Backup and Restore ESXi Host Configuration Data Using PowerCLI

To back up the configuration data for an ESXi host using the vSphere PowerCLI, run the command:

Get-VMHostFirmware -VMHost "ESXi_host_IP" -BackupConfiguration -DestinationPath "location"

To restore the data to an ESXi Host the build number of the new host must match the build number of the host that created the backup file. Then;

1. Put the new host into maintenance mode;

Set-VMHost -VMHost "ip" -State "Maintenance"

2. Restore the configuration;

Set-VMHostFirmware -VMHost "ip" -Restore -SourcePath "location of file from backup operation" -HostUser "username" -HostPassword "password"

3. Exit maintenance mode;

Set-VMHost -VMHost "ip" -State "Connected"

Where are my FSMO roles?

The easy way to query which servers hold your FSMO roles is to open a command prompt and type;

NetDOM /query FSMO

This should return a list of each role and the server holding it.