Finally v11 is launched, but I will not stop to talk about small features and improvements 
For today, I found a modern (app) feature. It is about instant virtual disk recovery. Which is not new in v11, but it is new to restore a disk as a First Class Disk (FCD) in vSphere. A FCD - also called Improved Virtual Disk (IVD) - is a new disk type for modern - containerized - applications. It can be used in kubernetes environments, like VMware Tanzu, to provide persistent storage.
More details about FCD you can find here:
- https://cormachogan.com/2018/11/21/a-primer-on-first-class-disks-improved-virtual-disks/
- https://cormachogan.com/2020/01/14/first-class-disks-enhanced-virtual-disks-revisited/
Idea for short: manage virtual disk easily even if it is not attached to a VM.
With v11, a virtual disk can be instantly recovered as FCD. This also means, you do not have to attach the disk to a VM at restore time - this can be done afterwards! This is not possible when instant-recovery as "normal" VMDK!
This is wow it works:
Select Instant disk recovery for backup of choice
In wizard select First class disk (FCD)
Name restore-disk as you like
Rest of the wizards is pretty much self-explanatory. After wizard is finished, Restore Session starts.
As usually, Instant Recovery session keeps running. One way to use this restored disk is to attach it to a VM. To do so, add hardware to your VM of choice and select Existing Hard Disk:
You find restored disk in temporary Veeam-Datastore
