ZVM restore options

Has anyone considered what happens if you lose the ZVM? I have been told that unless you have a recent configuration export using the Zerto Diagnostic Tool or you actually backup the exported configuration each day, you cannot recover a ZVM. There is little in terms of documentation when it comes to ZVM recoverability.  Even if we did have the exported configuration, That essentially restores all the VPGs, but the checkpoints are lost.

I have tried a backup of the ZVM with an out of place restore, but all the VPGs come up in a failed state, and no longer function nor can they be failed over. According to documentation, the VRA is holding the logs and checkpoints for each VM in a VPG. Why then when I restore a ZVM to an earlier state, (No VPG changes have been made prior to the restore), do all the VPGs then go offline. I cannot find any documentation related to the relationship between ZVM and VPG consistency.

I hope Im not too vague. I’m am trying to understand why the idea of restoring a ZVM fails outright, and what is the best method for restoring a ZVM in the event of failure.

Thanks

Sonny St James