Ransomware attackers specifically target and attempt to destroy backup systems to increase the probability of payment. Hardening your system is critical. Please ensure you have reviewed your platform security using the Security Hardening Checklist
Cohesity

COHESITY Documentation

Explore our documentation to get started, discover products & new features, access troubleshooting guides, register sources, platforms support.

Products
Data Security Alliance
Visit Cohesity.com
Demos
Support
Blogs
Developers
Partner Portals
Cohesity Community
© 2026 Cohesity, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use|
Privacy Policy|
Legal|
  1. Home
  3. NetBackup™ for VMware Administrator's Guide
  5. Restore virtual machines
  7. Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using NetBackup commands
  9. Modifying the virtual machine disk restore file
NetBackup™ for VMware Administrator's Guide

Modifying the virtual machine disk restore file

This topic describes how to modify the file that describes the virtual machine disk restore parameters. You must modify the file to describe your specific restore instance.

Two methods exist to modify the restore file, as follows:

A text editor

With a text editor, you can modify any or all of the fields.

See To modify a VMware virtual machine disk restore file by using a text editor.

A Veritas provided Perl script

With the restore_spec_utility.pl Perl script, you can perform the following operations:

  • - modify, to change the value of a field, one field at a time. Use this option to modify the fields that do not describe VMWareVirtualDiskDestination parameters.

  • -keep_disks, to specify the disks to retain in the restore parameters file. Any other disks are removed from the file.

  • -delete_disks, to specify the disks to delete from the restore parameters file. The disks that remain are restored.

Examine the script for a description of the options and example usage statements.

Perl must be installed on the host on which you modify the restore parameters file. Examine the script to determine which modules are required; some may require separate installation.

See To modify a VMware virtual machine disk restore file by using the restore_spec_utility.pl script.

The following table describes some restore scenarios and the values of the fields that are required to accommodate those scenarios.

Table: Restore parameters file items to edit

Item

Description

Disks

Edit the VMwareVirtualDiskDestination section of the file so that it contains only the virtual machine disk or disks that you want to restore. To ensure data integrity, be aware of the following:

  • If a file system volume spans multiple virtual machine disks, restore all of the virtual disks for that volume.

  • If a volume manager manages the volumes, restore all of the virtual disks in that volume set.

Restore to a datastore cluster

For a restore of virtual disks to a datastore cluster, specify the name of the datastore cluster in the Datastore field of the VMwareVirtualDiskDestination section. Do not specify the cluster in the Path field.

Note:

If the restore is to an existing VM, the VMDKs are not located in the existing datastore path for the VM. They reside in a datastore path based on the name of the temporary VM used in the restore. The name of the temporary VM is available in the details for the restore job in NetBackup.

Restore to an existing VM

By default, the restore parameters file that the nbrestorevm -restorespecout command creates is configured to restore to a new VM. To restore the virtual disks to an existing VM, do the following:

  • Specify the name of the VM in the VMName field. The VM must exist in the target vCenter or ESXi serve; if it does not exist, the restore fails with status code 2820.

  • Change the value of the AttachDisksToExistingVM field from No to Yes or, in the case of in-place disk restores, DeleteAllDisksAndReplace.

  • If a virtual disk to restore exists on the target VM already, configure the OverwriteExistingDisk field, as follows:

    • To overwrite the original virtual disk and retain the disk UUID, specify Yes.

    • To restore the virtual disk to the target VM as a new disk, specify No. VMware assigns a new UUID to the disk. The default is No.

    Disk UUIDs are always preserved with in-place disk restores.

  • The restore process shuts down the target virtual machine before it attaches the disk or disks. By default, NetBackup does not turn on the target VM. To turn on the target VM, specify Yes for the PowerOn option.

The VMwareAdvancedRestoreOptions section of the restore parameters file includes other parameters that are related to restoring to an existing VM.

The restore job details show the datastore path of the virtual disk when it was backed up and after it is restored.

Standalone ESXi hypervisor

To restore to a standalone ESXi hypervisor when the backup was through a vCenter, edit the following fields so that their values are None, as follows:

  • "vCenterServer": "None"

  • "Folder": "None"

  • "Datacenter" : "None"

The VM name

The nbrestorevm -restorespecout command adds a timestamp to the name of the original VM client when it populates the VMName field in the restore parameters file. The timestamp is the decimal number of seconds since January 1, 1970.

Depending on the requirements of the restore instance, you may need to edit the VMName field.

Other fields

Edit any of the other fields so that the values that describe the restore meet your needs.

See VMware virtual machine disk restore file.

This task is part of a larger process that describes how to restore an individual VMware virtual machine disk or disks.

See Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using NetBackup commands.

To modify a VMware virtual machine disk restore file by using a text editor

  1. Open the restore file in a text editor.
  2. Modify the parameters as necessary, save the file, and then close the editor.

    See VMware virtual machine disk restore file.

  3. Continue to the next task in the individual virtual machine disk restore process.

    See Validating the virtual machine disk restore file.

To modify a VMware virtual machine disk restore file by using the restore_spec_utility.pl script

  1. Invoke the Perl script to modify the restore parameters file as necessary, one field at a time. Examples of three supported -req_type operations follow:

    • The following is an example of a modify operation to change the VMName field:

      Windows: perl.exe C:\Progra~1\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\goodies\restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type modify -file_path restore_filename -field VMName -value new_vm_name

      UNIX: perl /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/goodies/restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type modify -file_path restore_filename -field VMName -value new_vm_name

    • The following is an example of a keep_disks operation to retain a subset of the disks that are described in a restore parameters file. It retains the scsi0-1 and scsi0-2 virtual disks and deletes all of the other defined disks from the file:

      Windows: perl.exe C:\Progra~1\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\goodies\restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type keep_disks -file_path restore_filename -controller scsi0-1,scsi0-2

      UNIX: perl /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/goodies/restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type keep_disks -file_path restore_filename -controller scsi0-1,scsi0-2

    • The following is an example of a delete_disks operation to delete a subset of the disks that are described in a restore parameters file. It deletes the scsi0-1 and scsi0-2 virtual disks and retains the other defined disks in the file:

      Windows: perl.exe C:\Progra~1\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\goodies\restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type delete_disks -file_path restore_filename -controller scsi0-0,scsi0-1

      UNIX: perl /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/goodies/restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type delete_disks -file_path restore_filename -controller scsi0-0,scsi0-1

    • The following is an example of modifying a restore specification for In-place disk restore:

      Windows: perl.exe C:\Progra~1\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\goodies\restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type modify -file_path restore_filename -field AttachDisksToExistingVM -value DeleteAllDisksAndReplace

      UNIX: perl /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/goodies/restore_spec_utility.pl -req_type modify -file_path restore_filename -field AttachDisksToExistingVM -value DeleteAllDisksAndReplace

  2. Repeat step 1 until you have finished modifying the file.
  3. Continue to the next task in the individual virtual machine disk restore process.

    See Validating the virtual machine disk restore file.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?
Previous

Creating the VMware virtual machine disk restore file

Next

Validating the virtual machine disk restore file

Feedback

Was this page helpful?