Backup Exec 2012 support for VMWare ESXi 5.5 U1

[access]

Hi,

Any updates when ESXi 5.5 U1 will be supported ?

Base on the BE2012 Software Compatibility List a VSphere STD license is required for Agent for Hyper-V & VMware to function properly.

Questions.

1. I plan to get Vsphere Enterprise licenses will this be supported when I use Agent for Hyper-V & VMware ?

2. Do I need  to have VCenter in order to backup all VMs within an ESXi host ?

                If yes, is vCSA "vcenter appliance" appliance supported  by BE2012? all I see on the SCL is vCenter. No vCSA mentioned.

3. Can I just backup individual VMs via Agent for Application & Database as a workaround since ESXi 5.5 U1 is not yet supported?

                ---> My VMs run SQL 2008 & 2008 R2.

Thanks.

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

Hi,

1. Yes it would be supported.

2. No. You can direct your media server to the ESXi host and then back it up accordingly.

3. Yes...install the RAWS agent and you can back them up on a file/folder basis.

Thanks!

[access]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply.

As I understand VCenter Server is not required.

Will there be any problems if I use vCSA instead of vCenter ?

Thanks,

Paul

[CraigV]

...best bet is to try backing up via the appliance and see if it works.

Thanks!

[VJware]

vCenter or vCenter Appliance is required if you have multiple ESX hosts, using HA capabilities, vMotion etc, else backing up via ESX host is fine.
 

[CraigV]

...the OP has the appliance which handles the HA capabilities, vMotion etc. The question was whether or not the OP requires a vCenter server to do the backups.

Thanks!

[VJware]

As I understand this is the OP's initial query ~

Do I need  to have VCenter in order to backup all VMs within an ESXi host ?

And the second query is ~

Will there be any problems if I use vCSA instead of vCenter ?

I am merely stating he can use either vCenter or Appliance  & also pointing out when the vCenter or Appliance is required to do the backups.

[access]

Hi,

Just to clarrify....

key points

1. Per your reply, vCSA is supported. I'm just a bit confused why SCL for BE2012 does not indicate support for vCSA ?

2. But in any case, I can just point the Backup Exec 2012 Media server to the ESXi hosts. With this no need for vCenter or vCSA.

3. I went through the BE2012 Admin Guide & it states vCenter is optional for Agent for Hyper-V & VMware.

Additional question:

- Per my understanding BE2012 does not need Active Directory to run ?

Thanks,

Paul

[pkh]

vCenter is good to get a consolidate view of all your VM's regardless of which host the VM resides.  If you target the individual hosts and the VM's get moved around with vMotion, then you might have a problem tracking them down.

Although AD is is not strictly required for BE, BE is designed to work with AD.  Without AD, you would have a lot of problems with permissions and access to resources.