vSphere 5.1 Support Update

NetBackup 7.1.0.3/4 and NetBackup 7.5.0.4 use VDDK 5.0 so we should be ok with vSphere 5.1 Backup/Restores?

From what I understand, VMware does not support VDDK 5 with vSphere 5.1, even though it probably works - having said that, I can't seem to find any VMware support statement either way...

But NetBackup 7.1.0.4 will only use VDDK 5.0 no?

We have been backing up 200 VMs with vSphere 5.1 combo and no issues.

But we must stress that currently, it's not supported.  That means Support can't help you if you experience any issues.  (Naturally, we hope you never experience any issues!)

Whats the update Symantec?

Symantec is currently in end-of-year shut down, so you may not have an answer very quickly.

Yeah. Symantec needs some time off. They have worked very hard providing us delayed product support.

In the mean time IBM and VMware are releasing product updates and patches every other day for the last week or so.

Hi BigTimeOne,

Your sarcasm is noted, but it appears you missed the update to our Statement of Support back on 12/17:

DOCUMENTATION: Support for NetBackup 7.x in virtual environments (updated December 17, 2012).
 http://symantec.com/docs/TECH127089

From this update (pages 12-13):

Support for vSphere 5.1 in NetBackup 7.5.0.4

NetBackup 7.5.0.4 supports backup and recovery of vSphere 5.1.

The following issues will be resolved in a future release:
■ VM hardware version 9

In vSphere 5.1, the latest virtual machine hardware version is 9. NetBackup
7.5.0.4 does not recognize version 9, as follows:

■ When restoring to vCenter 5.1, virtual machines with hardware version 9
are restored with hardware version 8. To restore to version 9, use a VMware
interface after recovery to upgrade the virtual machine to version 9.

■ When restoring to vCenter 5.1, virtual machines with hardware version 7
or earlier are restored with hardware version 8 if you do not select the
NetBackup Retain original hardware version option. To restore to version
9, use a VMware interface after recovery to upgrade the virtual machine
to version 9.

■ When building a query for automatic selection of virtual machines in the
NetBackup VMware policy, the virtual machine version "vmx-09" is not
recognized. As a workaround, use a query that specifies vmx-08, such as
VMVersion Greater "vmx-08".

For a description of VMware version numbers, see the section on virtual
machine compatibility in the following VMware document:

What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.1 – Platform

The VMware document explains how to set a default virtual machine
compatibility level (for a hardware version other than 9).

■ Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 guest operating systems
vSphere 5.1 adds guest operating system support for Windows 8 and Windows
Server 2012. At this time, NetBackup supports recovery of the entire virtual
machine for those guest operating systems. File-level and application-level
recovery will be supported in a future release.

I  hope this clears things up a bit.

No, we have seen the update. What did Symantec do to correct the Backup will fail issue?

Symantec claimed all backups will fail from all vendors. Until VMware fixes the issues.

So Symantec did not release a fix and neither did VMware. So whats the deal?

Symantec 7.5.0.5 is supported with vsphere 5.1 and there are 300 fixes done on this version. 

It better to get upgraded to 7.5.0.5 .

Here is the download link : http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH199269

-Rahul B