Users Guide

Configuration back up and restore procedures

NOTE: Dell EMC recommends that you back up your VMware ESXi configuration after you complete the initial setup on

a routine schedule that fits your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration captures the license code (host

serial number).

To back up or restore the configuration information, use the VMware vSphere CLI. The vSphere CLI is available in:

• vSphere CLI package—vSphere CLI package can be installed on either Linux or on Microsoft Windows operating systems.

• vSphere Management Assistant (vMA)—vMA can be deployed on an ESXi host.

Both of these software are available for download from vmware.com. For more information on setting up and running the vSphere CLI,

see VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide and VMware ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup

Guide at vmware.com/support/pubs.

The backup and restore steps are given in this section assume that:

• You have already imported the vSphere CLI to a system other than the one you want to back up or restore.

• You have installed the Windows or Linux management Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

For more information about backing up the configuration of your ESXi host, see How to back up ESXi host configuration (2042141).

Topics:

• Restoring configuration of your ESXi host

Restoring configuration of your ESXi host

To restore the configuration data of a host:

NOTE:

The backup process does not support restoring to later builds. This requirement can be overridden by using the –

f option.

1. Turn off any VM that is running on the host you want to restore.

2. Optionally, restore the host to the ESXi build number used when the backup file was created.

3. Start the vSphere CLI on a host other than the host you want to restore and log in.

4. Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the –l flag to load and restore the backup file to the host.

vicfg-cfgbackup --server <ESXi-host-IP> -- portnumber <port_number> --protocol

<protocol_type>-- username <username> --password <password> -l <backup_filename>

The -portnumber and -protocol options are optional. If you exclude them, the defaults are port 443 and protocol HTTPS.

NOTE:

If you do not specify a password in the command line, you are prompted for one when the command executes.

For example: vicfgcfgbackup --server 172.17.13.211 --username root –l backupdate.dat

After a successful restore, the system reboots using the new configuration. For complete instructions on backup and restore

commands, see VMware ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup Guide at vmware.com/support/pubs.

20 Configuration back up and restore procedures