Is it a mandatory or option to have backup host to acess DataStore of VMWare?

[FlyMountain]

We are backing up VMWare VMs through backup host. So far it works well. I am just wondering if the backup host of datastore SAN access is a mandatory or an option?  If the backup host doesn't have datastore access, can we backup the VMs through LAN?

Can someone please confirm?

thanks!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Yes, can be backed up through LAN.
From the NetBackup Vmware Guide

Ensure that the hardware and the SAN are configured properly. The VMware datastore where the target virtual machine files exist must be accessible to the VMware backup host.

Note:A SAN connection between the backup host and the datastore is optional if you use the NBD transfer type or NBDSSL transfer type.