How to mount VMDKs from a block snapshot or replication to a VM

Ops Center Protector VMware Application Guide
Version
7.6.x
Audience
anonymous
Part Number
MK-99PRT004-07

It is assumed that a VMware policy that creates hardware snapshots or replications has been implemented and that at least one snapshot or replication has been created. See How to create VM restore points with block snapshots for an example of how to do this.

Note: Snapshots and replications cannot be used for mount operations if they are currently mounted elsewhere.

This task describes the steps to follow when mounting virtual disks (VMDKs), contained within a block snapshot or replication, to an existing VM. This procedure will result in all of the VMDKs from the selected VM backup being mounted as new virtual disks on the target VM. The target VM can be the original or a different machine. The newly mounted VMDKs appear in addition to any existing virtual disks:

Snapshots and replications can also be exposed to a Host Group by using the SAN option for manual mounting as described in the Hitachi Block VMware Mount Wizard.

  1. Identify the destination where the VMDKs are to be mounted. The destination host must be represented by an Protector VMware node. If the destination is not represented in Protector, then create one using the VMware Node Wizard.
  2. Ensure that the mount location is prepared to receive the VMDKs by locating the host node in the Nodes Inventory and checking it is authorized and online.
  3. Locate the VMware snapshot or replication, containing the VMDKs to be mounted, by clicking the Restore link on the Navigation Sidebar to open the Restore Dashboard. Then click the Hitachi Block button to open the Block Restore Inventory.
    You must click the Search button to view the list of available snapshots.
  4. Select the VMware snapshot or replication that contains the VMDKs to be mounted. Then click Mount to open the Hitachi Block VMware Mount Wizard which will guide you through the mount process.
    1. Select the Virtual Machine that contains the VMDKs to be mounted. Click Next.
    2. Select the VMware Node where the mount target VM is located. Click Next.
      A tree view of the target VMware Node appears below the selected node.
    3. Select the target VM where the VMDKs are to be mounted. Click Next.
    4. Select the mount mode and specify the Mount Pool if necessary, then click Finish.
      CAUTION:
      Select the mount mode depending on the behaviour required:
      • Mount original - Any changes made to the mounted VMDKs will persist after the original snapshot is unmounted.
      • Mount duplicate - Any changes made to the mounted VMDKs in a duplicate snapshot will be lost when the snapshot is unmounted. If you want to preserve the original snapshot, use Cascade mode (the default setting) in the Block Snapshot Configuration Wizard when assigning the snapshot operation on the data flow. This will enable the Mount duplicate when mounting.
      The Jobs Inventory is displayed and a mount job is started.
  5. Once the mount job is complete, further steps may be needed to fix-up the application data on the VM before using it. The amount of fix-up work required depends on the applications hosted on the VM.
  6. It may be necessary to restart the OS on the VM before the newly mounted virtual disks can be used.