12.2. Backing Up and Restoring Virtual Machines Using the Backup and Restore API

Procedure 12.7. Backing Up a Virtual Machine

1. Using the REST API, create a snapshot of the virtual machine to back up:

   POST /api/vms/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/snapshots/ HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <snapshot>
       <description>BACKUP</description>
   </snapshot>

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   Note

   When you take a snapshot of a virtual machine, a copy of the configuration data of the virtual machine as at the time the snapshot was taken is stored in the data attribute of the configuration attribute in initialization under the snapshot.

   Important

   You cannot take snapshots of disks that are marked as shareable or that are based on direct LUN disks.
2. Retrieve the configuration data of the virtual machine from the data attribute under the snapshot:

   GET /api/vms/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/snapshots/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml

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3. Identify the disk ID and snapshot ID of the snapshot:

   GET /api/vms/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/snapshots/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/disks HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml

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4. Attach the snapshot to the backup virtual machine and activate the disk:

   POST /api/vms/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222/disks/ HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <disk id="11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111">
       <snapshot id="11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"/>
       <active>true</active>
   </disk>
   

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5. Use the backup software on the backup virtual machine to back up the data on the snapshot disk.
6. Detach the snapshot disk from the backup virtual machine:

   DELETE /api/vms/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222/disks/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <action>
       <detach>true</detach>
   </action>
   

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7. Optionally, delete the snapshot:

   DELETE /api/vms/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/snapshots/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml

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Procedure 12.8. Restoring a Virtual Machine

1. In the Administration Portal, create a floating disk on which to restore the backup. See Section 10.6.1, “Creating Floating Virtual Disks” for details on how to create a floating disk.
2. Attach the disk to the backup virtual machine:

   POST /api/vms/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222/disks/ HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <disk id="11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111">
   </disk>
   

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3. Use the backup software to restore the backup to the disk.
4. Detach the disk from the backup virtual machine:

   DELETE /api/vms/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222/disks/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <action>
       <detach>true</detach>
   </action>
   

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5. Create a new virtual machine using the configuration data of the virtual machine being restored:

   POST /api/vms/ HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <vm>
       <cluster>
           <name>cluster_name</name>
       </cluster>
       <name>NAME</name>
       ...
   </vm>

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6. Attach the disk to the new virtual machine:

   POST /api/vms/33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333/disks/ HTTP/1.1
   Accept: application/xml
   Content-type: application/xml
   
   <disk id="11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111">
   </disk>
   

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