If you wish to assign permissions to a user account in vCenter specifically for VM Backup, you need to configure the correct privileges for backup and restore operations to take place successfully. The following permissions apply to vCenter 5.0 and later, with a notable difference in the below table for vCenter 5.1 and later.

To create an account and assign the permissions, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to [Administration] > [Roles]
   
   
2. Click on [Add Role]
   
   
3. Enter a name for the role, such as VM Backup
   
   
4. Assign the following permissions to this account:
   

   Section	Privileges
   Cryptographic operations	•  Add disk •  Direct Access •  Encrypt •  Encrypt New •  Migrate
   dvPort Group	•  Create •  Delete •  Modify
   Datastore	•  Allocate space •  Browse Datastore •  Configure Datastore •  Low level file operations •  Remove file
   Extension	•  Register extension •  Unregister extension
   Folder	•  Create folder •  Delete folder
   Global	•  Cancel task •  Disable methods •  Enable methods •  Licenses •  Log event •  Manage custom attributes •  Set custom attribute •  Settings
   Host Configuration	•  Advanced settings •  Maintenance •  Network configuration •  Query patch •  Storage partition configuration
   Host Inventory	•  Modify Cluster
   Host Local Operations	•  Create VM •  Reconfigure VM
   vSphere Tagging	•  Assign or Unassign vSphere Tag
   Network	•  Assign network •  Configure
   Resource	•  Assign vApp to resource pool •  Assign virtual machine to resource pool •  Create resource pool •  Migrate powered off virtual machine •  Migrate powered on virtual machine • Remove resource pool
   Tasks	•  Create task •  Update task
   Datastore cluster	•  Configure a datastore cluster
   Profile-driven storage	•  Profile-drive storage update • Profile-driven storage view
   vApp	•  Import • Add virtual machine • Assign resource pool • Unregister
   Virtual Machine Configuration	•  Select all privileges in this section
   Guest operations	•  Guest operation modifications • Guest operation program execution • Guest operation queries
   Virtual Machine Interaction	•  Configure CD media •  Configure floppy media • Console interaction •  Connect devices •  Guest Operating System Management by VIX API •  Power Off •  Power On •  VMware Tools Install • Suspend
   Virtual Machine Edit Inventory	•  Create new •  Register •  Remove •  Unregister
   Virtual Machine Provisioning	•  Allow disk access •  Allow read-only disk access •  Allow VM download •  Allow VM files upload •  Mark as template •  Mark as VM
   Virtual Machine Snapshot management	•  Create snapshot •  Remove snapshot • Rename snapshot •  Revert to snapshot

   
   
   
5. Go back to the [Hosts and Clusters] view
   
   
6. Click on the top-level vCenter and go to the [Permissions] tab
   
   
7. Add the specific user account you're looking to use, then assign the newly created User Role

    

8. Ensure that the vCenter is added from VM Backup using this user account