VMware DR Backup

overview korgrid's vmware dr feature provides a direct interface with vsphere (storage independent) to run a backup agent for vmware virtual machines the cluster initiates snapshots, with the ability to access both full and incremental backups for either a one time import or ongoing backup and dr for vsphere environments setting up vmware backups (high level steps) create a vmware service this creates a direct connection to the vsphere environment create schedule(s) assign schedules to vms different schedules can be assigned to different vms creating a vmware service the first step to creating a backup/import of vmware vms to korgrid is to create a vmware service the vmware service establishes a direct agent connection with vsphere; network access and admin login credentials to the vsphere environment is required to create a new vmware service from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services from the left menu, click new service enter a name for the vmware service ℹ️ typically, it's recommended to keep the 2 cores and 2 gb ram default settings in place; this will be suitable for almost all situations (optional), specify a cluster (optional), specify a failover cluster (optional), specify a preferred node (optional), enter a description select on power loss state last state service will only be powered on if it was on at the time of power loss leave off service will not be powered on when power is restored (regardless of its state at the time of power loss) power on service will be powered on when power is restored (regardless of its state at the time of power loss) select a network to run the vmware service ℹ️ dhcp is required on the selected network enter the host information for your vsphere instance (dns or ip) ℹ️ the address must be reachable from the network selected for the service enter the port ; the default 443 is typically the listening port for vmware client connections enter the vsphere username enter the vsphere password select allow insecure certificates if the vsphere instance is not using a certificate signed by a ca (e g self signed certificates, etc ) click submit you will be returned to the vmware services listening, where the new service you just created will appear click the service to select it from the left menu, click power on service modify advanced vsphere settings once the service has been powered on, advanced vsphere settings can be changed from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click view service from the left menu, click edit max concurrent vm backups the number of simultaneous vmware backups the default setting (4) is typically appropriate; however, this number can be increased to speed up backup processes from vsphere systems with high cpu resources and adequate available bandwidth conversely, this setting can be reduced for systems with lower cpu resources/lower available bandwidth name for the auto created snapshot during backup the name given to the temporary, vmware created snapshot used during the backup operation default vm backup schedule defines the backup schedule to be assigned automatically to all new vmware vms discovered by the service initially, this is set to none , which will set new vms to use no schedule (no backups) by default after schedules are created, the default can be changed to assign a specific backup schedule to any newly detected vms automatically enable change tracking per vm this setting will automatically turn on the vmware cbt (changed block tracking) feature for each vm included in differential and thin provisioned backups by default, this setting is enabled (enabled is recommended) if this setting is disabled, and cbt is not otherwise enabled on vmware, a differential backup will default back to a full backup (backup logs will indicate this change) click submit advanced vsphere settings click refresh vms on the left menu to discover vmware virtual machines this will initiate a connection to the vsphere system and detected vms will appear in the vmware virtual machines section of the page on the dashboard, check the status (top left) if the service successfully connected to the vsphere system, the status will show as online and running an error status indicates the connection was not made due to incorrect login credentials, insecure ssl (without enabling the option for insecure ssl), invalid address, or a network issue reaching the vsphere system creating a vmware backup schedule a schedule is a grouping of backup tasks a single schedule might include various backups, such as hourly, daily, weekly and monthly backups, and allow for taking backups at different intervals, each with different retention rules additionally, different types of backups can be included within the same schedule full (thick provisioned), full (thin provisioned), and differential different schedules can be created to be applied to different vms, for example a general schedule could be used for production vms, while a less rigorous schedule is applied to development and testing vms; yet another schedule that includes frequent backups with shorter retention might be applied to sql vms, etc default schedule when a new vmware service is created, a schedule named "default" is created automatically this schedule can be modified to fit your organization’s needs you can also create any number of new schedules create a new schedule from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click view service from the left menu, click schedules from the left menu, click new enter a name for the new schedule (optional), set a description click submit double click the new schedule you just created from the left menu, click new task click + add task enter a descriptive name for the task (e g noon 7days, daily hourlyretention, yearly perpetual, etc ) select the desired scheduled for the backup task granular options allow for a high degree of flexibility in task scheduling from the vmware service dashboard (import/export > vmware services > double click the target service from the list ) click schedules on the left menu click new on the left menu enter a name for the new schedule (optional), a description can be entered to record more information click submit the schedules list will appear double click the new schedule at this point the schedule is just an empty container; one or more tasks need to be added to the schedule click new task on the left menu or click the + add task option on the schedule dashboard enter a descriptive name for the task (for ex midnight 7days; weekly 1monthretention; yearly perpetual, etc ) select the desired scheduling for the backup task (granular options allow for great flexibility in task scheduling ) by default, a recurring task is set to run perpetually optionally, a task expiration can be defined which will cause the task to cease on the selected date and time to set an expiration for the task de select the never checkbox and enter desired expiration date and time the backup job name will default to schedulename taskname yyyy mm dd hh\ mm optionally, a backup job name can be defined and can include any combination of these formatted date variables %y 4 digit year %m 2 digit month (01 to 12) %d 2 digit day of the month (01 to 31) %h 2 digit hour (24 hour clock) %m 2 digit minute (00 to 59) example %m %d %y %h%m sqlbackup run on jan 20, 2025 at 11am produces a backup named 01 26 2025 11 00 sqlbackup select the desired backup job retention this is the amount of time to keep the backup the quiesce snapshots option can be selected to invoke the vmware quiesce feature (note vmware guest tools required) when this option is enabled, vmware pauses running processes on the guest operating system so that the file system contents are in a known consistent state when the snapshot is taken; this process might include such operations as flushing dirty buffers from the operating system’s in memory cache to disk, or other application specific tasks consult vmware documentation for more information about the quiesce feature (optional), minimum backup jobs to keep can be selected this setting overrides individual backup expirations to keep the specified minimum number of backups (most recent) in place this can provide a safety net, intended to prevent all backups from expiring before new backups are created for situations such as a system being powered off for a period of time or an interval of backup errors select a backup mode differential only transfers changes since the last full vmware backup because of the way that differential backups are stored in the vsan, a differential backup can be used directly and does not rely on a full backup or other differentials for a restore operation ℹ️ this requires change block tracking (cbt) enabled on vsphere vms full backup (thick provisioned) full backup, requesting all blocks from vmware full backup (thin provisioned) full backup, requesting only allocated blocks from vmware ℹ️ this requires change block tracking (cbt) enabled on vsphere vms click submit click the + add task button and repeat the steps above to append additional tasks to the schedule assigning schedules once the vmware service is created and successfully connects to the vsphere system, the list of discovered vmware virtual machines will appear on the vmware service dashboard ℹ️ by default, all vms have their scheduled set to none apply a schedule to vm(s) from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click view service from the left menu, click virtual machines select the desired vm(s) from the left menu, click edit backup schedules select the desired schedule click submit setting the default backup schedule from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click edit service from the left menu, click default vm backup schedule select the desired schedule click submit manual backups manual backups can also be performed on vms using the vmware service; this can be helpful in creating a backup immediately before maintenance work, such as a guest os upgrade, application update, or other configuration changes from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click view service from the left menu, click virtual machines select the desired vm(s) from the left menu, click backup click yes to confirm the manual backup should appear in the vmware services dashboard with a status of "running" when finished the status will change to "complete" for manual backups, the name displayed will be the name of the first vm selected for backup, and the schedule task column will indicate a manual backup additional columns display the number of vms backed up, started / finished, and the expires setting for the backup restores file level the vm is imported to the environment from the top menu , click import / export > vmware services select the desired vmware service from the left menu, click view service from the left menu, click backup jobs select the desired vm from the left menu, click import vm once imported, the vm can be powered on and files extracted to a nas and accessed via cifs or nfs vmware cbt differential and full (thin provisioned) backups utilize vmware’s cbt feature to request only blocks that have changed since the last full backup, or blocks in use this can provide for quicker operations that utilize less bandwidth the following https //knowledge broadcom com/external/article?legacyid=1020128 provides more information, including vmware requirements for using cbt cbt considerations & cautions utilizing cbt to provide faster and more efficient backups is generally fine however, it's important to consider that defects in cbt can compromise backups that have utilized the feature this is a source issue that is not controlled by any third party agent accessing vmware for backup the following strategies are recommended to mitigate potential risks posed by using the cbt feature as a vmware customer/user, stay abreast of known issues and apply available updates and patches as they become available in the past, there have been bugs involving the cbt feature, for which vmware has provided patches to fix known cbt defects although korgrid stores all backups in the vsan such that they are stand alone (any backup, including differential, can be used directly and does not rely on another backup for restore operations), a prudent backup strategy will include a schedule of both full backups and differential backups in between for example, a common schedule used by many organizations is to run a full backup weekly or twice weekly and differentials on days in between when possible, use full thick provisioned backup for those that are intended for long term retention