<div>
I would say good solution (also free with not sao many features as paid version) is <b>Veeam</b>.<br />
also with free version you can backup entire VMs, to some network drive or USB device attached to host. There is a working script you can automate the backup process, so you just create scheduled job and backups are made (with defined parametres like compresion, encryption, email notification etc.)
</div>


I would say good solution (also free with not sao many features as paid version) is Veeam.
also with free version you can backup entire VMs, to some network drive or USB device attached to host. There is a working script you can automate the backup process, so you just create scheduled job and backups are made (with defined parametres like compresion, encryption, email notification etc.)

<div>
Thank you Andrew! your answer was everything I needed.<br />
<br />
Thank you helpfinder for your post as well.
</div>


Thank you Andrew! your answer was everything I needed.

Thank you helpfinder for your post as well.

<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Hello,<br />
<br />
Which is the best way to create a virtual machine backup in VMWare vsphere besides snapshots?<br />
<br />
For instance, how about if I want to perform a backup of all the vm files on a separate datastore that is already attached to the host.<br />
can I just copy the vm files into the datastore?<br />
<br />
Any help will be appreciated!
</div>
</div>


Hello,

Which is the best way to create a virtual machine backup in VMWare vsphere besides snapshots?

For instance, how about if I want to perform a backup of all the vm files on a separate datastore that is already attached to the host.
can I just copy the vm files into the datastore?

Any help will be appreciated!

Which is the best way to create a VMWARE virtual machine backup?

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

The term "Backup" means the methods and processes involved to copy computer data (system data as well as application data) to media other than the ones where the data originally live (disk, tape, optical, cloud). "Restore" in turn means the methods and processes involved in data recovery, i. e., bringing back copied computer data to their original location. Backup/Restore primarily serves as a means of protection against data loss, be it due to disaster, corruption or sabotage. It can also be used for recovering data from an earlier point in time and even for cloning machines or applications. There is a wide variety of backup/restore software available, from expensive commercial products to free or open source tools.

Storage Software

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.