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Backing Up and Restoring the VMM Database

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Applies To: Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1

The Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) database is a SQL Server database that contains all VMM configuration information.

It is important to back up the VMM database regularly as part of a comprehensive backup plan for protecting all VMM data, including data on hosts, virtual machines, and library servers. Besides using the tools provided in VMM, you can also use SQL Server Management Studio to back up and restore the VMM database.

To back up the VMM database

  1. In Administration view, click General, and then, in the Actions pane, click Back up Virtual Machine Manager.

  2. In the Virtual Machine Manager Backup dialog box, type the path for a destination folder for the backup file. The folder must not be a root directory and must be accessible to the SQL Server.

    Note

    You can follow the status of the backup in Jobs view.

Use the following procedures to perform data recovery and reassociate managed computers in your VMM environment. Which procedure you use depends on whether you are restoring to the same physical computer or to a different computer.

To restore the VMM database on the same computer

  1. To restore the VMM database, on the computer you are restoring the VMM database to, run the SCVMMrecover.exe tool from the command line. The scvmmrecover.exe tool is located on the system drive on the following path: \Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2\bin\scvmmrecover.exe.

  2. On the VMM database computer, open a command-prompt window with elevated privileges, and then run the SCVMMrecover.exe tool using the following syntax, SCVMMRecover [-Path <location>] [-Confirm].

  3. If the physical computer that you are restoring the VMM database on has the same System Identification Number (SID) as the computer it was on before, you must perform the following steps:

    1. In the VMM Administrator Console, in Hosts view, do the following:

      • Remove any hosts that were removed from VMM since the last backup was created. For more information, see How to Remove a Host (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=121827).

        If a host has been removed from VMM after the last backup was created, it will have a status of Needs Attention in Hosts view, and any virtual machines on that host will have a status of Host Not Responding in Virtual Machines view.

      • Add back any hosts that were added since the last update. For more information, see Adding Hosts.

    2. In the VMM Administrator Console, in Virtual Machines view, remove any virtual machines that were removed from VMM since the last backup was created. For more information, see How to Remove a Virtual Machine (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=121825).

      If a host is present but has a virtual machine that was removed since the last backup, the virtual machine will have a status of Missing in Virtual Machines view.

To restore the VMM database on a different computer

  1. To restore the VMM database, on the computer you are restoring the VMM database to, run the scvmmrecover.exe tool from the command line. The scvmmrecover.exe tool is located system drive on the following path: \Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2\bin\scvmmrecover.exe.

  2. On the VMM database computer, open a Command Prompt window with elevated privileges, and then run the scvmmrecover.exe tool using the following syntax, SCVMMRecover [-Path <location>] [-Confirm].

  3. If the physical computer that you are restoring the VMM database on is different from the original computer and has a different System Identification Number (SID), you must perform the following steps:

    1. In the VMM Administrator Console, in Administration view, do the following:

      1. Click Managed Computers, and, in the results pane, identify any managed computers with a status of Access Denied.

      2. Click a managed computer with a status of Access Denied, and then, in the Actions pane, click Reassociate.

    2. In the VMM Administrator Console, in Hosts view, do the following:

      • Remove any hosts that were removed from VMM since the last backup was created. For more information, see How to Remove a Host (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=121827).

        If a host has been removed from VMM after the last backup was created, it will have a status of Needs Attention in Hosts view and Access Denied in Managed Computers, and any virtual machines on that host will have a status of Host Not Responding in Virtual Machines view.

      • Add back any hosts that were added since the last update. For more information, see Adding Hosts.

    3. In the VMM Administrator Console, in Virtual Machines view, remove any virtual machines that were removed from VMM since the last backup was created. For more information, see How to Remove a Virtual Machine (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=121825).

      If a host is present but has a virtual machine that was removed since the last backup, the virtual machine will have a status of Missing in Virtual Machines view.

See Also

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