This article provides instructions for managing the backup state of VMware virtual machines within the Enterprise Workloads Management Console. Users may need to toggle this setting to temporarily suspend data protection for maintenance, cost management, or decommissioning processes without losing their most recent recovery points.
This guide is intended for Backup Administrators and IT Infrastructure Managers responsible for managing VMware data protection policies.
User Scenarios
Scheduled Maintenance: Disabling backups during known VM maintenance windows to avoid unnecessary job failures.
Resource Optimization: Manually pausing backups for non-critical VMs while ensuring the last successful backup remains available for restoration.
Resuming Protection: Re-enabling backups for previously paused VMs to restart the automated protection cycle.
Key Functional Behaviors
Automatic Suspension: Once a VM is disabled, Druva halts all scheduled backup activities.
Resume Logic: Backups only restart once the status is manually toggled back to "Enabled."
Enable or Disable Backup on VMware Virtual Machines
Prerequisites
You must have administrative access to the Druva Management Console.
The VMware vCenter or ESXi host must be registered and reachable.
Precautions
While a VM is disabled, the standard retention period is not honored for the most recent recovery point. This is a safety feature to ensure the latest data is not purged while the VM is inactive.
The latest recovery point cannot be deleted as long as the VM exists in the Management Console, regardless of its "Enabled" or "Disabled" status.
Procedure
Log in to the Management Console.
From the top menu bar, select your relevant organization if organizations are enabled.
Click Protect > VMware. The vCenter/ESXi host page will appear, listing all registered hypervisors.
Choose your registered vCenter/ESXi host from the card view, list view, or the left navigation pane.
In the navigation pane, click Configured VMs.
Note:
You can use the filter icon to quickly sort VMs by their current backup status (Enabled or Disabled).To update the backup state:
For Bulk Updates: Select multiple virtual machines using the checkboxes. Click the More Options (three dots) icon and select Enable Backup or Disable Backup.
For Individual Updates: Click on the specific VM name. Click the More Options button and select Enable Backup or Disable Backup.
Acknowledge the confirmation prompt. The update will be reflected in the Backup Enabled column.