Hi,
For VMware I would really suggest upgrading to NetBackup 7.0.1. Just some feature highlights from the Symantec site.
NetBackup can provide both client and virtual machine (VM) level protection using the vStorage API. This integration enables a single backup of VMware images to deliver granular file-level or full image-level recovery, reducing both the time and cost of VMware data protection.
- Improves speed by 50% and reduces storage by up to 40% versus previous versions' approaches with VMware Consolidate Backup
- Only NetBackup offers instant recovery of files from block-level increment backups (BLIB)
- Complete deduplication across all virtual and physical systems regardless of backup method
- Automate and manage snapshots inside a virtual machine from host and array-based providers
- No backup or recovery compromises for customers who back up directly to tape
As mentioded above, PureDisk and now NetBackup deduplication option has a stream handlers designed for VMware which means you get great duplication.
Even when you don't use dedupliction you can benefit from Optimized incrementals which combine the benefits of BLIB (Block level incremental backups) and Symantec intelligence to figure out which changed blocks on a file system actually contain information.
Also, you don't need VCB anymore, NetBackup 7 integrates directly with vStorage, so you dont need a temporary area to dump the vmdk images/snapshot before you can back them up. You can now send them staight to tape / disk.
Restore operations are also really nice, the GUI/Wizards connects to vCenter and gives you the option to restore to different server, data store, etc. You can also choose to have the restored vm powered on, connect, not-connected to the network etc. It will also analyze the datastores and ensure there is enough spave available.
These are just a few highlights that i recall. Not all related to deduplication, but worth checking out!
