this function would be amazing, allowing me to transform a backup into a vmware virtual machine. in the event of a failure of hardware, this can allow me to bring up a clients PC / Server in a much lower timeframe than buying new hardware and dumping the backup image back to the new equipment.
I believe with the bootable media ISO I created , I could do this via making a virtual machine, booting the recovery ISO and dumping the backup back onto a VM, but importing from a OVA would be a ton easier.
thanks for making this great piece of free software Veeam !! you are great
- create a recovery media on an ISO
- make a backup
- create a blank VM with the required number of disks
- attach .iso to this VM and boot up the recovery appliance
- once restored you can use your physical machine as a VM
Of course that is not the main purpose of the Endpoint, but a small bonus we got, while working on the recovery media.
We have a workaround described above. By the way once the VBR as a backup target is enabled inside the Endpoint (after the current BETA) you would get the ability to run a file level restores from VBR console
I have a customer running Windows Server 2008 32-bit.
He begs me if it is possible to virtualize his server since it has some very specifig (and OLD!) software which can't be reinstalled on another server due to missing it-competency from the software provider.
So the only solution to keep this running for some more years it to virtualize it if his server is crashing.
I have not tried disk2vhdx on Server 2008, but I was thinking about giving Veeam Endpoing a shot here. I have the beta now, and was wondering if I am gonne try this, should I remove the ticket for include hardware drivers during backup since I will try to restore to a hyper-v machine?
This will mostly likely make no difference since hardware is vastly different and any included drivers from physical server will simply not be used. However, it just makes sense to do this (configure the recovery appliance not to include those drivers). Don't forget to install Hyper-V integration tools after restore has been completed, and please post your experiences!
I was able to P2V my laptop using the steps above without any issues at all, this software is truly a work of art! If you combine EndPoint with B&R as a backup repository I don't see any reason what so ever not to use this solution.
The restore of 52GB for a P2V conversion took about 2 hours from a small NAS box to a ESXi 5 server. (I can tell you now the bottleneck was the NAS box, its just something I test with.) Upon first boot I did notice windows thought the machine had shutdown unexpectedly and wanted to boot to Safe Mode. However I selected Normal and it booted directly into Windows without the need of another reboot.
Thank you for posting the results. There could be issue might be related to the drivers (VMs has common configurations and physical machines not) or applications you had inside your existing physical machine. If it is a simple laptop – then most probably you will not have any issues with restore, but for serious servers it’s definitely not recommended.
I agree, most P2V conversions has the biggest issues with storage controllers (that I have come across) and the removal of disconnected or unused devices from Device Manager. I find using a program like DevCon in conjuction with the remove-nonpresent-devices script useful in automating the removal process on the restored vm. (Use at own risk and test in a non-production environment first)
I would like the possibility to recover and start the Endpoint Client (physical or virtual) as a VM of a vSphere or Hyper-V environment directly from the Veeam B&R Server Console...a sort of "Instant P2V Recovery"!
It would be very practical and useful, both from operations and business continuity and DR prospective, to be able to convert the back file (.vbk) to a vmdk, creating the opportunity for the Endpoint users to complete a P2V scenario.
I have heard, from my previous individual conversations with Veeam representatives that the Endpoint product was not designed for P2V. Knowing this fact, I believe there is nothing in the way of using the product to accomplish converting a physical machine to a VM. I am in the process of testing this and will convey my results to either the forum (here) or tweet it (@SoPahTech).
Thank you for considering the backup file conversion to VMDK and possibly making it available in the GA.
Have a great week everyone.
P.S. Anton: Received your newsletter (e-mail). Very informative and productive! Please keep up the good work!
Yes. Sure Adam. That will work as well. But doesn't the convertor only allow one to grab the back file and convert it into a VM? (enabling us to let the VM land on a host) I want to be able to perform a file-to-file conversion. Meaning I need the backup software let me convert the vbk file to vmdk. This will be very useful for business continuity (BC) and DR scenarios.
Having said that I need to the first scenario as well (using the VMware convertor to use the Endpoint backup file and convert it to a VM.)
Have you or any one else here at the forum tested that? Is the Endpoint vbk file recognizable by the convertor?
You are correct that some other backup systems can do a P2V based off of their own backups (Symantec Backup Exec for example). From what I have seen tho, this application never was intended to interface with its B&R cousin, which would have the tools to interface with VMware and Hyper-V. Doesn't mean it's not on the roadmap though!
Absolutely. I was reluctant to bring it up here. But you are correct. Symantec products including Symantec System Restore 2014 is able to do a one-time conversion. This is to convert the SSR backup file to a vmdk file.
I am hoping that this feature will be included in the roadmap. Ability to use the vbk file to with VMware convertor, is another feature on my wish list since you have mentioned it's not currently available.
As promised, on testing P2V:
I was able to successfully use Endpoint to complete a P2V process: (in vSphere):
A. Backup the physical machine
B. Create a shell VM
C. Boot to the bootable ISO
D. Restore using the backup file.
It worked like a charm. No driver issues.
OS: Windows 7 (64 Bit).
Hardware: HP xw-4400 Workstation
Now the next test should be to repeat the process on a server (i.e, Dell PowerEdge or other server platforms). This will be a more comprehensive test for the drivers.
Hi Guys,
I've tried SamVan suggestion without good result, Blue screen appear after restore the image into VM.
it's sound strange that Veeam doesn't provide an official way to convert bare metal offline backup (.vbk) to Vmdk.
Please give your suggestions and experience, I like veeam and I prefer to use it for these common task.
Most probably, you did restore with all the drivers collected from the original OS. Prior to performing a Bare Metal Recovery got to Tools > drivers and uncheck the box ’inject drivers’
Veeam doesn't provide an official way to convert bare metal offline backup (.vbk) to Vmdk
'Export as virtual disk' is a type of restore available in VBR console as a part of integration with VEB.
