The following best practices help you use the Agent for Microsoft Hyper-V effectively:

• To avoid backing up VHD files twice, you must exclude the directories that contain VHD files when you create a CSV backup. If you do not exclude the directories that contain VHD files, then the VHD files are backed up once in the virtual machine backup and again in the CSV volume backup.

• To use Backup Exec's Granular Recovery Technology (GRT), install the Agent for Windows on the virtual machine on which data is to be restored.

• Do not use GRT for system file restore for disaster recovery of a virtual machine. Instead, restore the full virtual machine.

• Ensure that each virtual machine has a unique name. If you have two virtual machines with the same display name, backup jobs may fail.

• To use GRT for individual items from Microsoft Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint, or SQL, do the following:

  • Install the Agent for Windows on the guest virtual machine.

  • Ensure that you have a valid license for each application that you want to protect.

  • Ensure that the credentials for the guest virtual machine are valid for the application you want to protect.

  • Use the same requirements for backing up Microsoft Exchange on a physical computer when you back up Exchange on a virtual machine.

  • Create separate backup definitions for file servers and application or database servers. When you create file server backup jobs, be sure to uncheck the option Use Backup Exec Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) to enable the restore of individual files and folders on the Virtual Machines settings pane, which is accessed from the left pane of the Backup Options dialog box.