Translating Berlin

VMware disaster recovery starts here.

I’ll be the first one to say that I am anything but a computer expert. So if that is the case, it is pretty obvious that I am nowhere near what you would call a server expert. I really know very little about server recovery in general. So recently when I was called by my brother about his work’s VMware server, and really the fact that he needed VMware recovery fast, I honestly didn’t know what to say to him at first. I mean, I have dealt with a lot of Linux servers before but the idea of trying to recover a VMware server was a little bit beyond my technical expertise.

VMware Disaster Recovery For Dummies?

Yep, I’m pretty sure that any VMware server that has a failed or corrupted hard drive is going to require some kind of data recovery service. I know that there is a specialized program that you can get with the VMware system that allows you to recover data directly off of the machine.  I believe it’s just called VMware data recovery. I know, it sounds pretty basic. It’s not a very complicated product as far as I’ve seen, and I managed to actually find a couple of videos that will help you to install it (one is listed below). Unfortunately, because my brother had a actual hard disk breakdown, I knew that there was very little chance that he could recover his VMware data. I mean, pretty much everyone understands that you lose a couple of hard drives in a raid array, there is not a lot you can do in order to get them that if you don’t have the help of somebody who really understands hard drive recovery.

So, I ended up recommending a company that I have worked with on a number of occasions, particularly one that specializes in raid servers, because I knew that they are a certified VMware partner and actually know quite a bit about the server configuration. I know that these guys do a lot of raid recovery jobs on a weekly basis, and not just because they are one of the few shops in Southern California (Irvine, I think) that actually do these kind of complex recovery jobs. I have seen their clean room, and I can tell you that it is one fantastic looking place. It’s all doctors coats and interesting equipment. I know that these guys spend a lot of money investing in proprietary VMware disaster recovery equipment, which makes sense because they are definitely leaders in the field.

So anyway, my brother ended up calling them and everything ended up working out really well. I was actually surprised by how cheap the recovery was, is this is because this is a pretty specialized piece of equipment. Not a lot of people have VMware’s servers, and those who do usually keep a very good backup. Unfortunately, my brother isn’t the smartest guy, and I was really able in this case to save his job. It’s pretty brutal I know, but he is one of the forgetful type that really doesn’t get all the opportunities that many of us do.

I’m sure he owes me a couple of bottles of wine or something. I take him up on that pretty soon.