<div>
We normally run it from a Windows PC.
</div>


<div>
Yes, using vCLI (vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference) because it's easier for many of our clients, to run a batch file, from a scheduler, and write the contents to a windows share for backup.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.ref.doc%2Fvicfg-cfgbackup.html" rel="ugc nofollow">http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.ref.doc%2Fvicfg-cfgbackup.html</a>
</div>


Yes, using vCLI (vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference) because it's easier for many of our clients, to run a batch file, from a scheduler, and write the contents to a windows share for backup.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.ref.doc%2Fvicfg-cfgbackup.html [http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.ref.doc%2Fvicfg-cfgbackup.html]

<div>
is vicfg-cfgbackup an option for ESX 4.1 hosts?
</div>


is vicfg-cfgbackup an option for ESX 4.1 hosts?

<div>
What are backup options for ESX 4.1 host before upgrade to ESXi 5.1?
</div>


What are backup options for ESX 4.1 host before upgrade to ESXi 5.1?

<div>
Very limited, you would need to backup the entire server.
</div>


Very limited, you would need to backup the entire server.

<div>
I ran vicfg cfgbackup on ESX 4.1 host and it worked:<br />
<br />
1) Install Windows vCLI<br />
2) Enable SSH on ESX host<br />
3) Putty to host. login with root. Type following commands:<br />
mkdir /tmp/scratch<br />
mkdir /tmp/scratch/downloads<br />
exit<br />
4) Open vCLI command prompt, type:<br />
vicfg-cfgbackup.pl --server &lt;ip&gt; -s C:\temp\backup.bak
</div>


I ran vicfg cfgbackup on ESX 4.1 host and it worked:

1) Install Windows vCLI
2) Enable SSH on ESX host
3) Putty to host. login with root. Type following commands:
mkdir /tmp/scratch
mkdir /tmp/scratch/downloads
exit
4) Open vCLI command prompt, type:
vicfg-cfgbackup.pl --server <ip> -s C:\temp\backup.bak

<div>
It's not designed for ESX.<br />
<br />
I would not rely on that to restore your configuration.<br />
<br />
Document your configuration.
</div>


It's not designed for ESX.

I would not rely on that to restore your configuration.

Document your configuration.

<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Has anybody configured the vMA so I can run the vicfg-cfgbackup to backup a ESX host (4.1) before upgrade to ESXi 5.1?
</div>
</div>


Has anybody configured the vMA so I can run the vicfg-cfgbackup to backup a ESX host (4.1) before upgrade to ESXi 5.1?

VMware vMA vicfg-cfgbackup

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.