I need to remove a VM from the inventor but can I retain a backup for future use?

[Peterjn]

Hello,

I need to remove a VM from the inventory, but can I retain a backup of that windows SQL Server VM for future use? Or will I lose the backups when I "remove from disk"?  I need the space it uses s my headroom is thin

VMware ESXI 6.7.0
Proliant dl380 G9
Simplivity version from 2022 early

[Mahesh202]

Hi Peterjn

When you remove a virtual machine (VM) from the inventory of an HPE SimpliVity storage, it does not necessarily mean that you are deleting the VM and all of its data. Instead, it means that you are removing the reference to the VM from the vCenter Server, which manages the VM inventory.

If you remove a VM from the inventory, you can still retain its backup for future use. HPE SimpliVity takes backups of VMs and stores them separately from the VMs themselves, so deleting a VM from the inventory does not automatically delete its backups.

However, if you choose to delete the VM from the disk, this will also delete its backups. So, if you want to retain the backups of the VM, you should make sure to keep them in a safe location before deleting the VM from the disk.

Before removing the VM from the inventory or deleting it from the disk, it's always a good idea to make sure you have a current backup of the VM to ensure you can recover it if needed. Additionally, if you are low on space, you can also consider offloading some of the backup data to an external storage device to free up space on the HPE SimpliVity storage.

Here are the steps to remove a VM from HPE SimpliVity inventory while retaining a backup:

1. Log in to the HPE SimpliVity web interface.
2. Navigate to the "Virtual Machines" page.
3. Select the VM that you want to remove from the inventory.
4. Click on the "Actions" menu and choose "Backup up Virtual Machine."
5. Wait for the backup to complete. You can monitor the progress of the backup from the "Backups" page.
6. Once the backup is complete, go back to the "Virtual Machines" page and select the VM again.
7. Click on the "Actions" menu and choose "Remove from Inventory."
8. In the confirmation dialog box, select yes to remove the virtual machine from the inventory."

Now, the VM has been removed from the inventory, but a backup of the VM still exists, and you can restore it if needed. To restore the VM, go to the "Backups" page, select the backup of the VM, and click on "Restore."
Follow the prompts to complete the restoration process.

Hope this helps.!!

Regards
Mahesh

[Peterjn]

@Mahesh202 

Thank you Mahesh,

You are correct that worked fine. I see the backups created by a rule are removed from disk with the process and that's where I was nervous. The manual backup remains.

I did need to restore a folder from the deleted VM backup. I followed the steps selected the folder and set the destination server to a windows 10 workstation (Visual Studio folder) and it did not place the folder in the CD drive as expected. 

I did have the CD device assigned to the OS instalation file. Asuming that was the problem I unmounted the CD device and went through the steps again to restore the folder needed and the folder is gone from the backup. Any thoughts where it would have landed?

[Mahesh202]

Hi Peterjn

You may try the below steps.

1. Ensure that the destination server (the Windows 10 workstation) is accessible and has enough space to receive the restored folder. Check the destination path and confirm that the folder is not there.

2. Verify the restore job in the HPE SimpliVity console to confirm that the restore job was completed successfully and did not encounter any errors or warnings. You may also check the logs for any errors or clues as to where the restored folder may have been placed.

3. If the destination server was not the issue, try restoring the folder to a different location on the same server or a different server to see if the restored folder appears.

4. If none of the above suggestions work or if you need further assistance, contact HPE SimpliVity support for further guidance and troubleshooting assistance.

It is also important to note that if the backup retention policy was configured to remove backups after a certain period of time, the backup containing the restored folder may have been deleted from the disk as per the policy. In this case, it may not be possible to restore the folder from that specific backup.

Hope this helps.!!

Regards
Mahesh