Data Protection

Module 10

Module 2-2

You Are Here

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vSphere Environment

Introduction to VMware Virtualization

VMware ESX and ESXi

VMware vCenter Server

Networking

Storage

Virtual Machines

Operations

Access Control

Resource Monitoring

Scalability

High Availability

Patch Management

Installing VMware ESX and ESXi

Data Protection

Module 2-3

Importance

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Over time, your VMware vSphere™ environment might undergo changes to its hardware or software configuration. In addition, application data goes through constant change. From a manageability perspective, it is important to take regular backups of your vSphere environment.

Module 2-4

Module Objectives

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Describe the strategy for backing up a host’s configuration data

Describe a strategy for backing up virtual machines Describe solutions for backing up virtual machines Use VMware Data Recovery to back up and restore a virtual

machine

Module 2-5

Backing Up Host Configuration Data

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Always back up your host configuration after installation, after changing the configuration, and after upgrading the host.VMware® ESXi configuration: Use the vicfg-cfgbackup command.

• This command backs up and restores the host’s configuration.• Run from vSphere Command-Line Interface.

VMware ESX™ service console: Several backup agents are supported.

Module 2-6

Backing Up Virtual Machines

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Store application data in separate virtual disksfrom system images.Use full virtual machine backups for system images. The alternative is to

redeploy from template.

Module 2-7

Backup Solutions for Virtual Machines

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

VMware provides these solutions for backing up your virtual machines: Third-party backup software that uses the VMware

vStorage APIs for Data Protection Data Recovery

Module 2-8

vStorage APIs for Data Protection

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vStorage APIs for Data Protection: Allows backup and recovery of entire virtual machine images

across SAN storage or local area networks Is an API that is directly integrated with backup tools from third-

party vendors Enables you to remove load from the host and consolidate

backup load onto a central backup server Protects virtual machines that use any type of storage

supported by ESX/ESXi (Fibre Channel, iSCSI, NAS, or local storage)

Module 2-9

Data Recovery

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Backup-and-recovery appliance: Agentless, disk-based backup-

and-recovery virtual appliance:• Linux-based

Based on the vStorage APIs for Data ProtectionIntegrated with VMware vCenter Server: VMware vSphere Client plug-in

Supports up to ten appliances per vCenter Server instance: Supports up to 100 virtual

machines per applianceIntended for small- to medium-sized environments

vCenter Server

hosthost

Module 2-10

Data Recovery Components

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vSphere Client with Data Recovery

clientplug-in

vCenter Server

host host

virtual machines to back up(installed with VSS or other

quiescing tool)deduplication storage

Data Recovery appliance

Module 2-11

Deduplication Store

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

A deduplication store: Is the appliance’s backup

storage:• A virtual disk on a VMware

vStorage VMFS or NFS datastore

• A raw device mapping (RDM)

• A Common Internet File System (CIFS) share

Checks to see whether identical backup data has already been saved

VMDKs or RDMs are recommended over CIFS shares.Deduplication store technology completes three processes: Integrity check – Verifies and maintains data integrity of backup store Recatalog – Synchronizes restore points with contents of backup store Reclaim – Reclaims space on the backup store

deduplication store

(backup storage)

Data Recovery

Module 2-12

Data Recovery Requirements

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Deduplication store requirements: Limit of two deduplicated stores per appliance Per store: up to 1TB for VMDK or RDM. Up to 500GB for CIFS.

Provide storage space equal to the amount of used disk space on all virtual machines being protected.Networking requirements: Ensure that ports 80, 443, 22024, and 902 are open. Ensure that DNS names can be resolved.

Ensure that virtual machines backed up by Data Recovery are appropriately licensed.

Module 2-13

Installing and Configuring Data Recovery

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

1. Install the client plug-in.

2. Install the backup appliance.

3. Add a hard disk to the backup appliance.

Installation:

1. Power on the appliance and change the root password.

2. Configure network settings, and reboot the appliance if necessary.

3. Connect the appliance to vCenter Server.

4. Configure the backup destination (deduplication store or CIFS share) on the appliance.

Configuration:

Module 2-14

Creating a Backup Job

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Use the client plug-in to create a backup job.A backup job requires the following information: Virtual machines to back up:

• Individual virtual machines, virtual machines in a datacenter, on a particular host, in a certain folder

Backup destination:• Deduplication store or CIFS share

Backup window:• Default window: every night Monday through Friday, any time on

Saturday and Sunday Retention policy (length of time that backups are preserved):

• Predefined (few, more, many) or custom

A maximum of eight backup jobs can run simultaneously.Backup jobs can back up 100 virtual machines total.

Module 2-15

Restoring a Virtual Machine

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

When restoring a virtual machine, you can perform a restore rehearsal or an actual restore. Restore to most recent backup rehearsal:

• A way to ensure that virtual machine backups are created correctly and that they can be successfully restore

Restore:• Actual restore of a virtual machine to a selected previous state

Both types of restore jobs require: Source selection:

• Virtual machines and virtual disks to restore Destination selection:

• Original or different location of the virtual machine Reconfiguration options:

• Whether to connect the network interface card (NIC), whether to power on the virtual machine

Module 2-16

File Level Restore

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

File Level Restore provides a way to access individual files within restore points for virtual machines. For example, you can create two copies of a file to compare

versions.

The FLR client can be installed in Windows or Linux virtual machines and requires administrator privileges. FLR is not supported for use on physical machines.

Module 2-17

Lab 17

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

In this lab, you will use Data Recovery to back up and recover a virtual machine.1. Install the Data Recovery plug-in.2. Modify the Data Recovery virtual appliance.3. Do the initial setup of the Data Recovery appliance.4. Create a backup job.5. Create a restore job.6. Prepare for the next lab.

Module 2-18

Module Summary

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Describe the strategy for backing up a host’s configuration data Describe a strategy for backing up virtual machines Describe solutions for backing up virtual machines Use Data Recovery to back up and restore a virtual machine

Module 2-19

Key Points

VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Data Recovery is an agentless, Linux-based virtual appliance used for backing up and recovering virtual machines.

Data Recovery uses deduplication store technology to make efficient use of the backup storage.

Data can be restored per virtual machine, per virtual disk, or per file.