Requirements and considerations for Windows instant recovery

WIR is supported on most Recovery Series and Unitrends Backup appliances. This section describes the minimum Unitrends system requirements for leveraging the feature. For details about hypervisor system requirements for running a virtual failover client, see Requirements and considerations for running a virtual failover client on an external hypervisor.

The following appliances support WIR:

These additional requirements apply to perform WIR of a Windows 2016 client:

Unitrends software requirements

The table below provides details about the Unitrends software requirements for using WIR. To take full advantage of WIR and to benefit from significant performance enhancements, it is recommended that you update your Unitrends software to the latest release.

VFC location	Unitrends appliance software requirements	Unitrends Windows agent requirements
Recovery Series backup system	Release 6.2 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)	Release 6.2 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)
Recovery Series replication target	Release 7.3 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)	Release 7.3 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)
ESX host	Release 7.4 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)	The Windows client must be running Unitrends agent release 7.3 or higher (7.4 or higher for UEFI-based clients, 9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients).
Hyper-V server	Release 8.0 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients)	The Windows client must be running agent release 7.3 or higher (7.4 or higher for UEFI-based clients, 9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients). The Hyper-V server where the VFCs will reside must be running agent release 8.0 or higher (9.2 or higher for Windows 2016 clients).

This section provides details about the hypervisor system requirements for running a virtual failover client (VFC). To create the VFC, you must also meet the Unitrends system requirements for WIR.

A WIR virtual failover client VM running on a hypervisor is managed by the Unitrends appliance that created it. The appliance uses the following naming convention to mark the VM as one managed by Unitrends: Unitrends_<original client name>. You should access this VM only when it is in audit or live mode. You should not make manual changes to this VM, such as powering it on or off, or altering the configuration. Doing so can render the VFC invalid, and you will have to create a new VFC to protect the original client with Windows instant recovery.

For requirements and considerations specific to the different hypervisors, see the following topics:

Requirements and considerations for running a virtual failover client on an ESX server

Review the following requirements and considerations before creating a virtual failover client (VFC) on an ESX server.

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The ESX server must be running paid ESXi version 5.1 or a higher paid version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. (WIR is not supported on free ESXi versions.)

Note:  ESXi version 6.5 is supported for 64-bit Unitrends appliances only.

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The ESX server must support the operating system (OS) of the Windows client you are recovering. (See the VMware documentation for details.) For example, you cannot recover a Windows 2016 client to ESX 5.1.

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The ESX server must be a registered client of the Unitrends appliance from which you will create the VFC.

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The ESX server must have enough resources to run the VFC. You must assign the VFC a minimum of 1024MB of memory. The memory must be a multiple of 4.

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The appliance creates a VFC with a disk the same size as the disk on the original client. For Windows clients with disks larger than 2 TB, the VFC must be created on an ESXi server running paid ESXi version 5.5 or a higher paid ESXi version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix.

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The VFC virtual machine is configured with the latest hardware version supported by the ESX server. For example, a VFC created on a server running ESXi version 5.5 is configured with hardware version 10.

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The VFC can run on the same ESX server as a Unitrends Backup VM or on a different ESX server.

Requirements and considerations for running a virtual failover client on a Hyper-V server

Review the following requirements and considerations before creating a virtual failover client (VFC) on a Hyper-V server.

Requirements and considerations for all Hyper-V servers

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A VFC can run on the following:

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Windows Server with the Hyper-V role enabled, running a version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix.

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Hyper-V Server running a version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix.

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The Hyper-V host must support the operating system (OS) of the Windows client you are recovering. (See the Microsoft documentation for details.) For example, you cannot recover a Windows 2016 client to Hyper-V 2008 R2.

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The Hyper-V server must be a registered client of the Unitrends appliance from which you will create the VFC.

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The Unitrends Windows agent release 8.0 or higher must be installed on the Hyper-V server. After upgrading the agent, you must re-save the server on the Unitrends appliance from which you will perform WIR. Select Settings > Clients, Network, and Notifications > Clients. Select the Hyper-V server, and click Save. This forces the appliance to recognize the update to the agent on the Hyper-V server.

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The Hyper-V server must have enough resources to run the VFC. The minimum memory required to create a VFC and start the restore process is 1024 MB. The memory must be a multiple of 2.

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The appliance creates a VFC with a disk the same size as the disk on the original client. For Windows clients with disks larger than 2 TB, you cannot create the VFC on a Hyper-V host running 2008 R2 as this version does not support disks larger than 2 TB. You must use a later version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix instead.

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The generation of the VFC VM is determined by the firmware interface type of the client. VFCs for BIOS-based clients are created as generation 1 VMs, and VFCs for UEFI-based clients are created as generation 2 VMs. (For more details about VFCs for UEFI-based clients, see Firmware interface type and disk and volume configuration.)

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The VFC VM's configuration version is the highest configuration version that the hypervisor supports, up to version 5.0. If the hypervisor supports versions higher than 5.0, the VM is created with version 5.0.

Note:  Starting with VM configuration 6.2, Microsoft implemented a binary-based configuration format (VMCX). Due to this change, different recovery methods are required, which will be available in a future Unitrends release.

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The VFC can run on the same Hyper-V server as a Unitrends Backup VM or on a different Hyper-V server.

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A VFC for a UEFI-based client cannot run on 2008 R2.

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A VFC cannot reside on a Hyper-V server using a selection of SMB shares as shared storage.

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Pass-through disks are supported on VFCs. After booting the VFC in live mode and configuring the network settings, you must refresh and reconnect any existing iSCSI targets on the client.

Additional requirements and considerations for Hyper-V clusters

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A VFC can run on a server in a cluster configuration. You must install Unitrends Windows agent version 8.0 or higher on each node and add each node and the cluster to the appliance from which you will create the VFC. Every node in the cluster must have the same agent version installed.

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To create a clustered VFC, you must select the cluster when specifying the location for the VFC. You cannot specify an owner node. If you select an individual node in the cluster, the VFC will not be clustered.

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For a clustered VFC, you must select the network switch common to all nodes in the cluster. If you do not select this switch, a VFC in live mode that fails over to another cluster will lose network connectivity.

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To run the VFC on 2008 R2 servers in a cluster configuration, you must enable DCOM and WMI Virtualization access for all nodes in the cluster. For instructions, see KB 1140.

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During live migration of a clustered VFC, the Unitrends appliance cannot perform restores to the VFC, verify or audit the VFC, or boot it in live mode. If a restore or verify attempt is made during a live migration, the appliance will wait several minutes and then attempt the operation again. If you attempt to boot the VFC in audit or live mode during a live migration, the appliance notifies you that the operation cannot be performed because of the migration and prompts you to attempt the operation again later.

See the following for information about requirements for WIR clients:

Supported Windows operating systems and applications

The following Windows operating systems and applications are supported for instant recovery:

Item	Description
Client Operating Systems	Instant recovery is supported for the client operating systems listed below. Additional version limitations apply. See the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix for details. • Windows XP, 32-bit and 64-bit (SP2 and later) * • Windows Vista, 32-bit and 64-bit (SP2) • Windows 7, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows 8, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows 8.1, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows 10, 64-bit Notes:    • * For 32-bit Windows XP clients, the VFC must reside on a Recovery Series appliance or a Hyper-V server. It cannot reside on an ESX server. • To run a VFC on a virtual host, the target Hyper-V or ESX host must support the OS of the Windows client you are recovering. (See the Microsoft or VMware documentation for details.) For example, a VFC running Windows 10 cannot reside on Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 or ESX 5.1.
Server Operating Systems	Instant recovery is supported for the server operating systems listed below. Additional version limitations apply. See the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix for details. • Windows 2003, 32-bit and 64-bit (SP2) • Windows 2003 R2, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows Small Business Server 2003 and later, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows 2008, 32-bit and 64-bit • Windows 2008 R2, 64-bit • Windows 2012, 64-bit • Windows 2012 R2, 64-bit • Windows 2016, 64-bit* Notes:    • To run a VFC on a virtual host, the target Hyper-V or ESX host must support the OS of the Windows client you are recovering. (See the Microsoft or VMware documentation for details.) For example, a VFC running Windows 2016 cannot reside on ESX 5.1 or Hyper-V 2008 R2. • *For Windows 2016, the appliance must be running on Linux CentOS 6 and running Unitrends release 9.2 or higher.
Applications	• SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2016. • Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. The following limitations apply: • Windows Instant Recovery is not supported for Windows Cluster Server, and Hyper-V, Oracle, and SharePoint applications. You can use WIR to protect the Windows servers hosting these applications, but the feature will not protect the applications. • For SQL applications - To recover SQL databases that are available and running when the VFC enters live mode, the master, model, and msdb system databases must be present in the file-level full backup.

Firmware interface type and disk and volume configuration

For every operating system mentioned above, the following firmware interface, disk, and volume configurations are supported:

Item	Considerations
Firmware interface type	BIOS- and UEFI-based clients are supported. The following requirements must be met to create a VFC for a UEFI-based client: • Unitrends system and agent versions are 7.4 or higher. • The VFC location is one of the following: – An ESXi server running ESXi 5.1 or a higher version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. – A Hyper-V server running 2012 R2 or a higher version listed in the Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. For a VFC running on Hyper-V, the original UEFI-based client’s operating system must be 64-bit and running Windows 8 or higher. Note:  A VFC for a UEFI-based client cannot run on a Recovery Series appliance.
Disk configuration	WIR is supported on Windows machines configured with basic disks as well as dynamic disks, as long as the boot and system disks are not dynamic. Dynamic volumes configured as data volumes are supported for the following types: • RAID 5 • Spanned • Striped • Mirrored • Simple Notes:    • For Windows 8.1 and Windows 2012 R2, WIR protects the data from all disks, but a maximum of four disks are accessible when booting. • For Windows 2003, the boot disk must be located on one of the first three disks if you will be running the VFC on an ESX host.
Disk partition type	Master Boot Record (MBR) partition types are supported. GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks are supported with the following limitations: • Only the data volumes can be GPT. The boot and system volumes cannot be GPT. • A VFC for clients with GPT disks can run only on an external hypervisor. It cannot run on a Recovery Series appliance.
Deduplicated volumes	Volumes that use Microsoft deduplication are not supported in cases where the size of the data on the volume before it has been deduplicated is greater than the physical capacity of the volume. Because WIR recovers data in its non-deduplicated form, the volume must have enough capacity to house this non-deduplicated data.
Number of volumes	A client protected by WIR can have a maximum of 20 volumes, including the System Reserved volume and other unmounted volumes. A VFC created for a client with more than 20 volumes might not boot.
Separate boot and system partitions	For clients with boot and system partitions located on different disks, the system partition must be located on the first disk (Disk 0).
File System Configuration	The following file systems are supported for WIR: • NTFS • FAT/FAT32 • ReFS (Windows 2012 and later)
Active Directory	An Active Directory database (NTDS) located on the boot volume is supported. (If it is not located on the boot volume, the configuration is not supported and you see an error message when you add the VFC.)

Before setting up your virtual failover client (VFC), you must determine where it will reside. Supported VFC locations vary by Unitrends software version. For details, see Unitrends system requirements for WIR. The table below describes considerations for determining the VFC location.

To access a virtual failover client (VFC) in audit or live mode on a Recovery Series appliance, you must use a VNC viewer. One option for acquiring the viewer is www.realvnc.com, but any VNC viewer will work. For a VFC in audit or live mode on an ESX or Hyper-V server, you can access it with the same hypervisor manager used to access other VMs on the server. For more details about running and accessing a VFC in audit or live mode, see Auditing a virtual failover client and Taking a virtual failover client live.