What technology is NOT commonly used for backup and restore in a VMware infrastructure?

Physical disk cloning is not commonly used for backup and restore in a VMware infrastructure because it does not integrate effectively with virtualized environments. Instead, VMware environments predominantly rely on virtual machine files, which are stored as files on a datastore. The technologies commonly utilized for backup and restore within VMware infrastructures, such as vSphere Replication, snapshot technologies, and third-party backup solutions, are designed specifically for virtual machines and take advantage of their unique architectures.

For instance, vSphere Replication provides asynchronous replication of virtual machines, allowing for near real-time data protection and disaster recovery. Snapshot technologies enable administrators to capture the state of a virtual machine at a given point in time, allowing for quick restoration in case of failure. Third-party backup solutions often utilize VMware’s APIs to efficiently back up virtual machine data without disrupting normal operational performance.

In contrast, physical disk cloning typically involves a physical-to-physical workflow that is not applicable for virtual machines, which are already abstracted from the underlying physical hardware. Therefore, while disk cloning is useful in traditional environments, it does not align with the methodologies present in managing and protecting virtual infrastructures effectively.