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New installation BE 2012: best choice/decisions for VMWARE/mixed environ

Maxgeo
Level 4

So with a new SAN from Dell we got a new back-up server and BE 2012 adn the VMWare essentials plus bundle (VCentre, Agents etc.).

 

I have to set up the new back-up solution. Need a few answers that I cant find in any fo the support doco. Here are my specs:

Q1) Back-up server came already configured with 2 Stores, Disk 0: I have made 60Gb system (2008R2 + BE 2012), and Data Drive 200GB for misc apps files. The second store Disk 1: is one RAID with 16TB, That I have to choose what I need to do with for our 2012 installation disk storage/scratch area etc.

The best choice guides just say dont use for both disk storage and de-dupe storage, so what should i do? Break it up. Use just one option? What about restore scratch area? Our full Virtual environment is about 10GB, so do we need at least this to house all snapshots?

 

Q2) I havent committed a configuration yet but I have set a couple of test scenarios up to familiarise myslef with the settings/menus. The agents for VMWAre and Windows are installed on the back-up server so i can choose esx/vcentre hosts and it should be able to logon to the esx hosts and then see all the VM's on these hosts and incloude these too in the 'server list'? Well when i do this, it is only adding the esx hosts and i cant see where/how it finds/populates all the VM's on teh hosts? (THe admin guide makes a pont that new VM's are automatically backed up, yet i'd expect to see these through the BE console?).

 

PLease help!

15 REPLIES 15

pkh
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1) You can only create a dedup folder if you have licenced the dedup option.  Otherwise, you have to define Disk Storage.  In either case, you can only define either a Disk Storage or a dedupe folder on a single volume

2) When you select the host in your job, any addition/delettion of VM's will be automatically tracked.

CraigV
Moderator
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Hi,

 

Q1. If you can carve out a restore area, do so. It just logically separates the various environments (backup/restore). If not, or you don't have the capability to do so in terms of storage knowledge, leave as is. I normally try getting a separate disk if I can; otherwise I create a separate folder specifically for restores. Try moving BE onto the larger of the 2 local drives. BE will grow in terms of catalogs and data, and Windows Server 2008 R2 already has a large installation base. No sense in having BE or Windows crash because either can't function when the disk runs out of space.

Snapshots are mainly done on the storage...you'd have an AOFO folder, but this won't grow to TB in size. Your storage needs to cater for free disk space (VMware standard is at least 20% free disk space on a data store) to allow snapshot and normal functioning.

Thanks!

AshwinApte
Level 4
Employee

Hi Maxgeo,

Q1) Could you please elaborate on "Break it up. Use just one option?", do you mean creating two drives on the 16TB volume and then creating a Disk storage on one drive and the De-Dup on the other?

When you say Restore Scratch area, do you mean the Staging area?

Q2) When the ESX Server is added, you still need to select the Datacenter under which you see all your VM's, to do that first create a storage device (either DeDup or Disk or both as mentioned by "pkh") and then select the option Backup to Disk or Backup to DeDuplication Disk. In the left hand pane of the window are the selections where you should be able to expand your datacenter and select either the whole datacenter or individual VM's for backup.

The automatic adding of VM's is an option called "Dynamic inclusion", so once you have selected the whole datacenter in a backup job, any new VM's added to this Datacenter will be automatically added in the backup job and backed up. NOTE: This will only happen if you have selected the whole datacenter not if individual VM's are selected.

Thanks

Maxgeo
Level 4

THanks guys for your prompt replies! I have our VM's all showing up now in the selection list after fiddling with permissions a bit better. I am doing my first back-up now and it is looking good all over the iSCSI network which is good news!

 

Re: Questions on the 16TB drive: 'Break it up' I mean, have say 8TB for de-dupe, and 4TB for 'disk storage', and then 4TB for staging/restores?

What is the thinking/theory here?

When I run a restore, should be able to drill into the vmdk's in the disk store and use GRT? I have read a few other scary posts about ppl having trouble doing this thinking that all their VM's are backed up, so i will see what happens after this first test back up finishes.

When you add a single server sepearetly (not through the esx host), the agents are automatcially installed, but what about using the single 'Add esx/vcentre' option? Can i push out the agents and will a single VCnetre backup be agent-aware?)

We have licenses for most agents (VM WAre, EXchange, linux, SQL) but i am currently running within 60 day trial so de-dupe is available as an option, i will have to check whether our maint agreement includes de-dupe store. Is the de-dupe store necessary/worthwhile? I am assuming is will cut down the back-window substantially and include good disk retention, but is there anything else i need to consider? Should I make a choice between 'de-dupe disk store' and 'disk storage', or use both (for what reason?)

Thanks again, i will reward points shortly.

CraigV
Moderator
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Hi,

 

You'd break that drive up as follows:

1. For dedupe, you're going to get good compression, but 8TB would be enough if you have catered for any growth in your VM environment (like adding new servers etc). But ideally this is something you need to calculate on your side.

2. I'd then just have another partition of 8TB. Restores and disk storage on the same drive...

When you say disk storage, what exactly is this?

Thanks!

Maxgeo
Level 4

When you configure direct disk stroage you are given 2 main options: 1) 'Disk storage' (I assume using plain mapped disk as in legacy systems) and 2) 'Dedupe disk storage', which i suppose is the new licensable feature most would like to go with to reduce backup window.

 

Can anyone still help with this stuff:

When I run a restore, should be able to drill into the vmdk's in the disk store and use GRT? I have read a few other scary posts about ppl having trouble doing this thinking that all their VM's are backed up, so i will see what happens after this first test back up finishes.

When you add a single server sepearetly (not through the esx host), the agents are automatcially installed, but what about using the single 'Add esx/vcentre' option? Can i push out the agents and will a single VCnetre backup be agent-aware?)

pkh
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When you define your storage on disk, you got to choose between Disk Storage and Dedup Disk Storage.  You can only use one of them.

Note that using dedupe may not necessarily save backup time due to all the dedup processing.  It will save on storage.

When you do a restore, regardless of whether you are using dedup or not, you would be able to restore individual file/folders.  You got to install the RAWS in the VM to do GRT restore.

If you select the host,  all the VM's under the host will be backed up.

Maxgeo
Level 4

So in theory I only need 1 backup (of the VM)? Am I right in thinking this job wont purge exchange logs?

There is no step for pushing out an agent to the VM server when you use esx/vcentre backup, so do you have to install this seperately?

pkh
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You don't push out the agent to the host.  You push out the agents to the VM's.

Maxgeo
Level 4

Yes but how? When you go through the 'add VMWare server' i select the vcentre/esx host, then select the VM, where is the step to push out the agent?

pkh
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You can either

1) select the individual VM's in the Backup and Restore tab, and then click on the Update button in the button bar

or

2) click on the BE button and then Update agent.  See below

The second method allows you to update a bunch of remote servers at one go.

Maxgeo
Level 4

In 1) where is the 'UPdate' button if you are in the Datacentre/ESX view?

So I have tried using 2) and putting in my exchange server, the only RAW offered to me is 'Agent for Windows'. Is this the exchange-aware(Microsoft InformationStore) agent? Or do I need to add a further agent onto our BE server to make this available?

pkh
Moderator
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1) You have to highlight each of the VM individually, you cannot highlight the ESX host.  In any case, you cannot install the RAWS in the ESX host.

2) There is only one remote agent, i.e, the RAWS.  All the capabilities, like Exchange agent, is built into it. When the agent is licenced, the capability is activated.

Maxgeo
Level 4

OK thanks for the above. I thought just that and installed the one RAW.

Still didnt see GRT capability for my test exchange server after my back-up.

 

Do I need Exchange Tools on my back-up server for GRT to work?

Maxgeo
Level 4

Did another test back-up with an exchange server with now with exchange tools installed and re-installed RAW's.

Zero luck. No GRT when attempting a restore from a VM.

 

How can this issue have bulk posts and absolutely no solutions or resolved threads?