Netbackup 7.6.0.1 Virtual Machine restore shows snapshot instead of original vmdk

[Mustafa_Baig]

I've NB version 7.6.0.1 running in a vmware vsphere 5.1 environment, using vmware policy to backup the virtual machines. The policy is configured to do full backups and also incremental backups. During testing, the backups are executed successfully. But for restore testing, the contents of backup are shown as vmname-000002.vmdk instead of vmname.vmdk. I've verified that the VMs do not have any snapshots when they are backed up by NB. The restore operation completes using NBD but say partial successfull and I'm not able to boot the virtual machine as it fails by saying cannnot open the disk, and its looking for vmname-000001.vmdk. In the snapshot manager, it show a snapshot named NBU_RESTORE. I was able to boot the virtual machine by doing a revert to NBU_RESTORE snapshot.

Is there something misconfigured in backup or restore operation due to which I don't see vmname.vmdk but vmname-000002.vmdk? Or is it the correct operation? The 7.6 vmware admin guide restore screenshot shows vmname.vmdk as well.

[INT_RND · Accepted solution]

A WMWare type backup is by definition a snapshot. Netbackup sends a request for the snapshot to VMware, makes a copy of the file, and then sends a command to remove the snapshot. You can watch this process from the vCenter if you want to see how you end up with a 02 file instead of a 01 file. 

You have many options for restore. You can restore files or perform instant recovery on a live VM. You can also overwrite a whole VM or clone to a new machine for testing. If you are using the Restore Type "Restore from Virtual Machine Backup" in the BAR GUI then you will get many options in the dialog wizard that pops up on restore.

Please give more information about the type of restore you are performing. Maybe try a different method too.