vRanger 7.7 - User Guide

Selecting a backup data transport method for VMware machines

Selecting a backup data transport method for VMware machines

In vRanger, the transport determines how backup data is sent, and where the backup processing activity occurs; for more information, see VMware backup transport options. When configuring a backup job for a VMware® VM, the Backup Wizard, by default, uses the Automatic Transport Selection option to select the best transport method at run-time automatically; you can also configure the transport manually by using the Using Custom transport selection option.

 

NOTE: The Transport Selection page is not available when backing up a physical machine or Hyper-V® virtual server. Because only one transport method is available for Hyper-V and physical servers, the Transport Selection page of the Backup Wizard does not display.

To select a backup data transport method for VMware machines, complete one of the following procedures:

•	Using Automatic transport selection

•	Using Custom transport selection

Using Automatic transport selection

Using Automatic transport selection

The Backup Wizard includes an Automatic transport selection option, which lets vRanger select the best available method for your configuration. When determining the best transport, vRanger uses two key criteria:

•	Whether virtual appliances (VAs) are deployed.

•	Where vRanger is installed.

The logic used to select a transport differs slightly based on whether vRanger is installed on a VM or on a physical server. For more information about the order in which vRanger checks for transport availability, see Transport selection order: VM backup.

To use the Automatic Transport selection:

1	On the Transport Selection page, select Automatic transport selection.

The selected transport method appears at the bottom of the page.

 

IMPORTANT: Each time the job runs, vRanger detects your configuration and selects the best transport method available at run-time. That method might not always be what is shown on the page during the job setup.

vRanger verifies whether any VAs are configured on the source host. If the host belongs to a cluster, and no host VA is found, vRanger searches for shared VAs on the cluster as well.

If no VA is detected, click Configure Virtual Appliance to add a VA to vRanger. For more information about configuring the VA, see Understanding the vRanger virtual appliance (VA).

2	Click Next.

Using Custom transport selection

Using Custom transport selection

The Custom transport selection option lets you specify both where the actual backup processing activity occurs) and which transport to use. For more information, see VMware backup transport options.

To use the Custom Transport selection:

1	On the Transport Selection page, select Custom transport selection.

This option enables the custom settings.

2	Select where you want the job to occur from the following options:

▪	On this vRanger machine.

▪	On a vRanger VA.

vRanger verifies whether any VAs are configured on the source host. If the host belongs to a cluster, and no host VA is found, vRanger searches for shared VAs on the cluster as well.

If no VA is detected, click Configure Virtual Appliance to add a VA to vRanger. For more information about configuring the VA, see Understanding the vRanger virtual appliance (VA).

 

NOTE: Using the vRanger VA is recommended for scalability and performance.

3	Select which transports the job should attempt from the following options:

▪	Advanced [SAN / HotAdd]

▪

LAN

For more information, see VMware backup transport options.

4	[Optional] If you want your LAN backups to be encrypted, select Use SSL encryption while transferring files over the LAN connection when available.

 

CAUTION: This option causes reduced performance.

5	Click Next.

Configuring backup options

Configuring backup options

The Backup Options page lets you configure additional operations performed during the backup job. The options available depend on the server, or inventory, type you want to back up.

To configure backup options:

1	On the Backup Options page, select your preferences from the options described in the following table.

 

Option	Description	Inventory type
Backup powered on machines only.	If this flag is selected, vRanger checks the status of the VM before it begins a backup. If the VM is not running, it might not have changed significantly since the last backup, making another backup redundant.	• VMware • Hyper-V
Check destination for free space.	This option prompts vRanger to check the destination location to ensure that there is enough space available for the backup file to be written. Because it is not possible to determine how much space is saved by compression, vRanger generates an error if the free space at the destination is less than the combined size of the files belonging to the source server.	• VMware • Hyper-V • Physical
Compress backed up files.	This option prompts vRanger to compress the archive. NOTE: The following repositories do not support compression: Quest NetVault SmartDisk, EMC® Data Domain® (DD Boost™), and Quest RDA.	• VMware • Hyper-V • Physical
Update notes with latest backup results.	If this flag is selected, vRanger updates the VM Notes in VMware® vCenter™ with the most recent backup status. vRanger maintains the existing VM notes in vCenter, appending the backup status to the end.	• VMware
Enable guest quiescing.	This option enables the VMware® Tools when creating a backup. Use this flag if you are backing up a database server. During this process, vRanger freezes or pauses writes on supported applications to provide a consistent image of VSS-enabled databases. For more information, see Application consistency for virtual backups.	• VMware
Enable VSS Application-level quiescing	This option engages the Microsoft VSS to put supported applications into a consistent state during a backup. NOTE: This option is only presented for physical backups. For backups of VMware and Hyper-V® VMs, selecting Enable guest quiescing enables VSS application quiescing if supported by the Guest OS and application.	• Physical
Enable VSS log truncation	This option uses the Microsoft VSS to initiate the truncation of any supported application transaction logs upon a successful backup. NOTE: This option is only presented for physical backups. For backups of VMware and Hyper-V VMs, selecting Enable guest quiescing enables VSS log truncation if supported by the Guest OS and application.	• Physical
Enable Active Block Mapping (ABM)	Selecting this option enables ABM, which lets vRanger skip zeroed out blocks and junk data. NOTE: With this option enabled, deleted data on the source server is not backed up. The following ABM settings options are also available: • Do not include the Windows page file. • Do not include the Windows hibernation file. NOTE: In vRanger 6.1, page files were not backed up by default. In vRanger 7, the page files are backed up by default. If you are upgrading to vRanger 7 from version 6.1, page files are backed up unless you edit each job and explicitly select the option to skip page files.	• VMware • Hyper-V • Physical
Enable Cataloging	Cataloging lets you browse, search, and restore file level content in a backup image. For more information, see Enabling cataloging options.	• VMware • Hyper-V • Physical
Enable Change Block Tracking (CBT)	VMware CBT reduces the time needed for incremental and differential backups by only backing up the portions of a disk that have changed since the last backup. By determining which blocks changed within the VMDK file, vRanger only backs up the portions of a disk that have changed since the last backup. For more information, see Enabling VMware Changed Block Tracking (CBT)	• VMware

2	Click Next.