Exchange agent needed for vmware vm recovery

[mdufffin]

We perform VMware ESXi 5.5 VM full backups nightly. Is the BackupExec Exchange Server Agent required when only restoring or cloning an entire VM (without intent to ever use GRT to recover Exchange databases)? In other words does Symantecs VSS quiesce Exchange for the vmdk backup?

We have moved a physical Exchange server to a VM which was previously backed up by another product. Symantec no longer sells the Exchange Agent for our version of BackupExec. We're OK losing any Exchange activity since the last full backup. Just wanting to know if the database is stable at the time of the snapshot occurs via VSS.

Thanks.

[pkh]

It should be O.k. The entire VM is snapshot

[VJware · Accepted solution]

Is the BackupExec Exchange Server Agent required when only restoring or cloning an entire VM

No

does Symantecs VSS quiesce Exchange for the vmdk backup?

Yes

Symantec no longer sells the Exchange Agent for our version of BackupExec

Which version of BE are you using ? Newer versions of BE do have the Exchange Agent, they just have been renamed to Agent for Application & Databases.

[mdufffin]

Backup Exec 2010 R3 is our current product.

Trying to decide whether to:

1. Stay with 2010 R3 and set Exchange to circular logging to truncate the logs automatically and fall back to the previous nights full VM backup if ever needed.

2. Upgrade to BE 15 to get Exchange agent functionality and benefit from SAN restore which a feature of 2010 R3.

2010 R3 has run very well for years. Only a few hiccups along the way. BE 2012 was a total paradigm shift for us and we never could get a handle on how to conveniently deploy it in our data center. Hoping that's all been resolved now.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.

[mdufffin]

Sorry, that should have said restore via SAN was not a feature of 2010 R3.

[VJware]

BE 15 (or even BE 2014) for that matter has considerably improved over BE 2012.

If possible, why not setup a test server with BE 15 and test SAN-based restores using the VMware agent.