VMWare VCenter Converter as Scheduled Disaster Recovery

For users or potential users.
Post Reply
User avatar
Justin Shafer
Posts: 596
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: Fort Worth, TX.

VMWare VCenter Converter as Scheduled Disaster Recovery

Post by Justin Shafer » Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:21 pm

I really like VCenter Converter, and I thought I would put together a system as using it in a schedule to backup a physical server to a virtual server that can be used in VMWare Workstation, but on a schedule. VCenter Converter does not allow you to use the scheduling features unless you are backing up to VSphere as a destination, but here is a way to do it with Workstation with the Windows Task Scheduler! VCenter Converter is Free!

This will allow you to have inexpensive Disaster Recovery. By no means is this better then having actual snapshots, but... it will work, and does have an odd and even rotation, or more.

Image

VMWare Workstation Ready to Power on the Virtual Server:
Image

The main ingredient is AutoHotKey. You can create an AutoHotKey Script to load VCenter Converter, and run a new Task when the script is loaded. Mouse and Keyboard simulation is used to achieve this. That means that the desktop resolution (at least for me) must always be 1024x768 with the script I created for a doctor. This script is meant to backup to a fileshare over a network, and can be ran daily. For some people their server has almost two 2TB of data, and this script would probably be best to be ran on the weekend, but for this office It has around 200GB so this will suffice as a daily disaster recovery task.

The script itself can be downloaded here if you want to see an example:
http://www.onsitedentalsystems.com/Disa ... Center.ahk

I have this setup to run as an executable file at 6:30pm Monday thru Friday.

But wait, there is more!
Question:
What if the server is locked at a Control-Alt-Delete Screen or no user is logged in?
What about backing up the Virtual Machine to Odd and Even?
Answer:
I use SyncBack Pro to backup the Virtual Machine to an Odd and Even Folder.
C:\Virtual Machines\Server corresponds to :
C:\Virtual Machines\Server\Backup\Odd
C:\Virtual Machines\Server\Backup\Even
This scheduled task runs at 10:00am Monday thru Friday
Next:
I have the computer hosting the VMWare Workstation automatically run Remote Desktop and login to the Physical Server at 6:27 so that way there will be a Desktop for AutoHotKey and VCenter to run on, EVEN if both the Server and the computer hosting VMWare Workstation is both locked to a control-alt-delete screen. Right before it does it deletes the folder:
C:\Virtual Machines\Server to make room for the next backup and to satisfy VCenter
Example Batch File:
http://www.onsitedentalsystems.com/LoginToServer.txt


http://justinshafer.blogspot.com/2015/0 ... er-as.html

Post Reply