Backup Exec 2008 R3 SP4 capability to run as a windows server 2008 VM

[Steve_4]

Hi,

I have had a look around the forums for this topic but none specifically meet my question.

We have currently aquired a top-end server to accomodate for mainly the symantec backup solution. (We would expand it's purpose at a later time)

As Backup exec 2010 R3 SP4 is last supported by Windows Server 2008 R2 we would like to run it as a virtual machine.

The Server has more then the processing capabilities it would require.
The physical server would be a Windows Server 2012 R2
Whereas the VM running Backup Exec would be Windows server 2008 (For migration purposes)

I know it may not exactly be supported, but is there any known issues regarding this?

We would be connecting the physical server via SAS to the tape library and running through this connection for the virtual machine.

Thanks,
Steve

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

Hi,

No, it's not really supported, but mainly from a VMware perspective. Hyper-V doesn't do SCSI pass-through.

I've (been forced to!) run BE as a VM and it becomes very very messy. if the library drops out of Windows for instance, then you need to restart the host to redetect it in VMware first before it is redetected on the VM.

For now I'd recommend running Windows Server 2008 R2 on the server to ensure you get proper support for your environment.

BE 2014 (busy with the Beta currently) will support installation on Windows Server 2012 & R2 which makes your life easier when it goes GA.

Thanks!

[ecnivnaj]

Hi Steve,

Ther will be no issues in the setup that you are planning, just keep in mind that we would not recommend having the media server a VM, especiually if there is a physical tape involve.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

[CraigV]

...there are, in fact, problems with this setup as detailed above.

Any issues experienced hardware-wise would need to be recreated in a physical environment before Symantec are obliged to offer assistance.

It is an "alternative" configuration and therefore will pose issues in a production environment.

Thanks!

[pkh]

There was a previous discussion in which a Symantec employee stated that Hyper-V pass-thru is not supported