Virtual Machine Backup Guide

Virtual Machine Backup Guide
ESX Server 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0

Revision: 20060615
Item: VI-ENG-Q206-216
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
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If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
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2006 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,397,242,
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Contents
Preface ................................................................ vii

AboutThisBook..................................................... viii
IntendedAudience ................................................... viii
DocumentFeedback .................................................. viii
VMwareInfrastructureDocumentation................................. viii
ConventionsandAbbreviations ..........................................ix
TechnicalSupportandEducationResources ...............................ix
SelfServiceSupport..................................................ix
OnlineandTelephoneSupport........................................x
SupportOfferings....................................................x
VMwareEducationServices...........................................x
Chapter1Introduction ...............................................1
Concepts ..............................................................2
WhattoBackUp .......................................................2
VirtualMachineContents .............................................3
VirtualMachineDisks .............................................3
RawDeviceMappings.............................................4
AccessingandManagingVirtualDiskFiles .............................4
BackupComponentsandApproaches ....................................5
BackupApproaches ..................................................6
UsingTraditionalBackupMethods .......................................6
TraditionalBackupConsiderations.....................................7
BackingUptheServiceConsole .......................................7
BackingUpVirtualMachines .........................................8
BackupClientinaVirtualMachine..................................8
BackupClientintheServiceConsole................................10
SANBackups ....................................................11
NFSBackups ....................................................11
UsingVMwareConsolidatedBackup ....................................12
VMwareConsolidatedBackupAdvantages............................12
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Chapter2VMwareConsolidatedBackup ........................13
Overview............................................................14
HowConsolidatedBackupWorks .......................................14
IntegrationwithThirdPartyBackupSoftware ..........................14
Requirements ......................................................15
VMwareVirtualMachineSnapshotTechnology ........................16
ConsiderationsWhenCreatingSnapshots ...........................17
FileLevelBackups ...............................................17
FullVirtualMachineBackups ......................................18
SettingUpConsolidatedBackup........................................18
VMwareESXServerandVirtualCenterConfiguration ...................18
SANConfiguration .................................................19
ConfiguringtheThirdPartySoftware.................................20
ChangingBackupPoliciesafterESXServerUpgrades.................20
VCBProxyConfiguration ............................................21
HardwareRequirements ..........................................21
Prerequisites.....................................................21
ConfiguringWindowsontheVCBProxy ..............................22
DisablingAutomaticDriveLetterAssignment.......................22
ConfiguringtheConsolidatedBackupFramework ....................23
InstallingaBackupSoftwareInteroperabilityModule .................25
ConfiguringVirtualMachinesforConsolidatedBackup ....................25
ConsolidatedBackupRestrictions.......................................25
UsingConsolidatedBackup ............................................26
Aliases............................................................26
ConfiguringBackupJobs ............................................27
FirstTimeBackup ..................................................27
AdvancedConfigurations ..............................................27
RunningCustomQuiescingScripts ...................................28
CancelingaBackupJob ..............................................29
Chapter3RestorationandDisasterRecovery ....................31
RestoringYourFilesUsingConsolidatedBackup ..........................32
Restore ............................................................32
CentralizedRestore...............................................32
PerGroupRestore................................................32
SelfServiceBackup ...............................................33
RestoringFilesUsingthevcbRestoreUtility ..............................33
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Contents
DataRecovery ........................................................33
Troubleshooting ......................................................33
Chapter4BackupScenarios........................................35
BackupUsageScenarios ...............................................36
ATypicalConsolidatedBackupUsageScenario ...........................36
AppendixAUsingServiceConsoletoBackUpandRestore
VirtualMachines .................................................37
GeneralConfigurationSettingsforConsolidatedBackupUtilities ...........38
ConfigurationFileSettings ...........................................38
BackingUpVirtualMachines ...........................................40
PerformingBackups ................................................40
IdentifyingVirtualMachines .........................................41
IdentifyingVirtualMachinesbyDNSNameorIPAddress ............41
IdentifyingVirtualMachinesbyBIOSUUID .........................41
IdentifyingVirtualMachinesbyMoRef .............................42
IdentifyingGroupsofVirtualMachines.............................42
SpecifyingBackupDestinations.......................................43
BackingUptoaLocalDirectory ....................................43
BackingUptoaRemoteServer.....................................43
RestoringVirtualMachines.............................................44
RestoringVirtualMachinestoOriginalLocations.......................44
RestoringVirtualMachinestoAlternativeLocations ....................44
CopyingaCatalogFile ............................................45
EditingaCatalogFile.............................................45
RestoringVirtualMachinesUsinganAlternateCatalog ...............47
NoninteractiveUseofthevcbRestoreUtility ...........................48
AppendixBRestoringVirtualMachinesfrom
ESXServer2.5.xtoESXServer3.0 ..............................49
SettingConfigurationParameters .......................................50
RestoringESX2.5.xServerVirtualMachines ..............................51
Index ..................................................................53
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VMware, Inc.
Preface
ThisprefacedescribesthecontentsoftheVirtualMachineBackupGuideandprovides
pointerstotechnicalandeducationalresources.
Thisprefacecontainsthefollowingtopics:
!
AboutThisBookonpage viii
IntendedAudienceonpage viii
DocumentFeedbackonpage viii
VMwareInfrastructureDocumentationonpage viii
ConventionsandAbbreviationsonpage ix
TechnicalSupportandEducationResourcesonpage ix
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About This Book

Thismanual,theVirtualMachineBackupGuide,providesinformationondifferent
methodsyoucanusetoperformbackupandrestoretasks.Italsodescribeshowtouse
VMwareConsolidatedBackup,anewbackupsolutionofferedbyESXServer3and
recommendedtoperformdailybackupsforvirtualmachinesresidingonaSAN.
Intended Audience
Theinformationpresentedinthismanualiswrittenforsystemadministratorswhoare
experiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorsandwhoarefamiliarwith
virtualmachinetechnologyanddatacenteroperations.
Document Feedback
Ifyouhavecommentsaboutthisdocumentation,submityourfeedbackto:
docfeedback@vmware.com
VMware Infrastructure Documentation

TheVMwareInfrastructuredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVirtualCenterand
ESXServerdocumentationset.
YoucanaccessthebooksintheVMwareInfrastructuredocumentsetat:
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
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Preface
Conventions and Abbreviations

ThismanualusesthestyleconventionslistedinTable P1.
Table P-1. Type Conventions
Style
Purpose
Monospace
Usedforcommands,filenames,directories,paths.
Monospace bold
Applytoindicateuserinput.
Bold
Usefortheseterms:
Interfaceobjects,keys,buttons
Itemsofhighlightedinterest
Glossaryterms
Italic
Usedforbooktitles.
<name>
Anglebracketsindicatevariableandparameternames.
Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou:
!
SelfServiceSupport
OnlineandTelephoneSupport
SupportOfferings
VMwareEducationServices
Self-Service Support
UsetheVMwareTechnologyNetworkforselfhelptoolsandtechnicalinformation:
!
ProductInformationhttp://www.vmware.com/products/
TechnologyInformationhttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technology
Documentationhttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
KnowledgeBasehttp://www.vmware.com/support/kb
DiscussionForumshttp://www.vmware.com/community
UserGroupshttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.html
FormoreinformationabouttheVMwareTechnologyNetwork,gotohttp://
www.vmtn.net.
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Online and Telephone Support

Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductand
contractinformation,andregisteryourproducts.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/
support.
Forcustomerswithappropriatesupportcontracts,usetelephonesupportforthefastest
responseonpriority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/
phone_support.html.
Support Offerings
FindouthowVMwaressupportofferingscanhelpyoumeetyourbusinessneeds.Go
tohttp://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Education Services

VMwarecoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcourse
materialsdesignedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Formoreinformationabout
VMwareEducationServices,gotohttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm.
VMware, Inc.
C HAPTER 1
Introduction
Backup,restoration,anddisasterrecoveryareamongthemostcriticalprocessesof
datacentermanagement.VMwareESXServerandVMwareInfrastructureprovide
manydifferentsolutions,eachsuitableforaspecificenvironment,toperformbackup
andrestoretasks.
ThisintroductiondescribeswhichresourcesshouldbebackeduponanESXServer
systemandexplainsoptionsavailableforthatbackup.
Thischapterincludesthefollowingsections:
!
Conceptsonpage 2
WhattoBackUponpage 2
BackupComponentsandApproachesonpage 5
UsingTraditionalBackupMethodsonpage 6
UsingVMwareConsolidatedBackuponpage 12
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Concepts
Thefollowingconceptsareessentialforyourunderstandingofbackupprocedures:
!
QuiescingAprocessofbringingtheondiskdataofaphysicalorvirtual
computerintoastatesuitableforbackups.Thisprocessmightincludesuch
operationssuchasflushingdirtybuffersfromtheoperatingsystemsinmemory
cachetodisk,orotherhigherlevelapplicationspecifictasks.
Volumelevel(imagelevel)backupAtypeofbackupthatbacksupanentire
storagevolume.
FilelevelbackupAtypeofbackupthatisdefinedattheleveloffilesandfolders.
FullbackupBacksupallselectedfiles.
FullvirtualmachinebackupBacksupallfilesthatcompriseentirevirtual
machine.Thesefilesincludediskimages,.vmxfiles,andsoon.
DifferentialbackupBacksuponlythosefilesthathavechangedsincethelast
fullbackup.
IncrementalbackupBacksuponlythosefilesthathavechangedsincethelast
backup,whetheritisafullorincrementalbackup.
VCBproxyAphysicalmachinerunningMicrosoftWindows2003,Consolidated
Backup,andthirdpartybackupsoftware.Usedtoperformoffloadedfilelevel
andfullvirtualmachinebackups.
What to Back Up
WithintheESXServerenvironment,youneedtobackupthefollowingmajoritems
regularly:
!
VirtualmachinecontentsBecausevirtualmachinesareusedfrequently,critical
informationstoredintheirdiskfilesconstantlychanges.Aswithphysical
machines,virtualmachinedataneedstobebackedupperiodicallytopreventits
corruptionandlossduetohumanortechnicalerrors.
Thevirtualmachinedatayoubackupincludesvirtualdisks,RawDevice
Mappings(RDM),configurationfiles,andsoon.Formoreinformation,see
VirtualMachineContentsonpage 3.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
ESXServerserviceconsoleTheserviceconsole,acustomizedversionofLinux,
istheESXServercommandlinemanagementinterface.ItprovidestheESXServer
managementtoolsandacommandpromptformoredirectmanagementofESX
Server.Italsokeepstrackofallthevirtualmachinesontheserverandtheirconfig
urations.
NOTE
Inearlierreleases,theserviceconsolewasthemaininterfacetotheESX
Serverhost.WithESXServer3andlater,theVIClienthaspriority,
althoughyoustillmightusetheserviceconsoletoperformsome
advancedadministrationoperations.
Duringitslifetime,theserviceconsoledoesntexperienceanymajorchangesother
thanperiodicupgrades.Inaddition,incaseofafailure,youcaneasilyrecoverthe
stateofyourserviceconsolebyreinstallingESXServer.Therefore,althoughyou
mightconsiderbackinguptheserviceconsole,itdoesntneedtobebackedupas
frequentlyasthevirtualmachinesandtheirdata.
Virtual Machine Contents

ESXServerusesVMwareFileSystem(VMFS)foritsstorageneeds.VMFSisasimple,
highperformancefilesystemonphysicalSCSIdisksandpartitions.VMFSisusedfor
storinglargefiles,suchasthevirtualdiskimagesforESXServervirtualmachinesand
thememoryimagesofsuspendedvirtualmachines.ESXServer3supportsVMFS3.A
VMFS3volumecanspanmultiplediskpartitions,alsocalledextents.
Virtual Machine Disks

InESXServer3,VMFSsupportsdirectories.Typically,thereisonedirectoryforeach
virtualmachineonVMFS.Thisdirectorycontainsallthefilesthatcomprisethevirtual
machine,suchasdiskimages,virtualmachineconfiguration.vmxfiles,logfiles,andso
on.Thediskfilesareinaspecialformatandgenerallyusethe.vmdkfileextension.
NOTE
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Alltheinformationnormallybackedupintheenterpriseinfrastructure,
includingtheoperatingsystem,applications,anddata,isincludedinthe
virtualdisks.
Raw Device Mappings

RawDeviceMappings(RDM)letsyouuseallthefeaturesofVMwareVirtual
InfrastructureinconjunctionwithrawSANLUNs.Themappingfileisthefilethatis
usedtoconnecttherawLUNtothevirtualmachineandisreferencedinthevirtual
machinesconfiguration.
TwomodesexistforRDM:virtualcompatibilityandphysicalcompatibility.
Virtual Compatibility Mode
Virtualcompatibilitymodeallowsamappingtoactexactlyasavirtualdiskfiledoes,
includingvirtualmachinesnapshots.
Invirtualcompatibilitymode,anRDMfileinaVMFSvolumemanagesmetadatafor
itsmappeddevice.Thereisaonetoonemappingbetweenmappingfilesandmapped
devices.ThemappingfileispresentedtotheVMwareserviceconsoleasanordinary
diskfile,availableforfilesystemoperations,andcanhaveredologs.Tothevirtual
machine,theESXServerpresentsthemappeddeviceasalocallyattachedSCSIdevice.
Physical Compatibility Mode
PhysicalcompatibilitymodeallowsdirectSCSIaccesstothedevicebeingmappedfor
thoseapplicationsthatneedlowerleveldiskaccessandcontrol.Inbothcases,datais
storedontheLUNorSCSIdevice,notonthediskfile.
Inphysicalcompatibilitymode,RDMprovidesminimalSCSIvirtualizationofthe
mappeddevice.Inthismode,theVMkernelpassesallSCSIcommandstothedevice
withoneexception:theReportLUNscommandisvirtualizedsothattheVMkernelcan
isolatetheLUNforthevirtualmachinethatownsit.Otherwise,allphysical
characteristicsoftheunderlyinghardwareareexposed.Physicalmodeisusefulwhen
youneedtorunSANmanagementagentsorotherSCSItargetbasedsoftwareinthe
virtualmachine.Physicalmodeisalsousedforvirtualtophysicalclusteringforcost
effectivehighavailability.
Accessing and Managing Virtual Disk Files

Typically,youuseVirtualInfrastructure(VI)Clienttoperformavarietyofoperations
onyourvirtualmachines.
DirectmanipulationofyourvirtualdiskfilesonVMFSispossiblethroughESXServer
serviceconsoleandVMwareSDKs,althoughusingtheVIClientisthepreferred
method.
Fromtheserviceconsole,youcanviewandmanipulatefilesinthe/vmfs/volumes
directoryinmountedVMFSvolumeswithordinaryfilecommands,suchaslsandcp.
AlthoughmountedVMFSvolumesmightappearsimilartoanyotherfilesystem,such
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asext3,VMFSisprimarilyintendedtostorelargefiles,suchasdiskimageswiththe
sizeofupto2TB.Youcanuseftp,scp,andcpcommandsforcopyingfilestoandfrom
aVMFSvolumeaslongasthehostfilesystemsupportstheselargefiles.
NOTE
InLinux,importingalargediskfromaCommonInternetFileSystem(CIFS)
mounthangstheESXServer,whichmustthenberebooted.IfConsolidated
Backupisnotused,largefilesneedtobemovedfromtheserviceconsoleto
tapebackup.Todothiseffectively,usesupportedprogramswithnoreported
knownissues.Asaworkaround,usesmbclienttocopythelargefileontoa
localdirectoryontheserviceconsoleandthenimportfromthere.
Additionalfileoperationsareenabledthroughthevmkfstoolscommand.This
commandsupportsthecreationofaVMFSonaSCSIdiskandisusedforthefollowing:
!
Creating,extending,anddeletingdiskimages
Importing,exporting,andrenamingdiskimages
Settingandqueryingpropertiesofdiskimages
CreatingandextendingaVMFSfilesystem
Formoreinformationonthevmkfstoolscommand,seetheServerConfigurationGuide.
Backup Components and Approaches

Whenyouperformabackup,thefollowingthreecomponentsofbackupsoftwareare
generallyinvolvedintheprocess:
!
BackupClient(BackupAgent)Aprogramthatscansvirtualmachinefile
systemsandtransfersdatatobebackeduptoabackupserver.Duringrestore
operations,thebackupclientwritesthedataintothefilesystems.
BackupServerAprogramthatwritesthedata,pushedbythebackupclient,to
abackupmedium,suchasarobotictapelibrary.Duringrestoreoperation,the
backupserverreadsthedatafromthebackupmediumandpushesittothebackup
client.
SchedulerAprogramthatallowsyoutoscheduleregularautomaticbackupjobs
andcoordinatetheirexecution.Backupscanbescheduledatperiodicintervals,or
individualfilescanbeautomaticallybackedupimmediatelyaftertheyhavebeen
updated.
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Backup Approaches
Eachofthebackupsoftwarecomponentscanberuninavirtualmachine,ontheservice
console,oronaphysicalmachine,oraVCBproxy,runningMicrosoftWindows2003.
Whilethelocationoftheschedulerisntimportant,thelocationsofthebackupserver
andbackupclientareimportant.
Dependingonwhereyouwanttoruneachcomponent,youchooseoneofthefollowing
approaches:
!
Usetraditionalbackupapproach.Withthisapproach,youdeployabackupclient
toeverysystemthatrequiresbackupservices.Youcanthenregularlyperform
backupsinanautomatedway.
Withthisapproach,severalmethodologiesexist.Youcanchooseaspecificmethod
thatbettersuitesyourneedsandrequirements.
Formoreinformation,seeUsingTraditionalBackupMethodsonpage 6.
UseVMwareConsolidatedBackup,whichenablesoffloadedandimpactfree
backupforvirtualmachinesrunningonESXServer.Thisapproachletsyouusethe
virtualmachinesnapshottechnologyandSANbaseddatatransferinconjunction
withtraditionalfilebasedbackupsoftware.
WhenrunningConsolidatedBackup,youcanbackupvirtualmachinecontents
fromacentralizedMicrosoftWindows2003proxyserverratherthandirectlyfrom
theESXServersystem.UtilizingaproxyserverreducestheloadonESXServer
allowingittorunmorevirtualmachines.
FormoreinformationonConsolidatedBackup,seeVMwareConsolidated
Backuponpage 13.
FormoreinformationonthesnapshottechnologythatConsolidatedBackup
employs,seeVMwareVirtualMachineSnapshotTechnologyonpage 16.
Using Traditional Backup Methods

Withthetraditionalbackupmethods,youdeployabackupagentoneachhostwhose
dataneedstobesecured.Backupsarethenconductedonaregularbasisinan
automatedway.
Thebackupagentscansthefilesystemforchangesduringperiodsoflowsystem
utilizationandsendsthechangedinformationacrossthenetworktoabackupserver
thatwritesthedatatoabackupmedium,suchasarobotictapelibrary.
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Usingtraditionalmethods,youcanbackupyourserviceconsoleandvirtualmachines.
Formoreinformation,see:
!
BackingUptheServiceConsoleonpage 7
BackingUpVirtualMachinesonpage 8
Traditional Backup Considerations

Whenusingtraditionalmethodstobackupyoursystem,keepinmindthefollowing:
!
Tobeabletocapturethedatainitsconsistentstate,performbackupsatthetimes
ofthelowestactivityonthenetworkandwhenyourcomputerresourcesare
mostlyidle.Whileperformingbackups,youmightneedtotakecriticalapplica
tionsoffline.
Makesurethatnetworkbandwidthbetweentheserveryouarebackingupandthe
backupserverissufficient.
Withalargenumberofservers,bothphysicalandvirtual,allocateenough
resourcestomanagebackupsoftwareoneachhost.Rememberthatmanaging
agentsineveryvirtualmachineisverytimeconsuming.
Backing Up the Service Console

Becausetheserviceconsoledoesntexperienceanymajorchangesduringitslifetime
anditsstateiseasilyrecoverableincaseofafailure,youmightdecideagainstbacking
itup.However,ifyouchoosetobackuptheserviceconsole,youdontneedtodoit
frequently.
Usethefollowingmethodswhenbackingupserviceconsole:
!
FileBasedTheserviceconsolecanbetreatedasaphysicalmachinewitha
deployedbackupagent.Torestoretheserviceconsole,firstreinstallit,then
reinstalltheagent,andthenrestorethefilesthatyoubackedup.Thisapproach
makessenseifmanagementagentsthatarehardtosetuphavebeendeployedin
theserviceconsole.Otherwise,thisapproachprovidesnoadvantageovernot
backinguptheserviceconsole.
ImageBasedUsethirdpartysoftwaretocreateabackupimagethatyoucan
restorequickly.UseyourbootCDorwhateverthebackupsoftwarecreatedto
restoretheserviceconsole.
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Backing Up Virtual Machines

Dependingonyourrequirements,youmightchooseoneofthetraditionalmethodsfor
backingupyourvirtualmachines.Traditionalbackupmethodsdonotuse
ConsolidatedBackup.
Usethefollowingtabletocompareavailabletraditionalmethods.
Table 1-1. Recommended Traditional Backup Methods (No Consolidated Backup)
BackupServer
BackupClient
NOTE
Virtual
Machine
PhysicalMachine
VirtualMachine
Method1
Method2
ServiceConsole
Method3
Method4
Runningthebackupserverintheserviceconsoleisnotsupported.
Traditionalbackupmethodsofferthefollowingoptions:
!
Youcanrunbackupclientsfromwithinavirtualmachineperformingfilelevelor
systemlevelbackups.Aslongasyouarebackingupoverthenetwork,no
compatibilityguideisneeded.
YoucanrunbackupclientsfromtheESXServerServiceConsole,backingup
virtualmachinesintheirentiretyas.dskand/or.vmdkfilesresidingintheESX
ServerhostVMFSfilesystem.
Youcanbackupvirtualmachinedatabyrunningabackupserverwithinavirtual
machinethatisconnectedtoatapedriveorotherSCSIbasedbackupmedia
attachedtothephysicalsystem.
Backup Client in a Virtual Machine

Method1andmethod2assumethatyoudeployyourbackupclientinavirtual
machine.
Method 1: Backup Server in a Virtual Machine
Withthismethod,youdeployyourbackupclientinonevirtualmachinewhilethe
backupserverisinanothervirtualmachine.BothvirtualmachinesrunonthesameESX
Serversystem.Databetweenthetwovirtualmachinesmovesthroughthevirtual
ethernetthatconnectsthesevirtualmachines.
NOTE
Method1isnotrecommendedinESXServerexceptinabranchofficescenario
wherenoseparatehardwareforaVCBproxyorbackupserverisavailable.
VMware, Inc.
Whenyouusemethod1,thebackupagentperformsquiescingofavirtualmachine
beingbackedup.
Method1isgenerallyusedforfilelevelbackupsofthedatastoredwithinthevirtual
machinesdiskimage.
BackupServerinaVirtualMachine
Recommended:
No
Filelevelrestore:
Veryeasy
Fullvirtualmachinerestore:
No
Quiescing:
Excellent
LoadonESXServer:
Extremelyhigh
LANfreebackup:
No
BackupImpact:
No
Manageability:
Verypoor
Method 2: Backup Server in a Physical Machine

Withthismethod,youdeploythebackupclientinavirtualmachinewhilethebackup
serverrunsonaphysicalmachine.
NOTE
Insteadofmethod2,considerusingConsolidatedBackup.
Method2isusedforfilelevelbackupsofthedatastoredwithinthevirtualmachines
diskimage.
BackupServerinaPhysicalMachine
VMware, Inc.
Recommended:
Yes
Filelevelrestore:
VeryEasy
No
Quiescing:
Excellent
LoadonESXServer:
High
LANfreebackup:
No
BackupImpact:
No
Manageability:
Verypoor
Backup Client in the Service Console

Method3andmethod4assumethatyoudeeplyyourbackupclientintheservice
console.
Method 3: Backup Server in a Virtual Machine
Withthismethod,youdeploythebackupclientintheserviceconsolewhilethebackup
serverrunsinthevirtualmachine.
NOTE
Method3isnotrecommendedinESXServerexceptinabranchofficescenario
wherenoseparatehardwareforaVCBproxyorbackupserverisavailable.
Method3isusedtoperformimagelevelbackups,orbackupsofentirevirtual
machines.
BackupServerinaVirtualMachine
Recommended:
No
Filelevelrestore:
No
Veryeasy
Quiescing:
Excellent
LoadonESXServer:
Extremelyhigh
LANfreebackup:
No
BackupImpact:
No
Manageability:
Verypoor
Method 4: Backup Server in a Physical Machine

Withthismethod,youdeploythebackupclientintheserviceconsolewhilethebackup
serverrunsonaphysicalmachine.
NOTE
10
Insteadofmethod4considerusingConsolidatedBackup.
VMware, Inc.
Method4isusedtoperformimagelevelbackups.
BackupServerinaPhysicalMachine
Recommended:
Yes
Filelevelrestore:
No
VeryEasy
Quiescing:
Excellent
LoadonESXServer:
High
LANfreebackup:
No
BackupImpact:
No
Manageability/Scalability:
Verypoor
SAN Backups
IfyourvirtualdiskfilesarestoredonaSAN,youcanusefeaturessuppliedbyyour
SANvendortocreateacopyofyourproductionLUN,containingallvirtualdisks.
Thesecopiescanthenbesenttoyourbackupmedia.Withthismethod,youdonothave
tousevirtualmachinesnapshottingfunctionalityduringthebackupprocessbecause
theSANsnapshotguaranteesconsistency.
IfyoudecidetouseSANsnapshotstobackupyourdata,youmustconsiderthe
followingpoints:
!
SomevendorssupportsnapshotsforbothVMFSandRDMs.Ifbotharesupported,
youcanmakeeitherasnapshotofthewholevirtualmachinefilesystemforahost,
orsnapshotsfortheindividualvirtualmachines(oneperdisk).
SomevendorssupportsnapshotsonlyforasetupusingRDM.IfonlyRDMis
supported,youcanmakesnapshotsofindividualvirtualmachines.
Seeyourstoragevendorsdocumentationforadditionalinformation.Formore
informationonSAN,seetheSANConfigurationGuide.
NFS Backups
Ifyourvirtualmachinesarestoredonexternalnetworkattachedstorage(NAS)
systemsusingthenetworkfilesystem(NFS)protocol,youcanperformimagelevel
backupsofthevirtualmachines.
Seeyourstoragevendorsdocumentationforadditionalinformation.
VMware, Inc.
11
Using VMware Consolidated Backup

Inamoderndatacenterenvironment,ithasbecomeincreasinglydifficulttoapplythe
traditionalapproachtoyourbackupprocesses.Usingitmightcauseconsiderable
overheadandanumberofproblems,someofwhicharedescribedinTraditional
BackupConsiderationsonpage 7.Toavoidmanyoftheproblemsandissues,consider
usingVMwareConsolidatedBackup.
VMware Consolidated Backup Advantages

VMwareConsolidatedBackupaddressesmostoftheproblemsyouencounterwhen
performingtraditionalbackups.ConsolidatedBackuphelpsyouto:
12
ReducetheloadonyourESXServersystemsbymovingthebackuptaskstooneor
morededicatedbackupproxies.
Avoidcongestingandoverloadingthedatacenternetworkinfrastructureby
enablingLANfreebackup.
Eliminatetheneedforabackupwindowbymovingtoasnapshotbasedbackup
approach.
Simplifybackupadministrationbymakingoptionalthedeploymentofbackup
agentsineachvirtualmachineyoubackup.
Backupvirtualmachinesthatarepoweredoff.
VMware, Inc.
C HAPTER 2
VMware Consolidated Backup
VMwareConsolidatedBackupisanewbackupsolutionofferedbyESXServer3andis
therecommendedwaytoperformdailybackupsforvirtualmachinesresidingona
SAN.Thismethodperformsbackupsusingadedicatedphysicalhost(proxyclient)
ratherthanbackingupfromanESXServersystemitself.
YoucanuseConsolidatedBackupwithasingleESXServerhostorwithaVirtualCenter
ManagementServer.
Thischapterincludesthefollowinginformation:
!
Overviewonpage 14
HowConsolidatedBackupWorksonpage 14
SettingUpConsolidatedBackuponpage 18
ConfiguringVirtualMachinesforConsolidatedBackuponpage 25
ConsolidatedBackupRestrictionsonpage 25
UsingConsolidatedBackuponpage 26
AdvancedConfigurationsonpage 27
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13
Overview
VMwareConsolidatedBackupisafastandefficientwayofbackingupdatainvirtual
machines.
ConsolidatedBackuphasthefollowingcharacteristics:
!
Offloadsbackupprocessestoadedicatedphysicalhost
Doesntrequirebackupagentsinvirtualmachines
Workswithotherindustryleadingbackupapplications
DoesntrestricttheuseofFibreChanneltapes
SupportsfilelevelbackupsforWindowsvirtualmachinesandfull(imagelevel)
backupforallguestoperatingsystems
How Consolidated Backup Works

ConsolidatedBackupenablesoffloadedandimpactfreebackupforvirtualmachines
runningonanESXServersystembyallowingtraditionalfilebasedbackupsoftwareto
leverageVMwarevirtualmachinesnapshottechnologyandefficientSANbaseddata
transfer.
Integration with Third-Party Backup Software

InatypicalConsolidatedBackupscenario,backupschedulingisdonebythethird
partysoftware.Asaresult,alltheadvancedschedulingandbackupmanagement
functionalityprovidedbythebackupsoftwareisalsoavailablewithConsolidated
Backup.
Backupjobsareconfiguredandlaunchedthroughthethirdpartybackupsoftware.The
basicbackupworkflowinvolvesthefollowingsteps:
14
Thethirdpartybackupsoftwareschedulesthebackupjobforasinglevirtual
machineoragroupofvirtualmachines.ThejobrunsontheVCBproxy.
ConsolidatedBackupsprebackupscriptrunsontheVCBproxy,creatingvirtual
machinesnapshots(forWindowsonly)andmountingthemontheproxy.
Thethirdpartybackupsoftwareperformsthebackup.
ConsolidatedBackupspostbackupscriptruns,removingthemountfromthe
VCBproxyandremovingthebackupsnapshots.
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Chapter 2 VMware Consolidated Backup
Eventhoughthemounteddisksappeartobewritable,changesarecachedontheproxy
astransientwritesandarediscardedoncethediskisunmounted.Thisfeaturelets
youbackupNT4volumesthatuseanolderversionofNTFS.Windows2003running
ontheVCBproxywillfailanymountattemptsforNT4volumesiftheyarereadonly.
Formoreinformation,seeAdvancedConfigurationsonpage 27.
Requirements
TobeabletorunConsolidatedBackup,makesurethatthefollowingrequirementsare
met:
!
MicrosoftWindow2003serverisconfiguredforConsolidatedBackup.See
ConfiguringtheConsolidatedBackupFrameworkonpage 23.
Windowsvirtualmachinesareinplace.Requiredonlyforfilelevelbackup.Full
virtualmachinebackup(imagelevel)issupportedforallguestoperatingsystems.
CAUTION
FilesystemconsistencyisguaranteedforWindowsguestoperating
systemsonly.
SANisconnectedandLUNismasked.
BackupadministratoraccountexistsontheVCBproxywithreadaccesstothe
data.BecauseLUNscontainingVMFSvolumesareaccessiblebytheproxy,to
protecttheVMFSvolumesfromaccidentaldeletion,restrictaccesstotheproxyto
trainedpersonnelonly.
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ThefollowingillustrateshowdifferentcomponentsofConsolidatedBackupwork
together.
LAN
ESX Server
Backup proxy
virtual machine
backup software
VMware Tools
integration module
(pre-backup script)
file system
Consolidated
Backup
framework
SAN
vmware-hostd
c.vmdk
VMFS
datastore
mydata
Figure 2-1. Consolidated Backup Components
VMware Virtual Machine Snapshot Technology

ESXServercancreatefilesystemconsistentsnapshotsofWindowsvirtualmachines
thathaveVMwareToolsinstalled.Nofilesystemwritesarependingatthetimethe
snapshotofthevirtualmachineistaken.Asaresult,thesnapshotrepresentsaclean
stateofthevirtualmachinesdiskimages.Furthermore,systemadministratorscan
configureprefreezeandpostthawscriptsinbothWindows(applicationconsistency)
andLinuxvirtualmachinestoachieveevenhigherlevelsofdataconsistency.
Afterasnapshotofavirtualmachinehasbeencreated,thefrozendiskimagescanbe
accessedindifferentways,asdescribedintheremainderofthissection.
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Considerations When Creating Snapshots

Whencreatingsnapshots,keepinmindthefollowing:
!
Takingasnapshotofavirtualmachinefreezesitforaveryshortperiodoftime,
usuallyconsiderablylessthanasecond.
CreatingamemorysnapshotthroughtheUIcanleaveavirtualmachinefrozenfor
acoupleofseconds.Thismightaffectsomeverytimesensitiveapplications,such
asDBHammer.
CreatingquiescedsnapshotsusingtheSYNCdriverrequireswaitingforI/Oto
drainintheguestoperatingsystem.Thismightaffectsomeverytimesensitive
applications,suchasDBHammer.
IfyouchoosenottoinstalltheSYNCdriverwheninstallingVMwareTools,you
canavoidthedelaycausedbytheI/Odraining.However,itresultsinsnapshots
beingonlycrashconsistent,unlessyouprovidecustomquiescingthroughpre/and
postscriptsintheguest.
File-Level Backups
ForvirtualmachinesrunningWindows,ConsolidatedBackupsupportsfilelevel
backups.Afilelevelbackupisidealforpreventingdatalossduetoerrors,suchasfile
corruption,causedbybugsinapplicationprograms,orusererrors,suchasaccidental
filedeletion.
Whenrunningfilelevelbackups,ConsolidatedBackupperformsthefollowing:
1
Analyzesvolumesonvirtualmachinesnapshots.
MountsdiscoveredvolumesontheVCBproxyatpredefinedjunctionpoints.
Eachjunctionpointcorrespondstoadriveletterassignedtoeachpartitioninthe
virtualmachine.Forexample:
C:\mnt\mytestvm.foo.com\letters\D
CAUTION
VMware, Inc.
Becausetheproxycanrecognizeonlythosepartitionsthathavedrive
lettersassignedtothem,makesurethateachvirtualdiskpartition
hasadriveletter.
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Full Virtual Machine Backups

ConsolidatedBackupsupportsfullvirtualmachinebackups.Afullvirtualmachine
backupisoperatingsystemneutralandcanbeperformedregardlessoftheguest
operatingsystem.
Thistypeofbackupissuitableforrestoringentirevirtualmachinesintheeventofa
hardwarefailureorasystemadministratorerror,suchastheaccidentaldeletionofan
entirevirtualmachineoradiskimage.
Whenrunningfullvirtualmachinebackups,thefollowingstepsareperformed:
1
ConsolidatedBackupexportsvirtualmachinediskimagesandconfigurationfiles
toalocaldirectoryontheVCBproxy.Forexample:
C:\mnt\mytestvm.foo.com-fullVM
Thirdpartybackupsoftwarepicksupthevirtualmachinefilesandmovesthemto
thebackupmedium.
Setting Up Consolidated Backup

BeforeyouuseConsolidatedBackup,configurethefollowingcomponents:
!
VMwareESXServerandVirtualCenter.SeeVMwareESXServerand
VirtualCenterConfigurationonpage 18.
TheSANfabric.SeeSANConfigurationonpage 19.
Thethirdpartysoftware.SeeConfiguringtheThirdPartySoftwareonpage 20.
Thebackupproxy(VCBproxy).SeeVCBProxyConfigurationonpage 21.
WindowsontheVCBproxy.SeeConfiguringWindowsontheVCBProxyon
page 22.
VMware ESX Server and VirtualCenter Configuration

YoushouldhaveanexistinginstallationofanESXServerandtheVirtualInfrastructure
(VI)ClientoramultihostconfigurationandVirtualCentertomanagethem.
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VMware, Inc.
SAN Configuration
BeforeinstallingConsolidatedBackup,setupyourESXServerstouseVMwareFile
System(VMFS)orvirtualcompatibilityrawdevicemappings(RDM).Youthenneedto
configuretheSANfabrictowhichboththeESXServersandtheVCBproxyare
connected.
Formoreinformation,seedocumentationprovidedbyyourSANstoragearrayand
switchvendors,aswellastheSANConfigurationGuide.
ForConsolidatedBackup,yourSANconfigurationmustmeetthefollowing
requirements:
!
TheVCBproxymusthaveaccessto:
!
AlltheSANarrayscontainingVMFSvolumes(datastores)withvirtualdisks
onthem
AlltheSANarrayscontainingvirtualcompatibilityRDMsthataresupposed
tobebackedupusingConsolidatedBackup
ForeveryLUNcontainingVMFSorRDMdata,theLUNIDontheproxyserver
mustmatchtheLUNIDasseenbytheESXServer.
NOTE
ThereisnosupportforEMCAX100managedwithNaviExpress.Usefull
NaviSphere.
IBMESSshouldbeexplicitlyconfiguredtohavetheconsistencyofLUNID
presentation.
Usually,theSANconfigurationonthestoragearrayinvolvesaddingtheVCBproxyto
allthehostgroupswheretheESXServersarelocated.
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Configuring the Third-Party Software

YoumustconfigurethirdpartybackupsoftwareforusewithConsolidatedBackup.
ThisinvolvesenablingtheuseoftheConsolidatedBackupprescriptsandpostscripts
foryourbackupsoftware.Also,youmighthavetoturnonthecrossjunctions(mount
points)optionforyourbackupsoftware.
Whenconfiguringthirdpartybackupsoftware,makesurethatthebackupclient
runningontheVCBproxydoesntusethefollowingmechanisms.Bothmechanisms
requirethebackupsoftwaretoalterthefilesystembeingbackedup,whichisnot
possibleinasnapshotbasedbackup.
!
Windowsarchivebitforincrementalbackups.Thearchivebitisanattributeofa
filethatsomebackupproductsusetodeterminewhetherthefileshouldbebacked
upornot.Configurethebackupclienttousetimestampsinstead.
Windowschangejournal.
Foreachsupportedthirdpartybackupsoftware,eitherthebackupsoftwarevendoror
VMwareprovidesanIntegrationModule.ThisisaZIPfilecontainingalltherequired
prebackupandpostbackupscripts.
TheZIPfilecontainsaREADME.htmlfilethatdescribeshowtousetheIntegration
Moduleontherespectivethirdpartybackupsoftware.Also,theREADME.htmlfile
outlineshowtoturnofftheWindowsarchivebitandchangejournalfunctionsinyour
thirdpartybackupsoftware,ifrequired.
Changing Backup Policies after ESX Server Upgrades

IfyouhaveupgradedyourESXServersoftware2.xto3.0,youneedtomodifyallVMFS
volumepathsthatyouconfiguredinthebackupsoftware.ApathformatthatESX
Server3usesisdifferentformtheESXServer2.xformatandfollowsthisstandard:
!
VMFSvolume
/vmfs/volumes/<file_system_UUID> or /vmfs/volumes/<file_system_label>
VMFSfile
/vmfs/volumes/<file system label|file system UUID>/[dir]/myDisk.vmdk
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VMware, Inc.
VCB Proxy Configuration

TouseConsolidatedBackup,youneedtoconfigureabackupproxy.
Hardware Requirements
TheVCBproxymustbeabletorunMicrosoftWindows2003.Inaddition,theproxy
requiresthefollowinghardwarecomponents:
!
Networkadapter(NIC)
FibreChannelhostbusadapter(HBA)
Prerequisites
TobeabletoinstallConsolidatedBackupontheVCBproxy,makesurethatthe
followingrequirementsaremet:
!
TheproxyisrunningMicrosoftWindows2003.ConsolidatedBackupdoesnt
supportanyotherversionsofWindowsontheproxy.
Networkingonthebackupproxyisconfiguredsothattheproxycanestablisha
connectiontoVirtualCenteroritsESXServerpeer.
IfthereisafirewallbetweenthebackupproxyandtheVirtualCenterorESXServer
peer,thefirewallmustpermitTCP/IPconnectionstoVirtualCenterortheESX
Serverpeer.Bydefault,VirtualCenterexpectsincomingconnectionsat
TCP/IPport902.
ThethirdpartybackupsoftwaretobeusedwithConsolidatedBackupisinstalled
andcorrectlyconfigured.
Verifytheconfigurationofthethirdpartybackupsoftwareatthistimebyrunning
abackupandrestorationjobonalocaldirectoryontheVCBproxy.
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Configuring Windows on the VCB Proxy

AftersettinguptheVCBproxy,youneedtoconfigureWindowsthatrunsontheproxy.
ConfiguringWindowsinvolvesthefollowing:
!
DisablingAutomaticDriveLetterAssignmentonpage 22
ConfiguringtheConsolidatedBackupFrameworkonpage 23
InstallingaBackupSoftwareInteroperabilityModuleonpage 25
Disabling Automatic Drive-Letter Assignment

AllversionsofWindows,exceptWindows2003EnterpriseEditionandWindows2003
DatacenterEdition,automaticallyassigndriveletterstoeachvisiblenewtechnology
filesystem(NTFS)andfileallocationtable(FAT)volume.
ForConsolidatedBackup,youneedtochangethisdefaultbehaviorsothatvolumesare
notautomaticallymountedontheproxy.
CAUTION
Ifyoudonotperformthisconfigurationstep,datacorruptionforvirtual
machinesusingRDMcanoccur.
To prevent Windows from automatically assigning drive letters to RDM

1
ShutdowntheWindowsproxy.
DisconnecttheWindowsproxyfromtheSANormaskalltheLUNscontaining
VMFSvolumesorRDMforvirtualmachines.
Boottheproxyandlogintoanaccountwithadministratorprivileges.
Openacommandlineinterface.
Runthediskpartutilitybytyping:
diskpart
Thediskpartutilitystartsupandprintsitsowncommandprompt.
Disableautomaticdriveletterassignmenttonewlyseenvolumesbytypingatthe
diskpartcommandprompt:
automount disable
Cleanoutentriesofpreviouslymountedvolumesintheregistrybytypingatthe
diskpartcommandprompt:
automount scrub
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Exitthediskpartutilitybytyping:
exit
ShutdownWindows.
10
ReconnecttheWindowsproxytotheSAN,orunmaskallpreviouslymasked
LUNscontainingeitherVMFSvolumesorRDM.
11
Boottheproxy.
To install the basic Consolidated Backup framework

1
Logintothebackupproxyusinganaccountwithadministratorprivileges.
InstalltheConsolidatedBackupframeworkbyrunningsetup.exefromyourCD
ROMorelectronicdistribution.
Duringtheinstallation,pickaninstallationdirectoryforConsolidatedBackupor
acceptthedefaultone.
Configuring the Consolidated Backup Framework

EssentialconfigurationforConsolidatedBackupisstoredinaconfigurationfilecalled
config.js.Itislocatedinasubdirectorynamedconfigwithintheinstalldirectoryfor
ConsolidatedBackup.
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Thefollowingtableprovidesanoverviewofalltheconfigurationsettingsinthisfile.
Table 2-1. Configuration Settings
Option
Default
Description
BACKUPROOT
C:\mnt
Directoryinwhichallthevirtualmachinebackupjobs
aresupposedtoreside.
Foreachbackupjob,adirectorywithauniquename
derivedfromthebackuptypeandthevirtualmachine
nameiscreatedhere.
Makesurethisdirectoryexistsbeforeattemptingany
virtualmachinebackups.
Forfullvirtualmachinebackups,thevolumecontain
ingthismountpointmustbelargeenoughtoholdthe
exporteddiskimagesofthelargestvirtualmachineto
behandled.
HOST
(no
default)
Hostname/portoftheVirtualCenterserverortheESX
ServerpeerusedbytheVCBproxy.
PORT
902
PortnumbertoconnecttoontheVirtualCenterorESX
Serverpeer.
USERNAME
(no
default)
UserIDtobeusedforloggingintotheVirtualCenter
hostorESXServerpeer.
PASSWORD
(no
default)
PasswordtobeusedforloggingintotheVirtualCenter
hostorESXServerpeer.
SNAPSHOT_POLICY
automatic
Validoptions:
automatic:TheConsolidatedBackupframeworkcre
atesanddeletesbackupsnapshotsforvirtualmachines
ondemand.Thisisthedefaultusedmostofthetime.
manual:TheConsolidatedBackupframeworkdoesnot
createordeleteanysnapshotsbutassumesthata
backupsnapshotnamed_VCB_BACKUP_alreadyexists
andusesthissnapshotforbackuppurposes.This
optionisusefulforcreativescripting.
createonly:TheConsolidatedBackupframework
createsabackupsnapshotwhentheprebackupscript
isbeingrun,butitdoesnotremovethesnapshotafter
backup.Thisoptionisusedifyouneedtorunaverifi
cationjob.Yourverificationscriptwouldthenbe
responsiblefortearingdownthemount.
deleteonly:TheConsolidatedBackupframework
assumesthatabackupsnapshotnamed
_VCB_BACKUP_alreadyexistsanddoesnotattemptto
createone.However,thesnapshotisdeletedbythe
postbackupscript.Thisoptionisusefulforcreative
scripting.
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VMware, Inc.
Installing a Backup Software Interoperability Module

Finally,youmustinstallaConsolidatedBackupInteroperabilitymodulethatmatches
yourthirdpartybackupsoftware.
Fordirectionsonhowtoinstallaparticularinteroperabilitymodule,refertothe
documentationprovidedwiththeinteroperabilitymodule.
Configuring Virtual Machines for Consolidated Backup

Ingeneral,noparticularconfigurationisrequiredwithinthevirtualmachineto
supportConsolidatedBackup.
However,youmustinstallanewversionofVMwareToolscorrespondingtoESX
Server3ineachprotectedvirtualmachine.WithoutinstallingVMwareTools,the
snapshotsthatConsolidatedBackupcreatesforbackupwillbecrashconsistentonly.
Thatis,nofilesystemsynchronizationwillbeperformed.
Consolidated Backup Restrictions

Ingeneral,ConsolidatedBackupcanbackupvirtualmachinesonabackupproxy,thus
offloadingbackupfromtheESXServerandtheprotectedvirtualmachine.
Insomesituations,ConsolidatedBackupcannotbeusedforbackingupdatainavirtual
machine.Ifyouencounteranyofthesesituations,youshoulddeployabackupagentin
thevirtualmachineandperformbackupfromwithinthevirtualmachine.Thebackup
agentshouldbesuppliedbyyourthirdpartybackupsoftwarevendor.
Fordetailsoninstallationofthebackupagent,refertothedocumentationprovided
withtheinteroperabilitymodulematchingyourbackupsoftware.
YoucannotuseConsolidatedBackuptodoanyofthefollowing:
!
Backupvirtualmachineswithdiskimagesstoredonastoragedevicethatthe
proxycannotaccess
BackupvirtualmachineswithvirtualdisksthatarephysicalcompatibilityRDMs
BackupvirtualmachinesthatdonothaveanInternetprotocol(IP)addressora
domainnameserver(DNS)nameassociatedwiththem
Performafilelevelbackupofvirtualmachinesrunningoperatingsystemsother
thanWindowsNT4.0,Windows2000,WindowsXP,WindowsXPProfessional,or
Windows2003
BackupvirtualmachinesthatresideonNAS/NFSoriSCSIstoragedevices
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Performafilelevelbackupsimultaneouslywithafullbackupforthesamevirtual
machine
CAUTION
RunningtwobackupjobsonthesameVCBproxy,onethatperforms
afullbackupforonevirtualmachinewhileanotherperformsafile
levelbackupforanothervirtualmachine,cantriggerafailureofone
oftheseoperations.Ifthishappens,restartthefailedoperation.
Using Consolidated Backup

Ifyouhavemultiplevirtualmachinestobackup,groupthesevirtualmachines
togetherandmanagethatgroupasasingleentityinyourbackupsoftwareby
configuringDNSaliasesfortheproxy.
NOTE
ConsolidatedBackupsupportsamaximumof60concurrentlymounted
virtualmachines.Forexample,youcanconcurrentlymount60virtual
machinesthathaveaC:drive,or30virtualmachinesthathaveaC:andaD:
each.
Afteryouhaveassociatedagroupofvirtualmachineswithonehostname,youcanset
upabackupjobforeachaliasusingthealiasastheclientnameforthejob.
Aliases
Youcansetupdifferentaliasesforagroupofvirtualmachines,allpointingtothesame
IPaddressoftheVCBproxy.Thisletsyouassociatedifferentpermissionswiththe
group.Forexample,restorepermissionsaretiedtothesealiases,determiningwhocan
restoreandwhichvirtualmachinescanberestoredfrom.
Ifyourdepartmentgrowsandyouaddanotherphysicalmachine,aliasesmakeiteasy
tomoveagrouptoadifferentproxy.Youcanaddnewproxiesasthedatacentergrows
andthenmovejobsforthegroupbypointingthealiastoanewproxy.
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VMware, Inc.
Configuring Backup Jobs

ConsolidatedBackupisabletomakebackupsofvirtualmachinesonthebackupproxy.
Whenconfiguringbackupjobs,makesurethat:
!
Alljobsareassignedtotheproxy.
Alljobsarespecifiedbyoneofthefollowingdirectories:
filelevel:C:\mnt\mytestvm.foo.com\letters\D
imagelevel:C:\mnt\mytestvm.foo.com-fullVM
Eachjobisscheduledtorunatspecifictime.
NOTE
Ifyouplantorunmultiplebackupjobsonthesameproxyatthesame
time,rememberthatbackupproductsmighthavelimitationsona
numberofjobsyoucanruninparallel.
Formoredetailsonhowtoconfigurebackupjobsforvirtualmachines,refertothe
documentationprovidedwithyourthirdpartybackupsoftware.
First-Time Backup
Whenyouperformafirstbackupforaparticularvirtualmachine,thevirtualmachine
hastobepoweredon,orthebackupfailsonESXServer.
Afteryouhavecompletedthefirstbackupofthevirtualmachine,ConsolidatedBackup
canperformbackupsofthevirtualmachineregardlessofitspowerstateatbackup
time.
Advanced Configurations
Oncertainoccasions,youmightneedtoperformsomeadvancedconfigurationswhen
usingConsolidatedBackup.Forexample,youcanruncustomscripstocreatea
quiescentsnapshotofyourvirtualmachine.Also,youmightneedtorunapostbackup
commandforyourvirtualmachinestocancelbackupjobs.
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27
Running Custom Quiescing Scripts

WhenyouuseConsolidatedBackup,yourvirtualmachinesareautomaticallyquiesced
whenyoustartthebackupprocess.
Youcanalsoruncustomprefreezeandpostthawquiescingscriptstocreatea
quiescentsnapshotofyourvirtualmachine.Youdeployandrunthecustomquiescing
scriptsinsidetheprotectedvirtualmachine.
Whenrunningthescripts,youcanusetheSYNCdriver,anoptionalfeaturethatholds
incomingI/Oandflushesalldirtydatatoadisk,thusmakingfilesystemsconsistent.
BecausetheSYNCdriverisoptional,youmightdecidenottoinstallitwheninstalling
VMwareTools.TheSYNCdriveriscurrentlynotsupportedonthefollowingoperating
systems:
!
64bitguestoperatingsystems
AnyoperatingsystemotherthanWindows
Runningthescriptsinvolvesthefollowingsteps.
Step 1 Running a pre-freeze script

ConsolidatedBackuprunsthefollowingprefreezescriptwithinthevirtualmachine
beingbackedup:
!
ForWindows:
C:\Windows\pre-freeze-script.bat
Forallotheroperatingsystems:
/usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script
Iftheprefreezescriptreturnsanonzeroexitcode,thesnapshotcreateoperationfails.
Step 2 Engaging the SYNC driver (optional)

EngagetheSYNCdrivertoholdincomingI/Oandflushalldirtydatatoadisk.This
helpstomakethefilesystemsconsistent.
Ifthisstepfails,proceedtostep5andfailthesnapshotcreation.
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VMware, Inc.
Step 3 Creating a snapshot

Inthisstep,anactualquiescentsnapshotofyourvirtualmachineiscreated.Ifthisstep
takestoolongandtimesout,thesnapshotcreateoperationfailsandthesnapshotis
deleted.Proceedtostep5.
Step 4 Disengaging the SYNC driver

DisengagetheSYNCdrivertoallowI/Oagain.Thisstepcanfailifthesnapshotcreation
instep3tooktoolongandtimedout.
Step 5 Running post-thaw script

ConsolidatedBackuprunsthefollowingpostthawscriptwithinthevirtualmachine:
!
ForWindows:
C:\Windows\post-thaw-script.bat
Forallotheroperatingsystems:
/usr/sbin/post-thaw-script
EventhoughVMwareToolsdoesnotcurrentlychecktheexitstatusofthisscript,it
shouldreturn0ifsuccessful.
Canceling a Backup Job

Ifabackupoperationiscanceledfromyourthirdpartysoftwarewhilethebackupisin
process,thevirtualmachinemightnotbeunmountedfromtheproxyserver,andthe
snapshotmightnotbedeleted.Thisistobeexpectedbecausethecleanupscriptwas
unabletorun.Tofixtheproblem,youmustmanuallyrunthepostbackupcommand
foreachvirtualmachine.
To run the post-backup command
1
Checkthefoldersinthe C:\mntdirectorytodeterminethevirtualmachinehost
names.
Foreachvirtualmachinehostname,runthefollowingcommand.Runthis
commandfromthegenericsubdirectoryintheConsolidatedBackupinstallation
directory.
cscript /nologo <VCB default installation path ["C:\program

files\VMware\VMware Consolidated Backup Framework"]> postcommand.wsf <virtual_machine_hostname>
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VMware, Inc.
Restoration and Disaster

Recovery
C HAPTER 3
Thischapterdescribeshowtorestoreyourdataorrecoverfromadisaster.Youneedto
findabalancebetweenthenumberofagentsthatyouwanttouseandtheeasewith
whichyoucanrestoreyourdata.
!
RestoringYourFilesUsingConsolidatedBackuponpage 32
RestoringFilesUsingthevcbRestoreUtilityonpage 33
DataRecoveryonpage 33
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Restoring Your Files Using Consolidated Backup

ConsolidatedBackuphelpsyouperformfilebasedrestoresofyourvirtualmachines.
Restore
Forinformationonrestoringworkflows,consultthedocumentationthatcomeswith
theintegrationmoduleforyourthirdpartybackupsoftware.
Ingeneral,threedifferentrestorationworkflowsaresupported:
!
Nobackupsoftwareinvirtualmachine.Restorationisdonebytheadministrator
onabackupproxynetworksharethatisaccessiblebytheprotectedvirtual
machine.
Backupsoftwareindedicatedvirtualmachinesanddatamovedtotargetvirtual
machines.
Backupsoftwaredeployedineveryprotectedvirtualmachine.Restorationisdone
directlybythesystemadministratorortheuser.
Centralized Restore
Whenperformingacentralizedrestore,youhaveagroupofvirtualmachinesonESX
Server,aproxy,andabackupagentontheproxyinadedicatedvirtualmachinethat
youareplanningtousetorestoreyourdata.Inthiscase,youusethebackupsoftware
togetthedatatotheproxythatisrunningtheagent.Aftertheadministratorrestores
thedatatothecentralserver,youcancopyitbacktothevirtualmachineusingthe
CommonInternetFileSystem(CIFS)remoteaccess,filesharingprotocol.
Pros:Thereareaminimumnumberofagentstomaintain.
Cons:Datarestorationisnowcentralized,andtheadministratorisinvolvedinfilelevel
restoration.
Per-Group Restore
Whenperformingapergrouprestoration,onevirtualmachinehasabackupagentfor
eachgroup,suchasaccounting,engineering,andmarketing.Thegroupadministrator
restoresworkflowstoapergrouprestorehost.Filesarecopiedtoatargetvirtual
machineusingCIFSfileshare.
Pros:
!
Restorationscanbedelegated.
Thisisagoodcompromisebetweenthenumberofagentsandeaseofrestoration.
Cons:Thisisnotacompleteselfservicerestoration.
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VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Restoration and Disaster Recovery
Self-Service Backup
Backupagentsaredeployedineveryvirtualmachine.Theusercanusetheagentto
backupdatatotapeandrestorethesameway.Thebackupagentinthevirtualmachine
isusedtorestorethedata.
Pros:Thisisselfservicerestoration.
Cons:Agentsarerequiredineachvirtualmachine.
Restoring Files Using the vcbRestore Utility

ThevcbRestoreutilityisacommandlineutilitythatyouusetorestoredatathathas
beenbackedupusingimagebasedbackup.
Forinformationonhowtousethisutility,seeUsingServiceConsoletoBackUpand
RestoreVirtualMachinesonpage 37.
Data Recovery
Thefollowingguidelinescanaidyouinrecoveringyourdata:
!
Makesureyouhavefullvirtualmachineimagebasedbackups.
BackupyourVirtualCenterDatabase.
Makesureyouhaveyourlicensekeys.
Makesureyouhaveenoughserverstorunallthevirtualmachinesyouplanto
restore.
EnablingmigrationwithVMotionorusingDRSgreatlyenhancesyourdisaster
recoverycapabilities.
Troubleshooting
InESX3.0,VMFSvolumesareidentifiedbyuniqueidentifiers.Thenameofthe
directoryunderwhicheachVMFSvolumeismountedin/vmfs/volumescorresponds
tothisuniqueidentifier.Theuniqueidentifierisassignedtothevolumeautomatically
duringformatting,andyoucannotchangeit.
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33
VMFSvolumescanhaveuserfriendlylabels.Theselabelsshowupassymboliclinks
in/vmfs/volumesthatpointtothecorrespondingdirectory.Forexample,foraVMFS
volumewiththeuniqueidentifier43a0552e-ae6093b2-47a1-00145e0a7ec0andthe
labelstorage1,thefollowingentriesarecreatedunder/vmfs/volumes:
!
Adirectorynamed43a0552e-ae6093b2-47a1-00145e0a7ec0,underwhichthefile
systemismounted
Asymboliclinknamedstorage1,pointingtothedirectory43a0552e-ae6093b247a1-00145e0a7ec0
Graphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs)forbackupsoftwarethatallowyoutoselectfilesfor
backupshowonlythedirectory(theuniqueID)intheirBrowseDirectorypane.
To identify a VMFS volume by its label
1
Browsethe/vmfs/volumesdirectoryinyourbackupsoftwareGUI.
ThesymboliclinkspointingtotheVMFSvolumemountpointsshowupinthefile
selectionpane.
UsetheseentriestofindtheuniqueIDforthefilesystemlabelyouneed.
SelectthedirectorycorrespondingtothisuniqueIDinthedirectorypanefor
browsing.
Whenperformingfilebasedbackups,thebackupapplicationusespathsreferencing
theuniqueidentifier,sothebackedupfilesshowupasthefollowing:
/vmfs/volumes/43a0552e-ae6093b2-47a1-00145e0a7ec0/vm01/vm01.vmdk
Whenrestoringfilesfromthebackupapplication,youmightneedtoperformareverse
mappingtoidentifythecorrectVMFSvolumelabel(inthisexample,storage1)
correspondingtothisuniqueidentifier.Tobeabletodothis,considerbackingupthe
symboliclinkitselfwhileperformingbackups.
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VMware, Inc.
C HAPTER 4
Backup Scenarios
Thischapterdescribesrealworldscenariosthatcanhelpyouplanyourbackup
strategies.
!
BackupUsageScenariosonpage 36
ATypicalConsolidatedBackupUsageScenarioonpage 36
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35
Backup Usage Scenarios

Thefollowingarethemostrecommendedusecases:
!
DatacenterConsolidatedBackupatthefilelevelperformedeverynight.
DatacenterConsolidatedBackupattheimagelevelperformedperiodicallyfor
WindowsornightlyforLinux.Thisisadisasterrecoveryscenario.
AgentsinvirtualmachinesIncrementalbackupforLinux.
BackupserverinavirtualmachineForbranchoffices,agentsinthevirtual
machineaswell.
A Typical Consolidated Backup Usage Scenario

ThisisanexampleofhowyoucanuseConsolidatedBackuptoprotectdatainvirtual
machines:
1
Thesystemadministratorconfiguresbackupschedulesandpoliciesinthethird
partybackupsoftware.
Forexample,thesystemadministratormightinstructthebackupsoftwaretoback
upD:\Data on vm37.company.comdailyat3:05a.m.
36
Thebackupsoftwareschedulesthisbackupjobautomatically.
Whenthebackupsoftwarelaunchesthisjob,itcallsintotheConsolidatedBackup
frameworkbyusingaprebackupscript.ConsolidatedBackupperformsthe
following:
a
ContactsaVirtualCenterinstanceoranESXServerpeer,andrequestsitto
createasnapshotofthevirtualmachinetobebackedup.
Makesthissnapshotavailable(mounted)onthebackupproxy.Thismakesthe
datathatneedstobebackedupvisibletothethirdpartybackupsoftware.
Thethirdpartybackupsoftwareperformsthebackupprocedureofcopying
changeddatatothebackupmedia.
Attheendofthebackupjob,thethirdpartybackupsoftwarecallsintothe
ConsolidatedBackupframework,usingapostbackupscriptinwhich
ConsolidatedBackupdoesthefollowing:
a
Detaches(unmounts)thesnapshotfromthebackupproxy.
AsksVirtualCenteroritsESXServerpeertoremovethevirtualmachine
snapshot.
VMware, Inc.
Using Service Console to Back

Up and Restore Virtual Machines
A PPENDIX A
Thisappendixdescribeshowtobackupandrestorevirtualmachinesusingtheservice
console.TheappendixwalksyouthroughtheprocessofconfiguringtheConsolidated
Backupcommandlineutilitiesandprovidesexamplesonhowtousetheseutilities.
Thisappendixincludesthefollowingsections:
!
GeneralConfigurationSettingsforConsolidatedBackupUtilitiesonpage 38
BackingUpVirtualMachinesonpage 40
RestoringVirtualMachinesonpage 44
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37
General Configuration Settings for Consolidated Backup

Utilities
BeforeusingserviceconsoleConsolidatedBackuputilities,editthe/etc/vmware/
backuptools.conf configurationfiletosetthemostcommonparametersforthese
tools.
BecausethisconfigurationfileisparsedasaBourneshellscript,youshouldfollow
generalsyntaxconventionsoftheBourneshellwheneditingthefile:
!
Usethe#charactertoindicateacomment.
Donotusespaceswhenenteringvariables.Forexample,FOO="bar"shouldhave
nospacesaroundtheequalssign.
Useabackslashbeforeenteringanyspecialcharacters,suchas$.Forexample,
\$erver.
AdministratorsfamiliarwithBourneshellscriptprogrammingcanuseallthestandard
Bourneshellmechanisms,suchascommandexecution,forexample`foo`,oruse
environmentvariables.
Configuration File Settings

Usethe/etc/vmware/backuptools.conf configurationfiletosetupthefollowing
options.
VCHOST
SpecifiestheURLoftheVirtualCenterinstancethatmanagestheESXServerhost
beingbackeduporrestored.VCHOSTshouldpointtotheVirtualCenterinstance
managingthehost.
Ifyouperformthebackuporrestoreoperationsonastandalonehost,youcanuse
localhostasthehostname.
NOTE
Youcanusethe-hcommandlineoptionforanyConsolidatedBackup
commandlineutilitytooverridethissetting.
USERNAME
SpecifiestheusernametologintotheVirtualCenterinstancedefinedbyVCHOST.
Theusermusthaveprivilegestobeabletoregisterorcreatevirtualmachines.
NOTE
38
Youcanusethe-ucommandlineoptionforanyConsolidatedBackup
VMware, Inc.
Appendix A Using Service Console to Back Up and Restore Virtual Machines
PASSWORD
SpecifiesthepasswordcorrespondingtoUSERNAME.Thisoptionallowsyouto
performvirtualmachinebackupsinanoninteractiveway.
NOTE
Becausespecifyingapasswordinaconfigurationfilecanpresenta
securityrisk,makesurethattheServiceConsoleisnotusedbyanyone
exceptanESXServeradministrator.
NOTE
Youcanusethe-pcommandlineoptionforanyConsolidatedBackup
VMNAMECACHE
Themostcommonwayofidentifyingavirtualmachineforbackuppurposesisby
itsDNSnameorbyitsIPaddress.However,whenyoubackupavirtualmachine
fromastandaloneESXServerhost,theESXServerhostcanrecognizetheIP
addressonlywhenthevirtualmachineispoweredonandrunningVMwareTools.
TobeabletoperformbackupsofthevirtualmachineonthestandaloneESXServer
hostevenwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredoff,youshouldmaintainacache
file.ThecachefilerecordstheIPaddressofthevirtualmachineeachtimethe
virtualmachineisbeingbackedup.Thisallowsyoutoperformthefuturebackups
ofthisvirtualmachineregardlessofitspowerstate.
VMwarerecommendsthatyoudonotchangethedefaultsetting.
NOTE
Youcanusethe-ccommandlineoptionforvcbMountertooverridethis
setting.ThevcbRestorecommanddoesnotusethissetting.
TEMPDIR
IfyouareusingthesecurecopycapabilitiesoftheConsolidatedBackup
commandlineutilities,youcanusethisoptiontospecifyatemporaryholding
spaceforyourvirtualmachinedata.
Thisholdingspacemusthaveenoughfreestoragetoholdthelargestofyour
virtualmachines.
NOTE
VMware, Inc.
Thissettingcannotbeoverriddenfromthecommandline.
39
Backing Up Virtual Machines

YoucanusevcbMountertobackupanentirevirtualmachineintheserviceconsole.The
vcbMounterutilitycreatesaquiescedsnapshotofthevirtualmachineandexportsthe
snapshotintoasetoffiles,whichcanbelaterusedtorestorethevirtualmachine.To
backupthesetoffiles,youcanuseanyfilebasedthirdpartybackupsoftware.
BeforebackingupavirtualmachineusingvcbMounter,determinethefollowing:
!
Whichvirtualmachinetobackup.
Forinformationonidentifyingvirtualmachines,seeIdentifyingVirtual
Machinesonpage 41.
Wheretostorethebackupdata.
ConsolidatedBackupserviceconsolesupportsdifferenttransportpluginsto
eitherbackupthevirtualmachinetoalocaldirectoryorbackituptoaremote
directoryusingscp.Formoreinformation,seeSpecifyingBackupDestinations
onpage 43.
Performing Backups
AftersettingupconfigurationoptionsasdescribedinConfigurationFileSettingson
page 38,enterthefollowingcommandinthecommandline:
vcbMounter -a <virtual_machine_identifier> -r <backup_destination>,
where
!
<virtual_machine_identifier>isauniqueidentifierofthevirtualmachineyoure
backingup.Forinformationonidentifyingvirtualmachines,seeIdentifying
VirtualMachinesonpage 41.
<backup_destination>specifiesthelocationforbackupdata.Forinformationon
howtospecifyabackupdestination,seeSpecifyingBackupDestinationson
page 43.
NOTE
Whenbackingupagroupofvirtualmachines,usethevcbSnapAllcommand
insteadofvcbMounter.Forinformationonhowtoidentifythegroupyou
wanttobackup,seeIdentifyingGroupsofVirtualMachinesonpage 42.
Followtheseexampleswhenbackingupvirtualmachines:
!
Backingupthevirtualmachinevm37.company.comtothelocaldirectory/home/
VMs/vm37:
vcbMounter -a ipaddr:vm37.company.com -r /home/VMs/vm37
40
VMware, Inc.
Backingupthevirtualmachinevm37.company.comtothedirectory/backups/VMs/
vm37.Thedirectoryislocatedontheremoteserverbackups.company.comwiththe
userIDvmware. Thebackups.company.comhostisrunningasecureshell(ssh)
server.YoucanuseConsolidatedBackupssecurecopy(scp)plugintotransferthe
virtualmachinetobackups.company.com.
vcbMounter -a ipaddr:vm37.company.com -r scp://vmware@backups.company.com:/backups/

VMs/vm37
!
BackingupavirtualmachineonastandaloneESXServerhost.Toidentifythe
virtualmachine,usethevirtualmachinesnamedisplayedintheVIClient.The
virtualmachineisbackeduptothelocaldirectory/home/VMs/vm37.
vcbMounter -a name:"Virtual Machine 37" -r /home/VMs/vm37
NOTE
Thevirtualmachinenameargumentiscasesensitive.
Identifying Virtual Machines

Youcanusedifferentstandardstospecifythevirtualmachineyouwanttobackup.
Identifying Virtual Machines by DNS Name or IP Address

ThemostcommonwayofidentifyingvirtualmachinesistousetheirDNSnameorIP
address.Toidentifythevirtualmachine,usethefollowingspecification:
ipaddr:<DNS name or IP address>
Forexample,torefertothevirtualmachinevm37.company.comwiththeIPaddress
10.17.5.12,useoneofthefollowingsearchspecifiers:
!
ipaddr:vm37.company.com
ipaddr:10.17.5.12
Identifying Virtual Machines by BIOS UUID

Youcanidentifyavirtualmachinebyitsuniversallyuniqueidentifier(UUID).Usethe
followingsearchspecifier:
uuid:<uuid>
Forexample:
uuid:564d78a1-8c1c-59b4-fa02-be14138797be
VMware, Inc.
41
Identifying Virtual Machines by MoRef

Internally,VirtualCenterandESXServerrefertoobjectsbyManagedObjectReferences
(MoRef).ToidentifyavirtualmachinebyMoRef,followtheseexamples:
!
moref:vm-00027UsethisformatwhenaccessingVirtualCenterServer.
moref:248UsethisformatwhenaccessingtheESXServerhost.
BecauseMoRefschangeeverytimetheVirtualCenterserverorthehostinstancethat
ConsolidatedBackupconnectstogetsrestarted,youshouldnotuseMoRefstoidentify
virtualmachines.However,whenrunningashellscripttobackvirtualmachines,you
canuseMoRefstoidentifythevirtualmachines.
Forexample,youcanwriteascriptthatusesvcbVmNamewiththeany:searchspecifier
togetalistofallvirtualmachinesfirst,andthenperformscustomfilteringtoproduce
alistofonlythosevirtualmachinesyouwanttobackup.Virtualmachinesonthislist
canuseMoRefsastheiridentifiers.AnotherpartofyourscriptcanthencallvcbMounter
oneachoftheseMoRefstoperformthebackupoperations.
Inacaselikethis,usingMoRefsratherthanotheridentifiers,suchasUUID,causesless
searchoverheadbecausetheentirelistofallvirtualmachinesdoesntneedtobeparsed
eachtimetheidentifierisused.
Identifying Groups of Virtual Machines

Whenyouneedtobackupagroupofvirtualmachines,youusethevcbSnapAll
commandinsteadofvcbMounter.Youidentifyaspecificgroupbyusingoneofthe
followingsearchspecifiers:
!
powerstate:on|off|suspendedFindsallvirtualmachineswiththespecified
powerstate.
any:Findsallvirtualmachines.
none:Doesntfindanyvirtualmachines.Youcanusethisoptionfortesting
purposes.
Displaying Virtual Machine Information

Tosearchforaparticularvirtualmachineandgetinformationaboutit,usevcbVmName.
Followtheseexamples:
42
vcbVmName -s powerstate:onListsallpoweredonvirtualmachines.
vcbVmName -s any:Listsallknownvirtualmachines.
vcbVmName -s ipaddr:vm37.company.comDisplaysinformationaboutthevirtual
machinewiththespecifiedaddress.
VMware, Inc.
ThefollowingisthesampleoutputyougetafterusingvcbVmName:
bash #vcbVmName -s name:vm37.company.com Found VM:
moref:192
name:Virtual Machine 37
uuid:564d78a1-8c1c-59b4-fa02-be14138797be
ipaddr:10.17.5.31
Specifying Backup Destinations

Youcanbackupavirtualmachinetoalocaldirectoryortoaremoteserverusingscp.
Backing Up to a Local Directory

Whenbackingupavirtualmachinetoalocaldirectory,youcanspecifythepathtothe
directoryorusethefiletransportplugindescriptor.
Forexample,tobackupavirtualmachinetothelocaldirectory/home/VMs/vm37,you
canuseoneofthefollowingspecifiers:
!
/home/VMs/vm37
file://home/VMs/vm37
NOTE
Youdontneedtocreatethedestinationsubdirectory,suchas/home/VMs/
vm37, inadvancebecausethebackupoperationwillcreateit.However,the
directorythatlistsyourdestinationsubdirectory,forexample/home/VMs,
mustexistbeforeyoustartabackupprocess.
Backing Up to a Remote Server

Whenbackingupavirtualmachinetoaremoteserver,youcanuseacorresponding
scpplugin.Usethefollowingsyntax:
scp://<user>@<host>:<path>
Toperformthescpbackupinanautomatedway,useRSAkeybasedauthentication.In
thiscase,scpwillnotpromptyouforapasswordduringbackup.
VMware, Inc.
43
Forexample,youneedtobackupavirtualmachinetothedirectory/backup/VMs/vm37
locatedontheremoteserverbackups.company.comthatusesthevmwareuserID.Enter
thefollowing:
scp://vmware@backups.company.com:/backups/VMs/vm37
NOTE
Priortobackup,makesurethatthe/backups/VMsdirectoryalreadyexistson
theremoteserver.However,youdonotneedtocreatethe/backups/VMs/vm37
directorybecauseitwillbecreatedduringthebackupoperation.
Restoring Virtual Machines

Youcanrestoreavirtualmachinetoitsoriginallocationortoanotherlocationofyour
choice.
Restoring Virtual Machines to Original Locations

IfyousetupallconfigurationoptionsasdescribedinConfigurationFileSettingson
page 38,thefollowingistheonlycommandyouneedtopasstovcbRestoretorestore
avirtualmachine:
vcbRestore -s <backup_directory>
Forinformationonhowtospecifyabackupdirectory,seeSpecifyingBackup
Destinationsonpage 43.
Followtheseexampleswhenrestoringyourvirtualmachines:
!
Restoringavirtualmachinefromalocalbackupdirectorynamed/home/VMs/vm37:
vcbRestore -s /home/VMs/vm37
Restoringavirtualmachinefromtheremoteserverbackup.company.com,directory
/backups/VMs/vm37,anduserIDvmware:
vcbRestore -s scp://vmware@backup.company.com:/backups/VMs/vm37
Restoring Virtual Machines to Alternative Locations

Whenyouneedtorestoreavirtualmachinetoalocationotherthanitsoriginallocation,
ortoadifferentESXServerhost,youusethevirtualmachinescatalogfile.vcbMounter
createsthisfileforeachvirtualmachineitbacksup.Thecatalog filecontainssummary
informationaboutthevirtualmachine,suchasitsdisplayname,itspowerstateatthe
timeofbackup,andsoon.
44
VMware, Inc.
To restore a virtual machine to an alternative location

1
Makeacopyofthevirtualmachinescatalogfile.
SeeCopyingaCatalogFileonpage 45.
Inthecopyofthecatalogfile,specifythenewsettingsfordatastores,folderpath,
andresourcepool.
SeeEditingaCatalogFileonpage 45.
RestorethevirtualmachineusingvcbRestore.
SeeRestoringVirtualMachinesUsinganAlternateCatalogonpage 47
Copying a Catalog File

Whenrestoringavirtualmachinetoalocationotherthantheoriginal,youstartby
makingacopyofthevirtualmachinescatalogfile.
Forexample,youneedtomakeacopyofthecatalogfileofthe/home/VMs/vm37virtual
machine.Enterthefollowing:
cp /home/VMs/vm37/catalog /tmp/catalog-vm37
Editing a Catalog File

Inthecopyofthecatalogfileyoumade,youneedtochangethefollowingsettings:
!
DatastoreThedatastoreidentifieswheretostoreallthefilesthatcomprisea
virtualmachine.
FolderpathThevirtualmachinesfolderpathdefineswherethevirtualmachine
willbeplacedintheVirtualCenterfolderhierarchy.
ResourcepoolThishostspecificconfigurationitemdeterminesthevirtual
machinesbehaviorwithrespecttoDRS(DistributedResourceScheduling).When
youusemultipleESXServersmanagedbyVirtualCenter,thisitemalsospecifies
thehostthatwillrunthevirtualmachine.
NOTE
Ifyouchangethenameofthevirtualmachineinthecatalogfile,vcbRestore
doesntpickupthenewnamefromthefile,butinsteadusestheoriginal
virtualmachinenamespecifiedinthe.vmxfile.
YoucanchangethenameofthevirtualmachinelaterusingtheVIClient.
VMware, Inc.
45
Changing Datastore Paths

Thedatastorepathinthecatalogfileidentifieswheretostoreallthefilesthatcomprise
avirtualmachine.Changedatastorepathsinthefollowingentries:
!
disk.scsi*.disknameNamesandlocationsofalldisksassociatedwiththis
virtualmachine.
config.vmxLocationforthevirtualmachinesmainconfigurationfile.
config.suspenddirLocationforthememorysnapshotstakenwhenthevirtual
machinegetssuspended.
config.logdirLocationforthevirtualmachineslogfiles.
Bydefault,alltheseentriesusethesamepath,whichpointstothesamedirectoryon
thesamedatastore.Itishighlyrecommendedthatyoufollowthisstandardwhen
changingthepath.
Thedatastorepathshavethefollowingsyntax:
[<datastore_name>] <path_on_datastore>
Youcanobtainalistofvaliddatastorenamesfromthedatastorebrowserinyour
VirtualCenterclient,orbylookingatthefilesystemlabelsofyourVMFSvolumesin
theserviceconsoleunder/vmfs/volumes.
Changing Folder Paths
Thevirtualmachinesfolderpathinthecatalogfilespecifiesthefolderwithinthe
VirtualCenterfolderhierarchywheretherestoredvirtualmachinewillbeplaced.
To change the folder path for the virtual machine
1
Identifythefolder,whichwillstorethevirtualmachine,byrunningthefollowing
commandintheserviceconsole:
vcbUtil -c vmfolders
Runningthiscommandassumesthatyouhavesetupappropriateconfiguration
optionsasdescribedinConfigurationFileSettingsonpage 38.
46
Inthecatalogfile,setthefolderpathtooneofthefolderpathsprintedoutbythe
commandabove.
VMware, Inc.
Changing Resource Pools

Theresourcepoolsentryinthecatalogfiledeterminesthevirtualmachinesbehavior
withrespecttoDRS(DistributedResourceScheduling).WhenyouusemultipleESX
ServersmanagedbyVirtualCenter,thisitemalsospecifiesthehostthatwillrunthe
virtualmachine.
To change the resource pool setting for the virtual machine
1
Identifytheresourcepool,whichthevirtualmachinewilluse,byrunningthe
followingcommand:
vcbUtil -c resourcepools
Runningthiscommandassumesthatyouhavesetupappropriateconfiguration
optionsasdescribedinConfigurationFileSettingsonpage 38.
Inthecatalogfile,settheresourcepooltooneoftheoptionsprovidedbythe
commandabove.
Restoring Virtual Machines Using an Alternate Catalog

Aftermodifyingthesettingsinthevirtualmachinesalternatecatalog,usethisfileto
restorethevirtualmachine.
Torestorethevirtualmachine,usethe-aentrytospecifythealternatecatalog.
Forexample,torestoreavirtualmachinebackedupunder/home/VMs/vm37byusingthe
alternatecatalogfile/tmp/catalog-vm37,enter:
vcbRestore -s /home/VMs/vm37 -a /tmp/catalog-vm37
VMware, Inc.
47
Non-interactive Use of the vcbRestore Utility

Bydefault,vcbRestorepromptsyouwhattodowhentherestoreoperationdetectsa
filethatalreadyexistsoravirtualmachinealreadyknowntoVirtualCenter.
IfvcbRestoreisusedbyascriptinanoninteractiveway,usethe-bcommandline
entrytospecifythedefaultbehavior.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:
prompt
Promptsauserwhattodobeforeoverwritingfilesorconfigurationsofvirtual
machinesalreadyknowntoVirtualCenter.
overwrite
Overwritesanyexistingfilesandvirtualmachineconfigurationsknownto
VirtualCenterduringrestore.
keep
Preservesexistingfilesandconfigurationsofvirtualmachinesknownto
VirtualCenterwithoutreplacingthem.
abort
Terminatestherestoreoperationafterdetectinganexistingfileoravirtual
machineconfigurationalreadyknowntoVirtualCenter.
48
VMware, Inc.
Restoring Virtual Machines

from ESX Server 2.5.x to ESX Server 3.0
A PPENDIX B
Thisappendixdescribeshowtorestorevirtualmachines,whichwerecreatedand
backeduponESXServer2.5.x,inESXServer3.0usingtheserviceconsole.
Thisappendixincludesthefollowingsections:
!
SettingConfigurationParametersonpage 50
RestoringESX2.5.xServerVirtualMachinesonpage 51
VMware, Inc.
49
Setting Configuration Parameters

TorestorevirtualmachinesfromESXServer2.5.xtoESXServer3.0,youfirstneedto
setupconfigurationparametersinthe/etc/vmware/backuptools.conffile.
Tosetupgeneralparameters,followrecommendationsinGeneralConfiguration
SettingsforConsolidatedBackupUtilitiesonpage 38.
Inaddition,definethefollowingspecificparameters.
DSPATH
Specifiesthepathtoadatastorewhereyourrestoredvirtualmachinewillreside.
Toavoidsettingupthisoptionindividuallyforeachvirtualmachineyourestore,
usethe%VMNAME%entry.Duringtherestoreprocess,thebasenameofthevirtual
machines.vmxconfigurationfilesubstitutesthisentry.
Forexample,torestorevirtualmachinestotheoldvmsdatastoreusingthebase
nameofthevirtualmachines.vmxfile,enterthefollowing:
DSPATH="[oldvms] %VMNAME%"
Thisentryrestoresthevirtualmachinewiththemyvm.vmxfileinto[oldvms] /myvm.
VMHOST
Specifiesthehostforthevirtualmachineyourestore.Thevirtualmachinewillbe
poweredonfromthishost.
RESOURCEPOOL
Specifiestheresourcepoolforthevirtualmachineyourestore.Formore
informationonthisparameter,seeChangingResourcePoolsonpage 47.
NOTE
Makesuretoselectavalidresourcepoolonthehostyouspecifiedin
VMHOST.Typically,theresourcepoolnamecontainsthenameofthe
correspondingESXServerhost.Youcanalsousethe%VMHOST%entry,
whichwillbereplacedbythevalueyouassignedtoVMHOST.
FOLDERPATH
SpecifiesthefolderwithintheVirtualCenterhierarchy,inwhichtherestored
virtualmachinewillbeplaced.Formoreinformationonthisparameter,see
ChangingFolderPathsonpage 46.
50
VMware, Inc.
Appendix B Restoring Virtual Machines from ESX Server 2.5.x to ESX Server 3.0
Restoring ESX 2.5.x Server Virtual Machines

Afterdefiningallnecessarysettingsinthe/etc/vmware/backuptools.conffile,youcan
restorevirtualmachinesthatwerebackeduponESXServer2.5.x.
TherestoreprocessisthesameasfortheESXServer3.0virtualmachines.
Formoreinformation,seeRestoringVirtualMachinesonpage 44.
VMware, Inc.
51
52
VMware, Inc.
Index
archive bit 20
physical compatibility 4
physical SCSI disks 3
B
backup destinations 43
BIOS UUID 41
catalog files 45
change journal 20
configuration file 38
configuration files, exporting 18
User groups ix
utilities 38
D
directory, /vmfs/volumes 4
disk images, exporting 18
DNS name 41
Report LUNs command 4
V
VCB utilities 38
virtual compatibility 4
virtual-to-physical clustering 4
VMFS 3
vmkfstools command 5
VMware community forums ix
F
file allocation table 22
I
IP address 41
K
Knowledge base ix
M
metadata 4
MoRef 42
N
new technology file system 22
VMware, Inc.
53
54
VMware, Inc.

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ESX Server 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0