Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Administration Guide
96 VMware, Inc.
NOTE If!the!virtual!machine!has!a!Windows!guest!operating!system!installed!and!is!
configured!to!use!the!BusLogic!SCSI!adapter,!you!must!use!the!VMware!
BusLogic!driver,!available!from!the!VMware!Web!site!at!
http://www.vmware.com/download.
Using a Backup Agent Running on the Host Operating System
Another!backup!method!uses!a!backup!agent!running!on!the!VMware!Server!host.!You!
back!up!a!virtual!machine!by!suspending!and!resuming!it!with!batch!files!containing!
vmware-cmd!commands.!Suspending!a!virtual!machine!puts!it!in!a!state!in!which!the!
host!backup!software!can!gain!exclusive!access!to!the
!virtual!machine!files!to!complete!
its!task.
To backup a virtual machine directory using a backup agent
1Add!the!following!line!to!your!suspend!batch!file:
vmware-cmd <path_to_config>\<config>.vmx suspend
2Once!the!virtual!machine!is!suspended,!you!can!safely!back!up!this!virtual!
machineʹs!directory!using!the!backup!agent!installed!on!the!VMware!Server!host.
3After!the!backup!job!completes,!run!a!resume!batch!
job!to!restart!the!virtual!
machine.!
The!batch!file!should!contain!the!following!line:
vmware-cmd <path_to_config>\<config>.vmx start
This!command!resumes!the!virtual!machine!into!an!active,!running!state.
! If!you!want!to!restore!a!virtual!machine!to!a!server!other!than!the!VMware!Server!
host!where!it!was!originally!located,!shut!down!the!virtual!machine.!Instead!of!
using!the!suspend!batch!file,!use!one!that!powers!off!the!virtual!machine.
vmware-cmd <path_to_config>\<config>.vmx stop
! The!suspend,!stop,!and!resume!commands!can!be!used!in!pre‐!and!postjob!scripts!
that!are!normally!available!via!the!backup!software!being!used.!Backup!software!
such!as!Veritas!Backup!Exec!has!the!capability!to!run!pre‐!and!postbatch!jobs!with!
scheduled!backups.
Backing Up the VMware Server Host
To!completely!back!up!your!entire!VMware!Server!environment!for!a!given!point!in!
time,!back!up!your!entire!VMware!Server!host.!Shut!down!all!virtual!machines!on!the!