Purchase VMware Infrastructure Enterprise (VI 3.5) One of the advantages: VI 3.5 not only has the traditional ESX management procedures, but also includes other features and product licensing, which for the creation of a virtual machine (VM) for business continuity is essential. VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) is such a product. At present, the backup administrator is usually the traditional physical backup solution, you may mistakenly think that VCB is a complete virtual data center solution, therefore need to make adequate preparations for the VCB and research.
VCB is not a complete virtual infrastructure backup solution
Only in very rare cases, VCB will allow administrators to completely remove all of the backup virtual server agents. The reason is that VCB can not do the following:
* Implementation of the professional backup application (such as Microsoft Exchange Information Store or the Windows Server System State)
* Implementation of non-Windows VM file-level backup
* Completion of the backup file management, sorting or archiving
* The file directly back to the virtual machine
As a scripting architecture, VCB integration needs and third-party backup program to achieve the above functions.
VCB shall be installed in the Windows dedicated server
Experts suggest that the VCB is installed on their server. This system is also known as the VCB proxy server, need to meet the following requirements:
· Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (32-bit 64-bit) or higher version
* Media storage warehouse (media repository) by the third-party backup program to manage the management server
* And the ESX hosts to access VMFS LUN (VM is stored in one) has the same storage access protocol (for example, used to access Fibre Channel storage host bus adapter (HBA), or used to access iSCSI storage startup device configuration). Depending on the Windows Server version of the VCB server in the subsidiary to the VMFS LUN, we should first make partition load malfunction.
· VCB storage tank (Holding Tank) have a dedicated disk storage, backup files and restore files are written to storage tank
Third Party Backup Agent
VCB storage tank needs large disk volumes
VCB can share ESX LUN, NTFS format also requires a large disk volumes, the final formation of the backup image storage tank. SAN disk volumes can be located, also can be located on local VCB server's disk. Storage tank full during the backup and recovery for the storage of VM images.
Therefore, the design need to seriously consider the size of storage tanks. For example, if the virtual infrastructure, including the VM occupies 1 TB of disk space, and you want the VM to perform a full backup, then the storage tanks need to be large enough to support the 1 TB of backup. Another situation is likely to be: alternative implementation of the VM full backup, thus reducing the size of storage tank. However, administrators still need to ensure that a certain amount of storage tank in order to save disk space taking up most of the VM.
The role of third-party backup agents
Practical completion of third-party backup program file backup and management. VCB VM image will be copied to the storage tank, the respect of the role of third-party backup program - will move these files to the media being used in the storage warehouse. Clear storage tank is also backed up the task of agent, so the next step when working with the available disk space.
If file-level backup, VCB will load a copy of the VM image (as mentioned earlier in the flash mode), so that agents can find the backup VM's file system. Backup Agent can perform full, incremental or differential backups, which back up the file to the media storage warehouse. Sometimes, VCB proxy server, a VM can replace multiple agents.
VMware can provide compatibility with third-party backup program guide. Many programs module integrates VCB, to coordinate with the program GUI VCB proxy backup scripts and schedules.
Understand VCB recovery
File recovery using third-party backup agent function, the files from the media storage repository moved back to the storage tank. Once the VM image back to storage tanks after, you can completely copied to the VMFS volume, or again to flash the form of loading, such documents can be resumed. In both cases, the administrator must manually copy the files to the recovery site.
VMware Converter often used to migrate physical servers to virtual servers, while still under the VCB image created VM. Thus, in some cases, VMware Converter is a very effective tool for VM complete recovery.