Virtual machines are cost-effective and bring productivity advantages, but when data is lost, the impact can be multiplied (and devastating).
Whether you have lost data due to a reformatted Datastore, a deleted snapshot, or even a hardware failure, you'll be pleased to know that several good data recovery options exist.
But as with all server data recovery efforts, it is imperative that you get expert advice immediately, to greatly improve your chances of virtual server data recovery.
What is virtual server data recovery?
The benefits of virtual machines are significant, including substantial cost savings as you consolidate your physical infrastructure, a reduced support burden and increased productivity as a result, and easy provisioning which can also bring data security benefits.
Despite these benefits, however, it is not all good news. The very nature of consolidation brings a multiplication of associated risks, be they greater data loss after an incident or more impactful risks after a security breach.
From the perspective of virtual machine recovery, the process can be complicated by the complexity of the relationship between the physical and logical components of the system, and despite the name, your 'virtual' data most definitely sits on a physical device somewhere, which is prone to all the usual failure types.
So what are the key considerations when looking at virtual server data recovery?
What causes virtual server data loss?
Virtual servers are beset by all the same data protection challenges as other types of server or storage devices, but given the complexity of their logical setup, and the fact that their physical location is often far from the user or support team, in many cases data loss from virtual systems is more difficult to protect against, and especially challenging to recover from after an incident.
That said, one of the main causes of data loss from a virtual disk remains human error, be it through erroneously deleted snapshots or VMs, incorrectly or accidentally formatted hosts or VMs, or simple misconfiguration or update processes.
When these problems occur, the data loss can be compounded by ill-judged efforts to rectify or cover up the initial error, often rendering data that would have been recoverable, irrecoverable.
Equally, software malfunctions that can cause corrupt host volumes, Datastores or system blocks are potentially very damaging, and unsurprisingly can rarely be rectified with off the shelf repair tools.
Additionally, every virtual server resides on a physical device somewhere and is therefore susceptible to all the dangers that can befall hardware. These include failed disks or RAIDs, overheating drives, and damage after a fire, flood, or other natural disasters.
One further challenge that can lead to data loss relates to the physical location of the storage, is it safely behind your firewall in a server room that is monitored 24 hours per day, or does it share real estate with other servers in a data centre somewhere? If the latter, can you be sure that the data centre security and data loss prevention processes are as stringent as yours, do they understand and respect fully the value of your data?
What are the different types of virtual server data recovery?
There are many different types of virtual server technologies, and each presents their own complexities when it comes to understanding how the respective data containers work, and as a result, data recovery from a virtual machine disk is rarely a simple task.
That said, given that virtual environments have been around for many years now, and the best data recovery companies have close relationships with the manufacturers of these technologies, the recovery skillsets in the market are quite advanced.
Routinely, the following systems and data loss scenarios are recoverable, provided that any physical damage to equipment is not severe, and the problem is caught quickly, before any software tools or users can write new data over that which needs to be recovered:
The list is forever changing as recovery tools get developed and new technologies come to market, so we always recommended contacting a virtual machine data recovery expert as a first step, even if your system or failure type isn't listed above.
The process for recovering virtual machines or hard drives is generally the same as with other data recovery types, with the effort being broken down into distinct stages:
Consultation
Usually free, preferably with a data recovery engineer (rather than a sales consultant), and a vital first step in the recovery journey. This stage helps both parties understand the nature and impact of the data loss event, and importantly defines what plan of action would be optimal given the unique circumstances.
Evaluation
This is a more detailed diagnosis of the virtual system, sometimes performed remotely - whereupon the data recovery expert will take a closer look at the data structures (and physical state of the storage devices if required) to ascertain not only how likely the virtual machine is to be recovered, but also timescales and cost.
Data recovery
Assuming the parameters as laid out after the evaluation are positive, and represent a viable endeavour - after all, only you can judge the value of your data and gauge the merit of recovery that perhaps might only be partially successful - then it is time to commit to the recovery effort proper.
Frequently any physical or electromechanical issues will need to be overcome in a Class 100 clean room before the software reconstruction can take place, and sometimes the success of the data recovery can depend on whether or not suitable (and exact match) donor parts can be found.
Remember there are rarely any guarantees in these challenging data recovery processes, so consider all the information presented to you and ask for assurances about recovered data quality where possible.
Research and development
Bear in mind that with these highly complex systems, R&D tool development might be required, sometimes in collaboration with the software or hardware manufacturer. This can be a time consuming and expensive process that usually requires committed fees without a guarantee of success.
So in summary, there are many different variables and types of virtual server data recoveries, with many engagements seeking specific solutions for the very first time, so alongside faith and deep pockets, patience is often also required. What you can control, however, is that you select the right company to help you in the first place. This is possibly the single most important factor in the recovery of data from a virtual environment.
How do I improve recovery chances after a virtual server data loss?
There are several best practices to observe in order to ensure the best recovery possible after virtual server data loss:
Unmount the affected volume immediately - taking it offline will prevent further data loss, and give you time to consider your recovery or restoration options.
Do not reformat the volume in an attempt to recover, as this will delete data and make any subsequent recovery effort worse.
Only attempt a recovery of a data volume or VMDK on a backup copy. If you make a mistake, or the recovery doesn't work, you still have the original data to send to a virtual server data recovery expert.
Never install recovery software or other tools directly onto the affected volume as this will potentially overwrite data that you would like to recover, and make any subsequent virtual recovery efforts harder.
Only attempt a RAID rebuild if you have a verified and complete backup, or all member drives are completely imaged. Again, missteps are very difficult to roll back, you can rarely afford to make mistakes on live / sole copies of the data.
If your system has suffered fire or liquid damage, it is imperative not to attempt to dry or clean the devices, as this is a job for the experts in their specially designed clean rooms. You will be causing more damage by letting wet devices dry, so try to keep them damp.
Do call an expert straight away, as frequently the first consultation will be free, and the advice you get could make the difference between a successful data recovery and a complete data disaster.
How much does virtual server data recovery cost?
It is very difficult to estimate the cost of data recovery from a virtual server due to the wide-ranging potential complexities and challenges from both a hardware and software perspective.
The industry standard is a free initial consultation, which would usually be done by phone, but sometimes would include a quick look at your system (if failures were logical in nature only) using remote data recovery technology. This phase is vital for both the customer and data recovery service company to establish some basic parameters of engagement and broadly agree (or not) on the scope and fee structure.
For the evaluation phase, the fee will usually range between $500 and $2,000 (or €500-€2,000 in Europe, £500-£2,000 in the UK etc.). This would cover a standard 24-48 hour analysis, and usually provide enough information to the data recovery provider to firm up the recovery quote to a narrower range or fixed fee.
Regarding the recovery proper, the historical fees for this type of data recovery vary wildly, but usually it would fall somewhere between $1,500 and $20,000. That is already a very wide range, and sometimes it goes even higher, but that is one of the key purposes of the evaluation - to gather information that would provide a meaningful estimate for the client to digest.
There are a few other factors too which can significantly influence the fee:
R&D tool development. This can easily add another $2,500+ to the fee, as and when required. This is probably only needed in 10-15% of cases though.
On-site recovery work. Where the data is so sensitive that it simply cannot leave site, or there is a technical reason why a recovery must be attempted at the customer's premises, you can expect additional fees of up to $2,500 per day due to the fact that this is an inefficient use of the data recovery engineer's time, and other clients' timelines would suffer.
Emergency 24/7 service. If the recovery is particularly time-critical, as downtime from virtual servers usually is, then you can expect other fees to double, as frequently there will be additional costs associated with teams working through the night, and also standing down other work to prioritise yours.
Clearly the recovery of data from virtual servers can, in some cases, be very expensive, perhaps even more so than the value of the data or the costs of data reconstruction, so it is very important to have a transparent relationship with your provider, and know that they can be trusted to deliver to their commitments.
Yet more expensive though, could be the cost and impact (reputational or operational) of selecting the wrong provider and ending up with a complete data wash out. Make sure you do your research before granting 3rd party access to your valuable data assets.
How do I find a professional virtual server recovery expert?
The virtual server data recovery industry is notoriously difficult to navigate, and for the uninitiated, it can be quite daunting.
At first glance, it would appear that there are lots of data recovery companies all with the same (or similar) technical, security, customer service and pricing credentials, however, this could not be further from the truth.
So in order to avoid the pitfalls of selecting an underqualified organisation to perform your virtual machine data recovery, see the following guidelines.
Ask the company for realistic data recovery success rates - what % of the time do they recover all the customer data? Simply stating a 97% success rate is very misleading, industry standards are more likely in the 70%-80% range, so look for companies that are honest and open about this.
Ask whether or not they have full data recovery facilities on their site, or whether they outsource some or all of the work to others? Outfits that have full hardware and software teams, with R&D resources to support, and full Class 100 (or better) clean room environments are the ones you should be looking for, with security and process credentials to match.
Check reviews independently - it is all too easy to only post positive reviews on your website, or manipulate those used by the review platforms. Search for all reviews and see whether more negative ones come up than expected - this is usually a sign that the company cannot be trusted.
See who the data recovery company is partnered with for technical exchanges - do they have access to the teams responsible for VMware ESX and vSAN, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Xen and Oracle VM? Oftentimes newer or highly complex virtual systems can only be recovered in consultation with the original manufacturer.
It is worth taking a little time at the start of your recovery journey to ensure that you have the best partner for this complex service, as that could well be the difference between a successful data recovery and a complete disaster.
To see who DataRecoveryCompared.com recommend for virtual data recovery services local to you (after vetting a wide panel of providers), click below.
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