Combining full VM backups with differential backups
Hi everyone,
One limitation that I have encountered in BE, which I think other users have encountered as well, is that it is not possible to combine full VM backups with differential backups.
For example: I have a 1 TB (Terabyte) file server.
In my weekly full backup, I want to make full VM backup (VMDK backup using VCB), so that I get a very fast DRP should my VM be destroyed (just restore the VMDKs and click "play").
In my daily differential backup, I want to make a file level backup of only files that changed since the last full VM backup (differential).
Even with the latest version of BE (2010), this is not possible because VMDK backup does not set the archive bit.
I have tried the option "differential - using modified time", however, this does not work either because it requires the full backup and differential backup selection lists to be the same (this is not the case because, as stated, full backup is VMDK and differential backup is file-level).
So, I am forced to make a compromise. I have two options:
1) Backup full VM everyday: good DRP but impractical since the backup takes too long and uses too much tape (1 terabyte per day).
2) Do standard file level backups (full weekly + differential daily): ok from the backup time / tape usage perspective, but my DRP is rubbish (requires a lot of manual operation).
Anyone else thinks this would be a nice feature?
Kind regards,
Gaston
Comments 4 Comments • Jump to latest comment
Hello
Good idea. We had a lot of requests for this and we have good news on it.
The combination of BE 2010's new VMware Agent and vSphere 4.0 will allow you to perform block-level incremental or differential backups of all of your vSphere 4.0 VM"s that are using the HW version 7 configuration and have the change block tracking setting enabled. vSphere 4.0 only for incremental/differential.
This combination will allow BE 2010's VMware Agent to perform high-performance incremental or differential block level backups. These backups do not care about the older archive bit settings. They are a lot faster that the older traditional archive bit style backups.
You must use a Backup Exec policy to manage these new Incremental/Differential backups.You will see pre-made templates for incremental/diff backups on the BE Job Setup tab central window pane that you can re-use for this. You set the backup type for incremental/differential for these on the VMware Settings page in the template settings (not on the general settings page where you see the drop down backup method with all of the older archive bit/modified time methods).Those are just for regular file backups and have no effect on your VMware backups.
Also, we replaced the older VMware VCB technology with the newer and faster vStorage backup API's from VMware for even better performance in BE 2010.
Combine this with our new Deduplication Option and watch how much faster and how much less space your VMware VMDK backups take, particularly with the block level incremental/differential for vSphere 4.0 VM's. Try it out and let us know.
Peter Imming
Product Manager, Backup Exec
Peter Imming, Sr. Product Manager, NetBackup, Symantec peter_imming@symantec.com
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your feedback. I am currently still at ESX 3.5, but I will give this feature a try as soon as I upgrade to VSphere.
Regards,
Gaston
Hi Peter - Been working through a series of errors in BU 2010. Seems the standard AVVI documentation does not mention the change block tracking setting, just the need to have the VM's on hardware version 7. Can you guys add that info, and perhaps how to set it?
It seems to be buried in the VMware documentation. http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vddk/vcb_vsphere_backup.pdf
Which says
To enable Changed Block Tracking with the VMware vSphere Client:
Just my thoughts on how to make this process less painful. But it's already a lot better than BE 12.5.
We have the same issue, I got excited when I read this but I go to check for thsi option and it's already enabled!? Now what?
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