--- title: VMware Host Backup. Do You Need It? description: Find out how simple, fast, and cost-effective it is to protect your VMware Host infrastructure with Acronis Backup 12. canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/vmware-host-backup-do-you-need-it/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # VMware Host Backup. Do You Need It? How much time do you think you need to rebuild a VMware ESXi host? If you think it’s fast and easy, think again. When a system crashes bringing down your entire business operations, every second matters. Why spend hours restoring a virtual host server when you can easily recover it with Acronis Backup 12? [Learn More](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cyber-protect/) [![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team") [Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/) 2 min read Last updated 16 April 2018 VMware Host Backup. Do You Need It? “No.” That’s the answer I hear from almost every VCP (VMware Certified Professional). Then, many of them add: “installing ESXi is very easy!” and mention VMware Host Profiles, Auto Deploy, and other system deployment tools available to system administrators. These points are great and valid for large environments. If you have 30 ESXi hosts — you use Host Profiles. If you have 300 diskless systems — you use Auto Deploy. However, what if you have _one_ host? Yes, just one. And you — the IT administrator of a small company — have users, windows systems, network, internet, intranet, website, phone systems, and sometimes the electric wiring to worry about. In addition, you probably never had a couple of weeks to spare to get your VCP training and certification. Suddenly, the seemingly easy task becomes complex, and time-consuming. Let us, for a moment, forget the hassle of getting new hardware and just think about VMware. What do you do next? **Here are the steps to reinstall your ESXi host:** 1. Connect the hardware 2. Turn on the system 3. Boot the installation CD of your hypervisor 4. Input the network configuration 5. Input the security configuration 6. Install the hypervisor 7. Configure the hypervisor’s network 8. Configure the hypervisor’s storage 9. … 10. Install updates 11. … 27. Install additional software, agents – e.g. antivirus 29… 35. Install the backup software (to recover) 36. Configure the backup software (so it can recover) 37. … 55. Start recovering your VMs Chances are you will be stuck on many of these steps. Do you remember all the details of your network configuration? Security? DNS? Now let me ask you one simple question – why not back up all of these? Why are you using technologies that back up **only certain parts**of your system? Why not backup up everything? The virtualization host **_is_** your system and you must back it up — inclusive of its configuration and applications. Moreover, it should not take 55+ steps to recover. It should take less than 10. Choose a [backup solution](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/) that protects your entire environment — including your [VMware ESX](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/business/backup/virtual-machine/) and [Microsoft Hyper-V](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/business/backup/hyper-v/) virtualization hosts — not just VMs. The only software that can do this is **Acronis Backup 12**. Try [Acronis Backup 12](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/business/backup/) now and find out how simple, fast, and cost-effective it is to protect your VMware infrastructure (and all other small business data) with this powerful solution. **READ MORE:**[Acronis Backup 12 Now Protects Microsoft 365 and VMware vSphere 6.5](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/acronis-backup-12-now-protects-microsoft-office-365-and-vmware-vsphere-65/) [Leveraging Hyper-V 2016 Resilient Change Tracking for Backup](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/leveraging-hyper-v-2016-resilient-change-tracking-backup/) [How to Restore a Server in Less Than 15 Seconds](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/how-restore-server-less-15-seconds/) [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) ## Written by ![Image 3: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png) Acronis Editorial Team Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/frequently-asked-questions-protection-against-ransomware/) [Frequently Asked Questions: Protection Against Ransomware](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/frequently-asked-questions-protection-against-ransomware/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/eric-oneill-most-ransomware-attacks-affect-home-users/) [Eric O’Neill: Most of Ransomware Attacks Affect Home Users](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/eric-oneill-most-ransomware-attacks-affect-home-users/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com) ## Related stories Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog. [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) ![Image 4: stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/9600f3eea83b8f4e168ea6c1409c8c26.png) [stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/stc-bahrain-and-acronis-partner-to-bring-endpoint-security-to-businesses/) We are proud to announce a strategic partnership with stc Bahrain, expanding access to advanced cybersecurity services for businesses across Bahrain. **October 26, 2026**3 min read ![Image 5: Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/30cb571f6f1aaa131733e5727a4a250c.png) [Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/introducing-new-acronis-ceo-prakash-panjwani/) We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer, Prakash Panjwani. A veteran cybersecurity CEO, Panjwani previously served as CEO of WatchGuard Technologies and SafeNet. **October 15, 2026**2 min read ![Image 6: Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/18e90e89f5ec4ef0901f19008d4ccbf2.png) [Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-expands-mdr-toward-broader-workspace-protection/) Acronis is expanding the MDR service with capabilities that make this expertise easier to deliver and help partners address more risks. The developments build on a broader commitment to managed security: helping service providers protect the connected workspace while giving customers access to the expertise needed to investigate threats, respond effectively and maintain business continuity. **October 13, 2026**6 min read