This article provides an overview of different backup/restore methods available in XenServer for Virtual Machine Metadata.

Background

Backup/Restore or Site Recover/Disaster Recovery options in XenServer have evolved over recent product versions. This document briefly explains those options.

XenServer – Disaster Recovery Options

On XenServer 6.0.2 and later has two options to backup/restore Virtual Machine Metadata:

Metadata Backup, Restore and Update mechanism

Manual and on demand backup or restore through the XenCenter Console Server menu is displayed in the following screenshot. This option provides a one-time Backup or Restore action. This feature is still present, but not recommended for use in Enterprise environments. (The “legacy Metadata Backup, Restore and Update mechanism” feature indicated on page 87, of CTX130420 - XenServer 6.0 Administrator's Guide).

Site Recovery

Prior to XenServer 6.0, Site Recovery was a feature of StorageLink Site Recovery Manager and required a separate Microsoft Windows Server. Site Recovery could manage the replication as part of the process.

With the release of XenServer 6.0, Site Recovery (renamed as Disaster Recovery in XenCenter), is separated from StorageLink and integrated directly into XenServer to remove the dependency on a narrow Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), and at times, even on firmware version. Disaster Recovery (Site Recovery) can be used with XenServer Storage Repositories running on iSCSI or Fiber Channel (FC) arrays. The customers are allowed to follow their storage vendor’s best practice for replication of the Logical Unit Number (LUN).

After Site Recovery is enabled, it automatically updates the Metadata real-time when changes are made, and keeps the backup constantly up to date.

Note: The scripts to extract the Metadata from Dom0 and to replicate it are not supported now. The only supported mechanisms to backup Metadata are those built-in to XenServer.