What is ESXi configuration backup

A backup of an ESXi host configuration enables you to recover an ESXi host to bare metal including dissimilar hardware (as long as this hardware is supported for ESXi host installation by VMware). The recovery is performed using Acronis Cyber Backup bootable media environment.

The virtual machines running on the host are not included in the backup. The VMs must be backed up and recovered separately.

A backup of an ESXi host configuration includes:

• The bootloader and bootbank partitions of the host.
• The host state (configuration of virtual networking and storage, SSL keys, server network settings, and local users information).
• Extensions and patches installed or staged on the host.
• Log files.

During recovery of an ESXi host configuration you will be able to:

• Define the boot partition where the binary files will be restored to
• Manually map the physical network interfaces to VMware vSwitches (dvSwitches mapping is not supported)

See User Guide for more information.

Prerequisites

• SSH must be enabled in the Security Profile of the ESXi host configuration.
• You must know the password for the 'root' account on the ESXi host.
• SSH communication must be available from the backup agent to the ESXi host to be backed up (open SSH port 22.).

Limitations

• Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud supports ESXi configuration backup for VMware vSphere 6.7 starting from version 20.10.
• Acronis Cyber Protect 15 supports ESXi configuration backup for VMware vSphere 6.7 starting from Build 26172
• An ESXi configuration cannot be backed up to the cloud storage or to tape device
• The virtual machines running on the host are not included in the ESXi configuration backup. They can be backed up and recovered separately.
• ESXi configuration recovery is performed under bootable media.