Does VCB proxy require staging area with Vsphere?

[Ross_Murphy]

Hello All,

I have been tasked with looking into what's required to use VCB Proxy server with Netbackup in our new SAN connected Vsphere (ESX4) environment.
We have netbackup 6.5.3 Plans to upgrade are in the works.

My supervisor "has a feeling" that with the newest versions: vsphere + VCB + Netbackup that we will not need a large amount of storage on our VCB proxy server.

I know that previously VCB required copying large amounts of snapshot data to a staging area. Is that still required in newer versions?

If not please quote the source. I've been all over white papers and admin guides but not found the right docs.

Thanks in advance for any bone you throw.

Ross

[Mouse]

Current implementation of NBU for VMware supports only VCB-style backups with proxy server.

Upcoming NBU 7.0 (expected to be released at 1Q2010)  will support VSphere VStorage APIs and will not require proxy server.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Some published info by Symantec about NetBackup 7.0 and the future of a VCB proxy server going forward:

Expanded VMware Protection & Recovery with vStorage API support

• Reduce hardware requirements by eliminating proxy server for off-host backups
• Faster backups with block-level incremental backup (BLIB) support
• Instantly find individual files from a BLIB backup (unique to NetBackup)

http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/336166.htm

[Ross_Murphy]

Thanks so much for the replies.

That link was exactly what I needed.

Thanks.

Ross