AOFO needed when using VMware Agent

[harsi]

Hi.

Is it necessary to install AOFO inside the VMs if you want to backup them using the BE Agent for VMware?

We are talking about BackupExec 2010 R2, ESXi 4.1 and Win 2008 R2 as guest OS.

Thank's for your suggestions.

Cheers.

[Striker_303]

While Installing BE remote agnet, select AOFO only if guest machine is Win 2000.

WIn 2003 and 2008 already have Microsoft VSS so AOFO not required.

[sksujeet]

If you are using the vmware agent then you can backup the vms under your virtual center or esx without installing any agent if GRT is not required.

If you need the GRT backup then you have to install the remote agent on the virutal machine.

[Hemant_Jain]

You dont need AOFO to be installed on the VM, if you want to use AVVI. Although for ESXi, make sure you have the right license to use backup functionality. You need to get this license from VMware.

Thanks

[harsi]

Thank's for your answers.

To sum it up:

When backing up the VM's (Win 2008 R2) via VMware agent (GRT enabled) you don't need to install AOFO (BE Remote Agent is enough).

That you need VSphere Essentials at least is clear as you need backup API functionality (which is missing in free ESXi edition).

Cheers.

[harsi]

While Installing BE remote agnet, select AOFO only if guest machine is Win 2000.

WIn 2003 and 2008 already have Microsoft VSS so AOFO not required.

Is this true in every case assuming you don't use VMAgent?

From my understanding if you want to backup a remote machine and also want to backup open files you need AOFO also on Win 2003 and up (here AOFO coorperates with built in VSS of Windows).

You don't need AOFO in this case if you are using another agent like VM, SLQ, Exchange, AD.

Thanks for clarification.

Cheers.

[Hemant_Jain · Accepted solution]

Slight correction to:

When backing up the VM's (Win 2008 R2) via VMware agent (GRT enabled) you don't need to install AOFO (BE Remote Agent is enough).

Here GRT enabled refers to Application GRT (Exchange, SQL, Active Directory). If you are looking at just file level restore, you dont even need Remote Agent

Thanks

[harsi]

Don't want to stress this any further but isn't what you get then a carsh consistent backup if BEAgent is missing? From my understanding you would need BEAgent (It's VSS provider) even in the case mentioned to perfom proper VSS quiescing of the filesystem?

Cheers.

[Hemant_Jain]

No, for file system GRT, we work with ESX snapshot, and we pull file level information from the disk within that snapshot. So, for file level information, you would not require Remote Agent inside VM. Quiecscing of file system can be done by vmware provider which is a part of vmware tools.

For application GRT, there is a additional processing to be done, hence remote agent is required.

Thanks

[harsi]

Thank's again for clarification.

As we have generally disabled vmware vss provider within our VMware Tools deployment package (as it interferes with BE VSS provider) we then should generally use BE VSS provider (as part of BE Remote Agent) which then ensures proper quiecscing of filesystem even when no additional application GRT is required?

I don't like this kind of sentences in foreign languages

Cheers.

[teiva-boy]

Yes, just use BE's VSS functionality.  No point in having some machines with and others using the Vmware tools, it makes management harder.  Just standardize on one config

[harsi]

Thank's again.

Think now it's clear.