Month: May 2021

This was a strange one, but I have done it now more than once for a Tier 3 / Co-Managed IT client. They use the Macrium Reflect software to do image backups of client servers. They are looking to virtualize these servers going forward and wanted to know if it was possible to restore from Macrium Reflect to a Synology VM. Here is the process that we found to make it work:

Assumptions

1. We assume that you already have a Synology device setup and functioning properly.
2. We assume that you already installed the Virtual Machine Manager app on the Synology
3. We assume you already went through the initial setup wizard of the Virtual Machine Manager app
4. We assume that you have been backing up the server and have a valid image backup file
5. We assume you know the network path to these backup files
6. We assume you already know (and possess on the Synology) the required amount of CPU, Memory, and HDD space.

Process

1. Create Macrium Reflect bootable Rescue media
   1. Open Macrium Reflect
   2. Click on the Restore tab
   3. Open Other Tasks on the left hand side
   4. Choose Create bootable Rescue media
   5. Browse to where the current backups are stored and save it there (this makes finding everything easier later)
   6. Click Build (You may need to install some pre-requisites to make this possible, but Macrium Reflect with prompt you for it)
2. Create Virtual Machine
   1. Open the Synology Virtual Machine Manager app
   2. Click on Image
   3. Click on the Add button
   4. Find the Macrium Reflect Rescue media and add it to local storage
   5. Click on Virtual Machine on the left
   6. Click the Create button
   7. Choose the Microsoft Windows option (if appropriate)
   8. Select the proper storage amount
   9. Give it a name, CPU, Memory (as needed)
   10. Give it the needed storage amount(s)
   11. Leave it connected to the default network
   12. Download the Synology Guest Tools if needed.
   13. Select Macrium Reflect Rescue media for the ISO file for bootup
   14. Do not start the automatically
   15. Edit the VM and change it to start from the CD ROM
   16. Power it on
3. Restore from backup
   1. Connect to the VM
   2. Wait for Macrium Reflect Rescue media to boot (this can take awhile)
   3. Click on the blue computer icon at the bottom
   4. Click on the Map Network Drive icon
   5. Type in need information and click OK
   6. Go back to the Macrium Reflect window
   7. Click on Browse for an image or backup file to restore
   8. Find the appropriate file in the newly mapped network drive
   9. Click on Restore Image
   10. Select the target drive(s)
   11. Click Next, Finished
   12. Wait for restore to complete (this will take a long time)
4. Prepare restored image
   1. Once completed, click on the ReDeploy restored image to new hardware
   2. Add drivers if needed
   3. Accept any drivers it finds
   4. Accept the default options
   5. Finish the wizard by closing
   6. Power off the VM
   7. Edit the VM Storage to make the disk a SATA controller instead
   8. Edit the VM Others to make the BIOS UEFI
   9. Edit the VM Network to Not Connected
   10. Power on the VM
   11. Login and install the Synology Guest Tools from the attached CD-ROM drive
   12. Power off the VM
   13. Edit the VM Network to use the default connection
5. Power on the VM if you are ready to deploy

If your company is looking to virtualize your servers or take them to the cloud, then contact us to setup migration evaluation.