Restore SDDC Manager from File-Based Backups

As we all know, regular backup of the management components are very critical, and that ensures you can keep your environment operational by restoring if a data loss or failure occurs.

Today, In this blog post we'll perform SDDC Manager "RESTORE" to a fully operational state by using its File-Based backup.

Table Of Contents:

1. Overview Of SDDC Manager Backup configuration (Prior restoration)

2. Prerequisites

3. Prepare for Restoring SDDC Manager

4. Restore SDDC Manager from File-Based Backup

5. Health-check Validation After SDDC Manager Restore

1. Overiew Of SDDC Manager Backup configuration (Prior restoration):

2. Prerequisites:

   a. Make sure failed SDDC Manager is powered off and renamed.

   b. Validate the valid file-based backup status

   c. Require the SFTP server details/credentials

3. Prepare for Restoring SDDC Manager:

   
   

   Procedure

   a. SSH to SFTP server, and go to backup file location

   b. Extract the backup file

   
   

   # openssl enc -d -aes256 -in vcf-backup-sddc-manager-xxxxx-xxxxxx.tar.gz |

   tar -xzp

   
   

   When prompted, enter the encryption_password

   
   

   (please note, you can either use the same server, or can download the back file

   on local system and run the command). I have used the same SFTP server to

   extract the file and restore)

   c. Once extracted, locate and open the metadata.json file.

   d. Locate the sddc_manager_ova_location value and copy the URL to download

   the SDDC Manager OVA file.

   e. Now, open security_password_vault.json and record the backp password as

   well.

   
   

3. Restore SDDC Manager from File-Based Backup

   
   

   Procedure

   a. Login to Management Domain vCenter, and deploy a new SDDC Manager

   appliance by using the OVA file that you downloaded during the preparation for

   the restore.

   b. While OVA deployment, provided information must match with metadata.json

   file that you downloaded during the preparation.

   c. After SDDC Manager deployment completes, Take Snapshot.

   d. Power On the VM.

   e. Copy the encrypted backup file to the /tmp folder on the newly deployed SDDC

   Manager appliance. You can use CLI or WinSCP. I used CLI.

   
   

   # scp filename-of-restore-file vcf@sddc_manager_fqdn:/tmp/

f. Now, obtain the authentication token from the SDDC Manager appliance in

order to be able to execute the restore process by running the following

command.

# TOKEN=`curl https://<sddc_man_fqdn>/v1/tokens -k -X POST -H "Content-

Type: application/json" -d '{"username": "admin@local","password": "

<admin@local_password>"}' | awk -F "\"" '{ print $4}'`

g. Now, you run the command to start the restore process. Before running the

command update the values (highlighted bold below) as per your details.

curl https://<sddc_man_fqdn>/v1/restores/tasks -k -X POST -H "Content-

Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \

-d '{

"elements" : [ {

"resourceType" : "SDDC_MANAGER"

} ],

"backupFile" : "<backup_file>",

"encryption" : {

"passphrase" : "<encryption_password>"

}

}'

h. Record the ID of the restore task after running the above command.

i. Monitor the restore task by using the following command until the status

becomes Successful.

# curl https://<sddc_man_fqdn>/v1/restores/tasks/<restore_task_id> -k -X

GET -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Screenshots for reference:

SDDC Manager deployment

Snapshot captured

Copy the encrypted backup file to the /tmp

Obtain the authentication token

Command to start the restore process

Monitor the restore task

Monitor the restore tasks by using the command line until the status becomes successful.

For it, it took almost 15 to 20 minutes, it may vary & depend on the size of the environment.

5. Health-check Validation After SDDC Manager Restore

SDDC UI - Health-check:

CLI - Health-check:

Wow, Congratulations!!!

We've successfully performed SDDC Manager restore from File-Based backup now.

Conclusion

By following above steps, you can perform effectively restoration of your SDDC Manager from file-based backup.