Perform this task to import or restore a VM from a VM backup file. You can import VMs from a local directory or from a remote server through FTP or SSH/SCP.
Make sure the VM to import or restore is not in the recycle bin.
Make sure the data source location stores the VM backup file to import.
Importing the backup file of a VM in shutdown state will overwrite the original VM, deleting the snapshot, and restoring the VM to the state when the data was backed up.
For VMs bound with physical CPUs, if you export the VMs and then import them to another host, make sure the source host and destination host have exactly the same NUMA architecture. If the hosts have different NUMA architectures, the import operation might fail or the VM performance might be affected.
From the left navigation pane, select Data Center > Virtualization > Cluster name > Host name.
Click Import VMs.
Perform the following tasks, and then click Next:
Select a local directory, or select a directory on a remote server and select a protocol used for transmitting data.
Click Backup Policies, and then select a backup policy to reference the data source in the policy. ARM hosts do not support referencing a data source.
Configure VM and backup time settings, and then click Finish.
Recovery Mode: Select a VM recovery mode.
Local Directory—Uses a local file to import or restore VMs.
FTP—Uses FTP to import or restore VMs.
SSH/SCP—Uses SSH/SCP to import or restore VMs.
IP: Enter the IP address of the remote server. This parameter is available only if the recovery mode is FTP or SSH/SCP.
Username: Enter the username for logging in to the remote server. It must be an account created on the remote FTP or SSH/SCP server.
Password: Enter the password for logging in to the remote server. This parameter is available only if the recovery mode is FTP or SSH/SCP.
Location: Enter the directory of the VM backup file, /vms/images for example.
Temp Directory: Enter the temporary directory used for importing or restoring VMs. If the specified directory does not exist, the system automatically creates the directory when importing or restoring a VM.
Select VM: Select the VM to import or restore.