Before getting started opening the ports required, ensure that you also have an iSCSI Storage Adapter as per the article here.
For VM Backup to be able to boot up a VMware VM from your backup drive, it requires ports 35200-35220 to be allowed through the VMware firewall (if it is enabled).
Adding custom ports to the VMware firewall is no easy task, so we have created a VIB (vSphere Installation Bundle) to make things easier for you.
This VIB will add a rule to the VMware firewall called "AltaroBootFromBackup"
The rule will allow outbound traffic on TCP ports 35200-35220
To use this VIB, please follow the steps below:
- Download the zipped AltaroBootFromBackup.vib file from the link below:
- Upload it to the root of your datastore on the ESXi host in question
- SSH to the ESXi host
- Use this command to run the VIB:
esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes//AltaroBootFromBackup.vib -f
Example:
esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/5d66ada0-bb61f01a-dabf-005056b8b67b/AltaroBootFromBackup.vib -f - The results should be a new VMware ESXi Firewall rule that looks something like this:
With this firewall rule in place, you should now be able to use the Boot From Backup feature on your ESXi Host successfully.