standard SSD. Note Standard SSD and Ultra Disk are previous-generation types being phased out in some regions and availability zones.
Security Group	From the Security Group list, select the security group for the intermediate instance.

Click Create.

On the Restore Jobs tab, monitor the restore job. When the status changes to Completed, click the ECS image link.

Step 2: Create an ECS instance

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

The Images page opens in the ECS console with the target image filtered.

Note
Alternatively, go to the Images page in the ECS console. On the Custom Images tab, find the image named with the prefix "Intermediate Instance" followed by the intermediate instance ID.
On the Custom Images tab, click Create Instance in the Actions column for the target image.
On the Custom Launch tab, the region and image are pre-populated. Complete the remaining configuration items, and then click Create Order.

The new ECS instance contains the full system environment and data from the original VMware VM, so you can resume services immediately.

Step 3: (Optional) Delete the ECS image

Important

Deleted ECS images cannot be recovered. Before deleting, ensure that a valid backup of the target ECS instance exists.

After creating an ECS instance from the image, delete the image if you no longer need it.

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

The Images page opens in the ECS console.
On the Custom Images tab, click Delete Image in the Actions column for the target image.
In the Delete Image dialog box, set Delete Snapshots to Yes, select the confirmation checkbox, and click Confirm.