administration guide intellisnap virtual server idataagent...

Administration GUIDE

IntelliSnap Virtual Server iDataAgent for VMware

Published On: 11/19/2013 V10 Service Pack 4A of 277

IntelliSnap User Guide - Virtual Server iDataAgent for VMware Table of ContentsPre-Deployment

Getting Started

Overview

Deployment

Configuration

Automatic Discovery

Select Storage Array

Backup

Vault/Mirror Copy

Movement to Media

Restore

Advanced

Snapshots

Configuration

Backup

Restore

Backup Copy

Data Aging

Additional Operations

Command Line

Best Practices

FAQs

Troubleshooting

IntelliSnap Support

SnapTest Tool

Snap Mining

Supported Storage Arrays


Pre-Deployment Test (Windows) - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsInstallation

Perform Test

InstallationThe following sections describe the steps involved in installing the components using the Decoupled Installation package:

1. Create Decoupled Installation Package

2. Install Using the Decoupled Installation Package

Create Decoupled Installation Package

Use the following steps to create the Decoupled install package

1. Log on to the client computer as an Administrator or as a member of the Administrator group on that computer. 2. Run SetupAll.exe from the Software Installation Discs. 3. Click I accept the terms in the license agreement.

Click Next.

4. Click Custom.

Click Next.


5. Click Create a custom package to install on a different computer and click Next.

6. Click Create a Recording of Packages.

7. Click Next.


8. Verify the default location for software installation.

Click Next.

If necessary, click Browse... to change the default location.

Do not install the software to a mapped network drive Do not use the following characters when specifying the destination path: / : * ? " < > | # It is recommended that you use alphanumeric characters only

9. Click Next.


10. Select the Software edition of the Custom Package you want to create.

11. Specify the location where you wish to create the custom package. By default the custom package is created at C:\CustomInstallPackageName.

Specify a folder under any drive. If the folder does not exist, it is automatically created.Do not use the following characters when specifying the destination path:/ : * ? " < > |It is recommended that you use alphanumeric characters only.

Click Browse to change directories.

Click Next to continue.


12. Select one of the following: Select Create a new instance option to install the Agents as a new instance.

Select Install to existing instance to install the Agents to a specific instance existing on the client computer.

From the Select an instance drop-down list, select the instance name to which you want the agents to be added at the time of installation.

Click Next.

13. Select the components that you want to install.

If you have plans to create a De-coupled custom package, the components that you select here will be included in the De-coupled custom package.Click Next.

If you select this option and create a custom package, later when you install the Agents using this custom package, the Agents will always be installed as a new instance irrespective of the existence of any other instances on the client computer.

Make sure that the instance name that you select here exists on the client computers on which you would install the agents using this custom package. Once you specify the instance name and create a custom package, later when you install the Agents using this custom package on a client computer, the Agents will always be installed to the instance that you specify in this step. If the installer does not find any matching instance name on the client computer, then a new instance with this name will be created and the Agents will be installed to this instance


14. Click Next.

15. Select one of the following:

If firewall configuration is not required, click Next. If this computer and the CommServe is separated by a firewall, click Configure firewall services.

For firewall options and configuration instructions, see Firewall Configuration and continue with the installation.

If you want this screen to be displayed while installing the components from the custom package, select the Show to usercheck box.

If you want to include .NET Framework 4.0 Installer in the custom package, select Include .NET Framework 4.0 Installer. If you just want to create an answer file without creating the package, select Create answer file (without packages). If you select this option, the self-extracting executable will not be created.


16. Click Next.

CommServe name can be specified later.


17. The default port numbers used for CommCell communication is displayed. If necessary, you can modify the port numbers.

Click Next.


This screen will not appear if the default port numbers are not used for CommCell communication.



Click Next.




19. Select one of the following: Click Use Cell level Policy to inherit the global filter policy configuration set for the CommCell. Click Always use Global Filters to apply the global filters policy to the default subclient regardless of the policy set for the CommCell. Select Do not use Global Filters if you plan to define specific filters for the Agent.

Click Next.



20. Select the Configure for Laptop or Desktop Backup option to install Backup Monitor utility. This utility allows you to view the backup job summary from the client computer without opening the CommCell Console. See Monitor - Laptop Userfor more information.

Select the Contact the master CommServe to perform automatic registration option if you have plans to deploy this installation package to multiple client computers and want each client computer to to be automatically registered to the appropriate CommServe of your choice.

Click Next.


21. Click Finish.

This screen will reflect the components you selected for install, and may look different from the example shown.


Install Using the Decoupled Installation Package

Use the following procedure to install the De-Coupled package:

1. Locate the custom package and double-click the .exe file to start the installation. For example:For a Windows X64 system using default paths, this file can be located at C:\CustomPackageName\CustomPackageName_WinX64

If you want to install this de-coupled package on a different computer, you must copy the executable file to the desired client computer and double-click the .exe file.

2. Custom Installation Package screen will be displayed. Click k Next to continue.


3. Provide a path for the installer to extract the installation package.

4. The installation proceeds silently. This may take several minutes to complete.

5. Click OK on the dialog box.


6. Click Finish.

7. In the Administrative Console (Register Me tab).

Specify the Username and Password to register to the CommServe.

Perform TestThe following procedure provides step-by-step instructions to configure and test your snap environment.

1. Create a Lun on the array and map it to the client computer.

Ensure that the Lun is visible on the client computer as a Disk.

2. Using the Disk Management on the client computer locate the disk and assign a drive letter. 3. Create a directory to mount snapshots. 4. Navigate to <installed_directory>\Base and double-click SnapTest.exe. 5. Press Enter.

This screen will be displayed only when you select the create de-coupled installation package option while creating the decoupled install package (step 14).


This tool helps to perform operations such as...-> Automatic Snap Tests-> Individual Snap Tests-> Hardware Snapshot Engine Detection-> SCSI Inquiry-> Scan HBA/IQN AdaptersNOTE: Please make sure that the mount points used for this test are not being used by any other application. If they are in use, it may cause data corruption or data loss. Please refer to our online documentation for list of supported Operating systems, Hardware Snapshot engines and File systems. Press <ENTER> to continue...

6. Press Enter.

SnapTest Version Main Menu--------------------------------------Perform automatic snap tests or launch Advanced Operations such as Array Configuration, Snapshot Engine Detection etc. Automatic snap tests take one or more source mounts to snap and performs series of Snap related operations on them. In order to perform these snap operations, array configuration such as array id, control host and user credentials is required. If no array configuration is found, Automatic Snaptests takes you to Array Configuration screen.1. Automatic Snap Tests2. Advanced Operations0. ExitChoose your option [1]:

7. Type Y and press Enter.

SnapTest Automatic Snap Operations-----------------------------------------------------We will perform the following operations on the given mount point[s].- Create snapshots- Mount snapshots- Unmount snapshots- Revert original volumes to snapshots- Delete snapshotsWARNING:Revert is inherently risky and can cause data loss.Do you want to perform revert operation as part of this test? [Y/N] [N] : Y

8. Specify the drive letter of mount directory and press Enter.

Enter source mount paths to snap (separate by commas, if more than one): E:\\

9. Press Enter to add the detected array.

SnapTest Automatic Snap Operations-----------------------------------------------------------Source Mount Point : E:\\Detecting underlying devices... \\.PhysicalDrive1Detecting snapshot engine... <Array Name> SnapshotNo [<Array Name> Snapshot] arrays found in database. Array configuration is required to do snap operations.Do you want to add <Array Name> Array? [Y/N] [Y] :

10. Specify the following information for the detected array: Array ID Control host name/ip

For NetApp, it is recommended that the revert operation is not tested using the automatic test. Revert should be tested using manual operations.

Enter all the mount points that you want to test. Ensure to specify two "\" after the drive letter e.g., E:\\.


User name Password Reenter password Device group Use only devices belonging to the above device group [y/n]

SnapTest Add Array-----------------------------------Vendor : <Array Name>Enter array ID : Enter control host name/ip : Enter user name : Enter password :Enter password again :Enter device group :

11. The setup is tested for snapshot operations (create, mount, unmount, revert, and delete).

The snap test is now complete. You can now use this environment for performing IntelliSnap operations.

SnapTest Automatic Snap Operations------------------------------------------------------------Mount points to be snapped : E:\\Engine for /snap1 : <Array Name> SNAP Creating snapshot... SUCCESSSnapshot name : SP_805326_805326_-1 Mounting snapshot...SUCCESSUnmounting snapshot... SUCCESSReverting to snapshot... SUCCESSDeleting snapshot... SUCCESSCongratulations!!! Automatic Snap test completed successfully. Press <ENTER> to continue...

12. Type 0 and press Enter.

SnapTest Version Main Menu--------------------------------------Perform automatic snap tests or launch Advanced Operations such as Array Configuration, Snapshot Engine Detection etc. Automatic snap tests take one or more source mounts to snap and performs series of Snap related operations on them. In order to perform these snap operations, array configuration such as array id, control host and user credentials is required. If no array configuration is found, Automatic Snaptests takes you to Array Configuration screen.1. Automatic Snap Tests 2. Advanced Operations 0. Exit Choose your option [1]:

Initial deployment and successful run of IntelliSnap backup may take around 4 weeks due to the various environment dependencies. The following parameters are known to affect the deployment and initial run and hence need a thorough evaluation:

Firmware versions on the array Device types Mode of access Security configuration Operating Systems interacting with the storage array Application layout on the storage array LUNs

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Overview - IntelliSnap for VMware

IntelliSnap backup enables you to create a point-in-time snapshot of the data used for backups. An effective way to back up live data is to quiesce it temporarily , take a snapshot, and then resume live operations. IntelliSnap backup works in conjunction with storage arrays to provide snapshot functionality for backup.

You can use the IntelliSnap backup to perform any level of backups (for example, Full, Incremental, or Differential). When you switch from a snap to a traditional backup or vice-versa, the next job is converted to a full backup. While you perform an IntelliSnap backup or any subsequent operations, you can use a proxy server to reduce the load on the production server. The backup copy operation uses the proxy to move the snap to backup media. Proxy server is supported with hardware storage arrays.

The following illustration describes the process involved in IntelliSnap backup:

Advantages of Using IntelliSnap BackupThe following table lists some of the advantages of using IntelliSnap backup over other available backup solutions.

Overview Deployment Configuration Automatic Discovery

Select Storage Array Backup Vault/Mirror

CopyMovement to Media Restore

Feature Support Generic Software Solution

Data Protection Suite IntelliSnap Backup

Backup to TapeDuring incremental or log backups only relevant incremental or log data is moved to media which enables significant reduction in media usage.Hardware Independent - No dependency on the hardware arraySnapshot copy, backup copy, and tape copy creation and management are seamless. Application aware snapshots creation can be scheduled. The snapshots can be cataloged/indexed for restore and movement to media based on policies. To reduce load on the production server, a proxy server can be used for operations like movement to media and integrity check.Restores can be performed directly from media to the application server. Ability to mix and match IntelliSnap backup with traditional backups. You can perform full IntelliSnap backups combined with incremental log backups that are moved to media.All data management operations can be performed from the CommCell Console.


Advantages of Using IntelliSnap Backup with Virtual Server iDataAgent for VMwareUsing IntelliSnap backup for VMware has following advantages:

You can backup 100s of virtual machines in few minutes. You can perform multiple backups per day and hence you get multiple recovery points per day. No need to collect metadata during the backup and still you can browse and restore file or folders on a virtual machine. You can power ON a virtual machine temporarily, without actually restoring it. Embedded source side deduplication provides an efficient method to create secondary copies.

How Does IntelliSnap Backup WorkThe IntelliSnap backup includes the following operations:

Backup job is scheduled using the CommCell Console. When the backup job is started:

The array is accessed to create a snapshot. The snapshot is mounted on the ESX server designated for the snap mount. The snapshot is unmounted.

This snapshot is used for backup copy operations. This can also be used for restore/mount operations.

During the Backup Copy operations:

The snapshot is mounted to the ESX server designated for the snap mount. The mounted snapshot is treated like file system and the required contents are read. The file system backup is performed to Primary Copy of the storage policy. When the backup copy job is finished, the snapshot is unmounted.

Data Aging:

The jobs for the snapshot are pruned based on the retention policy of the snapshot copy. The snapshots related to the pruned jobs are deleted from the array periodically.

TerminologyThe IntelliSnap Backup documentation uses the following terminology:



Storage device A device used for backup or archival purposes. Storage Array A high-end disk storage system. The IntelliSnap software is designed to work in conjunction with the snapshot

ability built into the storage array.Proxy A computer other than the production server on which you can perform IntelliSnap operations. A proxy is

used to decrease the load on the production server.Snapshot Copy An additional copy of the protected data that is used in IntelliSnap operations.


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Deployment - IntelliSnap for VMware

Where To InstallInstall the software on a windows computer. This can be a physical computer or a virtual machine.

In a clustered environment, install the software on the physical computer.

Follow the steps given below to install the Virtual Server iDataAgent.

The computer will be added as a client in the CommCell as soon as the installation completes successfully.

Before You BeginIntelliSnap Support - Platforms

Verify that the computer in which you wish to install the software satisfies the minimum requirements specified in IntelliSnap Support - Platforms.

Download Software Packages

Download the latest software package to perform the install.

Interactive Install1. Log on to the client computer as an Administrator or as a member of the Administrator group on that computer. 2. Run SetupAll.exe from the Software Installation Discs. 3. Click I accept the terms in the license agreement.

Click Next.

4. Click Custom.

Click Next.





5. Click Select components to install on this computer and click Next.

6. Expand Virtualization and click Virtual Server Agent.

Expand Storage Resources and click MediaAgent.

Expand File System and verify that VSS Provider is selected.

Click Next.



Click Next.



8. Click Install. The Summary on your screen should reflect the components you selected for install, and may look different from the example shown.


9. Click Yes.

10. Click Next.

11. Select one of the following:

If firewall configuration is not required, click Next. If this computer and the CommServe is separated by a firewall, click Configure firewall services.

For firewall options and configuration instructions, see Firewall Configuration and continue with the installation.


12. Enter the fully qualified domain name of the CommServe in the CommServe Host Name box. Do not use space and the following characters when specifying the CommServe Host Name:

\|`~!@#$%^&*()+=<>/?,[]{}:;'"

Click Next.

13. Enter the following: The local (NetBIOS) name of the client computer is displayed in the Select a Client name list.

If necessary you can also type a new (friendly) name for the client in this box. This name will be used in the CommCell and will also be displayed in the CommCell Console.

Do not use spaces when specifying a new name for the client.

The default network interface name of the client computer is displayed if the computer has only one network interface (NIC card).

If the computer has multiple network interfaces, select the interface name that is preferred for communication with the CommServe.

Click Next.

If a component is already installed on this computer, this screen will not be displayed; instead, the install program will use the same name as previously specified.


14. The default port numbers used for CommCell communication is displayed. If necessary, you can modify the port numbers.

Click Next.

15. Select one of the following options:

If you do not want to disable Windows Firewall, click Next. If you want to disable Windows Firewall for all profiles, click Yes, disable Windows Firewall for all profiles and then click Next.

This screen will not appear if the default port numbers are not used for CommCell communication.

You will get this screen if you did not configure the firewall settings in step 11.


16. Select Add programs to the Windows Firewall Exclusion List, to add CommCell programs and services to the Windows Firewall Exclusion List.

Click Next.

17. Select a Client Group.Click Next.

This option enables CommCell operations across Windows firewall by adding CommCell programs and services to Windows firewall exclusion list.

It is recommended to select this option even if Windows firewall is disabled. This will allow the CommCell programs and services to function if the Windows firewall is enabled at a later time.

This screen will not be displayed if Client Groups are not configured in the CommCell Console. For more information, see Client Computer Groups.


18. Select one of the following: Click Use Cell level Policy to inherit the global filter policy configuration set for the CommCell. Click Always use Global Filters to apply the global filters policy to the default subclient regardless of the policy set for the CommCell. Select Do not use Global Filters if you plan to define specific filters for the Agent.

Click Next.

19. Select a storage policy from the Storage Policy list.

Click Next.

If you do not have a Storage Policy, the list will not be displayed. You can create the Storage Policy later in step 21.


20. Click Finish.

21. To create a storage policy, you must have configured a library in the CommCell. If you do not already have a library configured, go to Disk Library Creation. If you have a library configured, go to Storage Policy Creation.

DISK LIBRARY CREATION:

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Storage Resources, right-click the Libraries, point to Add and then click Disk Library...

Alternatively, you can also navigate to MediaAgents, right-click <MediaAgent>, point to All Tasks | Create Libraryand then click Disk Library...

2. From the Add Disk Library dialog box, specify the following: In the Name box, specify name of the disk library. From the MediaAgent list, select the MediaAgent.

Perform one of the following:

This screen will reflect the components you selected for install, and may look different from the example shown.

If you already have a storage policy selected in step 19, click to proceed to the Configuration section.

If you do not have Storage Policy created, continue with the following step.


Select Local Path if you wish to specify a local path in the MediaAgent computer.

In the Disk Device box, type the name of the folder in which the disk library must located or click button to select the folder.

Select Network Path, if you wish to specify a network path as the target share.

In the Connect As box, type the user name.

In the Password and Verify Password box, type the password to access the network share.

In the Folder box, type the mount path or click button to select a mount path.

Click OK. 3. The newly created disk library will be displayed under Libraries node.

This will create a library and Storage Policy. Click to proceed to the Configuration section.

Storage Policy Creation

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies. 2. Right-click the Storage Policies and then click New Storage Policy. 3. Follow the prompts displayed in the Storage Policy Wizard. The required options are mentioned below:

Select the Storage Policy type as Data Protection and Archiving and click Next. Enter the name in the Storage Policy Name box and click Next. From the Library list, click the name of a disk library to which the primary copy should be associated and then click Next.

Ensure that you select a library attached to a MediaAgent operating in the current release.

From the MediaAgent list, click the name of a MediaAgent that will be used to create the primary copy and then click Next. For the device streams and the retention criteria information, click Next to accept default values. Select Yes to enable deduplication for the primary copy. From the MediaAgent list, click the name of the MediaAgent that will be used to host the Deduplication Database (DDB).

In the Location box, type the name of the folder in which the DDB must be located or click the Browse button to select the folder and then click Next.

Review the details and click Finish to create the Storage Policy.

This will create a storage policy. Click to proceed to the Configuration section.


22. If you have installed on a clustered computer, make sure to install the software on all the physical nodes and then follow the steps described in Cluster Configuration.




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Basic Configuration - IntelliSnap for VMware

ConfigurationOnce the Virtual Server iDataAgent is installed on a computer or a virtual machine, create a vCenter client and a subclient to back up virtual machines in a vCenter.

The following sections provide the necessary steps to configure a subclient to perform the IntelliSnap backup of a single virtual machine:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click Client Computers node and select New Client | Virtualization | VMware vCenter.

2. Enter the vCenter Host Name.

Enter the username and password associated with the Virtual Center.

Click Add to select a proxy for backup.




Ensure that vCenter permissions are configured as described in Permissions for Custom User Accounts.


3. Select a proxy from the Exclude list.

The list displays all the clients which has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it and all the client groups. You can select one or more clients or client groups. When you select a client group, ensure that at least one client in the group has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it.

When you are creating a VMware vCenter client for a IntelliSnap backup, it is recommended to select only one proxy.

Click Include or Include All.

Click OK.

4. Click OK.

If you select multiple proxies while configuring the VMware vCenter client, only the first proxy (coordinator) will be used to perform the backup. If the first proxy is not available, the next available proxy in the list will be used to perform the backup.

Ensure the following when you select proxies for the VMware vCenter client:


The first proxy has MediaAgent installed on it. If the first proxy does not have MediaAgent installed, change the order of proxies. While configuring the storage policy for IntelliSnap backup, the first proxy is selected as a MediaAgent.

5. From the CommCell Console, navigate to the <vCenter client>.

Right-click the <vCenter client> and click Properties.

6. Click Advanced.

Select the Enable IntelliSnap option to enable IntelliSnap backup for the client.

Click OK to save the configuration.


7. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware.

Right-click the defaultBackupSet and click New Subclient.

8. Enter the Subclient name.

By default the Transport Mode for VMware is set as Auto. Depending upon proxy computer used for backup and virtual machines included in the backup, the transport mode is automatically selected. If you want to use a specific transport mode, select one of the following:

SANHot AddNBDNBD SSL


9. Click the Content tab.

Click Browse.

Navigate to the virtual machine which you want to backup and select the virtual machine.

Click OK.

The selected virtual machine appears in the Contents of a subclient list.

10. Click the IntelliSnap Operations tab.

Select the IntelliSnap option.

Select a snap engine from the list of Available Snap Engines list.


Click Select ESX server for snap mount and select a host. During backup copy or restore operations, the snapshot will be mounted on this host.

When you select the host ensure the following:

The ESX server version installed on the host server is same as or higher than the ESX server version installed on the production server. For example: If the production server has ESX 5.0 then the selected host must be ESX 5.0 or higher. The selected proxy ESX Server is not part of any Clustered Storage Group/Initiator group.

11. Click the Storage Device tab.

Select a Storage Policy which has a Snapshot Copy.

Click OK.


If you do not have Storage Policy created, continue with Step 12.






Perform one of the following: Select Local Path if you wish to specify a local path in the MediaAgent computer.







This will create a library and Storage Policy. Click button available at the bottom of the page to perform backup.

Storage Policy Creation:

This will create a storage policy. Click the button available at the bottom of the page to continue. a. Click Create Storage Policy. b. Follow the prompts displayed in the Storage Policy Wizard. The required options are mentioned below:

i. Select the Storage Policy type as Data Protection and Archiving and click Next. ii. Enter the name in the Storage Policy Name box and click Next.

iii. From the Library list, click the name of a disk library to which the primary copy should be associated and then click Next.



iv. From the MediaAgent list, click the name of a MediaAgent that will be used to create the primary copy and then click Next.

v. For the device streams and the retention criteria information, click Next to accept default values. vi. Select Yes to enable deduplication for the primary copy.

vii. From the MediaAgent list, click the name of the MediaAgent that will be used to host the Deduplication database (DDB).

In the Location box, type the name of the folder in which the DDB must be located or click the Browse to select the folder, and then click Next.

viii. Review the details and click Finish to create the Storage Policy.

Skip the following section if you already created a snapshot copy.

Create a Snapshot CopyThe following section provides step-by-step instructions for creating a Snapshot Copy for a Storage Policy.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies | Storage Policies.

Right-click the <Storage_Policy> and click All Tasks | Create New Snapshot Copy.

2. Specify the following to create a Snapshot copy: a. Type the Copy Name in the Copy Name box. b. From the Library list, select the name of Library. c. From the MediaAgent list, select the name of a MediaAgent.


d. From the Drive Pool list, select the name of a Drive Pool. e. From the Scratch Pool list, select the name of the Scratch Pool.

f. Click OK.

Configure Backup CopyA backup copy operation provides the capability to copy snapshots of the data to any media. It is useful for creating additional standby copies of data and can be performed during the IntelliSnap backup or at a later time.

Follow the steps given below to configure Backup Copy for moving snapshots to media.

1. Open CommCell Console: From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies | Storage Policies. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties.

2. Click the Snapshot tab.

Select Enable Backup Copy checkbox to enable movement of snapshots to media.

Click OK.

Drive Pool and Scratch Pool are not applicable for disk libraries.





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Automatic Discovery - IntelliSnap for VMware

Skip this page if you do not want to use the automatic discovery feature.

Click to Continue.

The Customized Automatic Discovery feature enables you to set criteria to discover virtual machines in the vCenter and automatically add them to the subclient content. This is useful in environments where virtual machines are added, removed, or relocated on a routine basis. You can use this feature to configure a subclient for backup of all the virtual machines from a specific host, a datastore, or a datacenter etc.

For example, the following sections explain how to configure a subclient for backup of virtual machines from a specific host or a datastore.

Discover Virtual Machines from a HostDiscover Virtual Machines from a Datastore

Discover Virtual Machines from a HostIf you want to backup all the virtual machines from a specific host, configure a subclient as follows:









Click Add.

4. Click the available list and select Host from the list. Enter the host name which appears in the vCenter or ip address of the host.

Otherwise, click to open the Browse dialog box. Navigate to the required host and select the host.

Click OK.


5. The selected host will appear in the Contents of subclient list on the Content tab.

Click Preview to view all the virtual machines on the host. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient.

Click OK.

Click to continue.

Discover Virtual Machines from a DatastoreIf you want to backup all the virtual machines from a specific datastore, set the criteria as follows:






Click Add.


4. Click the available list and select Datastore from the list. Enter the datastore name.

Otherwise, click to open the Browse dialog box.

Select the Datastore from the available list. Navigate to the required datastore and select the host.

Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

Click OK on the Add Rule dialog box.

5. The selected datastore will appear in the Contents of subclient list on the Content tab.

Click Preview to view all the virtual machines in the datastore. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient.

If a virtual machine has only one disk in the selected datastore and remaining disks and VMX files are located on other


Click OK.

Click to continue.

If you want to further explore the customized automatic discovery feature, refer to Automatic Discovery of Virtual Machines For Backup.



datastores, the virtual machine will be added to the subclient.


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Select Storage Array - IntelliSnap for VMware

The following storage arrays are supported for Virtual Server iDataAgent for VMware:






Hardware Storage ArraysDell CompellentDell EqualLogicEMC CelerraEMC Clariion/VNXEMC IsilonEMC VMAX/SymmetrixFujitsu ETERNUSHitachi Data SystemsHP 3PARHP StorageWorks EVAIBM SVCIBM XIVLSINetAppNimble Storage


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Basic Backup - IntelliSnap for VMware

Perform a BackupAfter configuring the virtualization client and a subclient, you are ready to perform your first backup.

The following section provides step-by-step instructions for running your first full backup of a single virtual machine immediately.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | <BackupSet>.

Right-click the <Subclient> and click Backup.

2. Select Full as backup type and Immediate to run the job immediately.

Click OK.

3. You can track the progress of the job from the Job Controller window of the CommCell console.





4. Once job is complete, view the details of job from the Backup History.

Right-click the Subclient and select Backup History.

5. Click OK.

6. You can view the following details about the job by right-clicking the job: Items that failed during the job Items that succeeded during the job Details of the job Events of the job Log files of the job Media associated with the job


What Gets Backed Up

The default subclient will automatically include the following entities:

Virtual Machines (Windows and Linux) VMDK Files

What Does Not Get Backed Up

The following entities will not be included in the default subclient:

Virtual machines containing SCSI bus sharing set to virtual Virtual machines configured with Fault Tolerance Virtual Machines which has disks in datastores residing on storage arrays from different vendors. For example: A virtual machine has disks in datastore 1 and datastore 2. Datastore 1 is residing on a NetApp storage array and datastore 2 is residing on a LSI storage array. Virtual machines with disks on local datastores VMDKs in the same location with same names, where only case is different. Physical RDMs Virtual RDMs Independent Disks Template virtual machines




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Vault/Mirror Copy - IntelliSnap for VMware

Skip this page if you are not using NetApp with SnapVault/SnapMirror.

Click to continue.

Initiate Vault/Mirror CopyFollow the steps to initiate a Vault/Mirror copy.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Policies | Storage Policies.

Right-click the <storage policy> and click All Tasks | Run Auxiliary Copy.

2. Click the Job Initiation tab.

Select Schedule to configure the schedule pattern and click Configure.





3. Enter the schedule name and select the appropriate scheduling options.

Click OK.

The software will call any available OnCommand Unified Manager APIs at the start of the Auxiliary Copy job to detect if the topology still maps the configuration.

Once the Vault/Mirror copy of the snapshot is created, you cannot re-copy the same snapshot to the Vault/Mirror destination.

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Movement to Media - IntelliSnap for VMware

Skip this page if you do not want to copy snapshots of the data to any media.

Click to continue.

Backup Copy OperationsA backup copy operation provides the capability to copy snapshots of the data to any media. It is useful for creating additional standby copies of data and can be performed during the IntelliSnap backup or at a later time. Note that if primary snap copy is configured as Spool copy (copy with no retention rules) then the snapshots will be automatically deleted after the backup copy operation completes successfully.

Inline Backup CopyBackup copy operations performed during the IntelliSnap backup job are known as inline backup copy. You can perform inline backup copy operations for primary snapshot copies and not for secondary snapshot copies. If a previously selected snapshot has not been copied to media, the current IntelliSnap job will complete without creating the backup copy and you will need to create an offline backup copy for the current backup.

2. From the Advanced Backup Options dialog box, selected the following: a. Select Create Backup Copy immediately to create a backup copy.

b. By default, Start Backup Copy Job based on Storage Policy Rules option is selected.

Select Start Backup Copy Job with the current job option to move snapshots to media for current backup job, even if snapshots related to previous backup jobs have not been moved to media. Note that the backup copy jobs that are skipped due to this option will not be moved to media at any time.

c. If you want to view the file/folder level details of the snapshot copy, select Enable Granular Recovery for IntelliSnap check box.

d. Click OK.




Enable Granular Recovery for Backup Copy is automatically selected. This option allows you to view the file/folder level details of the backup copy.


3. You can track the progress of the Inline Backup Copy job from the Job Controller window.

Offline Backup CopyBackup copy operations performed independent of the IntelliSnap backup job are known as offline backup copy.

Use the following steps to run offline backup copy.


Right-click the <storage policy> and click Properties.

Click the Snapshot tab.

Under Snapshot Management Rules, make sure that Enable Backup Copy is selected.

Click OK.

When job is initiated, two separate jobs (i.e., Snap Copy job and Backup Copy job) will be displayed in the Job Controller window.



Right-click the <storage policy> and click All Tasks | Run Backup Copy.

3. Select Start new media to copy the data to a different tape.

Select Mark media full on Success to mark the media that is used for this operation after the snapshot copy operation has successfully completed.

Click OK.





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Basic Restore - IntelliSnap for VMware

Perform a RestoreIt is recommended that you perform a restore operation immediately after your first full backup to understand the process.

The following sections describe the steps involved in restoring a single virtual machine to a different ESX Server.


Right-click the <storage policy> and click Properties.

Click the Copy Precedence tab.

By default, the snapshot copy is set to 1 and is used for the restore operation. You can also use a different copy for performing the operation. For the copy that you want to use, set the copy precedence as 1.

Click OK.

2. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computer | <VMware vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware.

Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and click Browse and Restore.





3. Click the Advanced Options tab.

Select the MediaAgent that was used during the storage policy creation from the Use MediaAgent drop-down list. This MediaAgent should be the one you installed along with the Virtual Server agent.

Click View Content.

4. Expand the defaultbackupSet and select the required virtual machine. Its entire contents will be displayed in the right pane.

Click Recover All Selected.

5. Clear the Restore in place check box. If you are performing restore operation to understand the process, it is recommended to avoid in place restore as this may impact any running virtual machine.

Click in the ESX Server column and then click to select the destination ESX Server and Datastore. The virtual machine will be restore to the selected datastore on the selected ESX server.

Click OK.

Click in the Change VM display name to column and enter a new name for the virtual machine.

Click OK on the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box.


6. Select the Datastore to which the disk(s) will be restored.

Click OK.

7. You can monitor the progress of the restore job in the Job Controller window of the CommCell Console.


8. Once the restore job has completed, right-click the <backupset> and click View | Restore History.

9. Click OK.

10. You can view the following details about the job by right-clicking the job: View Restore Items

You can view them as Successful, Failed, Skipped or All.

View Job Details View Events of the restore job. View Log files of the restore job.


11. Once the virtual machine is restored, it is automatically mounted to the virtual center/ESX Server you selected.

Congratulations - You have successfully completed your first backup and restore.

If you want to further explore this Agent's features read the Advanced sections of this documentation.




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Advanced Snapshots - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of contentsManaging Snapshots

List Snapshots

Mount Snapshots

Delete Snapshots

Revert a Virtual Machine from a Snapshot

Virtual Machines with SQL Server

Truncating SQL Database Logs

Verifying IntelliSnap Backups

Using a Separate Proxy for Backup Copy

Selecting a Job for Backup Copy

Disabling a Job for Backup Copy

Managing SnapshotsThe snapshots of the data created by the IntelliSnap backup are also available for various other operations like list, mount, unmount, or delete.

List Snapshots

The browse operation provides the capability to see the snapshots created for an agent, job, or a snapshot copy. The list of the snapshots displayed is corresponding to the entity selected for the browse operation, for e.g., browsing the snapshots for an agent will display all the snapshots created for the selected agent. You can view volume or disk related information for the snapshots. Follow the steps given below to browse snapshots.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | VMware vCenter Client | VMware. 2. Right-click <backup set> and click All Tasks | List Snaps.

3. The Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation dialog box displays a list of all the snapshots created for the selected subclient. It also displays important information about each snapshot, including the source mount path, snap mount path, the storage array, and the source client.

Right-click the snapshot and click Details to view the snapshot properties. Click the Disk View tab to display the snapshot name, e.g. SP_2_79_1286222629.


Mount Snapshots

You can mount any available snapshot to access the data included in the snapshot. It is recommended that you select the option to protect a snapshot when it is mounted, as this will ensure that the changes made to the snapshot when it is mounted are not retained when you unmount the snapshot and the snapshot is usable for data protection operations. Follow the steps given below to mount snapshots:

When mounting multiple snapshots, note the following:

You can mount snapshots from different jobs The snapshots selected for mounting should belong to the same iDataAgent, such as Windows file system, Unix file system, VMware etc,. The snapshots should be mounted on the corresponding OS MediaAgent. For eg,. Windows volumes should be mounted on a Windows MediaAgent. Similarly, Linux volumes should be mounted on a Linux MediaAgent etc,. There are no limits on the number of snapshots to be mounted. However, if there are more number of snapshots selected, the time taken for mounting the snapshots also will increase.

If required, you can perform the following additional settings:

If the niSCSIEnable registry key is configured, IntelliSnap backup will always try to mount using iSCSI method. If this key is not configured, IntelliSnap backup will try to mount using the FC method first. By default the snapshot will be exposed to the first Host Bus Adapter (HBA) on the ESX Server. If you want to expose the snapshot to a specific HBA, configure the sPortInfo registry key.


3. From the Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation dialog box, right-click the snapshot that you wish to mount and select Mount.

To select multiple snapshots, hold <Shift> key and select the snapshots to be mounted.

4. Click Yes to confirm the mount operation. 5. Click OK on the Mount path dialog box.

By default, the snapshot will be mounted on the ESX server configured for IntelliSnap backup. The ESX Server name and Logon account will be diusplayed in the Mount Path dialog box. If you want to mount the snapshot to a different ESX server, click Override Default Selection check box and click Select ESX server for snap mount. In the Browse ESX Server dialog box, select to the required ESX server and click OK.

By default the snapshot will be exposed to the first Host Bus Adapter (HBA) on the ESX Server. If you want to expose the snapshot to a specific HBA, configure the sPortInfo registry key.

The following message will be displayed when the mount operation completes.

Mount Operation Completed Successfully.

6. Click OK.


7. Click Close on the Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation dialog box.

Unmount Snapshots

Follow the steps given below to Unmount Snapshots:


3. Right-click the snapshot you wish to unmount and click Unmount.

To select multiple snapshots, hold <Shift> key and select the snapshots to be mounted.

4. Click Yes when prompted if you want to continue.

If the snapshot does not get unmounted, select the Force Unmount option to mark the snapshot as unmounted.


Delete Snapshots

Snapshots can either be deleted using job-based pruning or from the list of displayed snapshots when browsing snapshots. Data Aging can also be used to define the retention rules and pruning of snapshots. Follow the steps given below to delete snapshots:


3. Right-click the snapshot you wish to delete.

4. Click Delete. 5. Enter the confirmation text string, erase snapshots. 6. Click OK.

Manual deletion of snapshots is not recommended. When a snapshot is deleted, it is no longer possible to perform data recovery operations from the snapshot copy. However, if a backup copy was created from the snapshot, data recovery operations can be performed from the backup copy. Ensure that the snapshot to be deleted is not mounted.

Ensure all snapshots with the same Job ID are selected for a successful deletion operation.


Revert a Virtual Machine from a Snapshot

You can revert the virtual machine from a snapshot. The revert operation is faster than the regular restore operation because files are directly copied from the snapshot to their original volumes. It is useful when you want to bring the data back to the point-in-time when the snapshot was taken. This operation overwrites any modifications to the data since the time when the snapshot was created. This option is available if the storage array that you are using support revert.

Revert operations for a virtual machine are supported on NetApp File Servers but not from SnapVault or SnapMirror snapshots. Other file servers are not supported. To perform a revert operation, the SnapRestore license is required on the NetApp file server.

Before performing revert operation, ensure that all the disks reside on the NFS data store. If the data does not reside on the NFS data store, you cannot perform the revert operation.

Review the following before performing a revert operation:

On Windows clients, disable automount using the following command:

diskpart> automount disable

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | VMware vCenter Client | VMware. 2. Right-click <backup set> and click All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. Click OK on the Restore Options dialog box. 4. Select the virtual machine that you want to revert and click Recover All Selected. 5. From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced. 6. Select the Use hardware revert capability if available option. 7. Click Yes to confirm the revert operation. 8. Click OK from the Advanced Restore Options dialog box. 9. Click OK to start the revert operation.

It is recommended to verify the contents of the backup and ensure that you want to perform a revert operation as it is an irreversible operation.on.


Virtual Machines with SQL ServerA virtual machine running SQL Server must have the following software installed to support snapshots:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and higher VMware Tools (latest version); see http://downloads.vmware.com/ for more information. VSS Provider

Truncating SQL Database Logs

When you are using Virtual Server iDataAgent to create the snapshot of a Microsoft SQL Server database running on a virtual machine, you can truncate the database log after creating the snapshot.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <VirtualizationClient> | Virtual Server | VMware | <BackupSet>.

2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. On the Subclient Properties dialog, click the Quiesce Options tab and perform the following actions:

a. Select the Quiesce Guest File Systems and Applications check box. b. Select the Application aware backup for granular recovery option. c. Select the Truncate Database Logs option to prune database logs that are no longer needed and prevent them from

growing to an unmanageable size. This is recommended.

The SQL Server user on the virtual machine must have syadmin permissions. If a SQL Server iDataAgent is installed on the virtual machine, log truncation is not performed. If multiple SQL Server instances are defined on a virtual machine, the user account provided for impersonation should have access to all instances.


When you perform the IntelliSnap backup of the virtual machine, the SQL Server database logs are truncated.

Verifying IntelliSnap BackupsYou can verify a backup to ensure that you can restore the virtual machine.

The recovery verification recreates the virtual machine to ensure backed up application and data are available as expected.

Mount the snapshot


3. From the Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation dialog box, right-click the snapshot that you wish to mount and select Mount.

4. Click Yes to confirm the mount operation. 5. Click OK on the Mount path dialog box.

By default, the snapshot will be mounted on the ESX server configured for IntelliSnap backup. The ESX Server name and Logon account will be displayed in the Mount Path dialog box. If you want to mount the snapshot to a different ESX server, click Override Default Selection check box and click Select ESX server for snap mount. In the Browse ESX Server dialog box, select to the required ESX server and click OK.

By default the snapshot will be exposed to the first Host Bus Adapter (HBA) on the ESX Server. If you want to expose the snapshot to a specific HBA, configure the sPortInfo registry key.

The following message will be displayed when the mount operation completes.

Mount Operation Completed Successfully.


6. Click OK. 7. Click Close on the Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation dialog box.

Browse the Data

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computer | <VMware vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware.

Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and click Browse and Restore.

2. Click View Content on the Restore Options dialog box.

Browse New Datastore and Register the Virtual Machine


1. Click the virtual machine you want to register and click the Summary tab to see the datastore name. 2. Click the ESX server you selected in Step 4, and click the Storageage option. 3. Identify the new datastore created after mounting the snapshot and register the virtual machine. The new datastore will have

the following name:

[OriginalDatastoreName]_GX_BACKUP_[BackupJobID]

4. Specify a name for the virtual machine.ne.

Verify the Data Using VI Client

1. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. Click Network adapters. 2. Clear the Connect at power on checkbox in the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box for all the available network

adapters. 3. Click OK. 4. Turn on the virtual machine. 5. Click the Summary tab and select the I moved it option. 6. Login to the virtual machine and verify the applications and data. 7. After verification is complete, power off the virtual machine. 8. Right-click the virtual machine and select the Remove from inventory option.

Unmount the Snapshot

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the entity that contains the snapshots you want to browse, click All Tasks | List Snaps.

2. In the Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation, right-click the snapshot that you wish to unmount and select Unmount.


Using a Separate Proxy for Backup CopyA backup copy operation provides the capability to copy snapshots of the data to any media. By default, the snapshot will be mounted on the ESX server that you have selected for the Snapshot mount. Follow the steps given below if you want to mount the snapshot on a different proxy computer during the backup copy operation:

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | VMware vCenter Client | VMware | <Backup Set>. 2. Right click the subclient configured for IntelliSnap backup and select Properties. 3. Click IntelliSnap Operations tab.

By default, the snapshot will be mounted on the ESX server specified in the Host box.

4. Select the Use Separate Proxy for Backup Copy check box. 5. Select a proxy computer from the Proxy list. This list displays all the computers where Virtual Server iDataAgent and

MediaAgent is installed. 6. Click OK.

The snapshot will mount on the specified proxy computer when you perform the backup copy operation.


Selecting a Job for Backup CopyYou can select a specific job for creating backup copy. Once selected, the Move Snap to Tape field for the specific job will be changed to Picked (i.e., the next backup copy operation will move this job to media).

1. Right-click a storage policy containing IntelliSnap backup jobs, and then click View Jobs. 2. Right-click the job and then click Pick for Backup Copy.

Disabling a Job for Backup CopyYou can prevent a job from being moved to media. You can apply this option to those jobs that were previously selected for movingto media. On selecting this option, the Move Snap to Tape field for the specific job will be changed to Not Picked (i.e., the next backup copy operation will not move this job to media).

1. Right-click a storage policy containing IntelliSnap backup jobs and then click View Jobs. 2. Right-click the job and then click Do not Backup Copy.





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Advanced Configuration - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsUnderstanding the CommCell Console

Managing a VMware vCenter Client

Add or Remove Proxies to a VMware vCenter Client

Designate a Proxy to Back Up Virtual Machines in a Subclient

Rename the VMware vCenter Client

Automatically Adding Unprotected Virtual Machines to the Default Subclient

Selecting Virtual Machines for Backup

Hosts and Clusters View

VMs and Templates View

Datastores and Datastore Clusters View

Wildcards

Automatic Discovery of Virtual Machines for Backup

Specific Virtual Machine

Based on a VM Name Pattern

Virtual Machines from a Specific Operating System Group

Virtual Machines from a Specific DNS Hostname

Virtual Machines from a Specific Host

Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore

Virtual Machines from a Specific Resource Pool

Virtual Machines from a Specific Datacenter

Virtual Machines from a Specific Cluster

Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore Cluster

Virtual Machines from a Specific vApp

Virtual Machines from a Specific Folder

Combining Rules to Select Virtual Machines

Match All of the Following Rules

Match Any of the Following Rules

Not Equal


Automatically Combining Rules

Filtering Virtual Machines from a Backup

Virtual Machines from a Specific Host or a Cluster



Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore or a Datastore Cluster



Virtual Machines with a Specific Operating System Group

Virtual Machines with a Specific DNS Hostname

Based on a Virtual Machine Name Pattern

Filtering Disks from a Backup

Disks with Specific Disk Numbers

Disks with a Specific SCSI ID

Disks from a Specific DataStore

Based on a Disk Name Pattern

LAN-Free Backups

Configure LAN-Free Resources

Displaying Backed Up Virtual Machines in the CommCell Console

Show Virtual Machines in Client Computers List

Show Virtual Machines in the Client Computer Groups List

Quiescing the Operating System and Applications Before Backup

Accessing Exchange Data from Hardware Snapshots

Pre/Post Processing Using VMware Tools

Setting Threshold for Free Space on a Datastore

Configuring User Accounts

Change Virtual Center Credentials

Permissions for Custom User Accounts

Add a Custom User with Limited Scope

Configuring Transport Modes for Backup Copy

Forcing Transport Modes in vSphere VADP Environments


Modifying an Agent, Instance, or Subclient

Deleting an Instance, Backup Set, or Subclient

Delete an Instance

Delete a Backup Set

Delete a Subclient

Configure Agent Preference for Browse Using VM File Recovery Plugin

Enable Restores Using Changed Block Tracking

Understanding the CommCell ConsoleThe Virtual Server iDataAgent uses three main components to perform backup and restore operations from the CommCell Console.

Virtualization Client - Use this component to define the following entities:

vCenter which you want to be back up Proxy computers which you want to use for the backup

Backup Set - Use this component to collect information of all the virtual machines contained in the virtual center.

Subclient - Use this component to select the specific virtual machines for backup.

Managing a VMware vCenter ClientAfter creating a VMware vCenter client, you can perform following tasks to manage the VMware vCenter client:

Add or Remove Proxies to a VMware vCenter Client

Follow the steps given below to add or remove proxies to an existing VMware vCenter client:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server. 2. Right-click the VMware and select Properties. 3. Click the Proxies tab. 4. Click Add. 5. From the Exclude list select one or more proxy computers.

The list displays all the clients which has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it and all the client groups. You can select


one or more clients or client groups. When you select a client group, ensure that at least one client in the group has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it.

6. Click Include or Include All and click OK. 7. Review the Client /Client Groups list.

The proxies are selected for performing backup based on the order of the Client /Client Groups list.

You can change the order of the proxies in the list by clicking upward arrow or the downward arrow . The first proxy in the list serves as a coordinator proxy. You can specify up to 6 proxies for each VMware instance.

8. If you want to remove any proxy from the list, select the client name for the proxy and click Remove. 9. Click OK.

Designate a Proxy to Back Up Virtual Machines in a Subclient

By default, the first proxy in the list of proxies will be used to backup all the virtual machines in a VMware vCenter client. You can configure a subclient and designate a specific proxy which you want to use for backup of all the virtual machines in the subclient. This will be useful when you want to use a specific transport mode while backing up the virtual machines.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the defaultBackupSet and select All Tasks | New Subclient. 3. Enter the subclient name. 4. Click the Contents tab. 5. Click Browse and select required vCenter object. (e.g. virtual machines, host, datastore, datacenter etc.)

Otherwise, define a rule for automatic discovery of virtual machines.

6. Click the Advanced Options tab. 7. Click Add. 8. Select a proxy computer from the Exclude list and click Include.

You can also select more than one proxy from the Exclude list. This list displays all the computers which has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed. You can also select proxies different than the proxies specified for the VMware instance.

9. Click OK. 10. Review the Client /Client Groups list.

If you do not want to use any proxy for the backup, select the client name for the proxy and click Remove.

11. Click OK.


Rename the VMware vCenter Client

By default, the VMware vCenter client name is same as vCenter Host Name. You can change the default name. This will be useful when you want to create two or more VMware vCenter clients for the same vCenter. Follow the steps given below to change the name of the VMware vCenter client:

1. From the CommCell Console, expand the Client Computers node 2. Right-click the <VMware vCenter client> and select Properties. 3. Click Edit. 4. Enter the new Client Name. 5. Click OK.

Automatically Adding Unprotected Virtual Machines to the Default SubclientBy default, all the virtual machines from a vCenter are automatically included in the default subclient of any backupset. This behavior is designed to ensure all virtual machines are backed up. However, when a virtual machine is included in a user defined subclient, it is automatically excluded from the default subclient. This will avoid the duplicate backup of any virtual machine.


If you do not want to automatically include all virtual machines in the default subclient, you can do so as described in the following section.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware| <BackupSet>. 2. Right-click the default subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. The Contents of subclient list displays All unprotected VMs as the content Type.

It indicates that all the virtual machines from the vCenter, which are not included in any other subclient in the given backupset, will be automatically added to the default subclient.

Ensure that some other object such as virtual machine, host, folder, resource pool etc. is also added in the Contents of subclient list.

4. Select All unprotected VMs from the list and click Delete. 5. Click OK.

If you remove all the entries from the Contents of subclient list, the All unprotected VMs will appear again in the list.

Selecting Virtual Machines for BackupYou can browse and manually select virtual machines or any other vCenter objects for backup. You can easily navigate to the required object using the Browse option and select it as a content of a subclient. You can select objects, such as Datacenter, Cluster, resource pool, vApp, folder etc. When you select a vCenter object, all its child objects are automatically selected for backup. For example: If you select a resource pool, all the virtual machines in the resource pool are automatically selected for backup.

The Browse dialog box provide following views of vCenter server similar to vCenter Inventory.

We recommend that in a VMware instance, do not modify these settings for all default subclients. At least one default subclient must have the capability to serve as a catch-all entity for vCenter data. If you disable this feature for all the default subclients, some data in the vCenter may not get backed up.

View Description



Follow the steps give below to browse Hosts, Clusters and their child objects and then select the required objects.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | defaultBackupSet.

2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Browse. The Hosts and Clusters view is displayed by default. 5. Expand any object to view the child objects. 6. Select any object to include the object and its child objects are automatically included into the subclient.

For example: If you select the test_resourcepool, all the virtual machines in the test_resourcepool are automatically selected.

If you select any specific virtual machine, the virtual machine will be discovered by its GUID. If you change the display name later, the machine will be included in the subclient as long as its GUID remains the same.

For example: You create a "subclient A" and select a virtual machine with display name "Test-VM1" as its content. Now after performing few backups, you change the display name of the virtual machine to "Test-VM3". The next backup of the "subclient A" will backup the virtual machine "Test-VM3" because the GUID of the virtual machine hasn't changed.

7. Click OK.

The selected object appears in the Contents of the subclient list. The Type column displays the object type, e.g. resource pool, datacenter, cluster etc.

VMs and Templates View

Follow the steps give below to view all virtual machines and templates in the vCenter inventory and then select the required machines or templates.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Browse. 5. Select VMs and Templates from the list of views. 6. Expand any object to view the child objects.


This view will be useful when you want to backup objects such as datacenter, cluster, resource pool, vApp, folder etc.

VMs and Templates

This view provides a list of all virtual machines and templates in the vCenter. This view is useful when you want to backup multiple virtual machines or templates and they exist on different hosts.

Datastores This view will be useful when you want to backup all the virtual machines from a specific datastore.


7. Select a virtual machine or a template to include it in the subclient.

If you select any specific virtual machine, the virtual machine will be discovered by its GUID. If you change the display name of the virtual machine later, the machine will be included in the subclient as long as its GUID remains the same.

For example: You create a "subclient A" and select a virtual machine with display name "Test-VM1" as its content. Now after performing few backups, you change the display name of the virtual machine to "Test-VM3". The next backup of the "subclient A" will backup the virtual machine "Test-VM3" because the GUID of the virtual machine hasn't changed.

8. Click OK.

The selected virtual machine or template appears in the Contents of the subclient list. The Type column displays Virtual Machine as the content type.

When you select a virtual machine as a content of the subclient and change its display name later, the virtual machine will be included in the subclient as long as its GUID remains the same.

For example, if you select a virtual machine with display name "EXCHPROXY3" as a content of subclient A and after performing few backups, you change the display name of the virtual machine to "EXCHPROXY2", then the next backup of the "subclient A" will backup the virtual machine "EXCHPROXY2" because the GUID of the virtual machine hasn't changed.

The same applies to Templates as well.

Datastores and Datastore Clusters View

Follow the steps give below to view of all datastores and datastore clusters in the vCenter inventory and then select the required datastore:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Browse. 5. Select Datastores and Datastore Clusters from the list of views.


6. Expand any host to view the datastores under the host. 7. Select any datastore to include all the virtual machines on the datastore in the subclient.

For example: If you select Datastore-1, all the virtual machines which has disks on Datastore-1 will be selected for backup.

8. Click OK.

WildcardsYou can use wildcards to define content and filters for a subclient. You can use wildcards when defining a rule for a VM Name Pattern, Guest OS, Guest DNS Hostname, Host, or Datastore.

The following table describes how to use wildcards when defining the subclient content or filters:

Automatic Discovery of Virtual Machines for BackupThe Automatic Discovery feature enables you to discover virtual machines based on a specific criteria. This feature is useful in environments where virtual machines are added, removed, or relocated on a frequent basis. You can set the criteria for automatic discovery at the subclient level. The discovered virtual machines will be automatically selected as the content of the subclient.

The following sections explain how to define rules for automatic selection of virtual machines:

Specific Virtual Machine

You can define a rule to include a single virtual machine with specific GUID into a subclient. You must browse the vCenter and select the display name of the virtual machine while defining the rule. However, even if you change the display name later, the machine will be included in the subclient as long as its GUID remains the same.

For example: You create a "subclient A" to backup a virtual machine with display name "Test-VM1". Now after performing few backups, you change the display name of the virtual machine to "Test-VM3". The next backup of the "subclient A" will backup the virtual machine "Test-VM3" because the GUID of the virtual machine hasn't changed.

If a subclient's content consists of wildcard characters and no eligible virtual machines are found for backup, the backup operation completes successfully even though no VMs are backed up.

Letters used in wildcard expressions are matched regardless of case; for example, 'a' matches both 'a' and 'A'.Wildcards Description Examples

*

Any number of characters

This wildcard is used to match all objects where the object name contains a specific pattern.

For a VM name pattern, *test* matches any virtual machine whose name contains the string 'test' (at the beginning, end, or middle of the name).

For a datastore, DC* matches any datastore whose name begins with 'DC' (to back up or filter all virtual machines on the matching datastores).

?

Any one character

This wildcard is used to match any object for which a single character in the object name is variable.

DC? matches any object that starts with DC followed by a single additional character (such as DC1, DC2, DCa. or DCX).

[ ]Set or range of characters

Not supported for datastores or host names. [a-m]* matches any object whose name begins with the letters 'a' through 'm'.

[ ! ]

The negation of a set or range of characters

This wildcard matches objects for which the name does not include the specified set or range of characters.

Not supported for datastores or host names.

For example, [!AEIOU]* would match all object names that start with a letter other than A, E, I, O, or U.

[!A-C]* would match all names that do not start with the



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list and enter the display name of the virtual machine. For example: "Test-VM1"

or click ... and browse the vCenter to select "Test-VM1"

6. Click OK.

The Content of subclient list displays the display name of the selected Virtual Machine.

7. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient.

Based on a VM Name Pattern

You can define rule to select virtual machines based on a display name pattern.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select VM Name/Pattern from the available list. 6. Enter the initial few characters in the name of virtual machines which you want to backup. You can include wildcards.

For example: If you want to backup all the virtual machines which has display name starting with "classic", enter "classic*".

7. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays the VM Name/Pattern as a content Type.



If the vCenter server has virtual machines with different operating systems, you can define rule to backup all the machines which has a specific operating system (OS).



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Guest OS from the rules list. 6. Enter the name of the operating system. You can use wildcards to match the OS group.

For example: "Mic*" for all Microsoft Windows operating systems

7. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays the Guest OS as the content Type.



You can define rule to backup all the machines which has a specific DNS hostname. Before defining the rule, ensure the virtual machine has VMware tools installed on it.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Guest DNS Hostname from the rules list. 6. Enter the hostname. If you do not know the exact hostname, you can specify the pattern of hostnames using wildcard

characters.

For example: If you want to backup all the virtual machine from "testlab" domain, you can enter *test*.

7. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays Guest DNS Hostname as the content Type.


If you change the DNS hostname of any virtual machine, you must power on the virtual machine before performing the backup. Otherwise, the virtual machine will not be discovered and included in the backup of a subclient.


Virtual Machines from a Specific Host

You can define rule to add all the virtual machines from a specific host into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Click Host from the rules list. Enter the host name that appears in the vCenter or the ip address of the host. You can use

wildcards.

For example: If you want to backup all the virtual machine from "Host A" domain, you can enter "Host A".

Otherwise, click to open the Browse dialog box. Navigate to the required host and select the host.

6. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays Selected Host as the content Type.


8. Click OK.

Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore

You can define rule to add all the virtual machines from a specific datastore into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Click Datastore from the rules list and enter the datastore name. You can use wildcards. For example: "datastore X".

Otherwise, click to open the Browse dialog box. Select the Datastore from the available list and click OK.

If a vCenter has the same datastore names under different datacenters, all virtual machines are discovered, even if they are odatastores that have duplicate names.


6. The Contents of subclient list displays Selected Datastore as the content Type. 7. Click Preview to view the list of all virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the

backup of the subclient. 8. Click OK.


You can define rule to add all the machines from a resource pool into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list. 6. Select the required resource pool in the Browse dialog box.

For example: To back up all the virtual machines from "test1", select "test1".

7. Click OK.

The Content of subclient list displays the selected Resource Pool.


If you delete and recreate the resource pool or change the location of the resource pool, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the resource pool will not be included in the backup of a subclient.

All the virtual machines which has VMX files on the selected datastore will be added to the subclient. If any virtual machine has disks on the selected datastore but VMX file is located on the other datastore, that virtual machine will not be selected for backup. If you want to select all such virtual machines, you must create the DiscoverAllVMsOnDatstoreregistry key on the client computer where you have installed Virtual Server iDataAgent.



You can define rule to add all the machines from a datacenter into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list and select the required datacenter in the Browse dialog box.

For example: You want to backup all the virtual machines from "Test-DC". Click ... and select the "Test-DC".

6. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays the names of the selected Datacenter.


If you delete and recreate the datacenter or change the location of the datacenter, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the datacenter will not be included in the backup of a subclient.


Virtual Machines from a Specific Cluster

You can define rule to add all the machines from a cluster into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list and select the required cluster in the Browse dialog box.

For example: If you want to backup all the virtual machines from "cluster-1", select "cluster-1" from the vCenter.

6. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays the names of the selected Cluster.


If you delete and recreate the cluster or change the location of the cluster, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the cluster will not be included in the backup of a subclient.

Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore Cluster

You can define rule to add all the machines from a datastore cluster into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list. 6. Select the Datastore and Datastore Clusters view, browse the vCenter to select the required datastore cluster. 7. Click OK.

The Content of subclient list displays the names of the selected Datastore Cluster.


If you delete and recreate the datastore cluster or change the location of the datastore cluster, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the datastore cluster will not be included in the backup of a subclient.


Virtual Machines from a Specific vAPP

You can define rule to add all the machines from a vApp into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list and select the required vApp in the Browse dialog box. 6. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient list displays the names of the selected vApp.


If you delete and recreate the vApp or change the location of the vApp, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the vApp will not be included in the backup of a subclient.


You can define rule to include or exclude all the machines from a folder on the vCenter into a subclient.


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Browse from the rules list and the required folder on the Browse dialog box. 6. Click OK.


7. The Contents of subclient list displays the names of the selected Folder. 8. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform

the backup of the subclient.

If you delete and recreate the folder or change the location of the folder, you must define the rule again. Otherwise, the folder will not be included in the backup of a subclient.

Combining Rules To Select Virtual MachinesYou can combine multiple rules to define a Rule Group. You can use the following options to combine the rules into a rule group:

Match All of the Following Rules

This option is selected by default when you are defining a Rule Group. The AND condition is applied to the rules.

For example: The Rule Group contains following two rules:

Rule 1- Include all the virtual machines from Host A into the subclient.

Rule 2- Include all the virtual machines from DataStore X into the subclient.

In this case, only those virtual machines will be included in the subclient, which are on Host A AND which exist on Datastore X.

You can select this option to define a Rule Group as follows:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add.


5. Select Host from the rules list and enter "Host A". 6. Click + to add one more rule. 7. Select Datastore from the rules list and enter "Datastore X". 8. Ensure that Match all of the following rules option is selected. 9. Click OK.

The rule appears as a Custom Rule in the Contents of subclient list.

10. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient. Only those virtual machines will be included in the subclient, which are on Host A AND which exist on Datastore X.

Match Any of the Following Rules:

When you select this option, the OR condition is applied to the rules in the Rule Group.

For example: The Rule Group contains following two rules:


Rule 2- Include all the virtual machines from Datastore X into the subclient.

In this case, all the virtual machines, which are on Host A OR which has disks in Datastore X, will be included in the subclient.

You can use the OR option to define a Rule Group as follows:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Host from the rules list and enter "Host A". 6. Click + to add one more rule. 7. Select Datastore from the rules list and enter "Datastore X". 8. Select Match any of the following rules option. 9. Click OK.

The rule appears as Custom Rule in the Content of subclient list.


10. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient. All the virtual machines, which are on Host A OR which has disks in Datastore X, will be included in the subclient.

Does Not Equal

You can use this operator only when you are defining more than one rule. Use this option to exclude any vCenter objects from the subclient.

For example: You can define following two rules:


Rule 2- Do not include all the virtual machines from Datastore X into the subclient.

You can use the Does Not Equal option as follows:

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | defaultBackupSet.

2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Host from the rules list and enter "Host A" as the host name. 6. Click + to add one more rule. 7. Select Datastore from the rules list. 8. Select Does Not Equal and enter "Datastore X" 9. Ensure that Match all of the following rules option is selected.

You cannot select Match any of the following rules option when you have defined a rule with Not Equal operator.

10. Click OK.

The rule appears as Custom Rule in the Content of subclient list.

11. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient. The virtual machines on Host A will be included in the subclient and the virtual machines has disks on Datastore X will be excluded from the subclient.


Combining Contents in a Subclient

By default, the OR condition is applied to all contents in the Contents of subclient list. For example, A subclient has following content in the Contents of subclient list. Each content type is defined independently.

Host - All the virtual machines from "Host X" into the subclient.

Datastore - All the virtual machines from the "Datastore A" into the subclient.

In this case, all the virtual machines which are on Host A OR which has disks in the Datastore A, will be included in the subclient.

Follow the steps give below to independently define multiple rules and select content types for a subclient:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Content tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select Host from the rules list and enter "Host X". 6. Click OK. 7. Click Add. 8. Select Datastore from the rules list and enter "Datastore A". 9. Click OK.

The Contents of subclient displays two content Types.

10. Click Preview to view the list of discovered virtual machines. These virtual machines will get backed up when you perform the backup of the subclient. All the virtual machines which are on Host A OR which has disks in the Datastore A, will be included in the subclient.


Filtering Virtual Machines from a BackupYou can filter specific virtual machines from a backup by defining filters. You can filter virtual machines based on the following criteria. However, if any virtual machine in the subclient content is discovered by its GUID, it will not be filtered from the backup.

Based on a Virtual Machine Name Pattern

You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines based on a virtual machine name pattern. For example, if you do not want to backup all virtual machines which has name starting with "EXCHANGE". You can define filter to exclude all the virtual machines which has name starting with "EXCHANGE".

Follow the steps given below to define the filter:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Add. 5. Enter the few characters in the name of the virtual machines which you want to exclude. For example: Test* 6. Click OK.

The VM Filters area displays the VM Name/Pattern.

7. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines which have operating system from a specific OS Group. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines which has any version of Windows operating system, you can define filter to exclude all the virtual machines with Windows operating system.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Add. 5. In the available list, select Guest OS and enter a name of operating system group. For example, If you want to filter all the

virtual machines which has any version of Windows operating system, enter Microsoft*. 6. Click OK.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered Guest OS.

7. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all virtual machines that have a specific hostname. For example, if you do not want to back up all virtual machines that have a hostname ending with mycompany.com, you can define a filter to exclude all virtual machines that have that pattern.

Before defining the filtering criteria, ensure the virtual machine has VMware tools installed on it.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Add. 5. In the available list, select Guest DNS Hostname and enter a hostname. For example: mycompany.com. 6. Click OK.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered Guest DNS Hostname.

7. Click OK.


Virtual Machines from a Specific Host or a Cluster

You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific host or a cluster. For example, if you do not want to backup the virtual machines from Host A, you can define a filter to exclude all the virtual machines from Host A.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse and select a host or a cluster. Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

OR

In the VM Filters area, click Add. In the Add VM Filter dialog box, select Host and enter a host name which appears in the vCenter or ip address of the host. Click OK.

The VM Filters area displays the host name or ip address of the filtered Host.

When you filter any host, all the child objects of the host such as datastore, resource pool etc will be automatically filtered from the subclient content.

For example: Host A has Datastore X as the child object. You have added the Datastore X in the Contents of subclient list and in the same subclient, host A is added in the VM Filters list. In such scenario, the datastore A will be filtered from the subclient content.

5. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific resource pool. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines from the Resource pool B, you can define filter to exclude virtual machines from the Resource pool B.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse and select a resource pool. 5. Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered Resource Pool.

6. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific datacenter. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines from Datacenter B, define filter to exclude virtual machines from the Datacenter B.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse and select a datacenter. 5. Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered Datacenter.

6. Click OK.


Virtual Machines from a Specific Datastore or a Datastore Cluster

You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific datastore or datastore cluster. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines which has disks on the datastore A, define filter to exclude datastore A.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse. 5. Select Datastores and Datastore Clusters from the available drop down list in the Browse dialog box. The dialog box will

display all the datastores and datastore clusters in the vCenter. 6. Select a datastore or datastore cluster and click OK on the Browse dialog box.

OR

In the VM Filters area, click Add. In the available list, select Datastore and enter a datastore name. Click OK.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered Datastore.

7. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific vApp. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines from vApp A, define filter to exclude vApp A.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse. 5. Select VMs and Templates from the available drop down list in the Browse dialog box. The browse dialog box will display

all the folders, templates and virtual machines under any datacenter. 6. Select a vApp. 7. Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered vApp.

8. Click OK.



You can set criteria to exclude all the virtual machines from a specific folder. For example, if you do not want to backup virtual machines from Folder A, define filter to exclude Folder A.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Filters area, click Browse. 5. Select VMs and Templates from the available drop down list in the Browse dialog box. The browse dialog box will display

all the folders, templates and virtual machines under any datacenter. 6. Select a folder. 7. Click OK on the Browse dialog box.

The VM Filters area displays name of the filtered folder.

8. Click OK.


Filtering Disks from a BackupYou can set criteria to filter specific disks from a backup. For example: You may want to filter all the disks from any virtual machine which has OS data. When you define disks filters for a subclient, the disks which satisfy the filtering criteria, will be filtered from all the virtual machines in the subclient. The following sections describe how to set criteria for filtering disks from a backup:

Disks with a Specific Device Node

You can set criteria to exclude all the disks associated with a specific device node. For example, you want to exclude all the disks with SCSI ID 0:0., you can define filter to exclude disks based on the SCSI ID of the disk.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Disk Filters area, click Add. 5. Click Virtual Device Node and select a device node from the available drop down list. For example: scsci 0:1. 6. Click OK on the Add Disk Filter dialog box.

The VM Disk Filters area displays Virtual Device Node of the filtered disks. For example: scsci 0:1.

7. Click OK.

When you perform a backup of the subclient, the scsci 0:1 disks are filtered from all the virtual machines in the subclient.


Disks from a Specific Datastore

You can set criteria to exclude all the disks from a specific datastore. For example, if you want to exclude all the disks from datastore A, you can define filter to exclude disks based on the datastore of the disk.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Disk Filters area, click Add. 5. Click Datastore and then click .

The Browse dialog box will display all the datastores under each datacenter.

6. Select a datastore. 7. Click OK on the Browse dialog box. 8. Click OK on the Add Disk Filters dialog box.

The VM Disk Filters area displays name of the filtered datastore. The filter type appears as Datastore.

9. Click OK.

When you perform a backup of the subclient, all the disks from the the selected datastore are filtered.


Based on a Disk Name Pattern

You can set criteria to exclude disks based on a disk name pattern. For example, if you want to exclude all disks that have a name starting with the word "storage", you can define a disk name pattern filter.

Perform the following steps to define the filter:


2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Disk Filters area, click Add. 5. Click VMDK Name Pattern and enter a pattern for the names of disks to filter.

You must specify a pattern in the form “*VMName.vmdk”. If you give a full disk path, filtering by disk name pattern will not work. For example, a pattern such as “*VMName/VMName.vmdk” is not supported.

6. Click OK on the Add Disk Filter dialog box.

The VM Disk Filters area displays VMDK Name Pattern and the pattern.

7. Click OK.


Disks with a Specific Disk Number

You can set criteria to exclude all the disks with a specific disk number. For example, you want to exclude disk number 1 to 3 from all the virtual machines in a subclient. You can define filter to exclude disks based on a label of a disk.

Consider the following before filtering disks based on a disk number:

You cannot filter disks with a specific disk number if the vCenter is non-English. When you add any new disks to a virtual machine, the SCSI ID will be assigned to the disk automatically. This SCSI ID can be same as the disk numbers that you have filtered. It is not recommended to use this filtering criteria if you are adding new disks to virtual machines frequently.



2. Right-click the subclient and select Properties. 3. Click the Filters tab. 4. In the VM Disk Filters area, click Add. 5. Enter the disk numbers in the Hard disk # boxes. For example: Hard disk # 1 to 3.6. Click OK on the Add Disk Filter dialog box.

The VM Disk Filters area displays numbers of the filtered disks. The filter type appears as Label. For example: Hard disk [1-3].

7. Click OK.

When you perform a backup of the subclient, hard disk # 1, hard disk # 2 and hard disk #3 are filtered from all the virtual machines in the subclient.


LAN-Free Backups Virtual Server iDataAgent (VSA) clients can use proxies that have shared connected storage to perform backups without using the local area network (LAN). This approach simplifies library configuration, automatically distributes jobs across all proxies for load balancing, significantly reduces the amount of time required for backups, and minimizes the impact on the network and other resources.


To enable VSA clients to perform LAN-free backups, configure proxies and shared storage resources:

Install the Virtual Server iDataAgent (VSA) and MediaAgent on each proxy. For more information, see Deployment - Virtual Server iDataAgent for VMware. Configure a library to use directly connected storage. Identify a MediaAgent for the proxy that will act as the coordinator for job streams directed to the library, and add a mount path for the library. Configure sharing for the mount path properties, using the same mount path for each MediaAgent that is selected for sharing. Create a storage policy to be used for LAN-free jobs, identifying the library and MediaAgent. Add the data paths for all proxies to the Primary copy for the storage policy. Add all proxies to the Proxies tab for the VMware virtual server instance. Ensure that all subclients point to the LAN-free storage policy.

When a client initiates a job for a virtual machine, the coordinator proxy determines which MediaAgent is local to the VM. The job stream is moved to the local MediaAgent, which sends data directly to shared storage without routing it through the LAN. Index updates for all clients are managed at the coordinator proxy.

Configure LAN-Free Resources

After the Virtual Server iDataAgent and MediaAgent are installed on all proxies, perform the following steps to configure the resources required for LAN-free jobs.

1. Configure a shared library: a. In the CommCell Browser, go to Storage Resources | Libraries. b. Right-click Libraries and select Add | Disk Library. c. On the Add Disk Library dialog, enter the library name and select a MediaAgent. d. Specify either local or network storage:

Select Local Path. For Disk Device, enter the path or click the ... button and browse to select a folder. Select Network Path, enter the user name (Connect As) and password, and enter the network path for the Folder field or browse to the network location.

e. Click OK.

A library is created under Libraries. Under the library, a mount path is created that corresponds to the path information you entered.

2. Configure sharing for the mount path: a. Right-click the mount path under the library you created and select Properties.


b. On the Mount Path Properties dialog, go to the Sharing tab and click Share. c. Select the MediaAgents with which to share the library. d. For each selected MediaAgent, change the Access value to Read.

e. Specify the same path that was entered for the shared library. f. Click OK to add the shared MediaAgents, and OK again to save the mount path properties.

The mount path name changes; the new name includes the date when mount path sharing was configured.

3. For each of the media agents sharing the library, add and share the mount path: a. Right-click the library and select Add Mount Path. b. Select a MediaAgent that shares the library. c. Enter the same path that was entered for the shared library. d. Click OK. e. Right-click the new mount path and select Properties. f. On the Mount Path Properties dialog, go to the Sharing tab and click Share. g. Select the MediaAgents with which to share the library. h. For each selected MediaAgent, change the Access value to Read.

i. Specify the same path that was entered for the shared library. j. Click OK to add the shared MediaAgents, and OK again to save the mount path properties. k. Repeat these steps for any other MediaAgents sharing the library.

4. Configure the storage policy: a. Go to Policies | Storage Policies. b. Right-click Storage Policies and select New Storage Policy. c. On the Create Storage Policy Wizard, select Data Protection and Archiving and click Next. d. Enter the storage policy name and click Next. e. Select the library you created for LAN-free jobs and click Next. f. Select the MediaAgent for the coordinator proxy and click Next. g. Accept the defaults for device streams and aging rules and click Next. h. Accept the defaults for deduplication and click Next. i. Provide the location for the deduplication database and click Next. j. Click Finish to create the storage policy.

5. Add data paths for all proxies to the Primary copy for the storage policy: a. In the CommCell Browser, expand the storage policy you created. Right-click the Primary copy and select Properties. b. Select the Data Paths tab and click Add to add data path candidates for all MediaAgents sharing the library. c. Click OK to save the data paths and OK again to save the Copy Properties.

Adding the data paths for all MediaAgents enables failover to a different MediaAgent, in the event the MediaAgent handling a job fails.

6. Add all proxies to each client: a. Go to Client Computers | <Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. b. Right-click VMware and select Properties. c. Click the Proxies tab and click Add to include the other proxies. d. On the Select Clients / Client Groups dialog, select clients in the Exclude list and click Include to add them as

proxies for the virtual server instance. e. Click OK to save the proxy selections and OK again to save the Virtual Server Instance Properties. f. Repeat for all clients.

7. Specify the LAN-free storage policy for all subclients: a. Expand the VMware entry to show the backup sets, then right-click a subclient under the backupset and select

Properties. b. Select the Storage Device tab and choose the storage policy created for LAN-free jobs. c. Click OK to save the subclient properties. d. Repeat for each subclient that will use LAN-free backups.

Displaying Backed Up Virtual Machines in the CommCell ConsoleAll virtual machines backed up by the Virtual Server iDataAgent can be displayed as client computers in a CommCell Console. By default, virtual machines are not displayed in the CommCell Console.

Once a virtual machine appears as a client computer in the CommCell Console, you can perform the following operations:

Only the primary MediaAgent for the mount path should have Read/Write permision.

Only the primary MediaAgent for the mount path should have Read/Write permision.


1. You can remotely install any software or custom packages on the virtual machine if VMware Tools are installed on the virtual machine. For more information, refer to Install Software from CommCell Console.

2. You can view the job history of all backup and restore jobs that include the virtual machine. For more information, refer to Job History.

Prerequisites

The virtual machine must be turned on at the time of the backup. VMware Tools must be installed and updated on the virtual machine.

If these prerequisites are not satisfied, the virtual machine appears as a client computer, but the host name and DNS do not appear in the Client Computer Properties dialog box.

Show Virtual Machines in Client Computers List

Follow the steps given below to display virtual machines for all subclients under Client Computers:

1. From the Tools menu in the CommCell Console, click User Preferences. 2. Click the Client Computer Filter tab. 3. Select the Show Virtual Machines check box.

If this check box is cleared, virtual machines are only displayed under subclients that include them, and any virtual machines without installed packages are not displayed.

4. Click OK. 5. Expand the Client Computers node to view the virtual machines.

All virtual machines that are configured to be backed up by any subclient are displayed in the CommCell Browser. Any virtual machines that do not have packages installed are grayed out.

Show Virtual Machines in the Client Computer Groups List

A new client computer group is created for each VMware vCenter client. All virtual machines backed up by that VMware vCenter client are added to the group.

Virtual machines in the group can be displayed independently of the Client Computers list. Perform the following steps to display virtual machines in the Client Computer Groups list in the CommCell Console:

1. From the Tools menu in the CommCell Console, click Control Panel. 2. Click User Preferences. 3. Click the Client Computer Group Filter tab. 4. Select the Show Virtual Machines check box.

If this check box is cleared, virtual machines are only displayed under subclients that include them, and any virtual machines without installed packages are not displayed.

5. Click OK.

If you remotely install any software on a virtual machine and any required information such as the host name is missing from the database, the installation fails. If you interactively install any software on the virtual machine and any information such as the client name or host name is different, the virtual machine is treated as a new client and a duplicate client is created.

To avoid duplicate client entries caused by different client or host names, use the install software option for the client level in the CommCell Console rather than interactively installing software to the virtual machine Guest Operating System.


6. Expand the Client Computer Groups node to view the groups. 7. Expand the node for each group to view the virtual machines backed up by that VMware vCenter client.

All virtual machines backed up by any subclient are displayed in the CommCell Browser. Any virtual machines that do not have packages installed are grayed out.

Quiescing the Operating System and Applications Before BackupQuiescing indicates pausing or altering the state of running processes on a computer, particularly those that might modify information stored on disk during a backup, to guarantee a consistent and usable backup.

For windows Microsoft VSS inside the guest will be used to quiesce the file system and applications. This ensures that the data consistency of the file system and all VSS supported applications. By default VMware will engage all of the VSS writers that are configured inside the guest. If it is necessary to exclude a writer please refer to http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1031200

For Linux, the vmsync driver will be used to quiesce the file system and applications. This is included with VMware tools. The vmsync driver ensures that the file system is in a consistent state prior to the vmware snapshot being created. The vmsync driver is only supported with vSphere 5.0 and above.

Consider the following before enabling or disabling the quiescing during the backup:

Hardware Snapshot with Quiescing - When you perform the IntelliSnap backup of a subclient, a hardware snapshot of all the virtual machines is created. Before the snapshot creation, the quiescing will be performed automatically for the operating system and applications on all the virtual machines in the subclient. Crash consistent hardware snapshot - The backup process may slow down because of the quiescing. If you do not want to perform quiescing before the snapshot creation, you can disable the quiescing. If you disable the quiescing, the crash consistent hardware snapshot will be created.

Follows the steps given below to disable the quiescing:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | defaultBackupSet.

2. Right-click a subclient and click Properties. 3. Click the Quiesce Options tab. 4. Clear the Quiesce Guest File System and Applications check box. 5. Click OK.

When you perform the backup of a subclient, the quiescing will not be performed on all the virtual machines in the subclient.

Accessing Exchange Data from Hardware Snapshots

Exchange data, such as mail messages, can be restored from an offline point-in-time virtual machine snapshot to reduce impact to the production Exchange Server. For more information about creating hardware snapshots to mine the Exchange data on a virtual


machine, refer to Accessing Exchange Data from VMware Snapshots.

Pre/Post Processing Using VMware Tools

You can use VMware tools to perform specific operations before or after a backup. For example, if a virtual machine hosts an Oracle database and you want to enable the Hot backup of the database before performing the backup, you can run a script using VMware Tools.

For more information about running scripts on Windows virtual machines, refer to http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006671.

If a virtual machine hosts a Microsoft SQL Server database, enable the Quiesce Guest File System and Applications option at the subclient level to provide the capability of backing up the database and performing an application-consistent database recovery.

On Linux virtual machines, the script /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script is executed when the software snapshot is created and /user/sbin/post-freeze-script is executed when the software snapshot is removed. Ensure that these scripts are executable by the VMware tools user.

The following scripts are available to perform Pre/Post processing using VMware tools:

For ESX version4.x, the VMware Tools scripts should be located in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\backupScripts.d.

Operation Procedure Scripts

Scripts can be used to take a snapshot of a VM with the DB2 application. These scripts enable VMware to suspend I/O updates to the DB2 database until the VMware Linux guest snapshot is completed.

1. On a Linux virtual machine, copy the pre-freeze-script and post-thaw-script to the /usr/sbin directory.

2. Copy the write_suspend and write_resume scripts to a location where the DB2 database can execute them (preferably to a directory under DB2 home).

pre-freeze-script.sh

post-thaw-script.sh

write_resume.sh

write_suspend.sh

Scripts can be used to take a snapshot of a VM with the MAXDB application. These scripts enable VMware to suspend I/O updates to the MAXDB database until the VMware Linux guest snapshot is completed.


2. Copy suspend_logwriter and resume_logwriter scripts to a location where MAXDB database can execute them (preferably to a directory under MAXDB home).


post-thaw-script.sh

resume_logwriter.sh

suspend_logwriter.sh

Scripts can be used to take a snapshot of a VM with the Oracle application. These scripts enable VMware to suspend I/O updates to the Oracle database until the VMware Linux guest snapshot is completed.


2. Copy the pre-freeze-script.sql and post-thaw-script.sql scripts to a location where the Oracle database can execute them (preferably to a directory under Oracle home).

These scripts change the entire database to backup mode.

If the virtual machine has the Oracle iDataAgent installed on it, you can also use the consistent-archivelog-backup.rman script as a sample to run archivelog backup. This script gets a consistent snap, all the latest archived logs, and the current control file.


post-thaw-script.sh

pre-freeze-script.sql

post-thaw-script.sql

consistent-archivelog-backup.rman

Scripts can be used to take a snapshot of a VM with the Sybase application. These scripts enable


2. Copy pre-freeze-script.sql and post-thaw-script.sql scripts to a location where the


post-thaw-script.sh


Setting Threshold for Free Space on a DatastoreDuring the backup of any virtual machine, a snapshot of the virtual machine gets created on its datastore. If the datastore of any virtual machine doesn't have sufficient space for snapshots, the backup job completes with one or more errors. Before performing the backup, you can set a threshold of required free space. If a datastore doesn't have the required free space, the software will not perform backup of all the virtual machines residing in that datastore.

Follow the steps given below to set the threshold for free space on a datastore:


2. Right-click a subclient and click Properties. 3. Click the Quiesce Options tab. 4. Select the Perform Datastore freespace check check box. 5. In the Datastore freespace required box, enter the threshold value. By default, the threshold is set to 10%. You can only

increase the threshold. 6. Click OK.

When you perform the backup of a subclient, a virtual machine will be skipped from the backup if its datastore doesn't have the required free space. If a virtual machine has disks on multiple datastores, and if any one datastore doesn't have the required free space, the virtual machine will be skipped from the backup.

This threshold applies to datastores of all the virtual machines in a subclient.

VMware to suspend I/O updates to the Sybase database until the VMware Linux guest snapshot is completed.

Sybase database can execute them (preferably to a directory under Sybase home).

These scripts execute sybase quiesce commands that stop updates to the databases.

pre-freeze-script.sql

post-thaw-script.sql

Scripts can be used to take a snapshot of a VM with the MySQL application. These scripts enable VMware to suspend I/O updates to the MySQL database until the VMware Linux guest snapshot is completed.


2. Copy the quiesce.py and unquiesce.py scripts to a location where the MySQL database can execute them (preferably to the /usr/sbin directory).

Python script is used to quiesce and unquiesce the databases. Python and MySQL-Python modules must be installed on the client computer


post-thaw-script.sh

unquiesce.py

quiesce.py

If you want to perform the backup of the skipped virtual machines, it is recommended to select the Backup failed VMs only option and then perform the incremental backup for the subclient. For more information, refer to Backup Failed Virtual Machines.

Before performing the incremental backup, ensure that the sufficient free space is available on the datastores of all virtual machines.


Configuring User AccountsThe Virtual Server iDataAgent requires user accounts that have sufficient privileges for the software to:

Access the Virtual Center and ESX Servers Access virtual machines Access volumes, files, and folders within virtual machines Perform discovery, backup and restore operations

When you configure the VMware vCenter client, you must provide the user account credentials for the Virtual Center. Later, you can change the user account at the Instance level.

Change Virtual Center Credentials

The following sections provide the steps necessary to configure user accounts for Virtual Centers:

1. Navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Virtual Server. 2. Right-click the VMware and click Properties. 3. In the VMware area, click Change. 4. Type the username and password.

5. Click OK.Ensure that the password does not have single-quote (') or double-quote (") characters.


Permissions for Custom User Accounts

You can create a separate account for backup and restore operations. If you are creating a user account other than administrator, ensure that the following permissions are assigned to the role you select:

Backup Permission Requirements

Category Available Permissions

Datastore

Allocate space

Browse datastore

Configure Datastore

Remove Datastore

Rename Datastore

Update Virtual Machine Files

Low level file operations

Global

Disable methods

Enable methods

Licenses

Manage custom attributes

Set custom attribute

Host - Configuration

Advanced Settings

Connection

Storage partition configuration

System Management

Add existing disk


Restore Permission Requirements

Virtual Machine -Configuration

Add new disk

Add or remove device

Change resource

Disk change tracking

Disk lease

Remove Disk

Rename

Set annotation

Settings

Virtual Machine -Provisioning

Allow read-only disk access

Allow virtual machine download

Clone virtual machineVirtual Machine -Snapshot management

Create snapshot

Remove Snapshot


Datastore

Allocate space

Browse a datastore

Configure Datastore

Remove Datastore

Rename Datastore

Update Virtual Machine Files

Host - Configuration

Advanced Settings

Connection

Storage partition configuration

System ManagementNetwork Assign network

ResourceAssign virtual machine to resource pool

Assign vApp to resource pool

Add existing disk

Add new disk

Add or remove device

Advanced


VM File Recovery Plugin Requirements

Virtual Machine -Configuration

Change CPU Count

Change resource

Disk change tracking

Disk lease

Host USB device

Memory

Modify device settings

Raw device

Reload from path

Remove disk

Rename

Reset guest information

Settings

Swapfile placement

Upgrade virtual machine compatibility

Virtual Machine -Guest Operations

Guest Operation Modifications

Guest Operation Program Execution

Guest Operation Queries

Virtual Machine -Interaction

Power Off

Power On

Virtual Machine -Inventory

Create new

Register

Remove

Unregister

Virtual Machine -Provisioning

Allow disk access

Allow read-only disk access

Allow virtual machine download

Mark as template (to restore VM template)

Virtual Machine -Snapshot management

Create snapshot

Remove Snapshot

Revert to snapshot



Add a Custom User with Limited Scope

To add a user with permissions to back up and restore virtual machines in a specific entity, such as a datastore, ESX host, resource pool, or specific virtual machine, perform the following steps:

1. On the vCenter server, add a local user: a. Use Remote Desktop to log in to the vCenter server and start Server Manager. b. Navigate to Configuration | Local Users and Groups | Users. c. Right-click Users and select New User.

d. Enter the user name and password, then re-renter the password. e. Click Create.

2. In vCenter, add a role: a. From vCenter, click the menu options Administration | Role | Add. b. Enter the name of the role (for example, cvAdmin). c. Select backup, restore, and VM File Recovery Plugin privileges as described in Permissions for Custom User

Accounts.

d. Click OK.3. In vCenter, add permissions for a user and role at the appropriate level.

a. Select the entity for which you are adding permissions (for example, a datacenter, host, resource pool, or virtual machine).

b. Click the Permissions tab. c. Right-click in the tab and select Add Permission. d. Under Users and Groups, click Add, select the local VSA user on the Select Users and Groups dialog, click Add,

and click OK. e. Under Assigned Role, select the role from the drop-down list.

Extension

Register extension

Unregister extension

Update extension

Global

Diagnostics

Log event

Set custom attribute


f. Click OK.

4. In the CommCell, add user information to the Virtual Server instance: a. From the ComCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Virtual Server. b. Right-click the virtual server instance and select Properties. c. Under VMware, verify the vCenter host name and click the Change button next to the User Account field. d. Enter the vCenter user name and password, then confirm the password.

e. Click OK to save user information. f. Click OK to save instance properties.

Configuring Transport Modes for Backup CopyBy default, the software automatically determines the transport mode currently being used in your environment prior to each backup copy operation. This process can be eliminated by configuring the subclient to use a specific transport mode for all backup copy operations. Once you do this configuration, the software no longer search your environment for the appropriate mode, thereby increasing backup performance.

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the subclient and click Properties.


2. Click the Transport Mode for VMware drop-down box and select any of the following transport modes: SAN - This transport mode requires that the proxy have access to the LUNs containing the virtual machine disks. The virtual machine is read directly from the LUN without going through the ESX host. The ESX host is only contacted to coordinate access to the LUN. SAN transport mode cannot be used if the proxy computer is a virtual machine. HotAdd - This transport mode works by attaching the VMDK of the virtual machine to be backed up, directly to the proxy so it can be accessed by the proxy as a local disk. For this to work, the ESX host that the proxy is running on must have access to all of the datastores that the virtual machine is on. If the virtual machine and the proxy are not on the same host, all of the datastores need to be shared between the hosts.

NBD - Using this transport, the data is transferred using the TCP/IP connection between the ESX server and the proxy computer. This can be the production network or a dedicated backup network. NBD SSL - This transport mode is similar to NBD mode, but the data transfer between the proxy computer and the ESX server is encrypted.

If you want the software to automatically set the transport mode based on your setup, select Auto.

3. Click OK.

Forcing Transport Modes in vSphere VADP Environments

In vSphere VADP environments, you can force one of the following transport modes to be used for all virtual machine backups by configuring the vStorageTransportMode registry key. This registry key must be configured on all the proxy computers selected for the VMware vCenter Client.

The following transport modes can be forced using this registry key:

SAN HotAdd NBD

Follow the steps below to configure this key:

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.2. Right-click the <Client>, then click Properties.

You must right-click the proxy computer where Virtual Server iDataAgent is installed and not the VMware vCenter Client.

Licensing. In vSphere 5.0, the SCSI HotAdd feature is enabled only for vSphere editions Enterprise and higher, which have Hot Add licensing enabled. No separate Hot Add license is available for purchase as an add-on. In vSphere 4.1, Hot Add capability was also allowed in the Advanced edition. Therefore, customers with vSphere Essentials or Standard edition who use backup products are not able to perform proxy-based backup, which relies on SCSI HotAdd. Those customers must use alternate transport modes.


3. Click Advanced, then click the Additional Settings tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Click Lookup. 6. In the Lookup Additional Settings dialog box, type "vS" in the Find box. All registry keys starting with vS appear in the

Lookup Additional Settings dialog box. 7. Select the vStorageTransportMode registry key and click OK. 8. The Category and Type fields on the Add Additional Settings on Windows Client dialog box are populated automatically.

9. In the Value field, type the transport mode you want to use in lower-case letters (for example, san, hotadd, or nbd). 10. Click OK.

Modifying an Agent, Instance, or SubclientCertain properties of Agents, Instances, and Subclients can be modified to accommodate changes to your configuration, data, or desired backup behavior.

You cannot modify the properties of an instance or subclient when a job is in progress for that specific instance or subclient. If a job is in progress, either wait for the job to complete or kill the job from the Job Controller.

The following table describes the properties that can be configured from these levels.

Option Description Related topics

Change the User Account Details

In order to perform discovery, backup, and restore operations within a single instance, you need administrator-level global, virtual machine, and resource privileges.

You can configure the user account associated with the Virtual Center.

1. From the CommCell browser, right-click the virtual server instance.

2. Click Properties. 3. Click Configure Password.4. Type the user name. 5. Type password and confirm password.

You can configure the user account associated with the ESX Server.

1. Click Configure ESX Server. 2. Select the ESX server.3. Click Edit.


4. Type the username. 5. Type the password and confirm password.

Change Storage Policies

You can modify the storage policies in any of the following situations:

To include a different media for the backup operation. To use a storage policy with a different retention criteria.

You can change the storage policies from the subclient level.

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the subclient.

2. Click Properties. 3. Click Storage Device. 4. Select the Storage policy from the drop-down

menu. 5. Click OK.

Refer to Storage Policies.

Rename a Backup Set or Subclient

You can rename a subclient:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click thesubclient.

2. Click Properties.3. Type the new name in the Subclient name field. 4. Click OK.

Data Transfer Options

You can efficiently configure the available resources for transferring data secured by data protection operations from the subclient level. This includes the following:

Enable or disable Data Compression either on the client or the MediaAgent. Configure the transfer of data in the network using the options for Network Bandwidth Throttling and Network Agents.

You can configure the data transfer options.

1. From the CommCell Browser,right-click the subclient.

2. Click Properties.3. Click Storage Device.4. Click Data Transfer Option tab. 5. Choose the appropriate software compression

option for this subclient. 6. Select Throttle Network Bandwidth and set the

required bandwidth. 7. Click OK.

Refer to Data Compression and Network Bandwidth Throttling.

View Data Paths

You can view the data paths associated with the primary storage policy copy of the selected storage policy or incremental storage policy. You can also modify the data paths including their priority from the subclient level.

1. From the CommCell browser, right-click the subclient.

2. Click Properties.3. Click Storage Device.4. Select Storage Policy from the drop-down menu. 5. Click Data Paths.


Number of Data Readers

Use this option to specify the number of simultaneous backup data streams allowed for this subclient.

1. From the CommCell browser,right-click the subclient.

2. Click Properties3. Type the Number of Data Readers.4. Click OK.

Refer to Streams.

Configure a Subclient for Pre/Post Processing of Data Protection

You can add, modify or view Pre/Post processes for the subclient. These are batch files or shell scripts that you can run before or after certain job phases.


2. Click Properties.3. Click Pre/Post Process.4. Click one of the following phases and type the

full path of the batch file that you want to execute during that phase.

PreBackup ProcessPostBackup Process

Alternatively, click Browse to locate the batch file (applicable only for paths that do not contain any spaces).

5. Select Run Post Scan Process for all attemptsto run a post scan process for all attempts.

6. Select Run Post Backup Process for all attempts to run a post backup process for all attempts.

The batch files will run on the first available proxy computer from the list of proxy computers. You can view the list of proxy computers on the Proxies tab of the Virtual Server Instance Properties dialog box.

7. Click one of the following phases and type the full path of the batch file that you want to execute during that phase.

PreSnap ProcessPostSnap Process

The On Source option is selected by default. The batch files will the first available proxy computer from the list of proxy computers. You can view the list of proxy computers on the Proxies tab of the Virtual Server Instance Properties dialog box. The On Proxy option is not applicable for VMware. You cannot run the batch files on any other proxy computer.

8. Click Change to specify the user account which has permissions to run these commands.

9. In the User Account dialog box, select one of the following:

Use Local System Account - Select this option if you want to use the Local System Account to execute the batch files andclick OK. Impersonate User - Select this option if

Refer to Pre/Post Processes.


you want to use a specific user account to execute the batch files. Enter the user name and password for the user account and click OK.

10. Click OK.

Configure Activity Control

You can enable backup and restore operations from the agent and subclient level. However, you can enable restore operations only from the agent level.


2. Click Properties.3. Click Activity Control, select or clear option(s)

as desired. 4. Click OK.

Refer to Activity Control.

Configure User Security

You can configure user security from the agent or subclient level.

You can perform the following functions:

Identify the user groups to which this CommCell object is associated. Associate this object with a user group. Disassociate this object from a user group.


2. Click Properties.3. Click Security. 4. Select the appropriate user groups to which you

want to associate to the CommCell object from the Available Groups pane, and then move the user group to the Associated Groups pane.

5. Click OK.

Refer to User Administration and Security.

Enable/Disable Data Encryption

When you configure encryption at the client level, it is configured automatically for all the subclients associated with all the agents installed on that client. If you want to disable or change the encryption at the subclient level, follow the steps given below:


2. Click Properties.3. Click Encryption.4. Select the desired encryption. 5. Click OK.

Refer to Data Encryption.

View Software Version and Installed Updates

The Version tab, at the Agent level displays the software version and post-release service packs and updates installed for the component.

1. From the CommCell browser, right-click the agent.

2. Click Properties. 3. Click Version.4. Click OK.

CommCell Configuration Report

The CommCell Configuration Report provides the properties of the CommServe, MediaAgents, clients, agents, SRM agents, subclients, and storage policies within the CommCell based on the selected filter criteria.

1. From the CommCell browser, click Reports

Refer to CommCell Configuration.


Deleting an Instance, Backup Set, or SubclientThe following sections describe the steps involved in deleting an instance, backup set, or subclient.

Deleting an Instance

Consider the following before deleting an instance:

When you delete a specific instance all job schedules and job histories that pertain to any of the levels within the deleted instance are deleted. You cannot delete an instance if it is being backed up. Attempts to delete an instance under such conditions cause the deletion to fail. If a backup is in progress, either wait for the backup to complete or kill the backup job using the Job Controller. Once the backup is no longer in progress, you can delete the instance level. You cannot delete an instance if there is only one instance present for an agent. To delete the final instance, you must remove the agent software from the client computer.

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the instance that you want to delete, click All Tasks and then click Delete. 2. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. (Clicking No cancels the deletion and retains the node.) 3. Type the requested phrase in the Enter Confirmation Text dialog box and click OK. This should delete the instance.

Deleting a Backup Set

Consider the following before deleting a backup set:

You cannot delete a default backup set. Schedules associated with the backup set are also automatically deleted.

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the user-defined backup set that you want to delete, and then click Delete from the shortcut menu.

2. A confirmation message is displayed, asking if you want to delete the backup set.

Click No to cancel the deletion and retain the backup set, or click Yes to continue the deletion.

Deleting a Subclient

Consider the following before deleting a subclient:

You cannot delete a default subclient. Schedules associated with the subclient are also automatically deleted.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | <Agent> | <Backup Set>.2. Right-click the <subclient> that you want to delete, and then click Delete. 3. A confirmation message is displayed, asking if you want to delete the subclient.

Click No to cancel the deletion and retain the subclient, or click Yes to continue the deletion.

Configure Agent Preference for Browse Using VM File Recovery PluginIf a virtual machine has a Windows Agent installed inside the guest OS and has been backed up by both the File System Agent and the VirtualServer Agent, an entry can be added to the Web Console configuration properties file to specify which backups should be displayed when using the VM File Recovery Plugin in vCenter. If no entry is added, by default the most recent backup is

icon. 2. Select CommCell Configuration. 3. Click Run.

When you delete an instance or backupset, the associated data is logically deleted and you can no longer access the corresponding data from CommCell Console for recovery purposes.

Refer to the troubleshooting article on Recovering data associated with deleted clients and storage policies for information on how to recover data if you accidentally delete an entity.


displayed regardless of the agent used.

1. On the Web Console, edit the file <InstallPath>\webconsole\web-inf\classes\config.properties file. 2. Add the Property name preferredVMAgent. The value for this property determines which of the most recent backups is

displayed for browsing: AUTO - Display the most recent backup, regardless of the agent used. This is the default behavior. FS - Display the latest file system backup. VS - Display the latest virtual server agent backup.

The following line shows an example that could be added to the end of the config.properties file:

preferredVMAgent=VS

3. Restart Tomcat after each value change.

Enable Restores Using Changed Block TrackingChanged Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that enables efficient backup of virtual machines by tracking changes and only backing up changes rather than complete virtual machines. CBT is used automatically for restoring a full virtual machine when the Restore in place and Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name restore options are used, providing significant performance improvements.

To enable CBT restores, perform the following steps:

1. From the CommCell Browser, go to Client Computers | <Client>. 2. Right-click the <Client> (in the following example, vsacc6) and select Properties.

3. On the General tab of the Client Computer Properties dialog, click Advanced. 4. Click the Additional Settings tab. 5. Click Add. 6. Add the following registry key entry:

Name: bEnableSeekOptimizationCategory: VirtualServerType: BOOLEANValue: trueThe Enable checkbox should be selected.

7. Click OK. 8. Optionally, add the following registry key entry:

Name: nSKDMinUnchangedSpace


Category: VirtualServerType: STRINGValue: 50M (default). If the amount of unchanged disk space on the backup is less than this value, a classic restore is performed instead of a CBT restore. You can enter units as K (kilobytes), M (megabytes), or G (gigabytes). The Enable checkbox should be selected.

9. Click OK. 10. Click OK twice more to save the advanced client properties and the client properties.

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Advanced Backup - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsBackup with Granular Recovery

Backup Copy without Granular Recovery

Full Backup

Incremental Backups

Differential Backups

Scheduling a Backup

Verifying the Virtual Machine Protection

Viewing Details of the Backup Job

Viewing the Backup Job Summary Report

Querying the CommServe Database

Managing Jobs

Restarting Jobs

Controlling Jobs

Additional Options

Backup with Granular RecoveryIf you want to restore files and folders from a IntelliSnap backup, you can perform the live browse operation and restore the required files and folders. However, during the live browse operation the snapshot is mounted on the specified host. If you do not want to mount the snapshot, every time you perform the file level restore, you must enable the granular recovery option while performing the IntelliSnap backup. Follow the steps given below to enable the granular recovery option before performing the backup:


2. Right click the subclient and select Backup. 3. Select the Backup Type. 4. Click Advanced. 5. Select the Enable Granular Recovery for IntelliSnap check box. 6. Click OK. 7. Click OK to start the IntelliSnap backup with granular recovery.

Once you perform the IntelliSnap backup with granular recovery, you can restore files and folders from that backup without mounting the hardware snap.


Backup Copy without the Granular Recovery

You must create the backup copy with granular recovery if you want to use the copy to restore the files and folders from a virtual machine. The granular recovery option is enabled by default when you create the backup copy. However, you can disable it if you do not want use backup copy to restore the files and folders from a virtual machine. Follow the steps given below to disable the granular recovery option while creating the backup copy:


2. Right click the subclient and select Backup. 3. Select the Backup Type. 4. Click Advanced. 5. Select the Create Backup Copy immediately check box. 6. Clear the Enable Granular Recovery check box. 7. Click OK. 8. Click OK to create the backup copy without enabled granular recovery.


Full BackupFull backups provide the most comprehensive protection of data. However, full backups also consume the most amount of time and resources. To streamline the backup process, several additional backup types are available. The sections below describe the additional backup types that are available.


2. Right-click the <Subclient> and click Backup.

Click Yes.

3. Select Full as backup type and Immediate to run the job immediately.

Click OK.

4. You can track the progress of the job from the Job Controller or Event Viewer window. 5. Once job is complete, view the details of job from the Job History.

Right-click the client computer, click View and then click View Job History.

6. Click OK. 7. You can view the following details about the job by right-clicking the job:

Items that succeeded during the job Items that failed during the job Details of the job Media associated with the job Events of the job Log files of the job.

Incremental BackupsAn incremental backup contains only data that is new or has changed since the last backup, regardless of the type. On average, incremental backups consume far less media and place less of a burden on resources than full backups.

The illustration on the right clarifies the nature of full and incremental backups. For simplicity, assume there is a file system that contains six files as represented in the figure.

Backup #1 is a full backup and therefore writes all the data, changed and unchanged, to the backup media. Backups #2 through #n-1 are incrementals and only back up those files that have changed since the time of the last backup, regardless of the type. For example, files A, B, and E changed after the full backup and were therefore backed up in Backup #2. Backup #4 backed up files A and D because both files were modified sometime after Backup #3 occurred. File F did not change; hence, it was not backed up in any of the incremental backups, but it was included in both full backups, which, by definition, back up everything.

During incremental backups, Changed Block Tracking is used to optimize backups of virtual machines by reading only the

Backup and restores of entire virtual machines are supported for all guest operating systems supported by VMware.


allocated and modified portions of a virtual disk. Changed Block Tracking is automatically enabled for virtual machines running on hardware version 7 or higher.


2. Right-click the <Subclient> and click Backup. 3. Right click the subclient and click Backup. 4. Select Incremental as the Backup Type. 5. Select Immediate as the Job Initiation option.6. Click OK.

You can track the progress of the backup job from the Job Controller window.

When the backup has completed, the Job Controller displays Completed.

Differential BackupsA differential backup contains only the data that is new or has changed since the last full backup. Like incremental backups, differential backups, on average, consume less media and place less of a burden on resources than full backups. Differential backups are cumulative. This means that each differential backup contains all changes accumulated since the last full backup. Each successive differential backup contains all the changes from the previous differential backup.

The illustration on the right demonstrates the nature of differential backups. For simplicity, assume there is a file system that contains six files as represented in the figure.

Backup #1 is a full backup and therefore writes all the data to the backup media. Backups #2 through #n-1 are differential backups and only back up those files that changed since the time of the last full backup. For example, files A, B, and E changed after the full backup and were therefore backed up in Backup #2 as well as all subsequent differential backups. File C changed sometime after Backup #2 and was consequently backed up in Backup #3 and all subsequent differential backups. File F did not change; hence, it was not backed up in any of the differential backups, but it was included in both full backups, which, by definition, back up everything.



2. Right-click the <Subclient> and click Backup. 3. Right click the subclient and click Backup. 4. From the Backup Options dialog box, select from the following options:

Backup Type: Select Differential.

Backup Schedule: Select Run Immediately

5. Click OK. 6. You can track the progress of the backup job from the Job Controller window. 7. When the backup has completed, the Job Controller displays Completed.

Scheduling a Backup1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | <BackupSet>.

2. Right-click the Subclient and click Backup. 3. Click Schedule to schedule the backup for a specific time. 4. Click Configure to set the schedule for the backup job. The Schedule Details dialog displays. 5. Select the appropriate scheduling options. For example:

Click Weekly. Check the days you want the run the backup job. Change the Start Time to 9:00 PM Click OK to close the Schedule Details dialog Click OK to close the Backup Options dialog

The backup job will execute as per the schedule.


Verifying the Virtual Machine Protection CoverageWhen you setup a backup schedule, it is recommended to get information about the number of virtual machines protected at any point-in-time. This information will be useful to verify that all the virtual machines are getting protected as per the backup schedule.Use one of the following methods to get this information:

Viewing Details of the Backup Job

You can view the list of virtual machines backed up during a job.

When a backup job is running, follow the steps given below to view the list of virtual machines:

1. From the Job Controller pane, right-click the backup job and select View Job Details. 2. Click the Client Status tab.

Once a job is complete, you can view the details of job from the Backup History.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup History. 2. Click OK on the Backup History Filter dialog box. 3. By default, a list of all the backup jobs completed in previous 24 hours is displayed. 4. Right-click any backup job and select View Job Details. 5. Click the Virtual Machine Status tab.

This tab displays the list of all the virtual machines backed up during the job. It also shows the status of the backup for each virtual machine.

When you verify the status of the backup, keep in mind:

For File Level and Volume Level regular backups, the table displays N/A in the VM Size and CBT Status columns. For Linux virtual machines, the Guest Size will appear as 0.

Viewing the Backup Job Summary Report

The Backup Job Summary report can show a detailed status of each virtual machine included in the backup. Follow the steps given below to include the status of protected virtual machines in the Job Summary Report:

1. On the CommCell Console toolbar, click the Reports tab, and then click the Summary button.


The Report Selection dialog box appears.

By default, the Backup option is selected on the General tab under Data Management.

2. On the Computers tab, select each virtualization client for which you want to view protected virtual machines.

3. By default, the Include Protected VMs check box is selected on the Selection tab.

Select the Include the Snap Backup Jobs Only check box.

Click Run.


The report appears in your default Web browser. It contains detailed information about the selected virtualization clients, such as proxy name, backup size, backup type, and VMWare tools, if applicable. For snap backups, information appears in all columns, except for those that are not applicable, such as Backup Type, Transport Mode, and CBT Status.

Querying the CommServe Database

You can run SQL queries on CommServe Database to verify the virtual machine protection coverage:

Backups Performed for Each Virtual Machine

You can run a SQL query on CommServe Database to verify the status of backups performed for each virtual machine in last <n>days. When you schedule backups for a subclient, it is recommended to run this query periodically to check whether all the virtual machines are getting backed up as per schedule.

Follow the steps given below to run the query:

1. Log on to the CommServe computer. Ensure that the user account used for logging in has administrative privileges. 2. Open the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and run the following query on the CommServe database:

select * from VMProtectionCoverage (<n>, '<backup type>')

Here <n> - The number of days

<backup type> - The type of backup

For example: select * from VMProtectionCoverage (30, 'Incr')

This query will provide the status of incremental backups performed for each virtual machine protected in last 30 days. The query will be executed for all the virtual machines protected by any Virtual Server iDataAgent within the CommCell.

If you want to verify the status of all types of backups performed for each virtual machine in last <n> days, you can also run the query as follows:

select * from VMProtectionCoverage (<n>, '')

The results of the query will contain status of the backups performed for each virtual machine. The status will be one of the following:


Virtual Machines Included in Multiple Subclients

If a virtual machine is included in multiple subclients, following query will provide list of all the subclients in which it is included.

Follow the steps given below to run the query:

1. Log on to the CommServe computer. Ensure that the user account used for logging in has administrative privileges. 2. Open the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and run the following query on the CommServe database:

select * from from VMsInMultipleSubclients

The results of the query will contain list of virtual machines which are included into multiple subclients and the list of those subclients. For example:

If you do not want to include any virtual machine into multiple subclients, you can edit the subclient content.

Managing JobsJobs can be managed in a number of ways. The following sections provide information on the different job management options available:

Restarting Jobs

Jobs that fail to complete successfully are automatically restarted based on the job restartability configuration set in the Control Panel. This configuration can be changed at any time; however, changes to this configuration will affect all jobs run in the entire CommCell.

It is also possible to override the default CommServe configuration for individual jobs by configuring retry settings when initiating the job. This configuration, however, will apply only to the specific job.

Configure Job Restartability at the CommServe Level

1. In the CommCell Console, click the Control Panel icon, then double-click Job Management. 2. In the Job Restarts tab of the Job Management dialog box, select a job type from the Job Type list, and then select the

Restartable check box. 3. To change the maximum number of times the Job Manager will try to restart a job, select a number in the Max Restarts box. 4. To change the time interval between attempts by the Job Manager to restart the job, select a number of minutes in the Restart

Interval (Mins) box. 5. Click OK to save your changes.

Configure Job Restartability for an Individual Job

1. From the Backup Options dialog box, click Advanced, then select the Job Retry tab and specify the following as desired:

Status DescriptionCurrently Protected All the backups for the virtual machine are successful in last <n> days.Discovered, Not Protected The virtual machine is discovered but never backed up.Manually Excluded The virtual machine is excluded from the subclient and hence was not backed up in last <n> days.Not Protected in the time range

No backup is performed for the virtual machine in last <n> days but a backup is performed in the past.

Name Subclient Nametest-vm1 subclient Atest-vm1 subclient Btest-vm2 subclient Ptest-vm2 subclient Q

Backup jobs for this Agent are resumed from the point-of-failure.


Total Running Time - The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created. Number of Retries - The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job. Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires - Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running".

2. Click OK.

Controlling Jobs

The following controls are available for running jobs in the Job Controller window:

These controls can be applied to:

All jobs in the Job Controller. All selected jobs in the Job Controller providing you have the correct security associations at the proper level for each job selected. All data protection operations running for a particular client or client/agent. All data protection operations running for a particular MediaAgent.

1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Kill, Suspend, or Resume as desired. When killing a job:

Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears if you are sure you want to kill the job. The job status may change to Kill Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. Once completed, the job status will change to Killedand it will be removed from the Job Controller window after five minutes.

When suspending a job:

The job status may change to Suspend Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. The job status then changes to Suspended.

When resuming a job:

As the Job Manager attempts to restart the job, the job status changes to Waiting, Pending, or Running.

Additional OptionsSeveral additional options are available to further refine your backup operations. The following table describes these options, as well as the steps for configuring them.

Be sure to read the overview material referenced for each feature prior to using them.

Suspend Temporarily stops a job. A suspended job is not terminated; it can be restarted at a later time. Only preemptible jobs can be suspended.

Resume Resumes a job and returns the status to Waiting, Pending, Queued, or Running depending on the availability of resources or the state of the operation windows and activity control settings.

Backup jobs for this Agent are resumed from the point-of-failure.Kill Terminates a job.

Option Description Related topics

The Catalog section helps you to select the index cache sharing and granular restartability options for the job.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Data tab, select the Use shared profile if present with

transaction logging option. This option helps you to use the shared index cache profile of the MediaAgent (if configured) to save a copy of the job's index cache for index cache sharing with transaction logging feature for granular job restartbility. Shared profile with transaction logging provides job restartability in failover situations.


Catalog

4. Select the Use shared profile if present without transaction loggingoption. This option helps you to use the shared index cache profile of the MediaAgent (if configured) to save a copy of the index cache for index cache sharing without transaction logging feature for granular job restartbility. This is not a recommended configuration.

5. Select the Use Transaction Logging option. This option helps you to use transaction logging feature for granular job restartbility (without using shared profile for index cache sharing).

6. Select None for not using shared profile and transaction logging. 7. Select the Enable Granular Recovery. This is to perform Granular

Recovery. It allows the recovery of Individual files and folders. 8. Click OK.

Refer Index Cache Server for more information.

Startup Options

The Job Manager will use the startup priority setting when allocating the required resources. This is useful if you have jobs that are very important and must complete, or jobs that can be moved to a lower priority.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From Startup tab, select the Default Priority option. 4. Select Change Priority option to change the priority for a job, between

0 (highest priority) and 999 (lowest priority). 5. Select Start up in Suspended State option to specify the selected job to

start in the Job Controller in a suspended state. 6. Click OK.

Refer Job Priority and Priority Precedence for more information.

Job Retry Options

The Job Retry option helps in configuring the retry behavior of the backup jobs. You can specify the maximum elapsed time before a job can be restarted or killed and the maximum number of restart attempts.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Job Retry tab, select the Enable Total Running Time check

box and specify the maximum elapsed time in hours and minutes. 4. Select the Number Of Retries check box and specify the number of

retries in the Number Of Retries box. Based on this number, the Job Manager attempts to restart the job.

5. Select the Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expirescheck box. The job will be killed when the job is still in running status even after reaching the maximum elapsed time.

6. Click OK.

Refer Job Management for more information.

Start New Media

The Start New Media option helps in starting the backup/archive operation on a new media.

This media management feature provides a degree of control over where the data physically resides.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Media tab, select the Start New Media check box. 4. Click OK.

Refer the Creating an Exportable Media Set section of the Export Media for more information.

Another form of the Start New Media option is available from the library properties. Refer the Start New Media section of the Library Properties for more information.

The Mark Media Full on Success option marks the Media as Full, 2 minutes after the successful completion of the backup/archive. This feature prevents

Refer the Create an Exportable Media Set section


Mark Media Full

any other data being written to the same media.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Media tab, select the Mark Media Full on Success check

box. 4. Click OK.

of the Export Mediadocumentation for more information.

Refer Export Media for more information.

Allow other Schedules to use Media Set

The Allow Other Schedules to use Media Set option allows jobs that are part of the schedule or schedule policy and using the specific storage policy to start a new media. It also prevents other jobs from writing to the same set of media.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Media tab, select the Allow Other Schedules to Use Media

Set check box. 4. Click OK.

Refer the Creating an Exportable Media Set section of the Export Media for more information.

Data Path Options

Data Protection operations use a specific data path (Library, MediaAgent, Drive Pool, and Drive) to perform the backup operations as configured in the CommCell. By default, the system automatically identifies the data path for the backup operations. The following are some of the important situations where you may need to change the data path:

When the preferred MediaAgent, library or drive pool is not available during the backup When you need to use a different MediaAgent, library or drive pool for load balancing purposes. When you need to direct that backup to a particular location for compliance purposes.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the Data Path tab, select Use MediaAgent and Use Library or

Use Drive Pool and Use Drive from the respective drop-down combo boxes.

4. Click OK.

Refer Change Data Path for more information.

Vault Tracker

The VaultTracker feature provides the facility to manage media that are removed from a library and stored in offsite locations. The VaultTracker function provides the following capabilities in your day-to-day operations:

Identifies media that must be sent off-site for storage or brought back from off site locations. Automatically moves the media in sequence in the library and provides a pick-up list for the operators. Identifies and tracks the media during transit. Records and tracks the movement of media not used by all MediaAgents or Foreign Media.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. From the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. From the VaultTracking tab, select the necessary options. 4. Click Ok.

Refer to the following documentation for a comprehensive overview prior to using this feature:

VaultTrackerif a standard CommServe license is available. VaultTracker Enterprise if the VaultTracker Enterprise license is available.

The Alert option is used for setting up the criteria to raise notifications/alerts for job statuses such as failure, success, or any other conditions triggered by the backup job. Adding alerts helps the user or the user group to get the


Related TopicsScheduling

Provides comprehensive information on scheduling jobs.

Job Management

Provides comprehensive information on managing jobs.

Back to Top



Alerts

notification automatically about the status of the backup job.

1. Right-click the Subclient and select Backup. 2. On the Backup Options for Subclient window, click Advanced. 3. On the Alert tab, click Add Alert and it opens Add Alert Wizard

window. 4. From the Add Alert Wizard window, select the Threshold and

Notification Criteria. Click Next. 5. Select the Notification Types. Click Next. 6. Select the Users and User Groups. Click Next. 7. Click Finish.

Refer Alerts and Notifications for more information.

CommCell Readiness Report The CommCell Readiness Report provides you with vital information about the condition of your CommCell.

Refer CommCell Readiness Report for more information.

Backup Job Summary Report The Backup Job Summary Report provides the details of all the backup jobs of clients.

Refer Backup Job Summary Report for more information.


Submit


Advanced Restore - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of contentsChoosing Restore Types

Restoring Virtual Machines to Same Destination (In-Place Restore)

Restoring Virtual Machines to Different Destination (Out-of-Place Restore)

Different Virtual Center

Different ESX Server

Different Data Store

Different Resource Pool/vApp

Different Name

Restoring Disks to an Existing Virtual Machine

Selective Disk Restore

Overwriting Disk from a Virtual Machine

Restoring Virtual Machines with Disk Provisioning

Thin Disk Restore

Selecting a Proxy for Restore

Restoring Full Virtual Machine or Virtual Machine Disks

Restoring Virtual Machines with Transport Mode

Overwrite Virtual Machines with the Same Names

Restore with Changed Block Tracking (CBT) Using Backup Copy

Automatically Power On Restored Virtual Machines

Restoring Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) Files

Restoring Files and Folders

Windows Clients

Linux Clients

Restore Files and Folders

Restore Data from Backup Copy

Scheduling a Restore

Restoring Guest Files and Folders from Unix MediaAgent

Creating Virtual Machines from Restored VMX Files

Restore by Jobs


Manage Restore Jobs

Restart Jobs

Resubmit Jobs

Control Jobs

Additional Restore Options

Choosing Restore Types

When restoring VMware data, you can select one of the following restore types:

Full Virtual Machine

This restore type is selected by default. This restore type will be useful in the following scenario:

You are unable to turn on the virtual machine. However the disks (VMDK files) are available for the machine You want to restore an entire virtual machine to a specific point-in-time. You want to move the virtual machine to a new Hyper-V host.

Virtual Machine Files

Use this restore type to restore disks (VMDK files) from a virtual machine. This restore type will be useful in the following scenario:

The virtual machine is running, but one of its disk has errors. The storage device hosting the disks has errors or not available.

Attach Disk to Existing VM

Use this restore type to attach one or more disks of a backed up virtual machine to an existing virtual machine.

This restore type will be useful in the following scenarios:

A virtual machine has multiple disks and you want to restore only few disks. You want to copy and add disks from one virtual machine into another virtual machine. You want to quickly restore a disk and access the data on the disk.

Guest Files or Folders

Use this restore type to restore files or folders from a virtual machine. You can restore files or folders only if you have selected the Enable Granular Recovery check box while performing the backup of the virtual machine.

This restore type will be useful in the following scenario:

A file or folder on the virtual machine has errors and you are unable to open the file or the folder. You want to restore a file or a folder to a specific point-in-time.

Backup and restores of entire virtual machines are supported for all guest operating systems supported by VMware.


Restoring Virtual Machines to Same Destination (In-Place Restore)When restoring data, the Virtual Server iDataAgent provides the facility to restore data to the same destination host, and placing all of the disks back to their original datastores. Follow the steps given below to perform an in-place restore:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine(s) in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machines are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Ensure that the Restore in place check box is selected.

If a virtual machine already exists on the same destination, select the Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same namecheck box.

7. Click OK. When a virtual machine is restored, it will be restored to the same destination where it was at the time of backup.

Restoring Virtual Machines to Different Destination (Out-of-Place Restore)

If this option is used when restoring a virtual machine that has independent disks, the independent disks and their VMDKs aremoved from the datastore and are not restored.


Virtual machines can be restored to a location different than the location where they exist at the time of backup; this is referred to as an out-of-place restore. The following section provide the options available for an out-of-place restore of virtual machines.

Restoring to a Different Virtual Center

An entire virtual machine can be restored to a different vCenter. This feature provides the flexibility to distribute restored virtual machines to a location with greater space and resource availability. This will be useful when the virtual machine's original location does not provide optimal space and resources.

Follow the steps given below to restore the virtual machine to a different vCenter:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Click Change to specify a different Virtual Center.

Enter the name of the Virtual Center, where you want the virtual machine to be restored. Enter the User credentials. Click OK.

7. Click OK.

Restoring to a Different ESX Server

By default, the virtual machine is restored to the ESX server, where it was at the time of backup. However, an entire virtual machine can be restored to a different ESX server. Specifying a different location provides the flexibility to distribute restored virtual machines to a location with greater space and resource availability.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click View Content. 4. From the Browse window, select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual

machine are displayed in the right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Clear the Restore in place check box.

When restoring a VMware virtual machine from disk backup in SAN environments, restore directly to an ESX server rather than to vCenter. Otherwise SAN transport mode may be slower than NBD transport mode, with events in the VMware client GUI displaying "clear lazy zero.".


7. In the ESX Server column, click in the row for the virtual machine and then click . Select the ESX server where you want to restore the virtual machine.

Ensure that the ESX server supports the hardware version of the virtual machine. If the hardware version of the virtual machine is not supported by the ESX server, the restore job will complete successfully but the virtual machine will be inaccessible.

Select a datastore on the ESX server where you want to restore the disks of the virtual machine. Click OK.

8. Click OK.

Restoring to a Different Datastore

You can specify a different datastore on the destination host by following the steps given below. After restore, the virtual machine is automatically associated to the new datastore selected.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine(s) in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machines are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Clear the Restore in place check box. 7. The Datastore column displays the datastore of each disk. To change the datastore of any disk, click in the corresponding

row and then select a datastore from the list of available datastores. The list displays all the datastore available on the specified ESX server.

8. Click OK.


Restoring to a Different Resource Pool/vApp

By default, when a virtual machine is restored it will be restored to its original resource pool. You can select a specific resource pool/vApp on the host where you want to restore the virtual machine. vApp is a customized form of a resource pool. Follow the steps given below to add/change a virtual machine to a Resource Pool/vApp:


right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Clear the Restore in place check box. 7. In the Add to Resource Pool/ vApp column, click in the row for the virtual machine and then click . 8. Select a resource pool or a vApp available on the selected ESX server. 9. Click OK.

Restoring Virtual Machines with a Different Name


By default, the Virtual Machine is restored with the original name, exactly as it was at the time of backup. This can be changed to a more appropriate name by following the steps given below:


right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. The Change VM display name to column displays the current name of the virtual machine. Enter a new name of a virtual

machine in this column . 7. Click OK. When the virtual machine is restored, it is restored with the new name.

Restoring Disks to an Existing Virtual MachineYou can attach one or more disks of a backed up virtual machine (source virtual machine) to an existing virtual machine (target virtual machine). This feature is useful in the following scenarios:

A virtual machine has multiple disks and you want to restore only few disks. You want to copy and add disks from one virtual machine into another virtual machine. You want to quickly restore a disk and access the data on the disk.

Before attaching any disks from a virtual machine to another virtual machine, ensure that you have not used the VMware Consolidated Backup (vcbmounter) method to perform the backup of a virtual machine.

Restoring All Disks from a Virtual Machine

If you want to restore all the disks from the source virtual machine, follow the steps given below:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. Select Attach Disks to Existing VM and click View Content. 4. Select the source virtual machine in the left pane. All the VMDK files of the virtual machine are selected automatically in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected. 6. Click in the first row of Restore to Existing VM column, then click to select the target virtual machine. 7. For each disk, select a datastore from the Datastore column. 8. Click OK. When the source virtual machine is restored, its disks are attached to the target virtual machine.


When restoring disks to the target virtual machine, keep in mind:

You can also restore disks to a virtual machine when it is powered off. If a virtual machine is archived, you cannot restore disks to the virtual machine. The virtual RDM will be restored as a regular thick disk. You cannot attach disks to a virtual machine if you have turned on the fault tolerance option for that virtual machine

Selective Disk Restore

If you do not want to restore all disks from the source virtual machine, follow the steps given below:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. Select Attach Disks to Existing VM and click View Content. 4. Navigate to the source virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are

displayed in the right pane. 5. Select VMDK files for the disks which you want to restore. 6. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 7. Click in the first row of the Restore to Existing VM column, then click to select the target virtual machine. 8. For each VMDK file, select a datastore from the Datastore column. 9. Click OK. The VMDK files from the source virtual machine are restored as disks in the target virtual machine.


Overwriting Disks in a Virtual Machine

You can overwrite disks in the target virtual machine. You can also restore a disk to its original location.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore, and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore. 3. Select Attach Disks to Existing VM and click View Content. 4. Navigate to the source virtual machine from the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are

displayed in the right pane. 5. Select VMDK files for the disks to restore. 6. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 7. Click in the first row of the Restore to Existing VM column, then click ... to select the target virtual machine.

To restore a disk to its original location, select the source virtual machine in the Restore to Existing VM column. To overwrite a disk on the target virtual machine, ensure that the VMDK file name is the same as the VMDK file name on the source virtual machine. To overwrite the disk attached to the SCSI (0:0) port of a virtual machine, you must turn off the virtual machine.

8. Select a datastore from the Datastore column. 9. Select the Unconditionally overwrite Disks with the same name check box. The disk on the target machine is overwritten

by the disk from the source machine.

10. Click OK.



Restoring Virtual Machines with Disk ProvisioningBy default the disk is restored with its original provisioning type, as it was at the time of backup. The following disk provisioning types are available:

Auto: The disk provisioning type of the source virtual machine, at the time of backup. Thick: Thick provisioning will be used to allocate the disk space for all the disks in the virtual machine. Thin: Thin provisioning will be used to allocate the disk space for all the disks in the virtual machine.

Follow the steps given below to change the provisioning type on restore:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Restore. 3. In the Restore Options dialog box, click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Choose an appropriate Disk provisioning option from the drop down list. 7. Click OK. When the virtual machine is restored, it is restored with the disk provisioning type selected.


Thin Disk Restore

When you are restoring a virtual machine, which has thin disks on a NFS Datastore, empty blocks on the disk will not get restored. Only the actual data on the disk will be restored. Also, for any thin or eager-zeroed disks, if the Change Block Tracking is not functioning properly at the time of backup, still the actual data will be restored and empty blocks will not get restored.

As a result, these disks are restored with the correct data size and the restore operation takes considerably less time.

However, the lazy-zeroed thick disks will be restored as thick disks.

Selecting a Proxy for RestoreBy default, the virtual machine is associated to a proxy computer, which was used to backup the virtual machine. The same proxy will be used to perform the restore of the virtual machine, virtual machine files or guest files and folders on the virtual machine . You can use a different proxy computer to perform the restore.

Restoring Full Virtual Machine or Virtual Machine Disks

When you are restoring a full virtual machine or its disks, you can choose a different proxy in the following scenario:

The proxy used for the backup of the virtual machine is no longer available.If you use the proxy on the same host where you are restoring the virtual machine, the restore operation will be faster.When you are attaching disks to an existing virtual machine, if you use the proxy on the same host where the target virtual machine exists, the restore operation will be faster.If you are using a specific transport mode such as HOTADD or SAN, you can choose the proxy which will facilitate the required transport mode.

Follow the steps given below to

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click OK. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window.


6. Select a proxy computer from the Destination Client list. Ensure that the proxy computer has MediaAgent installed on it. 7. Click OK.

Restoring Virtual Machines with Transport ModeBy default, the Virtual Server iDataAgent will automatically select the best suitable transport mode based on the setup. Follow the steps given below to restore virtual machines with a specific Transport Mode option:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click OK. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Select the required Transport Mode option from drop down list. 7. Click OK. When the virtual machine is restored, it is restored with the transport mode you selected.


Overwrite Virtual Machines with the Same Names When a destination host has virtual machines with the same names as the virtual machines being restored, you can choose to overwrite the existing virtual machines. This option can be used to restore one or more virtual machines to the states at the time of the backup.

Perform the following steps to overwrite virtual machines with the same names:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <VirtualizationClient> | Virtual Server | VMware | <BackupSet>.

2. Right-click the subclient that contains the data to restore and select Browse and Restore. 3. In the Browse and Restore Options window, select Full Virtual Machine and click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected. 6. On the Restore Options dialog, select the Unconditionally overwrite VM with same name option to overwrite an existing

virtual machine.

The Restore in place option is selected by default.



7. Click OK.

Restore with Changed Block Tracking (CBT) Using Backup Copy

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that enables efficient backup of virtual machines by tracking changes and only backing up changes rather than complete virtual machines. CBT is used automatically for restoring a full virtual machine when the Restore in place and Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name restore options are used, providing significant performance improvements.

Since only changed blocks are restored, a CBT restore is much faster and more efficient than a classic restore. If a CBT restore cannot be performed or if the restore job is restarted, the restore reverts to a classic restore.

CBT restores must be enabled as described in Enable Restores Using Changed Block Tracking.

To initiate a CBT restore, perform the steps in Overwrite Virtual Machines with the Same Names.

Automatically Power On Restored Virtual MachinesOnce a virtual machine has been restored, it can be automatically powered on be following the steps given below:


right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Select the Power On Virtual Machine after restore to power on the virtual machine immediately following restore

completion. 7. Click OK.

CBT restores are supported for virtual machines using hardware version 7 or higher. For IntelliSnap, CBT restores are only supported when restoring from a backup copy; it is not supported when restoring from an IntelliSnap backup. CBT restores are not supported for attaching a disk to an existing virtual machine, or for virtual machines that have multiple disks on different datastores. Only the first restore from a backup can use CBT. To perform another CBT restore, another backup must be performed first.


Restoring Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) FilesRestoring VMDK Files

You can restore single or multiple VMDK files from a virtual machine.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, select Virtual Machine files and click OK. 4. Select a virtual machines in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the right

pane. 5. Select the required VMDK file from the right pane. 6. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 7. Select a proxy computer from Destination client list where you want to restore the selected VMDK files.

By default, the VMDK files will be restored to the same proxy computer, which was used to backup the virtual machine.

8. Click Browse and specify the Staging Path. 9. Click OK.

The VMDK file will be restored to the location specified in the staging path.


Restoring Files and Folders

Windows Clients

You can restore files and folders on a Windows client that has one of the following components installed:

Windows File System iDataAgent Restore Only Agent for Windows File System. For more information, refer to Installing Restore Only Agents.

Before restoring files and folders from a virtual machine, consider the following:

If the virtual machine has GPT partition, you can restore files from the IntelliSnap backup. However, you can restore files from the backup copy. For more information, refer to Restore Data from a Backup Copy. When you perform the IntelliSnap backup, the snapshot will be mounted and live browse operation will be performed during the restore. You cannot restore the hardlinks associated with a file. You must restore the complete virtual machine or the disk which contains the hardlinks.

You can perform the Browse and Restore operation by right-clicking a backupset. However, if the backupset contains subclients configured for regular backup and IntelliSnap backup, you must select the Browse and Restore option by right-clicking the subclient. Restore only small files. For example, restoring a 2GB file is not recommended. To recover larger files, restore the complete virtual machine or the disk that contains the file. You can restore files from NTFS file systems with the following limitations:

The formatted cluster size (allocation unit) must be 1024 or greater. You cannot restore any archived files and folders. You cannot restore any file that has zero bytes, symbolic links, or hard links associated with it. You cannot restore files that have been dehydrated by Windows 2012 dedup. You cannot restore files from volumes created on Windows Storage Spaces.

If you cannot restore a file, you can restore the complete virtual machine or the disk that contains the file.

Linux Clients

You can restore files and folders from a Linux virtual machine (VM). The following prerequisites apply:

The virtual machine has the ext2 or ext3 file system. One of the following must be installed on the destination VM:

Image Level iDataAgent Restore Only Agent for Image Level iDataAgent for Unix.

Restore Files and Folders

Follow the steps given below to restore files and folders:

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Virtual Server | VMware | <BackupSet>. 2. Right-click the subclient that contains the data to restore and select Browse and Restore. 3. In the Browse and Restore Options window, select Guest Files and Folders and click View Content. 4. In the left pane, navigate to the required volume on the virtual machine with the files and folders to be restored. The guest

files and folders on the volume are displayed in the right pane. 5. Select the required guest files and folders in the right pane. 6. Click Recover All Selected at the bottom of the window. 7. On the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog:

To restore files to the source VM, click Browse under Specify Destination Path and select the folder where files

Do not restore Windows backup data to a Linux client. The Restore ACLs option is not supported for this operation.

You cannot restore any file that has zero bytes, symbolic links, or hard links associated with it. You must restore the complete virtual machine. The Preserve Source Paths option is not supported when you are restoring files or folders from a virtual machine.


should be restored. To restore files to a different VM:

a. Select Restore to Virtual Machine.

The Destination client field changes to Proxy Client.

b. Ensure that an appropriate proxy is selected in the Proxy Client field. c. To restore to a virtual machine on a different vCenter, click Change and browse to select the vCenter. d. To specify a different target virtual machine, click ... and browse to select the target VM, then enter the user

name and password for the target VM. e. Click Browse under Specify Destination Path and select the folder where files should be restored.

8. Click OK to submit the restore request.

Restore Data from a Backup CopyYou can perform a restore from the backup copy by setting the appropriate copy precedence number.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Virtual Server iDataAgent | VMware. 2. Right-click the <BackupSet> that contains the data you want to restore and select All Tasks | Browse and Restore.

2. Click View Content. 3. From the Browse window, select the data you want to restore in the right pane and click Recover All Selected. 4. From the Restore Options for All Selected Items window, click Advanced. 5. Click the Copy Precedence tab and select the Restore from Copy Precedence checkbox. 6. In the Copy Precedence box, type the copy precedence number for the backup copy. 7. Click OK. 8. Click OK to close the Restore Options dialog box and start the restore job.

Scheduling a Restore1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <vCenter Client> | Virtual Server | VMware. 2. Right-click Backup Set or Subclient, click All Tasks | Restore. 3. In the Restore Options window, click View Content. 4. Select the virtual machine in the left pane. The configuration and VMDK files of the virtual machine are displayed in the

right pane. 5. Click Recover All Selected in the bottom of the window. 6. Click Job Initiation tab and click Schedule. 7. Click Configure. 8. Select the appropriate scheduling options. For example:

Click Weekly. Check the days you want the run the restore job.


Change the Start Time to 9:00 PM Click OK to close the Schedule Details dialog box. Click OK to close the Restore Options dialog box.

The restore job will execute as per the schedule.

Restores from Unix MediaAgentsFor container, volume, and file-level restores from disk and volume-level backups using any Unix (AIX, HP-UX, or Solaris) MediaAgent, perform the following steps:

1. Select any Windows MediaAgent from the Browse Options dialog box. 2. You will be prompted to select Index Restore. 3. When you select this option, the index of Unix MediaAgent will be restored to selected Windows MediaAgent. 4. When you browse and select components from any individual virtual machine's data from the list of virtual machines, you

will be prompted once more to select Index Restore. 5. When you select this option, the second index restore will restore the components of selected virtual machine.

Creating Virtual Machines from Restored VMX FilesNew virtual machines can be created with select volumes or disks from Container restores of disk-level backups. The VMware Converter utility is used to accomplish this. To do so:

1. Perform a Browse and Restore operation. 2. From the Browse window, select the container that was restored from the virtual machine to which it was restored. 3. Select the .vmx file from the location containing the container. 4. Click OK. 5. Provide the credentials for the Virtual Center or ESX Server to which you want to restore the .vmx file.

If the credentials provided are for the Virtual Center, you must also select the desired ESX Server to which you want to restore the .vmx file.

6. Select the Select volume copy from Data copy option. 7. Deselect any volumes you do not want to restore.

The virtual machine will be restored with the selected volumes.

Restore by JobsThe Restore By Jobs feature provides the facility to select a specific backup job to be restored. This method of restoring data is considerably faster as it reads continuously on the tape and retrieves the data and does not depend on the indexing subsystem.

You can use this method to restore the following:


Full Virtual Machine - You can restore a full virtual machine by using the Full backup jobs. Guest Files or Folders - You can restore guest files and folders to the file system of any client which has Virtual Server iDataAgent. You can use full or incremental backup jobs to restore guest files and folders. However, ensure that the Enable Granular Recovery check box was selected while performing the backup.

Use the following steps to restore data by jobs.


2. Right-click the subclient and click the Backup History. 3. Click OK on the Backup History Filter for: <Subclient> dialog box. 4. From the Backup Job History window, right-click the backup job that need to be restored and select Browse and Restore. 5. From the Restore Options dialog box, select the Type of Intended Restore and click View Content. 6. Select the required virtual machine.

If you are performing file level restore, select the required files and folders on the virtual machine.

7. Click the Recover All Selected button at the bottom of the window. 8. Select the desired restore options and click OK.

Manage Restore JobsOnce you initiate the restore operation, a restore job is generated in the Job Controller. Jobs can be managed in a number of ways. The following sections provide information on the different job management options available:

Restart Jobs

Jobs that fail to complete successfully are automatically restarted based on the job restartability configuration set in the Control Panel. This configuration can be changed at any time; however, changes to this configuration will affect all jobs run in the entire CommCell.

It is also possible to override the default CommServe configuration for individual jobs by configuring retry settings when initiating the job. This configuration, however, will apply only to the specific job.

Configure job restartability at the CommServe level

1. In the CommCell Console, click the Control Panel icon, then double-click Job Management. 2. In the Job Restarts tab of the Job Management dialog box, select a job type from the Job Type list, and then select the

Restartable check box. 3. To change the maximum number of times the Job Manager will try to restart a job, select a number in the Max Restarts box. 4. To change the time interval between attempts by the Job Manager to restart the job, select a number of minutes in the Restart

Interval (Mins) box. 5. Click OK to save your changes.

Restore jobs for this Agent are re-started from the beginning.


Configure Job Restartability for an Individual Job

1. From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced, then select the Job Retry tab and specify the following as desired: Total Running Time - The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created. Number of Retries - The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job. Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires - Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running".

2. Click OK.

Resubmit Jobs

If a restore job fails to complete successfully, you can resubmit the job without the need to reconfigure the original job's restore options using the Resubmit Job feature. When a job is resubmitted, all the original options, restore destinations, and other settings configured for the job remain in tact.

Resubmit a Restore Job

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click a client computer whose data recovery history you want to view, click View, then click to view a job history.

2. From the Job History Filter dialog box, select Restore.If you want to view more advanced options for restores, from the Job History Filter, select Restore, then click Advanced. From the Data Recovery History Advanced Filter select the destination client computer of the restores you would like to view, then click OK.

3. The system displays the results of the options you selected in the Data Recovery Job History window. 4. Right-click on any job, and select Resubmit. 5. Select the job options. 6. Click OK.

Control Jobs

The following controls are available for running jobs in the Job Controller window:

These controls can be applied to:

All jobs in the Job Controller. All selected jobs in the Job Controller providing you have the correct security associations at the proper level for each job selected. All data protection operations running for a particular client or client/agent. All data protection operations running for a particular MediaAgent.

Control A Job

1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Kill, Suspend, or Resume as desired. When killing a job:

Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears if you are sure you want to kill the job. The job status may change to Kill Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. Once completed, the job status will change to Killedand it will be removed from the Job Controller window after five minutes.

When suspending a job:

The job status may change to Suspend Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. The job status then changes to Suspended.

Suspend Temporarily stops a job. A suspended job is not terminated; it can be restarted at a later time. Only preemptible jobs can be suspended.

Resume

Resumes a job and returns the status to Waiting, Pending, Queued, or Running depending on the availability of resources or the state of the operation windows and activity control settings.

Restore jobs for this Agent are resumed from the beginning.Kill Terminates a job.


When resuming a job:

As the Job Manager attempts to restart the job, the job status changes to Waiting, Pending, or Running.

Additional Restore OptionsSeveral additional options are available to further refine your restore operations. The following table describes these options, as well as the steps to implement them.

Be sure to read the overview material referenced for each feature prior to using them.

Option Description Related Topics

Automatically Detect Regular Expressions

This option allows you to automatically detect regular expressions (wildcard characters) in the virtual machines assigned to a subclient.

This allows you to restore the files and folders in virtual machines which contain regular expressions in their name (e.g., c:\[test1]).

1. From the CommCell Browser, click Client Computers | Virtual Server | <instance name> | BackupSet. The default and other subclients (if available) are displayed on the right-hand windowpane.

2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore. Click All Tasks and then click Restore.

3. From the Restore Options window, select the Type of Intended Restoreand click OK.

4. From the browse window, select the data to be restored and click Recover all Selected.

5. From the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click Advanced.

6. From the Advanced Restore Options (General) tab, select Automatically Detect Regular Expressions option.

7. Click OK.

Impersonate User

This information is needed only if you intend to restore data to a mapped network drive, shared network drive, or directory to which you do not have access privileges.

You can impersonate a windows logon information with an account that has access rights to restore data.


2. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore. Click All Tasks and then click Restore.




6. From the Advanced Restore Options (General) tab, select Impersonate User option.

7. In User Name and Password boxes, enter a user name and password which has access privileges. In Confirm Password box, type the password again.

8. Click OK.

The Job Manager will use the startup priority setting when allocating the required resources. This is useful if you have jobs that are very important and must complete, or jobs that can be moved to a lower priority.

1. From the CommCell Browser, click Client Computers | <Virtualization


Startup Options

Client> | Virtual Server | <instance name> | defaultBackupSet. 2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and

select Restore. 3. Select the entity to be restored in the Restore Options dialog box and

click OK. 4. Select the data to be restored and click Recover all Selected.5. From the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click

Advanced. 6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Startup) tab, select Use Default

Priority option. 7. Select Change Priority option to change the priority for a job, between 0

(highest priority) and 999 (lowest priority). 8. Select Start up in Suspended State option to specify the selected job to

start in the Job Controller in a suspended state. 9. Click OK.

Refer to Job Priority and Priority Precedence.

Copy Precedence

When you select Restore from copy precedence option, the system recovers or retrieves data from the selected storage policy copy (Synchronous Copy or Selective Copy). If data does not exist in the specified copy, the data recovery or retrieve operation fails even if the data exists in another copy of the same storage policy.

When cleared, (or by default) the system recovers or retrieves data from the storage policy copy with the lowest copy precedence. If the data was pruned from the primary copy, the system automatically recovers or retrieves from the other copies of the storage policy in the lowest copy precedence to highest copy precedence order.Once the data is found, it is recovered or retrieved, and no further copies are checked.

1. From the CommCell Browser, click Client Computers | <Virtualization Client> | Virtual Server | <instance name> | defaultBackupSet.

2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and select Restore.

3. Select the entity to be restored from the Restore Options dialog box and click OK.



6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Copy Precedence) tab, select Restore from copy precedence option.

7. Select the number to change the selected copy's precedence. The numbers will move a copy to a higher or lower precedence in increments of 1.

8. Click OK.

Refer to Recovering Data From Copies.

Data Path Options

Data Recovery operations use a specific data path (Library, MediaAgent, Drive Pool, and Drive) to perform the restore operations as configured in the CommCell. By default, the system automatically identifies the data path for the restore operations. You can change the data path at the restore level by selecting a specific MediaAgent, library, drive pool or drive in the Advanced Restore Options dialog.

The following are some of the important situations where you may need to change the data path:

To free heavily loaded resources such as MediaAgents and libraries. A library suffers severe hardware damage and you need to move its media to a different library in order to access data secured by data protection operations. A drive pool within a library is being used much more frequently than another, and a storage policy copy from the more active drive pool can be assigned to the less active one.


Refer to Change Data Path.


2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and select Restore.

3. Select the entity to be restored in the Restore Options dialog box and click OK.



6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Data Path) tab, select the MediaAgent and Library that you wish to perform the restore.

7. Select the Drive Pool and Drive for tape library. 8. Select the name of the Proxy server if you wish to restore using a proxy

server. 9. Click OK.

Encryption

You can configure encryption for the specific subclient during the data recovery operation. You must configure encryption at the client level first and then at the subclient level to encrypt data during data recovery operations using the CommCell Console.

If you configure data encryption with a Pass-Phrase and do not elect to export the pass-phrase to destination clients, you will be required to enter the pass-phrase during immediate data recovery operations. Scheduled data recovery operations require you to export the pass-phrase.


2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and then select Restore.

3. Select the entity to be restored on the Restore Options dialog box and click OK.

4. Select the data to be restored and click Recover all Selected.5. From the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, click

Advanced. 6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Encryption) tab, enter a pass-phrase

in the Pass Phrase dialog box. 7. Enter the pass-phrase again in the Re-enter Pass Phrase dialog box. 8. Click OK.

Refer to data encryption.

Job Retry Options

The restore jobs can be restarted either by a user or automatically by the Job Manager. You can specify the maximum elapsed time before a job can be restarted or killed and the maximum number of restart attempts.


2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore Restore.



Advanced. 6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Job Retry) tab, select Enable

Total Running Time option. 7. Select Enable Number of Retries option. 8. Select Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires option.9. Click OK.

Refer to Job Management.

Virtual machines can be restored to any datastore on the ESX Server using the credentials of the default ESX Server or the Virtual Center.

You can Override the default selection and select the desired location to which the virtual machine will be restored. These options provide the flexibility to distribute restored virtual machines to a location with greater space and resource availability.


Related TopicsScheduling

Provides comprehensive information on scheduling jobs.

ESX Browse selection


2. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore. Click All Tasks and then click Restore.




6. From the Advanced Restore Options (ESX Browse) tab, select Default Selection option. Select the ESX Server from the drop down list.

7. Select the Override Default Selection to change the default selection. 8. Enter the desired Virtual Center/ESX Server name. 9. Select Server Logon Account and enter the User Account.

10. Click Configure Password to create a password. 11. Click Browse Virtual Center/ESX Servers for destination option to

select the desired location to which the virtual machine will be restored. 12. Click OK.

Alert

The Alert option is used for setting up the criteria to raise notifications/alerts for job statuses such as failure, success, or any other conditions triggered by the restore job. Adding alerts helps the user or the user group to get the notification automatically about the status of the restore job.


2. Right-click the backupset that contains the data you want to restore and click Restore.



Advanced. 6. From the Advanced Restore Options (Alert) tab, Click Add Alert. 7. From the Add Alert Wizard window, select the Threshold and

Notification Criteria Selection. Click Next.8. Select the Notification Type(s) Selection. Click Next.9. Select the User(s) and User Group(s) Selection. Click Next.

10. Verify the Summary. 11. Click Finish.

Refer to Alerts and Notifications.

Command Line Restores

Command Line Interface enables you to perform restore operations from the command line. The qcommands can be executed from the command line or can be integrated into your own scripts or scheduling programs.

In addition, you can also generate scripts for specific operations from the CommCell Console using the Save As Script option. These scripts can later be executed using the commands from the command line interface.

Refer to Command Line Interface.

CommCell Readiness Report CommCell Readiness Report provides you with important information about the potential problems that can impact your restore operations before they occur.

Refer to CommCell Readiness Report.

Restore Job Summary ReportRestore Job Summary Report provides you the summary of all restore jobs during a specified time period for each client. Select Restore option from the Job Summary Report Selection dialog box, to view the Restore Job Summary Report.

Refer to Restore Job Summary Report.


Job Management

Provides comprehensive information on managing jobs.

List Media

Provides comprehensive information on media management and prediction.




Submit


IntelliSnap - Advanced Backup CopyTable of ContentsRunning Backup Copy for a Specific Job

Disabling Backup Copy for a Specific Job

Running Backup Copy for the Current Job

Disabling Backup Copy

Running Backup Copy for Snapshots Created on a Specific Date

Deferring the Creation of Backup Copy

Setting Up Backup Copy Workflow Alerts

Configuring the Selection of Full Backup Jobs for Backup Copy

Configuring the Selection of All Job Types for Backup Copy

Running Backup Copy for a Specific JobYou can select a specific job for creating backup copy. Once selected, the Move Snap to Tape field for the specific job will be changed to Picked (i.e., the next backup copy operation will move this job to media).

1. Right-click a storage policy containing IntelliSnap backup jobs, and then click View Jobs. 2. Right-click the job and then click Pick for Backup Copy.

Disabling Backup Copy for a Specific JobYou can prevent a job from being moved to media. You can apply this option to those jobs that were previously selected for movingto media. On selecting this option, the Move Snap to Tape field for the specific job will be changed to Not Picked (i.e., the next backup copy operation will not move this job to media).

1. Right-click a storage policy containing IntelliSnap backup jobs and then click View Jobs. 2. Right-click the job and then click Do not Backup Copy.

Running Backup Copy for the Current JobThis option allows you to run a backup copy job immediately without first creating a backup copy for the last full snapshot. When you select this option, all backups that completed before the current job are not included in this backup copy. However, you can manually create a backup copy for the backups that completed before the current job.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | <Agent> | defaultBackupSet. 2. Right click the default subclient, and then click Backup.3. Under Select Backup Type, select Full. 4. Click Advanced.


The Advanced Backup Options dialog box appears.

5. Select Create Backup Copy immediately. 6. Select Start Backup Copy job with the current job.

A message appears that says all pending jobs will be unpicked.

7. Click OK.

8. Click OK to save your settings and close the Advanced Backup Options dialog box.

Disabling Backup CopyYou can prevent the creation of backup copies with an option in the storage policy.


To disable the creation of backup copies for IntelliSnap jobs:

1. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties. 2. Click the Snapshot tab. 3. Select Disable Backup Copy. 4. Click OK.

Running Backup Copy for Snapshots Created on a Specific DateYou can create backup copy jobs for IntelliSnap jobs that are created on and after a specific date with an option in the storage policy.

To run backup copy jobs for snapshots created on and after a specific date:

1. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties. 2. Click the Snapshot tab. 3. Click Snapshots Created On or After, and then select a date from the calendar. 4. Click OK.


Deferring the Creation of Backup CopyYou can defer the creation of a backup copy for IntelliSnap jobs for a number of days with an option in the storage policy.

To defer the creation of a backup copy:

1. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties. 2. Click the Snapshot tab. 3. Click Defer Backup Copy for, and then enter the number of days to wait before making a backup copy. 4. Click OK.


Setting Up Backup Copy Workflow AlertsA backup copy workflow job is a parent job which triggers multiple backup copy jobs, one for each IntelliSnap backup job.

You can create an alert to monitor backup copy workflow jobs on the storage policies on which backup copy is enabled. For example, you can configure the alert to send notifications whenever a backup copy workflow job is killed, resumed, or suspended by a user.

Use the following steps to configure email alerts for backup copy workflow jobs as an example:

1. From the CommCell Console toolbar menu, click Alert. 2. From the Alerts dialog box, click Add. 3. Type the alert name in the Display Name box. 4. Select Job Management from the Category pane and Backup Copy Workflow from the Type pane, and then click Next.


5. Select the storage policy that you want to associate to this alert, and then click Next. 6. Select the alert criteria and then click Next. 7. Click the Select [Email] for Notification check box, and then click Next. 8. Select the notification recipients from the Available pane and then click Add.

Alternatively, you can type the recipients email address in the Email to Recipients box. Click Next.

9. Review the alert selections and then click Finish.

The following is an email alert sample that notifies when a backup copy workflow fails to start.

If you want to create a different type of alert, refer to Alerts and Notifications - Generating Alerts for more information.

Configuring the Selection of Full Jobs for Backup CopyYou can specify which IntelliSnap backup jobs are picked for backup copy operations in the storage policy.

To configure job selection:

1. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties. 2. Click the Snapshot tab. 3. Select Choose the Backup Selection Rule, and then click Advanced.


The Selection Rule dialog box appears.

4. To pick individual jobs for backup, click Manually select Backups. 5. To pick only full backup jobs that occur at a particular frequency, click Select Full Backups at frequency, and then select

the time period at which to pick jobs for backup copy: For Daily or Hourly full backups, select the time at which the day begins. For Weekly full backups, select the day on which the week begins. For Monthly full backups, select the date on which the month begins.

6. For full backup jobs that occur at a particular frequency, specify which backup to copy for each time period: To copy the first full backup, select First full backup. To copy the last full backup, select Last full backup, and then specify the time period for the last full backup.

7. Click OK.


8. Click OK to save your settings and close the Storage Policy Properties dialog box.

Configuring the Selection of All Job Types for Backup CopyYou can apply the settings for creating backup copies from specific, scheduled IntelliSnap backups to all IntelliSnap backup types. This option is available to NAS Agents and Virtual Server Agents only.

To apply job selection rules to all IntelliSnap job types:

1. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties. 2. Click the Snapshot tab. 3. Click Full, Incremental, Differential Snap Backup Jobs.

A message appears that says selecting this option will have an impact on Extended Retention job selection.

4. Click OK.

5. Click OK.





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IntelliSnap - Data AgingTable of ContentsGetting Started

Extended Retention Rules

Getting StartedData Aging is the process of removing old data from secondary storage to allow the associated media to be reused for future backups.

By default, all backup data is retained infinitely. However, you should change the retention of your data based on your needs. Note that if you continue to have infinite retention, you will also need infinite storage capacity.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies | Storage Policies | <Storage Policy>.

Right-click the <Storage Policy Copy> and click the Properties.

2. Click the Retention tab.

Under Basic Retention Rules for All Backups, click the Retain For.

Enter number of days to retain the data.

Enter number of cycles to retain the data.

Click OK.


3. Confirm Basic Retention dialog box will be displayed.

Click Yes.

4. From the CommCell Console, click the Reports tab.

Click the Forecast icon.

5. Under Reports, Data Retention Forecast and Compliance is selected by default.

Click Run.

6. The report will display the data to be pruned when a data aging job is run. To ensure only data intended for aging is actually aged, it is important to identify the data that will be aged based on the retention rules you have configured. Hence, ensure this report includes only the data you intend to age.

If necessary, fine-tune your rules so that only the intended data is aged.


7. From the CommCell Console, right click the <CommServe> icon, point to All Tasks and then click Data Aging.

8. Under Job Initiation, by default Immediate is selected to run the job immediately.

Click OK.

9. You can track the progress of the job from the Job Controller window. When the job is completed, in the Job Controllerthe Status will be displayed as Completed.

Once you run a data aging job, the data will be pruned.


Make sure that the job completes successfully. If the job did not complete successfully, rerun the job.

Extended Retention RulesExtended retention rules allow you to keep specific full (or synthetic full) backups for longer periods of time.

Extended retention rules can be used in the following circumstances:

If you have a single drive tape library If you want to create a hierarchical retention scheme (grandfather-father-son tape rotation)

In all other cases, it is recommended that the Auxiliary Copy feature be used for extended storage as it actually creates another physical copy of the data, thereby reducing the risk of data loss due to media failure.

Understanding Extended Retention Rules

Extended retention allows you to retain a specific full (or synthetic full) backup for an additional period of time. For example, you may want to retain your monthly full backups for 90 days.

Extended retention rules allow you to define three additional "extended" retention periods for full (or synthetic full) backups. For example:

You may want to retain your weekly full backups for 30 days. You may want to retain your monthly full backup for 90 days. You may want to retain your yearly full backup for 365 days.

A backup job will be selected for extended retention based on its start time. For example: If a backup job starts at 11:55 pm on August 31st and ends at 1 am on September 1st, then it will be selected as the last full backup for the month of August and will be picked up for extended retention.

Setting Up Extended Retention Rules

Use the following steps for setting up the extended retention rules:

1. Right-click the storage policy copy and click Properties. 2. Click the Retention tab. 3. Set the basic retention rules by clicking Retain for and entering the number of days and cycles appropriate for your

organization. 4. Set the extended retention rules as follows:

a. Click the For button. b. Enter the number of Days Total to retain the backup. c. Click the Keep drop-down list, and select the desired backup criteria (e.g., Monthly Full, Weekly Full). d. Click the Grace Days drop-down list and select the number of days (e.g., 2).

This allows you to consider the additional number of days along with the Extended Retention rule. For example, if the last full backup job fails with in the defined extended retention criteria, then the next full backup job that ran in the specified grace days will be selected for retention.

5. Repeat Step 4 to configure additional extended retention. 6. Click OK.




Advanced TopicsData Aging - Advanced

Provides comprehensive information on additional Data Aging capabilities.


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IntelliSnap – Additional Operations – VMwareTable of ContentsSnapshot Copy

Offline Snap Copy Job Summary Report

Protecting vCenter Server

Online Help Links

Snapshot CopyA Snapshot Copy is the secondary copy created for an IntelliSnap backup. It stores the meta data information related to the IntelliSnap backup. The IntelliSnap backup enables you to create a point-in-time snapshot of the data. It provides an effective way to backup live data.

Use the following steps to create a Snapshot copy for a Storage Policy:

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies | Storage Policies. 2. Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click All Tasks | Create New Snapshot Copy3. In the Snap Copy Properties dialog box, enter the copy name in the Copy Name field. 4. Select the Library, MediaAgent, Drive Pool and Scratch Pool from the lists (not applicable for disk libraries). 5. Click OK.

Offline Snap Copy Job Summary ReportWhen you select the Backup Copy option, the Offline Snap Copy Job Summary Report is created. The Backup Copy Job Summary Report displays information about backup copy jobs for each storage policy.

To generate the report:

1. On the CommCell Console menu bar, select the Reports tab, and then click the Summary button. The Report Selectiondialog box appears.

2. On the General tab, select Administrative Jobs, and then select Backup Copy Work Flow.

3. Click Run.

The report appears in your default Web browser.


Protecting vCenter ServerYou can protect the database and files on a vCenter server using the virtualization client. Follow the steps given below to protect the vCenter server:

1. From the CommCell Console, expand the Client Computers node 2. Right-click the <VMware vCenter client> and select Properties. 3. Click Edit. 4. Enter the hostname of the computer where you have setup the vCenter server. 5. Click OK. 6. Install Microsoft SQL Server iDataAgent and Windows File System iDataAgent on the <VMware vCenter client>.

For more information about remotely installing the software, refer to following:

Deployment - SQL Server iDataAgentDeployment - Windows File System iDataAgent

7. Configure and perform frequent backups of the database and file system on vCenter client using the Microsoft SQL Server iDataAgent and Windows File System iDataAgent.

For more information, refer to following:

Configuration - SQL Server iDataAgentConfiguration - Windows File System iDataAgent

Online Help LinksSee the following links to view the online help for the corresponding tabs in the CommCell Console:

Operation Entity Online Help LinksConfiguration Client Advanced Client Properties (General)

Subclient Subclient Properties (IntelliSnap Operations)Backup Advanced Backup Options (Data)List Snaps Subclient/ Storage Policy Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation (Volume View)

Snaps created during IntelliSnap operation (Disk View)

Mount PathArray Management Array List Array Management

Filer Properties (General)




Filer Properties (Snap Configuration)

Filer Properties (Security)Create Snapshot copy Storage Policy Copy Snap Copy Properties (General)Configure Backup Copy Storage Policy Storage Policy Properties (Snapshot)Run Backup Copy Storage Policy Backup Copy (Backup Copy Options)


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Best Practices - IntelliSnap for VMwareIt is recommended to add all the virtual machines from a datastore into the same subclient. If virtual machines from a datastore are added to multiple subclients, multiple hardware snapshots will be created during the IntelliSnap backup. To avoid this, you can create a subclient and set a rule to automatically add all the virtual machines from a datastore to that subclient. For more information, refer to Discover Virtual Machines from a Datastore. A separate initiator group must be used for the client, and proxy computers and LUNs should be added to both. In case the Virtual Server iDataAgent is no longer required to run data protection operations, it is recommended to release the Virtual Server iDataAgent's license instead of uninstalling it. If the iDataAgent is uninstalled then you will not be able to do the following:

Perform Live-Browse. Unmount any Virtual Server iDataAgent mounted snapshots.

It is recommended that the Virtual Server iDataAgent and MediaAgent be installed on a physical computer in environments leveraging fiber channel storage (required for HDS). Storage for iSCSI and NFS must be entered in array management in the same format that it is presented to the ESX servers. (i.e. should storage be connected by IP on the ESX it must entered by IP in Array Management.) When leveraging NFS storage an entry for each IP used will need to be entered into the array management. Entering only a single IP for a management interface is not sufficient. The Virtual Server iDataAgent proxy must have access to the storage network. If you have an isolated network, an additional network connection must be added to the proxy.

It is recommended to use a short name for an NFS datastore. When you perform the SnapProtect backup of an NFS datastore, Data Protection Suite can append up to 20 characters with the name of NFS datastore to create the volume label. The ESX server supports a volume label of 42 characters.

It is recommended to create a single subclient for each VMware datastore as Data Protection Suite processes each subclient as its own job. This will allow jobs to run in parallel when backing up many subclients, providing higher performance. You can increase the efficiency of mounting snapshots using proxy by keeping number of LUNs connected to the ESX proxy server low. It is recommended to spread virtual machines over multiple datastores to improve backup performance. For heavily used virtual machines, ensure there are fewer virtual machines per datastore.

Creating Multiple Backupsets When Using Virtual Server iDataAgent with IntelliSnap

It is recommended to create multiple backupsets for the same ESX server or vCenter when using Virtual Server iDataAgent with hardware snapshots. You can configure multiple backupsets as follows:

Backupset 1 - Use this backupset only for snapshots and not for backup copies. This backupset will provide multiple recovery points and fast recovery from any point-in-time.

Backupset2 - Use this backupset for regular backups. After performing the first full backup, you can keep on performing incremental backups. You can enable the DASH copy option while creating the secondary copy. The VMware's Change Block Tracking feature is used internally during regular backups. The Change Block Tracking and DASH copy enable faster backups.

This configuration has following advantages:

A dedicated ESX proxy is not required for creating the backup copy. ESX proxy is required only for restoring data from the snapshots. You can perform the regular incremental backups and still you will get all benefits of a SnapProtect backup. No additional impact on production server or storage.

Proxy ESX Servers Should Reside in a Standalone (Non Clustered) Storage Group /Initiator Group /Masking View

This is due to the fact that the Initiator group or the transport mechanism has cluster grouping. The clones are exposed to the existing transport mechanism having the cluster grouping where the rescan is done at the cluster level. Orphaned data stores with (_Gxbackup) will be exposed on all ESX servers and unmounts thereby not initiating a cleanup at the cluster level. Cleanup will be done only for the proxy ESX Server leaving behind stale data stores on other ESX Servers in a cluster.

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Frequently Asked Questions - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsHow do backup and restore operations handle independent/RDM disks?

How do backup and restore operations handle virtual RDM disks?

Using the Virtual Server iDataAgent in HotAdd mode configurations

How can I limit VSA user access to specific resource pools or ESX hosts?

How is VM size calculated for capacity licensing?

How do backup and restore operations handle independent/RDM disks?If a virtual machine undergoing a backup job includes independent disks/physical RDMs, these disks will be skipped.

If a subclient contains virtual machines with independent disks/physical RDMs, the backup job will always complete with the status "Completed w/ one or more errors". However, if you create the IgnoreUnsupportedDisks registry key on the proxy computer, the backup job will complete successfully.

How do backup and restore operations handle virtual RDM disks?Virtual RDMs are protected by the backup job (but not during IntelliSnap backup). However at the time of restore, the data is restored as a regular VMDK on a datastore. A virtual RDM is not re-created and the data is not restored to the virtual RDM’s device.

Using the Virtual Server iDataAgent in HotAdd mode configurationsWhile deploying the Virtual Server iDataAgent, install the software on a datastore with the largest VMFS block size. This is necessary to ensure that the Virtual Server iDataAgent can mount and back up virtual machines residing on all datastores. Helper virtual machines are not required for HotAdd Virtual Server iDataAgent servers utilizing VADP.

How can I limit VSA user access to specific resource pools or ESX hosts?You can define users and provide them with role-based privileges in vCenter at any desired level: vCenter, datacenter, ESX host, resource pool, or virtual machine.

1. On the vCenter server, define a local user who should have access to a specific level. 2. In vCenter, define a role with the required permissions. 3. At the desired level in vCenter, add permissions for the user and role. 4. In the CommCell, add the user information to the Virtual Server instance properties.

For detailed steps, see Add a Custom User with Limited Scope.

How is VM size calculated for capacity licensing?For VM backups, capacity licensing usage level is based on the Guest Size for all virtual machines being backed up.

The Backup Job Summary Report includes several size measures, including Size of Application, Backup Size and Guest Size:

Size of Application is calculated as the sum of backup sizes for all VM backup jobs. Size of Application is measured for

If this option is used when restoring a virtual machine that has independent disks, the independent disks and their VMDKs are removed from the datastore and are not restored.


usage tracking. Backup Size reflects the amount of data backed up after eliminating white spaces; data that was written and deleted still counts as reserved (allocated) space. Guest Size is the actual space used on on the storage volume.

For specific backup jobs, the Job Details dialog shows the Backup Size and Guest Size for the job. These values can be different from each other, and both can be different from the Used space value shown in the disk properties dialog by Microsoft Windows. The layering effects of multiple virtual file systems can cause differences between the size reported by the Guest Host running within the VM and the reported backup size. Frequent deletion of large files can easily cause these numbers to be out of sync.

The following factors can affect the backup size calculation:

The presence of virtual machine snapshots. The presence of sparse files or deleted files in the guest can cause the backup size to vary. The backup size reported for VMDKs in a VM can vary depending on white space and change allocation tracking for that VM. Application size is the backup size across VMs, eliminating any white spaces (blocks of zeros); for sparse files this size may be less than the reported backup size.

For example:

A Windows VM with a single volume of 80 GB has 30 GB occupied and 50 GB free. The guest size would be 30 GB. The backup size varies and can be up to 80 GB. The application size is the amount of data transferred and written for that backup, which can be up to 80 GB.

The following measures can help reduce application size:

Delete or move unnecessary data before virtualizing physical machines. This saves resources and time, and ensures that new VMs only contain used blocks. If you already have a large number of VMs with significant reserved and unused blocks, use a tool such as the Windows SDelete utility to release reserved space on VMs, as described in SDelete v1.61. Ensure that VM templates used for provisioning do not contain unreferenced blocks in the VMDK. Wherever possible, configure virtual machine disks with the VMware Thin Provisioned disk option enabled. Thin provisioning ensures only valid blocks occupy space in the VMDK file. With thin provisioned VMs, VMware APIs only return occupied blocks.




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Troubleshooting – IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsCompleted with one or more errors

While performing an IntelliSnap backup on a Linux VM, the metadata collection is not included in the backup

Mount operations on an ESX server are failing using NFS protocol

Two snapshots are created

File level revert is not supported for a Virtual Machine

Exchange mining operation fails

The Operation is not allowed in the current state

Driver cannot be found

Backup fails to download VMX files

Discovery Failed. Unable to access host

Changed block tracking verification failed for disk [%s] on virtual machine [%s]

NFS datastore becomes inaccessible after the mounting the snapshot

File-level restore fails when destination client has a MediaAgent

Unable to create a Virtual Machine snapshot

VMware snapshot removal failures

Virtual server machine names are created with '_1' appended to the original client name

You do not have access rights to this file

Reset Changed Block Tracking (CBT) for VMware backups

Failed to start the virtual machine

Unable to browse files on snapshot for Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine - Disk:[<Name>] filtered during snap protect operation

SS0001: Completed with one or more errorsBackup jobs from Virtual Server iDataAgent can be displayed as "Completed w/ one or more errors" in the Job History in the following cases:

If the virtual machine, virtual machine disk, or virtual machine configuration file fails to back up.

If one or more virtual machines in a backup job fails to back up.

If communication fails with vCenter.

If a disk included in a backup is not supported (for example, independent disks or physical RDM).

If the meta data collection operation fails during a snap backup job, the job is displayed as "Completed" in the Backup Job History of the subclient. You can create the bCWEJobMDataFails registry key if you want to display the status as "Completed w/ one or


more errors" in such scenarios. This is applicable only for backup jobs for which the Enable Granular Recovery option is selected.

SS0002: While performing an IntelliSnap backup on a Linux VM, the metadata collection is not included in the backupResolution

To get the file level details of a Linux VM, follow the steps given below:

1. Perform a Disk Level IntelliSnap backup. 2. Perform a Backup Copy operation. 3. Perform a File level Browse operation using the Primary Copy. You can specify the copy precedence by clicking Advanced

on the Browse Options dialog box.

SS0003: Mount operations on an ESX server are failing using NFS protocolResolution

When performing IntelliSnap operations on VMware using the NFS file-based protocol, ensure the following:

The NetApp storage device name specified in Array Management matches that on the ESX Server. The VMkernel IP address of all ESX servers that are used for mount operations should be added to the root Access of the NFS share on the source storage device.

SS0004: Two snapshots are createdSymptom

For a Windows virtual machine on ESX 4.1, if the disk.UUID attribute is enabled and no user defined snapshots are created for the virtual machine, two snapshots of the virtual machine are created.

Resolution

If you do not want to create two snapshots, disable the disk.UUID attribute.

SS0005: File level revert is not supported for a Virtual MachineSymptom

The Revert job gets killed with the following error:

File level revert is not supported for a Virtual Machine [%VMNAME%] which is on VMFS datastore. [Datastore(s) [%DatastoreName%] does not support file level revert.

Cause

The virtual machine may have NFS and iSCSI disks. Ensure that all the disks reside on the NFS data store. If the data does not reside on the NFS data store, you cannot perform the revert operation.

Resolution

Perform the regular Container Restore to bring the data back to the point-in-time.

SS0006: Exchange mining operation fails

Symptom

Exchange Snap Mining operation may fail if SAN mode is used to perform the backup and snapshots were exposed in read-only


mode.

Resolution

It is recommended to use NBD mode for Exchange Snap Mining backup. However, if you want to use SAN mode, ensure that all the disks exposed to the proxy computer have read and write permissions.

Follow the steps give below to clear read-only attributes of any SAN shared disk:

1. Open the Command Prompt on the proxy computer. 2. Enter the following commands:

diskpart

san policy=onlineall

SS0007: The Operation is not allowed in the current state

Symptom

During the backup copy operation, the registration of a virtual machine fails with the following error:

The Operation is not allowed in the current state

Cause

The ESX server which hosts the virtual machine is in the maintenance mode.

Resolution

Before initiating the backup copy operation, ensure that the ESX server is not in the maintenance mode. If you are performing an inline backup copy, before initiating the IntelliSnap operation, ensure that the any host involved in the backup, is not in the maintenance mode.

SS0008: Driver cannot be foundSymptom

You may get following error while restoring files and folders:

Driver cannot be found

Cause

The VDDK version on the proxy computer has changed.

Resolution

Reboot the proxy computer.

SS0009: Backup fails to download VMX files

Symptom

The backup operation fails with a error: Unable to download VMX files.

Cause

The name of the datastore contains + or @.


Resolution

1. Check if the datastore of any virtual machine included in the backup contains + or @ characters in its name. 2. Rename the datastore and remove + and @ characters from the name. 3. Perform the backup operation.

SS0010: Discovery Failed. Unable to access hostSymptom

When you are mounting any snapshot on a host, the system is unable to mount the snapshot and you may get following error:

Discovery Failed. Unable to access host

Cause

The Snaps created during SnapProtect operation dialog box displays a list of all the snapshots on a storage array. If you open the Snaps created during SnapProtect operation dialog box by one of the following methods, you can only view the list of snapshots and cannot mount the snapshots:

Right click the snapshot copy of a storage policy and select List Snaps. From the Control Panel, double click Array Management. Select the required array in the Array Management dialog box and click List Snaps.

Resolution

For more information about correct method mounting a snapshot, refer to Mount Snapshots.

VMW0008: Changed block tracking verification failed for disk [%s] on virtual machine [%s]

Symptom

For specific virtual machines in a subclient, an incremental or differential backup automatically converts into a full backup. The following event message is displayed:

Changed block tracking verification failed for disk [%s] on virtual machine [%s]; performing a full backup of the disk. The virtual machine may have been vMotioned since the last backup. If this issue persists it may be necessary to reset changed block tracking on the virtual machine.

Cause

The first backup for the virtual machine becomes a full backup after you migrate the virtual machine to a new datastore.

This is because Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is reset after a storage vMotion operation. For more information, refer to Change Block Tracking is reset after a storage vMotion operation in vSphere 5.x (2048201).

Resolution

All subsequent backups in the backup cycle are performed according to the schedule for the migrated virtual machines.

To reset CBT, see Reset Changed Block Tracking (CBT) for VMware backups.

SS0011: NFS datastore becomes inaccessible after mounting the snapshot

Symptom

Successfully mounted datastore becomes inaccessible when the browse operation is performed or data is accessed.

Cause

This issue is caused by incorrect MTU settings between ESX proxy host and NFS storage.


Resolution

To check if the issue is occurring due to incorrect MTU settings, use ping command with DF “do not fragment” option by providing different MTU values and check if Ping is working as expected.

VMW0013: File-level restore fails when destination client has a MediaAgent

Symptom

A file-level restore fails when restoring from an IntelliSnap backup to a destination client that has a MediaAgent.

Cause

When mounting the virtual machine, the restore operation tries to use the MediaAgent on the destination client rather than the MediaAgent on the source client, and the mount fails.

Resolution

1. Initiate the restore. 2. During the restore operation, select the content to be restored and the destination client. 3. On the Restore Options dialog, click Advanced, then click the Data Path tab. 4. In the Use MediaAgent field, select the MediaAgent for the source client. 5. In the Use Proxy field, select the source proxy. 6. Complete the restore.

When the source MediaAgent is used, the mount succeeds and the file-level restore completes successfully.

SS0012: Unable to create a Virtual Machine snapshotSymptom

A VM backup fails and presents the following error code:

Error Code 91:26 Unable to create a Virtual Machine snapshot of [].

Cause

The snapshot exceeds the maximum file size for the server.

The following message is shown in the JobManager.log file on the CommServe:

30368 75c4 10/30 14:15:33 1188013 Servant [---- IMMEDIATE BACKUP REQUEST ----], taskid [21876] Clnt[...] AppType[Virtual Server][106] BkpSet[Initial VM Test] SubClnt[Single VM Test (Only) -VC02] BkpLevel[Full][1]

30368 81e8 10/30 14:17:18 1188013 Scheduler Set pending cause [Unable to create a Virtual Machine snapshot of [...]. Please check the Virtual Machine snapshot tree. It may be necessary to upgrade/reinstall the VMware tools on the Virtual Machine. Please consult http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1009073 for additional information.]::Client [...] Application [vsbkp] Message Id [1526726682] RCID [0] ReservationId [0]. Level [0] flags [0] id [0] overwrite [0] append [0] CustId[0].

Review the vsbkp.log file located on the Virtual Server Agent Client.

Default Log location: C:\Program Files\CommVault\Simpana\Log Files

5028 5 10/30 14:17:00 1188013 ### CreateSnapshot_Task --- Started Create Snapshot task task-2967 for VM [...] 5028 5 10/30 14:17:16 1188013 ### _WaitForTask --- Task [task-2967] status [error] waited for [00:00:15.4438020] task took [00:00:14.5466880] Wait [10/30/2012 2:17:00 PM to 10/30/2012 2:17:16 PM] Task [10/30/2012 2:17:00 PM to 10/30/2012 2:17:15PM] 5028 5 10/30 14:17:16 1188013 ### CreateSnapshot_Task --- Failed to create Snapshot from VM [...] - File is larger than the maximum size supported by datastore ' 5028 eec 10/30 14:17:16 1188013 CVMWareInfo::_CreateVMSnapshot() - Unable to create snapshot of VM [...], trying without quiesing filesystem 5028 5 10/30 14:17:16 1188013 ### CreateSnapshot_Task --- Started Create Snapshot task task-2968 for VM [...] 5028 5 10/30 14:17:18 1188013 ### _WaitForTask --- Task [task-2968] status [error] waited for [00:00:02.1215728] task took [00:00:01.6874780] Wait [10/30/2012 2:17:16 PM to 10/30/2012 2:17:18 PM] Task


[10/30/2012 2:17:16 PM to 10/30/2012 2:17:17 PM] 5028 5 10/30 14:17:18 1188013 ### CreateSnapshot_Task --- Failed to create Snapshot from VM [...] - File is larger than the maximum size supported by datastore ' 5028 eec 10/30 14:17:18 1188013 CVMWareInfo::_CreateVMSnapshot() - Failed to create Snapshot of VM [...] Guid [...]

Resolution

Check the virtual machine snapshot tree. It may be necessary to upgrade or reinstall the VMware tools on the virtual machine. For more information, see Unable to take a quiesced VMware snapshot of a virtual machine (1009073).

The error message "File is larger than the maximum size supported by datastore" is a VMware error; there is a VMware Knowledge Base article that covers the proper way to fix the issue:

Creating a snapshot for a virtual machine fails with the error: File is larger than maximum file size supported (1012384)

Review and follow all steps in the VMware Knowledge Base article. Compare the base disk size of the VMDK or virtual-mode RDM of the virtual machine against the block size of the datastore that contains the working directory of the virtual machine.

By default, the working directory contains the virtual machine's .vmx configuration file. The maximum file size differs among versions of ESX and ESXi, and among versions of VMFS.

SS0013: VMware snapshot removal failuresSymptom

Snapshots are not removed in VMware after the Backup Software Virtual Server Agent (VS iDA) has finished running jobs.

Cause

Issue 1:

In the Tasks log for specific VMs there is a job called "Remove snapshot" that has a status of "Unable to access file since it is locked". This is usually because the vCenter server is too busy at the time.

The trigger for the VMware Consolidated Helper-0 snapshot not getting deleted is one of two items:

1. High I/O on the virtual machine is preventing the snapshot from going away. 2. High I/O on the ESX side, not just the VM. If you have a machine causing high I/O on the ESX host, this causes the

Consolidated Helper-0 snapshot to be locked and not get deleted. This can happen on every VM, including ones that are 99% idle.

See the section titled "Snapshot consolidation failure when cleaning up after HotAdd backup" in the VDDK 5.0 U1 Release Notes.

Issue 2:

CommVault Software sends the Snapshot removal command to vCenter and vCenter sends it to the ESX which does the removal; but VMware does not process the Snapshot removal as expected.

The CommVault Software might deliver the following error message for VMware API-reported issues.

Error Code 91:63: Failed to create snapshot of VM [...].

A more generic error message might be delivered if some VMs succeeded and others did not.

Error code 91:19: At least one VM failed to back up.

Resolution

Starting with the release of Commvault 9.0 SP6A, the latest VDDK 5.0 update 1 is included with the Service Pack and is part of the service pack install.


For Issue 1:

Use the Workaround below if you are unable to update to SP6A or higher. VMware supplied this current workaround for the Consolidated Helper-0 snapshot issue.

These are suggested workarounds for the snapshot removal to implement in the backup environment:

1. Try to schedule VM backups so that a maximum of four VMs are simultaneously backed up. 2. Try not to back up VMs from the same datastore at the same time. 3. Try not to back up the busiest VMs at the same time.

These suggested steps should ensure that the ESX service console is not too busy, enabling it to delete the snapshots.

For Issue 2:

VSA-created orphaned snapshots older than 24 hours will be removed during the next backup of the VM.

1. For rare instances where the default 24-hour interval is insufficient, the following registry key can be implemented on the server where the Virtual Server Agent (VSA) is installed under the following registry key location:

Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CommVaultSystems\Galaxy\Instance001\VirtualServer

Registry Type: DWORD

Registry Name: nExpireSnapshotHours

Registry Value: 24 (Decimal) # of hours (0 = disable)

2. In most cases go into the Virtual Infrastructure Client ( VIC ) and create a new snapshot, and then afterward, use the option to "Delete all snapshots" to get them to clean up.

3. Confirm the cleanup has occurred.

VMW0036: Virtual machine client names are created with '_1' appended to the original client nameSymptom

When viewing virtual machines in the Client Computers list, you may see duplicated client names (for example, <ClientName>and <ClientName>_1).

Cause

Virtual machine information is added to the database during the discovery phase of a backup. If information changes, a new client is discovered during the discovery phase.

Making changes to information such as the virtual machine fully qualified domain name (FQDN), the GUID, or the host name can cause this issue.

Resolution

To avoid duplicate client entries caused by different client or host name:

Use the install software option for the client level in the CommCell Console (rather than interactively installing software to the virtual machine Guest Operating System).

CommServe and MediaAgents must be at same SP level and must be at same SP level or Higher SP level then clients. All other SP level variations create an unsupported CommCell Condition.

The VMware U1 update has the fix to resolve the Consolidated Helper-0 issue for HotAdd backups.


To correct existing clients:

If duplicate clients are created with '_1" appended to the original client name, you can perform the following steps to merge the duplicate client back into the original:

1. At a command prompt, navigate to the software installation path, log in to the CommServe machine, and run the following script:

qoperation execscript -sn QS_SetVMClient -si @sourceClient='<ClientName>_1' -si @destClient ='<ClientName>'

where <ClientName> is the original client name and <ClientName>_1 is the duplicate.

This script reassigns all backup history from <ClientName>_1 to <ClientName>. This enables you to view backup history, and to generate Job Summary Reports with the Include Protected VMs option enabled.

2. Remove the duplicate clients: a. In the CommCell Console, go to Control Panel | User Preferences. b. Click the Client Computer Filter tab. c. Select the Show Virtual Server Discovered Clients option. d. Delete the duplicate clients from the CommCell Browser.

VMW0039: You do not have access rights to this file

Symptom

When performing a backup in SAN mode, the following error is shown in the vsbkp.log and VixDisk.log:

You do not have access rights to this file

Cause

Windows 2008 R2 provided access for SAN mode transport when disks were offline; but in Windows 2012 disks must be online to be accessed. If the SAN policy for disks is Offline, disks are not accessible unless they are set to Online on the proxy.

Resolution

To enable backups using SAN transport on Windows 2012 servers, use one of the following approaches:

Set the disk to Online on the proxy. Change the SAN policy to onlineall and set the SAN disk to read-only except for restores. You can use the diskpart utility to clear the read-only flag.

For more information see Best practices when using advanced transport for backup and restore (1035096).

VMW0012: Reset Changed Block Tracking (CBT) for VMware backups

Symptom

If CBT is disabled or not functioning properly, the size of incremental backups can be larger than expected. You can verify this issue in the CommCell Console by checking the Status Details dialog for a virtual machine backup job. The CBT Status field shows Disabled.


To display the Status Details dialog, right-click a backup job and select View Job Details, then click the Virtual Machine Statustab and double-click a virtual machine entry.

The VSBKP.log file includes information such as the following:

4168 6 08/15 13:37:42 98795 ### QueryChangedDiskAreas --- Exception during QueryChangedDiskAreas Error caused by file /vmfs/volumes/50f432d3-ba380107-2b26-90b11c070562/VM/VM-000003.vmdk

Cause

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that identifies blocks of data that have changed or are in use. It enables incremental backups to identify changes from the last previous backup, writing only changed or in-use blocks. If CBT is disabled or not functioning properly, an incremental backup might back up a complete virtual machine disk instead of only changed blocks, or revert to a full backup.

Resolution

These steps are applicable for ESX hosts 4.0 or later, and for virtual machines at hardware version 7 and higher. Before resetting CBT, ensure that there are no snapshots on the virtual machine.

To reset CBT, you must disable it, power cycle the virtual machine, and run a new backup. When the new backup is run, CBT is automatically re-enabled.

To reset CBT on a virtual machine, perform the following steps in the vCenter client:

1. Power off the virtual machine. 2. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings. 3. Click the Options tab, select the Advanced/General option, and click Configuration Parameters.


4. Set the ctkEnabled value to false.

5. For each disk of the virtual machine, set the scsi0:<x>.ctkEnabled value to false.

6. Right-click the datastore and select Browse Datastore. 7. Open the home folder for the virtual machine on the datastore and remove any -ctk.vmdk files.


8. Power on the virtual machine. 9. Once the virtual machine is fully powered up, restart it.

10. Run a backup job to re-enable CBT.

Additional Information

For more information about CBT, see the following articles:

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) on virtual machines (1020128)Enabling Changed Block Tracking (CBT) on virtual machines (1031873)

For information about consolidating snapshots, see the following articles:

Consolidating snapshots in ESX/ESXi 3.x and 4.x (1007849)Consolidating snapshots in vSphere 5.x (2003638)

VMW0040: Failed to start the virtual machine

Symptom

When a virtual machine has been replicated in vSphere and backed up, and a full VM restore is performed from the backup, the following status message might be displayed in vCenter:

Failed to start the virtual machine.

Cause

If the Power ON Virtual Machine After Restore option is selected when performing a full VM restore, VMware attempts to power on the restored VM before disabling replication.

Resolution

Clear the Power ON Virtual Machine After Restore option when initiating the restore. VMware automatically disables replication when the restore is completed, and you can power on the virtual machine manually.

SS0021: Unable to browse files on snapshot for Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine - Disk:[<Name>] filtered during snap protect operationSymptom

A user is unable to browse files on a snapshot for a Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine (ESXi or ESX 4.1 and higher).

The following messages appear in the cvd.log file:

Disk:[<Name>] filtered during snap protect operation

Unable to open any disks on VM [<Name>_GX_BACKUP] XXX attempted

Cause

File-level browse of a virtual machine snapshot fails if the page files for the VM are filtered out. The virtual machine snapshot cannot be mounted because it needs the page file for the VM. The page file is unavailable because it resides on a datastore that is filtered for backup.

This issue occurs when the disk.EnableUUID attribute is set to true for the virtual machine. The disk.EnableUUID attribute enables application-level quiescing. If the UUID is not enabled, VMware performs file-system consistent quiescing.

Resolution

During the restore, file-level browsing succeeds if the user selects a MediaAgent that has the Virtual Server Agent installed and has access to the datastore that contains the page files. On the Advanced Restore Options dialog, go to the Data Path tab to specify a


MediaAgent.

To resolve this issue, set the disk.EnableUUID attribute to false and run the IntelliSnap backup again on the virtual machines where page files were filtered.

To modify the UUID setting in vSphere 5.1:

1. Select the VM and power it off. 2. On the Summary tab, click Edit Settings. 3. On the Virtual Machine Properties dialog, go to the Options tab. 4. Select the General field under Advanced. 5. Click the Configuration Parameters button. 6. Enter the disk.EnableUUID attribute and set the value to false.

As long as there is not a backup copy or auxiliary copy in progress, users should be able to browse files from the VM snapshot.

Disabling the UUID attribute does not affect applications that do not use Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS), such as Microsoft SQL, Microsoft Exchange, or Active Directory.

Additional Information

See the following articles:

Cannot take a quiesced snapshot of Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine (1031298)Volume Shadow Copy Service QuiescingEnabling and disabling Windows 2008 application-consistent quiescing on ESXi/ESX (1028881)




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IntelliSnap Support - VMwareTable of ContentsInitial Setup

License Requirements

Supported Storage Arrays

Backup Types

Platforms

Supported Volume Managers

Multipath I/O Support

Initial SetupInitial deployment and successful run of IntelliSnap backup may take around 4 weeks due to the various environment dependencies. The following parameters are known to affect the deployment and initial run and hence need a thorough evaluation:

Firmware versions on the array Device types Mode of access Security configuration Operating Systems interacting with the storage array Application layout on the storage array LUNs

License RequirementsBy default, the agent is installed using an Evaluation license. Once the evaluation period is complete, you need to obtain a permanent license from your Software Provider.

You can choose to use one of the following licensing mechanisms:

Traditional License, based upon products and features in your CommCell. Capacity License, based on the amount of data you want to protect.

For comprehensive information on licensing, see License Administration.

Traditional License

The following license types are required for IntelliSnap.

You must also obtain the following license for the VMware iDataAgent and the MediaAgent.

Capacity License

Feature License Type License ConsumptionIntelliSnap Operations Hardware Snapshot Enabler 1 license per CommCellNetApp SnapVault and SnapMirror NetApp Snap Management 1 license per CommCell

Agent/Component License TypeVirtual Server Agent Virtual ServerMediaAgent (Windows or UNIX) MediaAgents


If you plan to use capacity licenses, the following licenses must be obtained for IntelliSnap and the NetApp SnapVault/SnapMirror features.

You must also obtain one of the following licenses to use the VMware iDataAgent and other CommCell components.

Supported Storage ArraysThe SnapProtect backup is designed to work in conjunction with the following storage arrays, which provide snapshot functionality for data protection operations:

License Type License Consumption

Data Protection Snapshot1 license per CommCell for n Terabytes (TB) of protected data

Data Protection Replication1 license per CommCell for n Terabytes (TB) of protected data

License Type License Consumption

Data Protection Enterprise infrastructure

1 license per CommCell for n Terabytes (TB) of protected data

Data Protection Core infrastructure1 license per CommCell for n Terabytes (TB) of protected data

Supported Hardware ArraysVendor Snapshot Version/Firmware Required Licensing Required Software Protocol Notes/Caveats

Dell Compellent SnapshotStorage Center version 5.5.2 or higher

Snapshot Replay licensing None

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

Supported on Windows

Compellent Live Volume feature is not supported.

Dell EqualLogicSnapshot

Clone4.2.0 Included None iSCSI

On Red Hat Linux and CentOS computers using version 5.5 (32-bit and 64bit).

No UNIX Support.

Boot from SAN volumes is not supported.

EMC VNX / CLARiiON

SnapView Snap

SnapView Clone

CX500 / CX700

CX3-10 thru CX3-80

CX4-120 thru CX4-960

SnapView Snapshot/Clone

Solutions Enabler Licensing

Solutions Enabler 6.5.1 or higher on Client and Proxy

Navisphere CLI on Client and Proxy

NaviAgent on Client and Proxy

Fibre Channel

FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)*

Client Components (SYMCLI) are required only during the initial one-time configuration. Base Components (with SYMAPI) are necessary and required for all snap operations.

SnapshotIQ LicenseSupport for OneFS 6.5 and OneFS 7.0 iSCSI


EMC Isilon Snapshot

EMC VNX / Celerra

SnapSure Snap

DART 5.5 or Newer

SnapSure Snap License


Solutions Enabler 6.5.1 or higher on Client and Proxy

Navisphere CLI on Client and Proxy

NFS Supported on VMware 4.x.

EMC VMAX / Symmetrix

TimeFinder Snap

TimeFinder Mirror

DMX3 or Newer

TimeFinder Snap, Mirror, Clone Licenses


Solutions Enabler 6.4 or higher on Client and Proxy

Fibre Channel


Remote SymApi Server is not supported.


EMC VMAXTimeFinder Snap, Mirror and Clone

VMAX

TimeFinder Snap, Mirror, Clone Licenses



Fibre Channel



EMC VNX

SnapView Snap

SnapView Clone

VNX 5100, 5300, 5500, 5700, 7500

SnapView Snapshot/Clone



Unisphere CLI on Client and Proxy

Unisphere Host Agent on Client and Proxy

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

VMware with NFS datastores are supported.


Fujitsu ETERNUS DX

SnapOPC Snap

EC Clone

Fujitsu ETERNUS DX V10L22-1000 or higher

ETERNUS DX S2 series - 80, 90, 410, 440, 8100, 8700

Local Copy

Thin ProvisioningNone

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

Device Manager


HDS AMS

Copy-on-Write

Shadow Image

AMS 100, 200, & 500

AMS 1000, 2100, 2300, & 2500

Licenses for Copy-on-Write (COW) snapshot and Shadow Image

7.1.1 (or higher) Agent installed on Client and Proxy

Device Manager Server 7.1.1 (or higher) installed on any computer

RAID Manager (01-25-03/05 or higher) installed on Client and Proxy

Fibre Channel


HDP Volumes Not Supported for COW. The Virtual Machine HotAdd feature is not supported.

HDS USP/VSP

Copy-on-Write

Shadow Image

HDS USP, USPv, VSP


Device Manager 7.1.1 (or higher) Agent installed on Client and Proxy

Device Manager Server 7.1.1 (or higher) installed on any computer

RAID Manager (01-25-03/05 or higher) installed on Client and Proxy

Fibre Channel


COW support for USP volumes.

COW and SI support for VSP volumes. Dynamic Provisioned volumes (DP-VOL) are also supported.

The Virtual Machine HotAdd feature is not supported.

HP EVA

EVA Business Copy Snapshot and Clone

EVA HP Business Copy EVA feature

HP SMI-S EVA on Server

Command View Version 9.1 , 9.3

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

No HyperV

HP (HDS OEM) XP, P9500 Arrays

Copy-on-Write

Shadow Image

XP 12000 – 24000

P9500


HP Command View Advanced Edition Agent (Device Manager 7.1.1 or higher) installed on client and proxy computers

HP Command View Advanced Edition Server (Device Manager 7.1.1 or higher) installed on any computer.

HP RAID Manager installed on client and proxy computers.

Fibre Channel


No HyperV

The Virtual Machine HotAdd feature is not supported.

HP 3PAR Snapshot and Clone

InServ F200 2.3.1 (MU4) or higher

Thin Provisioning (4096G)

Virtual Copy

3PAR SMI-S on Server

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

IBM SVCFlash Copy

Space-

SVC / V7000 6.1.0.7 or higher FlashCopy IBM SMI-S on

Server Fibre Channel


efficient Flash Copy

iSCSI

IBM XIV Snap ANY XIV Array IncludedIBM XCLI 2.3 or higher on Client and proxy

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

NetApp E-Series (LSI arrays)

Snapshot

VolumeCopy

Dell MD Series –3000(i), 3200(i), 3220(i)

IBM DS - 3200, 3300, 3400 - 3512, 3524, 3950, 4100, 4200, 4300, 4400, 4500 - 4700, 4800, 5020, 5100, 5300

SGI IS – 220, 350, 400, 4xxx, 5xxx

SGI TP – 9300(s), 9400(s), 9500(s)

Sun - 25xx, 61xx, 65xx, 6780, 9176, FLX210, FLX240, FLX280

Snapshot

VolumeCopy

LSI SMI-S on Server and server 10.10.6054 or higher

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

SAN Transport mode is not supported as the snapshot cannot be mapped with two host groups.

NetApp Snapshot

ONTAP 7.3.5 or higher

ONTAP 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.1.0, and 8.2

7-mode supported

C-mode supported for ONTAP 8.2

FlexClone

SnapRestore

SnapVault/Mirror for replication

OnCommand Unified Manager -A server running NetApp OnCommand Unified Manager server software 4.0.2 or later, or OnCommand Unified Manager5.x is required.

Operations Manager, Provisioning Manager, and Protection Manager licenses are required for the OnCommand Unified Manager.

OnCommand Unified Manager 6.0 - In order to support the NetApp cluster mode, install OnCommand Unified Manager6.0.

SnapMirror -NetApp replication

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

NFS

CIFS


*Supported through Field Certification. Contact your Software Provider or Professional Services to see if the specific FCoE can be supported.

Backup TypesThe following table lists the Agents supporting the SnapProtect backup and provides information about the various options supported by each of these Agents.

PlatformsThe following table lists the platforms supported for SnapProtect backup. The latest updates should be installed on all the platforms.

technology used for disaster recovery.

SnapVault -NetApp replication technology used for backup and recovery.

Supported Hardware Arrays for Replicated EnvironmentsVendor Snapshot Version/Firmware Required Licensing Required Software Protocol Notes/Caveats

NetApp with SnapVault SnapMirror

SnapVault SnapMirror

ONTAP 7.3.5 or higher

ONTAP 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.1.0, and 8.2

7-mode supported

SnapVault/SnapMirror Primary and Secondary

FlexClone

SnapRestore

OnCommand Unified Manager version 4.0.2 (Apr 2011) or OnCommand 5.0 with ONTAP 8.1.0

Provisioning Manager, Protection Manager, & Operation Manager Licenses

Fibre Channel

iSCSI

NFS

CIFS

Supported on HP-UX running on Intel Itanium processors using Fibre Channel.

Import Tool is not supported with OnCommand 5.0.

vFilers not supported as a destination.

vFilers as NFS/CIFS share sources will have no indexing due to lacking SnapDiff support.

Agents Full Backup Incremental Backup Differential Backup Notes

Virtual Server (VMware)

Backup of VM Templates is not supported.

Virtual Server instances configured with ESX server are not supported. Instances should be configured using Virtual Center.


Note that this list does not provide a comprehensive list of supported platforms for each agent. See System Requirements for information on the platforms supported by the individual Agents.

Supported Volume ManagersVERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM) 5.0 for AIX, Linux, Solaris SPARC and Solaris x64 VERITAS CFS (VxCFS) version 5.1 or higher Solaris ZFS MirrorSolaris Volume Manager ASM Volume Manager

Supported Configurations:

One Physical Volume containing one Logical Volume One Physical Volume containing one or more Logical Volumes Multiple Physical Volumes containing one Logical Volume Multiple Physical Volumes containing one or more Logical Volume

The following diagram summarizes the Volume Manager support for IntelliSnap backup.

Multipath I/O SupportFor EMC VNX / CLARiiON, IntelliSnap backup is supported on the following Multipath I/O software. This support is provided using the SNAP_WITH_MULTIPATH_SOFTWARE additional setting.

EMC Powerpath on AIX, Linux and Solaris. For Dell EqualLogic, install Dell EqualLogic Host Integration Tools package to support Multipath I/O. HP PVlinks, Solaris MPxIO, Linux Device Mapper and AIX MPIO are supported in HPUX, Solaris, Linux and AIX respectively. VXVM DMP is supported in AIX, Solaris and HPUX. HDLM is not a supported MPIO solution with IntelliSnap.



Operating System Cluster Support File Systems Databases Applications

VMWare ESX iSCSI/FC/NFS datastores ESX vSphere 4.x & vSphere 5.5

When using the Solaris Volume Manager, ensure that a complete disk is used for a metaset. Non-metaset volumes are not supported. Also, ensure that the metaset is owned by single host and the ownership of the metaset is attained before performing the IntelliSnap backup operations.


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Snaptest Tool - IntelliSnap for VMwareTable of ContentsOverview

Usage

Perform VSA Snap Tests

OverviewThe SnapTest tool is used to test the basic snap engine operations like creating, deleting, and mounting snapshots.

UsageYou can use the Snaptest tool to:

Test VSA snapshot operations. Create, mount, unmount, and delete snapshots for an array. Test proxy computers by mounting snapshots.

Perform VSA Snap Tests

1. Navigate to <installed_directory>\Base and double-click SnapTest.exe. 2. Press Enter.

SnapTest Version Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------

This tool helps to perform operations such as...

-> Automatic Snap Tests-> Individual Snap Tests-> Hardware Snapshot Engine Detection-> SCSI Inquiry -> Scan HBA/IQN Adapters

NOTE: Please make sure that the mount points used for this test are not being used by any other application. If they are in use, it may cause data corruption or data loss. Please refer to our online documentation for list of supported Operating systems, Hardware Snapshot engines and File systems.

Press <ENTER> to continue...


SnapTest Version Main Menu ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Performs snap test operations on VSA-IDA and FileSystemIDA

1. FileSystem-MainMenu2. VSA-MainMenu0. Exit

Choose your option [1]: 2




Performs operations such as create snap, mount snap, unmount snap, and delete snap, given the vCenter credentials and the datastore name.

1. VSA-Automatic Snap Tests0. Exit

Choose your option [1]: 1

5. Type the number corresponding to the snap engine to test, then press Enter.

SnapTest Version Snap Engine Test------------------------------------------------------------------------

Choose the snap engine you would like to exercise. All the snap tests will use this engine till you choose a different one. If you do not know what engine to choose, choose 'Detect Engine' to find out what engine to choose.

1. Dell Compellent Snap 2. Dell Equallogic Clone 3. Dell Equallogic Snap 4. EMC Isilon Snap 5. EMC TimeFinder BCV 6. EMC TimeFinder Clone 7. EMC TimeFinder Snap 8. EMC VNX / CLARiiON Snapview Clone 9. EMC VNX / CLARiiON Snapview Snap10. EMC VNX / Celerra Snap11. Fujitsu ETERNUS DX Clone12. Fujitsu ETERNUS DX Snap13. HDS Copy on Write Snapshot14. HDS Shadow Image15. HDS Shadow Image CCI16. HDS Thin Image CCI17. HP 3PAR Clone18. HP 3PAR Snap19. HP EVA Clone20. HP EVA Snapshot21. IBM SVC FlashCopy22. IBM SVC Space-efficient FlashCopy23. IBM XIV Snap24. LSI Snapshot25. LSI Volume Copy26. Native27. NetApp28. Nimble Storage CS-Series Snap29. Detect Engine0. Exit

Enter Engine Number [29]:

6. Enter the vCenter name, user name, and password. Press Enter after each entry.

VCenter Name : xxxUsername : mynamePassword : Connecting to the Vcenter... SUCCESS

7. At the prompt, enter the IP Address for the ESX host and the name of the datastore, then indicate whether the same ESX host should be used for mounting. Press Enter after each entry.

If you use a different ESX host for mounting, you must enter additional information. After entering the engine number, the test operations are displayed. Press Enter to begin the operations.

ESX Host IP : 000.000.000.000


DataStore Name : datastore_name Use the same esx for mounting [Y/N] [Y] :

We will perform the following operations on the given DataStores. Please press ENTER at the end of each operation

-> Create snapshots-> Mount snapshots-> Unmount snapshots-> Delete snapshots

8. At the end of each operation, press Enter again to continue.

-> Creating snapshots ... Success


-> Mounting snapshots ... Success


-> Unmounting snapshots ... Success


-> Deleting snapshots ... Success


After deleting snapshots and pressing Enter, you are returned to the VSA Main Menu.


Performs operations such as create snap, mount snap, unmount snap, and delete snap, given the vCenter credentials and the datastore name.

1. VSA-Automatic Snap Tests0. Exit

Choose your option [1]:

Back to Top




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Accessing Exchange Data from VMware Snapshots - IntelliSnap for VMwareExchange data, such as mail messages, can be restored from an offline point-in-time virtual machine snapshot to reduce impact to the production Exchange Server. To mine Exchange data on a virtual machine, do the following:

Set Up Backup Proxy Computer and Exchange Server Virtual MachineConfigure Virtual Server iDataAgent and Discover Exchange Server Virtual MachinePerform the IntelliSnap Backup of Exchange Server Virtual MachineConfigure and Run Snap Mining Job

Configure the Subclient of the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgentPerform the Backup Using Snap Mining

Browse and Mine Exchange Data

Set Up Backup Proxy Computer and Exchange Server Virtual MachineThe addresses of both computers must be network resolvable.

Backup Proxy Computer

The backup proxy computer is used to create the snapshot of the Exchange data on the virtual machine. It also is used to run the snap mining job. This proxy computer must satisfy certain requirements, as listed in System Requirements. In addition, ensure that this proxy computer and the Exchange Server virtual machine are members of the same domain. On this proxy computer, install the following:

Virtual Server iDataAgent.

See Getting Started - VMware Deployment for installation instructions.

Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent (Restore Only).

See for Deployment - Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent installation instructions.

MediaAgent.

See MediaAgent Deployment for installation instructions.

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools. This feature is used to remotely manage Active Directory Domain Services. Microsoft Outlook.

exchange server virtual Machine

This virtual machine has the Exchange data that you wish to mine. The Exchange Server has already been installed on this machine. Install the following:

Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent.

See Deployment - Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent for installation instructions.

When prompted for the Exchange Server Name, enter the fully-qualified name of the Exchange Server (e.g., exchange.vm.company.com)installed on the Exchange Server virtual machine. Ensure you also select the correct Exchange Server Version, or else the snap mining job may fail.

When prompted for the Exchange Server Name, enter the fully-qualified name of the Exchange Server (e.g., exchange.vm.company.com)installed on the Exchange Server virtual machine. Ensure you also select the correct Exchange Server Version, or else the snap mining job may fail.

Restore Only Windows File System iDataAgent is installed automatically on the Exchange Server when you install Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent.


VMware Tools (latest version).

See http://downloads.vmware.com/ for more information.

VSS Provider.

Configure Virtual Server iDataAgent and Discover Exchange Server Virtual MachineOnce the Virtual Server iDataAgent is installed on the proxy computer, create a vCenter client and a subclient to backup virtual machines in a vCenter. The following sections provide the necessary steps to configure a subclient to perform the IntelliSnap backup of the Exchange Server virtual machine:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click Client Computers node and select New Client | Virtualization | VMware vCenter.

2. Enter the vCenter Host Name.

Enter the username and password associated with the Virtual Center.

Click Add to select a proxy for backup.


3. Select a proxy from the Exclude list.

The list displays all the clients which has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it and all the client groups. You can select one or more clients or client groups. When you select a client group, ensure that at least one client in the group has Virtual Server iDataAgent installed on it.

When you are creating a VMware vCenter client for a IntelliSnap backup, it is recommended to select only one proxy.

Click Include or Include All.

Click OK.

4. Click OK.

If you select multiple proxies while configuring the VMware vCenter client, only the first proxy (coordinator) will be used to perform the backup. If the first proxy is not available, the next available proxy in the list will be used to perform the backup.

Ensure that vCenter permissions are configured as described in Permissions for Custom User Accounts.


Ensure the following when you select proxies for the VMware vCenter client:

The first proxy has MediaAgent installed on it. If the first proxy does not have MediaAgent installed, change the order of proxies. While configuring the storage policy for IntelliSnap backup, the first proxy is selected as a MediaAgent.

5. From the CommCell Console, navigate to the <vCenter client>.

Right-click the <vCenter client> and click Properties.

6. Click Advanced.

Select the Enable IntelliSnap option to enable IntelliSnap backup for the client.

Click OK to save the configuration.





By default the Transport Mode for VMware is set as Auto. Depending upon proxy computer used for backup and virtual machines included in the backup, the transport mode is automatically selected. If you want to use a specific transport mode, select one of the following:

SANHot AddNBDNBD SSL



Click Browse.

Navigate to the Exchange Server virtual machine you wish to mine and select the machine.

Click OK.

The selected virtual machine appears in the Contents of a subclient list.

10. Click the IntelliSnap Operations tab.

Select the IntelliSnap option.

Select a snap engine from the list of Available Snap Engines list.


Click Select ESX server for snap mount and select a host. During backup copy or restore operations, the snapshot will be mounted on this host.

When you select the host ensure the following:

The ESX server version installed on the host server is same as or higher than the ESX server version installed on the production server. For example: If the production server has ESX 5.0 then the selected host must be ESX 5.0 or higher. The selected proxy ESX Server is not part of any Clustered Storage Group/Initiator group.

11. Click Quiesce Options tab and perform the following: Select the Quiesce Guest File Systems and Applications check box. Select Application aware backup for granular recovery option to enable snap mining for the selected subclient. Optionally, select the Truncate Database Logs option to prune Exchange Database logs that are no longer needed and prevent them from growing to an unmanageable size. This is recommended.

Keep in mind that once snap mining is enabled for a subclient, it cannot be reversed.


12. Click the Storage Device tab.

Select a Storage Policy which has a Snapshot Copy.

Click OK.

If you do not have Storage Policy created, continue with Step 13.







Perform one of the following: Select Local Path if you wish to specify a local path in the MediaAgent computer.








Storage Policy Creation:

a. Click Create Storage Policy. b. Follow the prompts displayed in the Storage Policy Wizard. The required options are mentioned below:

i. Select the Storage Policy type as Data Protection and Archiving and click Next. ii. Enter the name in the Storage Policy Name box and click Next.

iii. From the Library list, click the name of a disk library to which the primary copy should be associated and then click Next.


iv. From the MediaAgent list, click the name of a MediaAgent that will be used to create the primary copy and then click Next.

v. For the device streams and the retention criteria information, click Next to accept default values. vi. Select Yes to enable deduplication for the primary copy.

vii. From the MediaAgent list, click the name of the MediaAgent that will be used to host the Deduplication database (DDB).

In the Location box, type the name of the folder in which the DDB must be located or click the Browse to select the folder, and then click Next.

viii. Review the details and click Finish to create the Storage Policy.

Snapshot Copy Creation


The following section provides step-by-step instructions for creating a Snapshot Copy for a Storage Policy.


Right-click the <Storage_Policy> and click All Tasks | Create New Snapshot Copy.

2. Specify the following to create a Snapshot copy: a. Type the Copy Name in the Copy Name box. b. From the Library list, select the name of Library. c. From the MediaAgent list, select the name of a MediaAgent. d. From the Drive Pool list, select the name of a Drive Pool. e. From the Scratch Pool list, select the name of the Scratch Pool.

f. Click OK.

Perform the IntelliSnap Backup of Exchange Server Virtual Machine

Follow the steps given below to perform the IntelliSnap backup of the Exchange Server virtual machine.

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | Virtual Server. 2. Right-click the subclient and click Backup. 3. Click Full. 4. Click OK.

Drive Pool and Scratch Pool are not applicable for disk libraries.


You can track the progress of the job from the Job Controller window of the CommCell console.

Configure and Run Snap Mining JobThe following steps are performed on the Exchange Server virtual machine.

Configure the Subclient of the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <Exchange server client> | Exchange Mailbox. 2. Right-click a subclient and click Properties. 3. Click the Mining tab. 4. Select the Perform backup using mining off snapshot check box to enable the mining and click Yes on the Warning

message.

Once you enable the mining for a subclient, you cannot disable it.

5. Choose the client computer on which the snapshot was created in Client. 6. Choose Virtual Server as the Agent that was used to create the snapshot. 7. Choose the Instance of the Virtual Server iDataAgent that was used to create the snapshot. 8. Choose the Backupset of the Virtual Server iDataAgent that was used to create the snapshot. 9. Choose the subclient of the Virtual Server iDataAgent in subclient to use that was used to create the snapshot.

10. Click Proxy Client and from the pulldown menu, select the proxy computer that will be used to run the snap mining data protection job. You must choose a proxy computer for running the data protection job; it cannot be run from the Exchange Server virtual machine itself. If desired, an additional proxy computer could be used for running the data protection job instead of the backup host proxy. It would have the same requirements as the backup host proxy.

11. Click OK.

You cannot run a Snap Mining job and a Backup Copy job in parallel with the Virtual Server iDataAgent.


Perform the Backup Using Snap Mining

1. From the CommCell Console, navigate to Client Computers | <Exchange server client> | Exchange Mailbox. 2. Right-click a subclient and click Backup. 3. From the CommCell Console, right-click the subclient and click Backup. 4. Select Full as backup type and Immediate to run the job immediately. 5. Click OK.

Browse and Mine Exchange DataThe following steps are performed on the Exchange Server virtual machine. Browse and mine Exchange data as follows:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the subclient and click Browse and Restore. 2. Click OK. 3. Select data to restore in the Browse window and click Recover All Selected...4. Click one of the following in the Restore Options window:

Click To Mailbox to restore data to a mailbox. Choose whether to restore to original or different client computer and the same or different path. Click To PST to restore the data to a PST file. Choose whether to restore the PST file to a local or network drive.

5. Click OK.


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IntelliSnap – Getting Started Dell Compellent –VMware

PrerequisitesArray Licenses

Data Instant Replay license

Array Software

Firmware version 5.5.14 and above for 5.x and 6.2.2 and above for 6.x.

Additional Requirements For VMware

When performing IntelliSnap operation on VMware ESXi 5.0 Environments using Dell Compellent as the storage array, ensure the following:

Datastores should be created on non-Boot from SAN volumes. The proxy server must be connected to the Storage Center where the VMware datastore volumes reside. A corresponding server object must also exist in the Storage Center for the proxy server

Setup the Array InformationProvide the identification information for the array to ensure access. The following section provides step-by-step instructions for setting the array information.

The following section provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the array information.

1. From the CommCell Browser, click the Storage tab and then click the Array Management icon. 2. In the Array Management dialog box, click Add.

3. In the Array Properties dialog box, specify the following:

From the Snap Vendor list, select Dell Compellent.

In the Name and Control Host box, specify the Management IP address.

For reference purposes, the screenshot below shows the Storage Center Management Console of the Dell Compellent storage device displaying the Management IP address.

Click Change and enter the access information of a user with administrative privileges in the Username and Password fields




The Management IP address is also referred as the Storage Center IP address.


in Enter User Name and Password dialog box.

Use the Description field to enter a description about the entity. This description can include information about the entity's content, cautionary notes, etc.

Click OK to save the information.



The user must be the Administrator or Volume Manager.


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IntelliSnap – Getting Started - Dell EqualLogic

Array SoftwareOn Dell EqualLogic array, ensure the following:

firmware version 4.2.0 or higher is installed On client and proxy computers, ensure the following:

iSCSI Initiator is configured to access the disk array.




3. Select Dell Equallogic from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the Management IP address in the Name field.

Specify the Group IP address in the Control Host field.

For reference purposes, the following image shows the Management IP address and Group IP address for the Dell Equallogic storage device.

4. Click Change and enter the access information of a user with administrative privileges in the Username and Password fields in Enter User Name and Password dialog box.





Please, provide group IP address in the Name field, if there is no Management IP address configured.

User to be able to perform the following:

Create/delete snapshots Add/remove ACLs on the volume Create/delete volume clones, for EQL clone



5. Click the Snap Configuration tab and configure the following:

Storage Device Group: For Dell EqualLogic Clone, specify the name of the Storage Pool where you wish to create the clones.

Use Devices only from this Group: Select this option to use only the snapshots devices available in the specified storage pool.




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IntelliSnap – Getting Started EMC VNX / Celerra – VMware

Prerequisites

Array Licenses

SnapSure Snap License Solutions Enabler Licensing

Array Software

Ensure the following on the EMC VNX / Celerra array:

DART 5.5 or higher is installed

On the client and proxy computers:

Solutions Enabler 6.5.1 or higher Navisphere CLI

Setup the Array InformationThe following section provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the array information.


3. Select EMC VNX / Celerra from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the EMC data mover from which the NFS share to be protected is exported in the Name field.

Enter the Celerra control host in the Control Host field. The control host is the machine which is used to control all the Celerra data movers.

Click Change and enter the access information of a user with administrative privileges in the Username and Password fields in Enter User Name and Password dialog box.







Create/delete read-only and read-write snaps Perform NFS exports





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IntelliSnap – Getting Started EMC VNX / CLARiiON

Prerequisites

Array License

Clariion SnapView and AccessLogix licenses for Snap and Clone BASE/Symmetrix licenses for SYMAPI, required to discover Clariion storage systems

You can use the following command to check the licenses on the host computer:

C:\SYMAPI\Config> type symapi_licenses.dat

Array Software


EMC Solutions Enabler (6.5.1 or higher) for Clariion EMC Solutions Enabler (7.2 or higher) for VNX

Navisphere CLI and Navisphere/Unisphere Host Agent

On the EMC VNX / CLARiiON, ensure the following:

Navisphere/Unisphere Storage-System Initialization Utility is run to initialize Navisphere/Unisphere functionality. AccessLogix is enabled. Follow the steps below to enable AccessLogix:

1. Log in to the Navisphere/Unisphere console. 2. Right-click EMC VNX / CLARiiON Storage System and click Properties. 3. From the Data Access tab, select Enable AccessLogix.

Ensure enough reserved volumes are configured for SnapView/Snap to work properly. Free LUN should be of the same size (block count) as the clone source and this LUN should not be a part of any storage group.

Setup the EMC VNX / CLARiiON

Perform the following steps to provide the required storage for IntelliSnap operations:

1. Create a RAID group. 2. Bind the LUN. 3. Create a Storage Group. 4. Register the client computer (covered by installing NaviAgent). 5. Map the LUNs to the client computer where the NaviAgent resides. 6. Reserved/Clone volumes target properly for SnapView.

For example, as shown in the image below, the Clariion ID of APM00033400899 has the following configuration:

a RAID Group 0 provisioned as a RAID-5 group (Fiber Channel drives) LUNs are mapped to Storage Group SG_EMCSnapInt1 with LUN ID of #154 present to client computer emcsnapint1.

The example shows the serial number of LUN 154:

RAID Group: RAID Group 0, containing 3 physical disks Storage Group: currently visible to a single client computer






LUN is shown as a Fiber Channel device The devices under LUN 154 reside on RAID Group 0 which has RAID-5 configuration.

Authenticate Data Protection Suite user information for the Naviagent

Follow the steps below to specify the authorization information for EMC Solutions Enabler and Navishphere CLI to ensure administrator access to the Navisphere server.

1. To set the authorize information, run the symcfg authorization command for both the storage processors. For example:

/opt/emc/SYMCLI/V6.5.3/bin# ./symcfg authorization add -host <clariion SPA IP> -username admin -password password

/opt/emc/SYMCLI/V6.5.3/bin# ./symcfg authorization add -host <clariion SPB IP> -username admin -password password

2. Run the following command to ensure that the Clariion database is successfully loaded.

symcfg discover -clariion -file AsstDiscoFile

where AsstDiscoFile is the fully qualified path of a user-created file containing the host name or IP address of each targeted Clariion array. This file should contain one array per line.

3. Create a Navisphere user account on the storage system. For example:

/opt/Navisphere/bin# ./naviseccli -AddUserSecurity -Address <clariion SPA IP> -Scope 0 -User admin -Password password

/opt/Navisphere/bin# ./naviseccli -AddUserSecurity -Address <clariion SPB IP> -Scope 0 -User admin -Password password

4. Restart the NaviAgent service. 5. Run snapview command from the command line to ensure that the setup is ready.

Before running any commands ensure that the EMC commands are verified against EMC documentation for a particular product and version.


On Unix computers, you might need to add the Data Protection Suite user to the agent.config file.

Additional steps on Windows client and proxy machines required for VNX Snapshots

If Navisphere CLI commands fail with "security file not found” error, then follow the steps to add user authentication for system account.

1. Create a service with interactive command prompt

sc create ntauthcmd binpath= "cmd /K start" type= own type= interact

2. Start the service

sc start ntauthcmd

3. It will open a command prompt. Add the user security using following commands

/opt/Navisphere/bin# ./naviseccli -AddUserSecurity -Address <clariion SPA IP> -Scope 0 -User admin -Password password

/opt/Navisphere/bin# ./naviseccli -AddUserSecurity -Address <clariion SPB IP> -Scope 0 -User admin -Password password

4. Delete the service

sc delete ntauthcmd

5. Run a sample NaviSECCLI command, for example:

NaviSECCLI -h < Storage Processor IP> snap -feature -info

If the command fails with the error below, type [2] to accept and store the certification, otherwise snap backup job might not complete successfully.

Only import this certificate if you have reason to believe it was sent by a trusted source.Certificate details:Subject: CN=172.19.126.49,CN=A-IMAGE,OU=CLARiiONIssuer: CN=172.19.126.49,CN=A-IMAGE,OU=CLARiiONSerial#: 06b38bc5Valid From: 20130328142406ZValid To: 20180327142406ZWould you like to [1] Accept the certificate for this session, [2] Accept and store, [3] Reject the certificate?Please input your selection (The default selection is [1]):2

Remote Snap MediaAgentOn the Remote Snap MediaAgent:

EMC Solutions Enabler 7.2 or higher Navisphere/Unisphere Agent Navisphere CLI (Required for VNX Snapshots)

On the client computer:

Navisphere/Unisphere host agent

Setup the Array InformationProvide the identification information for the array to ensure access.

You need to setup user authentication for Solutions Enabler and Navisphere secure CLI on as mentioned above.




3. Select EMC VNX / CLARiiON from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the serial number of the array in the Name field.

For reference purposes, the screenshot given below shows the serial number for the EMC VNX / CLARiiON storage device.




VNX

For Clariion/VNX it is not necessary to provide array credentials in Array Properties dialog box in the CommCell Console.

Instead, the following authorization/privilege settings must be set for the user as part of the setup on the host machine, and the user credentials must be added in the Array Properties dialog box;

Minimum Required Role - SAN Administrator or Storage Administrator Other Roles (higher privilege) - Administrator

CLARiiON

Minimum Required Role - Manager Other Roles (higher privilege) - Administrator



Specify EMC SYMAPI Installation Home Directory Path, where the EMC SYMAPI library is located. For example, set the directory to opt/emc/SYMCLI/V6.5.1 for Unix and C:/Program Files/EMC/SYMCLI for Windows.

Select Enable physical delete of clone to disable incremental clone operations. Enabling this option forces physical deletion of the clone during a delete operation.

Select Use EMC API to detect host device paths to use EMC APIs to detect MPIO device paths.

Click OK.




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IntelliSnap - Getting Started EMC Isilon -VMware

PrerequisitesArray Licenses

SnapshotIQ License

Array Software

Support for OneFS 6.5 and OneFS 7.0

Enable RSA Authentication for SSH

# isi_for_array mv /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key.bak# isi_for_array cp /path/to/rsa_key /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key# isi_for_array killall -HUP sshd

Set up the Array InformationBefore setting up the array, find out the array name and control host identity in the Isilon OneFS Storage Administration.

Find the Array Name

Use the OneFS command line to find out the array name:

isi target list --lun -v | grep EUI | tail -1 | awk '{print $3}' | cut -c 1-12

Use the OneFS Storage Administration tool:

1. From the OneFS Storage Administration interface, click the Cluster Management tab.

2. Click the General Settings tab and the Cluster Identity tab.

3. The first 12 characters of Cluster GUID are name of the array.

Find the Control Host Identity

Use the OneFS Storage Administration tool:

1. From the OneFS Storage Administration interface, click the Dashboard tab.

2. Click the the Cluster Overview tab and the Cluster Status tab.

3. The Control Host is the external IP or host name of any node of the Isilon cluster.

Set up the Array



3. Select Isilon from the Snap Vendor list.





Specify the identification information for the storage array in the Name field.

Enter the name of the device manager server where the array was configured in the Control Host field.

Click Change and enter the access information of user with administrative privileges in the Username and Password fields in Enter User Name and Password dialog box.





The user must have root user credentials.


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IntelliSnap – Getting Started - EMC VMAX / Symmetrix

Array LicensesEMC Solutions Enabler (6.4 or higher) installed on the client and proxy computers.

SYMAPI Feature: BASE /Symmetrix licenses for Snap, Mirror and Clone.

You can use the following command to check the licenses on the host computer:

C:\SYMAPI\Config> type symapi_licenses.dat

By default, all functionality is already enabled in the EMC VMAX / Symmetrix hardware layer. However, a Hardware Configuration File (IMPL) must be enabled before using the array. Contact an EMC Representative to ensure TimeFinder andSRDF functionalities have been configured.

Array SoftwareFor IntelliSnap to function appropriately, LUN Masking records/views must be visible from the host where the backup will take place:

For DMX, the Masking and Mapping record for vcmdb must be accessible on the host executing the backup. For VMAX, the Masking view must be created for the host executing the backup.

Setup the EMC VMAX / SymmetrixConfigure Symmetrix Gatekeepers

Gatekeepers need to be defined on all MediaAgents in order to allow the Symmetrix API to communicate with the array. Use the following command on each MediaAgent computer:

symgate define -sid <Symmetrix array ID> dev <Symmetrix device name>

where <Symmetrix device name> is a numbered and un-formatted Symmetrix device (e.g., 00C) which has the MPIO policy set as FAILOVER in the MPIO properties of the gatekeeper device.

Load the Symmetrix Database

If you have the SYMCLI software installed, it is recommended that you test your local Symmetrix environment by running the following command to ensure that the Symmetrix database is successfully loaded:

symcfg discover









3. Select EMC VMAX / Symmetrix from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the Symm ID of the array in the Name field.

For reference purposes, the following image shows the Symmetrix array ID (Symm ID) for the EMC VMAX / Symmetrix storage device.


If Symcfg Authorization is enabled on the Symmetrix Management Console, enter the access information for the Symmetrix Management Console in the Username and Password fields.




No user credentials required in 10.0. For 9.0, the credentials used for login to web console may be used.





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IntelliSnap – Getting Started Fujitsu ETERNUS DX – VMware

PrerequisitesArray License

Local Copy license for Snap and Clone Thin Provisioning license

Array Software


Create a Host Affinity group for the proxy computer

On the Fujitsu ETERNUS DX array, ensure the following:

All members are running firmware version V10L22-1000 or higher SMI-S is enabled SDV and SDPV volumes are created if you are using SnapOPC

Configure Destination Volumes

Forbid Advanced Copy and Encrypted volumes are not supported. Depending on the type of snapshot being used, review the following for the creation of destination volumes:

For Snap snapshots

Specify a volume label via Volume Label Prefix array configuration. SnapOPC snapshots use any suitable SDV having name matching the label set through array config. If there are no suitable SDV available with the special name, the backup job will fail.

If you need to create a new SDV volume, ensure that the SDV volume is of equal size to the source volume. Make sure to keep volume name matching to volume label set through array configuration.

For example : if array config Volume Label Prefix is set as “iSnap_”. SDVs names qualifying this label are iSnap _01, iSnap _02, and iSnap _SDV15 etc.

For Clone snapshots

Preference is given to target volumes with a special name set by via Volume Label Prefix array configuration. If there are no suitable volumes with the special name, the backup job will fail. If there are more than one volumes with the special name, preference will be based on the source volume type. If source volume is a standard volume, preference will be given to standard volumes otherwise thin provisioning volume.

If array configuration Volume Label Prefix is not specified, destination volumes are automatically created for clone snapshots. If a non-existing device group is specified during array configuration in the CommCell Console, a destination volume is created based on the source volume type. However, if a valid device group is specified, the following destination volumes are created depending on the device group type:

A Thin Provisioning volume is created if the device group is a Thin Provisioning pool. A standalone volume is created if the device group is a RAID group.








Select Fujitsu ETERNUS DX from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the CM IP Address of the array in the Name field.

For reference purposes, the screenshot given below shows the CM IP Address for the Fujitsu storage device.

3. Enter the CM IP Address of the array in the Control Host field.





Storage Device Group: Specify the name of the of the RAID group or Thin Provisioning group created on the array to be used for clone operations.

Use Devices only from this Group: Select this option to use the snapshots devices available in the storage pool specified in

User should have Storage Admin or Maintainer / Admin roles.


Storage Device Group.




Select Fujitsu ETERNUS DX from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the CM IP Address of the array in the Name field.

For reference purposes, the screenshot given below shows the CM IP Address for the Fujitsu storage device.

3. Enter the CM IP Address of the array in the Control Host field.




User should have Storage Admin or Maintainer / Admin roles.



Storage Device Group: Specify the name of the of the RAID group or Thin Provisioning group created on the array to be used for clone operations.

Use Devices only from this Group: Select this option to use the snapshots devices available in the storage pool specified in Storage Device Group.




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IntelliSnap – Getting Started- Hitachi Data Systems (HDS)

Prerequisites

Array License

Licenses for Shadow Image, Thin Image and COW snapshot as applicable

Array Software

For HDS using HDvM

On the HDS array, ensure the following:

The V-VOL (COW snapshot) is created prior to performing the IntelliSnap backup operations Device Manager Server 7.1.1 or higher is installed

For HDS HDvM engine, when you map a new device or add a drive letter, perform a host refresh on the Device Manager Server to make sure that the device/drive is visible

See IntelliSnap Support for supported versions.

Sufficient number of V-VOL (COW snapshot) and destination P-VOL (S-VOL - Shadow Image) devices are configured to meet your retention requirements Command devices are configured for each host connected to the HDS array For VSP, USP, USP-V and AMS 2000 series, create the following to allow COW operations:

COW pools V-VOLs (COW snapshots) that matches the exact block size of P-VOLs devices

For HUS, ensure that the source and target devices have the same Provisioning Attribute selected. For e.g., if the source is Full Capacity Mode then the target device should also be labeled as Full Capacity Mode.


RAID Manager (01-25-03/05 or higher) Device Manager Agent installed and configured to the Device Manager Server

The hostname of the proxy computer and the client computer should be visible on the Device Manager Server

See IntelliSnap Support for supported versions.

For HDS using CCI Engine

On the HDS array, ensure the following:

Sufficient number of destination P-VOL (S-VOL - Shadow Image) devices are configured to meet your retention requirements. Command devices are configured for each host connected to the HDS array. Command device should have User Authentication attribute enabled and Command Device Security and Device Group Definition disabled. Shutdown all horcm instances created by Simpana before changing these settings or before mapping/unmapping a command device.





For VSP and HUS-VM series, create the following to allow Thin Image operations:

Thin Image (TI) pools. V-VOLs (TI snapshots) that matches the exact block size of P-VOLs devices. If “Create V-VOLs for Thin Image” Snap configuration is set, new V-VOLs will be created automatically.


RAID Manager (01-29-03/05 or higher) See IntelliSnap Support for supported versions.

Additional Requirements for VMware for HDS using HDvM

When performing IntelliSnap operations on VMware using HDS as the storage array, ensure the following:

HDS LUNs are exposed to the Virtual Server iDataAgent client and ESX server. All HDS pre-requisites are installed and configured on the Virtual Server iDataAgent client computer. The Virtual Server client computer is the physical server. The Virtual Machine HotAdd feature is not supported.

Additional Requirements for VMwarefor HDS using CCI

When performing IntelliSnap operations on VMware using HDS using CCI as the storage array, ensure the following:

HDS command devices are exposed to Virtual Server iDataAgent client and ESX Server. All HDS pre-requisites are installed and configured on the Virtual Server iDataAgent client computer. Virtual Server client can be a windows physical server or a windows VM with HDS command devices exposed through Physical Raw Device Mapping. For SAN mode, the Virtual Server client computer should be a physical server.




Select HDS from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the serial number of the array in the Name field.

Before using the new CCI based engine for HDS, ensure that all the snapshots and clones created with the HDvM based engine are deleted using the snap GUI.


For reference purposes, the screenshot below shows the serial number for the HDS storage device.

3. In the Control Host box, type the IP address or host name of the Device Manager Server.

Control host is not applicable for CCI based engines. Type N/A for such engines.





For HDS with HDvM

The user must have Modify and View permissions for the device manager.

Control Host is not applicable for CCI based engines, either for Available Array or for Associated Array.


Specify the Storage Device group using the format <label>-<poolid>. For ShadowImage job, select S-VOL matching the label and the poolid used for COW operation.

Select Use devices only from this group only for SI jobs that force the device from device group with the label match.

Select Enable Incremental Re-Sync of ShadowImage Pairs using aged clones to enable incremental resynch of ShadowImage pairs created and aged by HDS IntelliSnap.

Select Always select DP volumes as S-VOL.

Select Name of HDvM client as visible in HDvM server if it differs from the client name, only applicable to the source host.

Click OK.

For HDS using CCI Engine

SVOL LDEV nickname: Limit the nickname to 20 characters. Name should have alphanumeric, or _(underscore), or –(hyphen) special characters. Name should not start with “IS_”. TI and SI jobs will pick S-VOls matching this name.

CU range to be used to pick SVOLs: TI and SI Jobs will pick S-VOls in this CU range.

Create VVOL for Thin Image: TI snapshot VVOLS will be create automatically.

TI pool to be used for SVOLs: TI snapshot data will be created in this TI pool.

DP pool to be used for SVOLs: SI SVOLs will be picked from this DP pool.

Always select DP volumes as SVOLs: Only DP volumes will be picked as SI SVOLs.

Use preexisting clones: Job will pick SI pairs created by user.

Enable incremental resync using aged clones: Enable incremental resync of SI pairs created and aged by HDS IntelliSnap.

Enable Quick Resync capabilities: SI pairs will be managed using “HDS quick resync” option.

Enable Quick Restore capabilities: SI pairs hardware restore will be performed using “HDS quick restore” option.

HostGroup to which SVOLs will be presented: By default SVOLs are mapped to the hostgroup where command device is

Name of HDvM client as visible in HDvM server if it differs from the client name does not work for proxy backup jobs. For proxy hosts, whose hostname and the name visible on HDVM server differ, refer to Troubleshooting to set the registry on proxy host.


mapped to. To override this, set the hostgroup name using <port>-<name> format. Ex: CL1-A-myhostgroup. SVOLs will be presented to this hostgroup during map phase. If proxy host is involved, specify proxy host’s hostgroup. GUI mount operation will not use this host group. Refer to Advanced for more information on GUI mount.

Enable command logging for troubleshooting: CCI command output will be saved in <base>/temp folder for troubleshooting purposes.

HORCM installation Home Directory Path: Full path where CCI commands are installed.

HORCM instance number to be used for Raidcom commands: Specify user created HORCM instance number to be used by Raidcom commands.




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IntelliSnap - Getting Started - HP 3PAR

Prerequisites

Array Licenses

3PAR Snap and 3PAR Clone licenses Virtual Copy licenses The Thin Provisioning option for Cloning requires the Thin Provisioning (4096G) license

Array Software

On 3PAR, ensure the following:

CIM 3.1.2 and higher is installed

Also supports 2.3.1 (MU4) or higher, except 3.1.1.342 , 3.1.1 MU1 + Patch 10, 3.1.1 (MU2), and 3.1.2 (MU2)


iSCSI Initiator must be configured to access the storage array

Setup the Array InformationThe following section provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the array information.


3. Select HP 3PAR from the Snap Vendor list.

In the Name box, specify the 16-digit number obtained from the device ID of a 3PAR volume.

Follow the steps given below to calculate the array name for the 3PAR storage device:





a. From the 3PAR Management console, click the Provisioning tab and navigate to the Virtual Volumes node.

Click any volume in the Provisioning window.

b. From the Virtual Volume Details section, click the Summary tab and write down the WWN number.

This is the device ID of the selected volume.

This WWN may be 8-Byte number (having 16 Hex digits) or 16 Byte number (having 32 Hex digits).

c. Use the following formula to calculate the array name: a. For 8 Byte WWN (16 Hex digit WWN)

2FF7000 + DevID.substr(4,3) + 00 + DevID.substr(12,4)

where DevID.substr(4,3) is the next 3 digits after the fourth digit from the WWN number

where DevID.substr(12,4) is the next 4 digits after the twelfth digit from the WWN number

For example: if the WWN number is 50002AC0012B0B95 (see screenshot given below for 8 Byte WWN), using the following formula:

2FF7000 + DevID.substr(4,3) + 00 + DevID.substr(12,4)

DevID.substr(4,3) is 2AC and DevID.substr(12,4) is 0B95

After adding all the values, the resulting array name is 2FF70002AC000B95.

b. For 16 Byte WWN (32 Hex digit WWN)

2FF7000 + DevID.substr(4,3) + DevID.substr(26,6)

where DevID.substr(4,3) is the next 3 digits after the fourth digit from the WWN number

where DevID.substr(26,6) is the next 6 digits after the twenty sixth digit from the WWN number

For example: if the WWN number is 60002AC5000000000000052200000B95 (see screenshot given below for 16 Byte WWN), using the following formula:

2FF7000 + DevID.substr(4,3) + DevID.substr(26,6)

DevID.substr(4,3) is 2AC and DevID.substr(26,6) is 000B95

After adding all the values, the resulting array name is 2FF70002AC000B95.

4. In the Control Host box, type the IP address of the array.




5. Click the Snap Configuration tab and configure the following: a. In the Storage Device Group, specify the name of the CPG group created on the array to be used for snapshot

operations. If you do not specify a CPG group, the default CPG group will be used for snapshot operations. b. Select the Use devices only from this device group option to use only the snapshots devices available in the device

group specified in the Storage Device Group field. c. Click OK to save the information.


The user must have Super or Edit User permissions.





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IntelliSnap – Getting Started - HP EVA

Prerequisites

Array Licenses

Snapshot and Clone licenses for the HP Business Copy EVA

Array Software

On the HP EVA array, ensure the following:

HP SMI-S EVA on Server Command View Version 9.1 , 9.3

Setup the HP SMI-S EVA

The following steps provide the necessary instructions to setup the HP EVA:

1. Download the HP SMI-S EVA and the HP Command View EVA software on a supported server from the HP web site. 2. Run the Discoverer tool located in the C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\mpxManager\SMI-

S\EVAProvider\bin folder to discover the HP-EVA arrays. 3. Use the CLIRefreshTool.bat tool to sync with the SMIS server after using the Command View GUI to perform any

active management operations (like adding new host group or LUN). This tool is located in the C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\mpxManager\SMI-S\CXWSCimom\bin folder.




3. Select HP EVA from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the World Wide Name of the array node in the Name field.

The World Wide Name (WWN) is the serial number for the HP EVA storage device. See the screenshot below for a WWN example.

The array name must be specified without the dashes used in the WWN e.g., 50014380025DEB70.

In the Control Host box, type the name of the management server of the array.




Ensure that you provide the host name and not the fully qualified domain name or TCP/IP address of the host.





Storage Device Group: Specify the name of the hardware disk group created on the array to be used for snapshot operations.

Use Devices only from this Group: Select this option to use only the snapshots devices available in the device group specified in Storage Device Group.



The user must be member of HP Storage Admins group.


Submit


IntelliSnap – Getting Started IBM SAN Volume Controller (SVC)

Prerequisites

Array Licenses

IBM SVC requires the FlashCopy license

Array Software

On IBM SVC, ensure the following:

Firmware version 6.1.0.7 or higher is installed

On the proxy computer:

Add host group with ports and a temporary LUN to access the storage device




3. From the Snap Vendor list, select IBMSVC.

In the Name box, specify the 16-digit ID of the storage device.

The ID is the device identification number for the IBM SVC storage device. See the screenshot below for reference.

The array name must be specified without the dashes used in the WWN e.g., 50014380025DEB70.

4. In the Control Host box, type the Management IP address or host name of the array.

Click Change and enter the access information of a user with administrative privileges in the Username and Password fields





in Enter User Name and Password dialog box.



Storage Device Group: Specify the name of the physical storage pools created on the array to be used for snapshot (FlashCopy) operations. If you do not specify a device group, the default storage pool will be used for snapshot operations.


Select Enable Thin Provisioning to enable usage of thin provisioning volume as the destination volume, even though the source volume is a standard volume.

Select Enable Incremental Re-sync for FlashCopy to determine the clone operation: when enabled, the clone is not deleted permanently. Future clone requests for the same volume will only write incremental data to the target disk.

IOGroup Name: Specify a name for IOGroup for the FlashCopy target volume. By default, the IOGroup of the source and the target volumes is the same and is presented to the host server by a single IOGroup of the cluster.


User must be member of either Administrator or Security Admin group, Security Admin user will have highest privileges.





Submit


IntelliSnap – Getting Started - IBM XIV

Prerequisites

Array Software

On IBM XIV, ensure the following:

The location of XCLI in the environment and system variable path is set


IBM XCLI (2.3 or higher) is installed

On Unix computers, XCLI version 2.4.4 should be installed.

If XCLI is installed on a client or proxy, the client or proxy should be rebooted after appending XCLI location to the system variable path. You can use the XCLI_BINARY_LOCATION registry key to skip rebooting the computer.




3. Select IBM XIV from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the 7-digit serial number for the array in the Name field.

The System ID (S/N) is the serial number for the IBM XIV storage device. See the screenshot below for reference.

In the Control Host box, type the IP address or host name of the array.






Create snapshots and duplicates, map, unmap, revert and delete snapshots Create a host and assign initiators to a host.







Submit


IntelliSnap - Getting Started -LSI




3. Select LSI from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the serial number for the array in the Name field.

The Storage Subsystem world-wide identifier (ID) is the serial number for the LSI storage device.

Use the SANtricity Storage Manager software to obtain the array name by clicking Storage Subsystem Profile from the Summary tab. For reference, view the following image:

4. Specify the name of the device manager server where the array was configured in the Control Host field.







Any user defined by LSI CIMOM



Storage Device Group: Specify the name of the hardware device group created on the array to be used for snapshot operations.





Submit


IntelliSnap – Getting Started NetApp

Prerequisites

Array License

SnapRestore license for Revert operations (LUNs and NFS shares). FlexClone license for backup and restore operations of NFS shares. FCP, ISCSI, CIFS, NFS licenses for features such as Fiber Channel Protocol, iSCSI protocol, CIFS file sharing, and NFS File Sharing. Use the appropriate license for the specific data types. HTTP/HTTPS licenses on the NetApp file server to allow communication. If you are using SnapVault and SnapMirror you will require the following additional licenses:

The NetApp SnapVault/SnapMirror feature requires the NetApp Snap Management license.

iSCSI Initiator must be configured on the client and proxy computers to access the storage device.

For the Virtual Server Agent, the iSCSI Initiator is required when the agent is configured on a separate physical server and uses iSCSI data stores. The iSCSI Initiator is not required if the agent is using NFS data stores.

SnapMirror Primary and Secondary Licenses for disaster recovery operations. SnapVault Primary and Secondary License for backup and recovery operations.

Array Software

OnCommand Unified Manager - A server running NetApp OnCommand Unified Manager server software 4.0.2 or later, or OnCommand Unified Manager5.x is required.

Operations Manager, Provisioning Manager, and Protection Manager licenses are required for the OnCommand Unified Manager.

OnCommand Unified Manager 6.0 - In order to support the NetApp cluster mode, install OnCommand Unified Manager6.0.

SnapMirror - NetApp replication technology used for disaster recovery.

SnapVault - NetApp replication technology used for backup and recovery.

Additional Requirements for VMware

When performing IntelliSnap operations on VMware using NFS file-based protocol, ensure the following:

The VMkernel IP address of all ESX servers that are used for mount operations should be added to the root Access of the NFS share on the source storage device.

Setup SnapVault/Mirror





Skip This Section if you are not using SnapVault And/Or SnapMirror

Perform the following steps to before using SnapVault and SnapMirror:

1. On your source file server, use the license command to check that the sv_ontap_pri and sv_ontap_sec licenses are available for the primary and secondary file servers respectively.

2. Enable SnapVault on the primary and secondary file servers as shown below:

options snapvault.enable on

3. On the primary file server, set the access permissions for the secondary file servers to transfer data from the primary as shownin the example below:

options snapvault.access host=secondary_filer1, secondary_filer2

4. On the secondary file server, set the access permissions for the primary file servers to restore data from the secondary as shown in the example below:

options snapvault.access host=primary_filer1, primary_filer2

Once you have the environment setup for using SnapVault and SnapMirror, you need to configure the following before performing a SnapVault or SnapMirror operation.

Create Storage Policy

Use the following steps to create a storage policy.

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Policies.

Right-click the Storage Policies node and click New Storage Policy.

2. Click Next.

When you select a storage policy, consider that for NetApp 7-Mode and Cluster Mode Filer Snapshots, the same storage policy cannot be used if you are planning to use the vault/mirror feature. For NetApp 7-Mode Filer snapshot, use storage policy associated with OnCommand Unified Manager 4.0.2 or OnCommand Unified Manager 5.X and for NetApp Cluster Mode Filer snapshot, use storage policy associated with OnCommand Unified Manager 6.0.


3. Specify the name of the Storage Policy in the Storage Policy Name box.

Select Provide the OnCommand Unified Manager Server Information.

Click Next.

4. In the Library list, select the default library to which the Primary Copy should be associated.

Click Next.

It is recommended that the selected disk library uses a LUN from the File server.


5. Select a MediaAgent from the MediaAgent list.

Click Next.

6. Click Next.

7. By default, Yes check box is selected, which enables (MediaAgent side) deduplication on primary copy.


Clear Enable Client Side Deduplication and then click Next.

8. By default, name for deduplication database is displayed in Name box.

Under DDB Location, perform the following:

From the MediaAgent list, click the name of the MediaAgent that will be used to store the deduplication database. In the Location box, type the name of the folder or Browse to the folder in which the deduplication database must be located. Click OK.

9. Provide the OnCommand Unified Manager server information. If a OnCommand Unified Manager server exists, click Select to choose from the drop-down list. If you want to add a new OnCommand Unified Manager Server, click Add and provide the OnCommand Unified Manager server information.

Click Next.

The deduplication database must be located in a folder and not directly under the root of a disk volume. For Linux, make sure to host the deduplication database on LVM volumes.


10. Click Finish.

The new Storage Policy creates the following:

Primary Snap Copy, used for local snapshot storage Primary Classic Copy, used for optional data movement to tape, disk or cloud.

Create a Secondary Snapshot Copy

After the Storage Policy is created along with the Primary Snap Copy, the Secondary Snap Copy must be created on the new Storage Policy.


Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click All Tasks | Create New Snapshot Copy.


2. Type the Copy Name..

Select the Library and MediaAgent from the drop-down list.

Click Vault/Backup or Mirror protection type based on your needs.

3. Click the Copy Policy tab.

Depending on the topology you want to set up, click Specify Source for Auxiliary Copy and select the source copy.

Copies can be created for the topologies listed in the following table:

It is recommended that the selected disk library uses a CIFS or NFS share or a LUN on the File server.

Topology Source CopyPrimary-Mirror PrimaryPrimary-Mirror-Vault MirrorPrimary-Vault PrimaryPrimary-Vault-Mirror VaultPrimary-Mirror-Mirror Mirror


4. Click the Provisioning tab.

Click Refresh to display the entities.

Select the Provisioning Policy from the drop-down list.

Select the Resource Pools available from the list.

When Select vfiler option is selected, all vfilers on the selected resource pools will be shown in the drop-down list. Resource pool members should be complete filers and not aggregates.

New volumes on this storage policy copy will be provisioned under selected vfiler.

Click OK.

The secondary snapshot copy is created.

OnCommand Manager Unified Manager has three pre-defined provisioning policies for IntelliSnap.

Such policies will be picked up automatically by Intellisnap and will be displayed in the Provisioning tab of the Snap Copy Properties dialog box.

To use a provisioning policy from the OCUM server, prefix the provisioning policy name with the string "SnapProtect_".

Policy Definition

SnapProtect_Dedupe

Recommended for SnapVault Destinations

Has on demand de-duplication enabled on secondary volumes

Has RAID-DP (double disk failure) enabled that protects against double disk failures

SnapProtect_Mirror_Destination

Recommended for Mirror destinations

Does not have de-dupe or RAID-DP enabled

SnapProtect_RAID-DP Has RAID-DP (double disk failure) enabled which protects against double disk failures

vfiler option will be shown on the provisioning tab only if the storage policy is associate with OnCommand Unified Manger 5.x.


5. If you are using a Primary-Mirror-Vault (P-M-V) or Primary-Vault (P-V) topology on ONTAP version higher than 7.3.5 (except ONTAP 8.0 and 8.0.1), perform the following steps:

Connect to the storage device associated with the source copy of your topology. You can use SSH or Telnet network protocols to access the storage device. From the command prompt, type the following:

options snapvault.snapshot_for_dr_backup named_snapshot_only

Close the command prompt window.

It is recommended that you perform this operation on all nodes in the P-M-V topology.

During snap copy creation, if you select the copy to be vault, the selective copy will be checked by default and the default selection rule will be "All Fulls".

If you do not want the vault copy to be selective, please uncheck the selective copy option during creation and proceed.

When the selective copy option is checked at the time of vault copy creation, mirror copy will be greyed out.

If you need to switch to mirror copy at the time of creation, uncheck selective copy and change the copy to mirror.

Once a snap copy is created as vault, you cannot change it to mirror and vice-versa.

Similarly, once a selective vault copy is selected, you cannot change it to non selective vault copy and vice-versa.

Configure Backup Copy

Follow the steps given below to configure Backup Copy for moving snapshots to media.


Right-click the <Storage Policy> and click Properties.


2. Click the Snapshot tab.

Select Enable Backup Copy checkbox to enable movement of snapshots to media.

Click Yes in the Confirm dialog box.

3. Select Specify Source for Backup Copy.

From the drop-down list, select the source copy to be used for performing the backup copy operation.

Click OK.


Setup the Array InformationOnly one array management entry should be specified for each NetApp array. Specify the array name or IP that will be used for sending snapshot management commands. If an array has multiple interfaces, a list of corresponding names is maintained for each array, so that the proper array management entry is always used.



3. Select NetApp from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the name of the primary file server in the Name field.

The name of primary file server may be different in the OnCommand Unified Manager, CommServe, MediaAgent and other entities, but it should resolve to the same IP address. However, if you plan to create a Vault/Mirror copy, ensure the IP address of the primary file server resolves to the primary IP of the network interface and not to an alias.


Select File Server, then click Primary checkbox for the array type.


You can provide the host name, fully qualified domain name or TCP/IP address of the file server.


Create/delete snapshots, volume & lun clones, cifs shares & nfs exports, initiator groups.



In the Initiator Group Name box, specify the name of the initiator group to be configured on the client computer and proxy computer to access the array.

In the Mount Retry Count box, type or select the number of retry attempts for a mount operation.

In the Mount Retry Interval (in seconds) box, type or select the time interval after which the next mount operation will be attempted.

Select Skip busy LUN check to enable skipping busy LUN on the array. When enabled snap job will not go into pending if there is a mounted snapshot in the volume.

Click OK.

5. Click Add again to enter the information for the secondary array.


Specify the name of the secondary file server in the Name field.

Select File Server for the array type.


Click OK.



The name of secondary file server may be different in the OnCommand Unified Manager, CommServe, MediaAgent and other entities, but it should resolve to the same IP address.


Submit


IntelliSnap - Getting Started - Nimble Storage

Prerequisites

Setup Nimble Storage

From the Nimble storage array console, ensure that the Access Control Entry for the client initiator group is set to Volume and Snapshots. In case you are using a proxy computer for IntelliSnap operations, add the initiator group for the proxy computer and set the Access Control Entry to Snapshots Only. Ensure that a temporary LUN is allocated to all ESX Servers that are used for snapshot operations.




3. Select Nimble Storage from the Snap Vendor list.

Specify the Data IP Address of the array in the Name field.

Enter the Management IP Address of the array in the Control Host field.

For reference purposes, the screenshot below shows the Data IP Address and Management IP for the Nimble storage device.




If you have more than one Data IP Address configured, you will need to add the array information for each of the configured Data IP addresses.





These are the user credentials used for accessing Nimble web console.


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