How to export an ESXi 5.5 VM for Restore
In case you don’t have a backup solution in your home labs but also surprisingly in your company. I would like to show you a backup variant for your VMs. Please note that a backup is necessary in the home lab as well as in the company for long-term data consistency. This is by no means a professional backup solution but intended for the case of a missing backup appliance.
Especially in VMware 5.5 environments where you perform an open heart surgery due to the unsupported version (End of Support: 19.08.2020), a backup is of utmost importance.
The following are the steps to export a VM into a file for later restore:
- Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.5 (ESXi 5.5) or vSphere vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
- Click the Inventory icon.
- Select the virtual machine to backup (export) in the virtual machine inventory.
Note : Ensure that the virtual machines are powered off, before you backup (export) the virtual machines.
- Select File > Export > Export OVF Template.
The Export function will backup the entire virtual machine to an OVF or OVA file. An OVF/OVA file is an Open Virtualization Format, OVF/OVA is an open standard for packaging and distributing virtual machines, sometimes referred to as virtual appliances. These files can also be restored to other Hypervisors e.g. Microsoft Hyper-V, Oracle Virtualbox.
- At the Export OVF Template diaglogue wizard, the default name entered is the name of the virtual machine.
- Enter a folder/directory on your local machine to store the backup, select OVF, and enter a Description of the Backup.
- Un-tick include image files attached to floppy and CD/DVD devices in the OVF package.
- Click OK to proceed with the export (backup).
Please do not forget to allocate appropriate disk space to your VMs to be exported. After you have upgraded to a newer version, you can import the OVF/OVA file back into your ESXi.
If you have any questions and you are interested in a professional Backup Solution, please use the comment section.