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This page describes how to create a restore for virtual machine (VM) workloads in Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped.
You can create a restore for a backup that was created manually or automatically by a backup plan. The restored VM and its associated disks contain different names based on the value you specify in the restoredResourceName field. All of the VM resources mentioned in the scope of VirtualMachineBackupPlan resource are restored. All the resources that are restored get their name prefixed with the value of the restoredResourceName field.
When a backup is restored, the entire VM is restored. After the resources are created, the restoration of application capability is subject to the VM operating system or image.
Before you begin
To create a restore, you must have the following:
An existing backup. Create backups on a schedule using backup plans, or create backups manually. For more information, see Create a scoped backup plan.
VM_BACKUP_NAME: the name of the VirtualMachineBackup resource to restore from.
PROJECT_NAME: the name of the GDC project.
RESTORE_REQUEST_NAME: the name to give the restore request that is being initiated.
RESTORE_NAME: the name to give the restore that is being initiated.
RESTORE_PREFIX: the prefix given to newly created VM resources. The restored VM and VM disk names are prefixed with restoredResourceName value in the restore request.
RESTORED_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION: a description of the restore being performed.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide details the process of restoring virtual machine (VM) workloads in Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped environments.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eRestoration can be performed from backups created either manually or through scheduled backup plans.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhen restoring, the entire VM is restored, and all resources associated with the \u003ccode\u003eVirtualMachineBackupPlan\u003c/code\u003e will receive a new name prefixed by the \u003ccode\u003erestoredResourceName\u003c/code\u003e field value.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCreating a restore requires an existing backup and the necessary identity and access role permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA \u003ccode\u003eVirtualMachineRestoreRequest\u003c/code\u003e resource is used to initiate the restore, with configurations for the source backup name, project name, restore name, resource name prefix, and a description.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Create a restore\n\nThis page describes how to create a restore for virtual machine (VM) workloads in Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped.\n\nYou can create a restore for a backup that was created manually or automatically by a backup plan. The restored VM and its associated disks contain different names based on the value you specify in the `restoredResourceName` field. All of the VM resources mentioned in the scope of `VirtualMachineBackupPlan` resource are restored. All the resources that are restored get their name prefixed with the value of the `restoredResourceName` field.\n\nWhen a backup is restored, the entire VM is restored. After the resources are created, the restoration of application capability is subject to the VM operating system or image.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\nTo create a restore, you must have the following:\n\n- An existing backup. Create backups on a schedule using backup plans, or create backups manually. For more information, see [Create a scoped backup plan](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/scope-schedule/create-scoped-backup-plan).\n- The necessary identity and access role. For more information, see [Prepare roles and permissions](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/scope-schedule/vm-scope-overview#prepare-roles-permissions).\n\nCreate a manual VM backup\n-------------------------\n\nCreate the `VirtualMachineRestoreRequest` resource using the API: \n\n apiVersion: virtualmachine.gdc.goog/v1\n kind: VirtualMachineRestoreRequest\n metadata:\n name: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eRESTORE_REQUEST_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n namespace: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003ePROJECT_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n spec:\n virtualMachineBackup: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eVM_BACKUP_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n restoreName: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eRESTORE_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n restoredResourceName: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eRESTORE_PREFIX\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n restoredResourceDescription: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eRESTORED_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n\nReplace the following:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eVM_BACKUP_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the `VirtualMachineBackup` resource to restore from.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the GDC project.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eRESTORE_REQUEST_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name to give the restore request that is being initiated.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eRESTORE_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name to give the restore that is being initiated.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eRESTORE_PREFIX\u003c/var\u003e: the prefix given to newly created VM resources. The restored VM and VM disk names are prefixed with `restoredResourceName` value in the restore request.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eRESTORED_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION\u003c/var\u003e: a description of the restore being performed.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- [Clean up labels after restoring VM-attached disks](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/clean-up-labels-after-restore)"]]