Let us learn how to backup and restore qemu kvm virtual machine with the support of our KVM hosting support services at Bobcares.

How to backup and restore Qemu KVM virtual machine?

Backing up and restoring QEMU/KVM virtual machines entails maintaining the virtual machine’s disk images and configuration information.

This allows us to recover or migrate the VM to a different host if necessary.

Configuration

Here’s a general backup and restoration procedure:

• Identify VM files:

  Locate the virtual machine’s disk image file(s) as well as the XML configuration file.

  The disk image is normally placed in the:

  /var/lib/libvirt/images/ directory by default, and the XML configuration file is in /etc/libvirt/qemu/.
• Backup the disk image:

  Copy the disk image file(s) of the virtual machine to a secure location. This guarantees that the data of the VM is maintained.

  To execute the backup, we may utilize typical file backup tools or programs such as cp or rsync.
• Export the XML configuration:

  Export the virtual machine’s XML configuration file. This file includes the settings and virtual hardware characteristics for the VM. Additionally, copy the XML file to the backup destination.
• Stop the virtual machine:

  To preserve data consistency, it is important to gently shut down a virtual computer before restoring it.

  To turn off the VM, use the necessary commands, such as virsh shutdown vm-name>.
• Restore the disk image:

  Copy the previously backed-up disk image file(s) to the proper directory, often

  /var/lib/libvirt/images/

  , to restore a virtual machine.
• Import the XML configuration:

  Import the virtual machine’s XML configuration file with the virsh define command.

  virsh define /path/to/backup/vm.xml

  , for example. This step recreates the settings of the virtual computer.
• Start the virtual machine:

  After restoring the disk image and XML settings, we can restart the virtual machine using the virsh start vm-name command. Check that the recovered VM works as intended.

It is important to note that regular backup testing and having a well-defined backup plan, including off-site backups or incremental backups, are critical to ensuring data integrity and recovery in the event of failures or data loss.

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Conclusion

To sum up we have now seen how to backup and restore qemu kvm virtual machine with the support of our tech support team.