VMware (ESX 5.x) backup integration with NetBackup with 7.1.0.3

[tarangdce]

All,

We have 2 ESX cluster with 10 ESX host in each cluster and storage is 70TB in one cluster and 25 in another. As a backup destination we are using DD Boost and Data Domain DD890. Four 10Gig E NICs are available on DD and 2*10Gig E on each media and Master Server.

Query is if I have to take a FULL backup of cluster / esx host, will it take entire assigned space of data store or only utilized space? I am planning to take block level incremental with vStorage API from vmware.

Do I need to zone all the LUNs to VMware host / media server although my backup method is over ethernet to DD?

If not, which is best available method to take backup to DD over ethernet ?

[Omar_Villa]

Netbackup will ignore any free space but your first backup must be a full and later the diffs. About the zoning netbackup or the clien hosting the data must be able to see the data other way it be ignore.

[teiva-boy]

Query is if I have to take a FULL backup of cluster / esx host, will it take entire assigned space of data store or only utilized space?

It'll be ONLY the used space of the VMDK, and even then any whitespace within the VM will be ignored.  If you use thin-provisioned VM's, it'll retain that too.

Do I need to zone all the LUNs to VMware host / media server although my backup method is over ethernet to DD?

The backup path is FC LUN to NBU backup host to ETHERNET DD.  Assuming your NBU server has a FC connection or iSCSI.  There is NO LUN to DD directly.  

If you are using NBD, then you don't have to worry about zoning.  But it is no where near as fast with 4/8GB FC.

So yes, zone LUN so that the NBU WIndows host can see the VMFS LUNs.  Make sure to run the appropriate diskpart commands on that server so you don't break anything!!!!!!

diskpart 

automount disable

automount scrub

[teiva-boy]

Side note, an 890, really needs 10GbE to take advantage of it's native speed.  a 1x4Gb connection is a HUGE bottleneck to it.  Perhaps if using BOOST, it won't be so bad.

[tarangdce]

Sorry for delay.

This DD890 has 4*10GB FCoE connection. i.e. fiber cable connection.

Still Do I need to zone LUNs to NetBackup host ?

[Mark_Solutions · Accepted solution]

You should zone your LUNS to the VMWare Backup Host (which should be Windows servers) and obviously the better its network the fatser the data can then pass to the DD.

Also add the media servers (VMWare Backup Hosts) to the Master Servers Host Properties - Client Attributes tab and set them to have Client Side de-duplication as required.

In this way the VMWare backup host backups up the data directly over the SAN and de-dupes it then just passes the de-dupe data to the DD rather then the entire backup.

Hope this helps