vRanger 7.8 - User Guide

Selecting a repository

On the Repository Selection page of the wizard, you can select the repository to which the job should send the backup data. You can also add a repository from this page. For more information, see Adding a repository.

vRanger supports the following repository options for storing backup archives:

NOTE: Any storage device or appliance that supports CIFS or NFSv3 is expected to be compatible with vRanger.

•	Windows Share (CIFS)

•

NFS

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NetVault SmartDisk (NVSD): The Quest disk-based data-deduplication option which reduces storage costs with byte-level, variable-block-based software deduplication. For more information on NetVault SmartDisk, see http://quest.com/products/netvault-smartdisk/ or the Quest vRanger Integration Guide for Quest NetVault SmartDisk.

•	EMC Data Domain Boost (DDB): Integrating EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost) with vRanger is achieved by adding a Data Domain appliance running DD Boost to vRanger as a repository. Backups written to that repository are deduplicated according to your configuration.

For more information on EMC Data Domain Boost, see the Quest vRanger Integration Guide for EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost) or http://www.emc.com/data-protection/data-domain/data-domain-boost.htm.

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Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA): Provided by the Quest DR Series appliances — purpose-built, disk backup appliances that use Quest deduplication technology to improve backup and recovery processes. For more information on Quest DR Series appliances, see http://quest.com/products/dr-series-disk-backup-appliances/ or the Quest vRanger Integration Guide for Quest DR Series Disk Backup Appliance.

 

NOTE: Quest RDA and EMC DDB repositories support repository replication. Only one repository can be configured per backup job. For more information on configuring repository replication, see Managing repository replication.

To select a repository:

1	In the Repositories pane, select the repository you want to use for this backup job.

If you want to add a repository, see Adding a repository for more information.

 

NOTE: When using Quest RDA or EMC DD Boost repositories, you may configure the repository to replicate savepoints to another like device. For more information, see Managing repository replication.

2	Click Next.

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

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

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

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.

Selecting a Retention Policy

The Retention Policy Selection page lets you configure the type of backup to perform — full, incremental, or differential — and the minimum number of savepoints to keep for each VM. For more information about retention policies, see Understanding retention policies and space-saving technologies.

 

IMPORTANT: For backup jobs configured to use a replicated repository, the chosen retention policy is applied to both the source and target repositories. For more information, see Managing repository replication.

vRanger offers three methods of backing up data while reducing the storage footprint and network load of VM backups.

To create a backup job, complete one of the following procedures:

•	Creating a full backup job

•	Creating an incremental backup job

•	Creating a differential backup job

Creating a full backup job

For full backups, vRanger performs a full scan and copy of the source VM. Full backup jobs can be modified with the following operations:

•

Active Block Mapping (ABM): ABM scans the disks on a VM and detects the blocks actively used by the disk, as opposed to blocks that were deleted by the Windows® operating system. With ABM enabled, vRanger only backs up that part of a virtual disk that has active data on it. ABM also provides the following settings options:

▪	Do not include the Windows page file.

▪	Do not include the Windows hibernation file.

 

NOTE: In vRanger 6.1, page files and hibernation files were not backed up by default. In vRanger 7, page and hibernation 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 the page file or hibernation file, or both. ABM does not back up deleted data. If a VM backed up using ABM is restored, undelete operations are not possible.

To create a full backup job:

1	On the Retention Policy Selection page, use the up and down arrows to select your Savepoint Count — the default is 7.

2	In the Space Saving Technology section, select None.

3	Click Next.

Creating an incremental backup job

For incremental backups, vRanger performs a full scan of the source VM, but copy only blocks that have changed since the last backup.

Incremental backups are typically the fastest backup option and consume less storage space per archive. It is important to note, however, that to restore from an incremental backup, each incremental archive between the full backup and the preferred restore point must be available. When creating incremental backup schedules, use caution to minimize the risk introduced by long incremental chains.

Restoring an incremental backup can take longer than restoring a full or differential backup, because each previous incremental archive needs to be restored as well.

Incremental backups can be modified with the following operations:

•

Active Block Mapping (ABM): ABM scans the disks on a VM and detects the blocks actively used by the disk, as opposed to blocks that were deleted by the Windows® operating system. With ABM enabled, vRanger only backs up the part of a virtual disk that has active data on it. ABM also provides the following settings options:

▪	Do not include the Windows page file.

▪	Do not include the Windows hibernation file.

 

NOTE: In vRanger 6.1, page files and hibernation files were not backed up by default. In vRanger 7, page and hibernation 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 the page file or hibernation file, or both.

 

CAUTION: ABM does not back up deleted data. If a VM backed up using ABM is restored, undelete operations are not possible.

•

Changed Block Tracking (CBT): 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. This often results in shorter durations for backup operations, and reduced resource consumption on network and storage elements.

 

NOTE: CBT does copy deleted blocks if ABM is not also enabled. CBT is a VMware® feature, and does not apply to physical machine or Hyper-V® VM backup.

For more information about selecting the ABM and CBT operations, see Configuring backup options.

To create an incremental backup job:

1	On the Retention Policy Selection page, select your Savepoint Count — the default setting is 7, the maximum value is 1000.

2	In the Space Saving Technology section, select Incremental.

The Options section appears.

3	Configure your incremental options by selecting one the following:

▪	Threshold Count: This option defines the number of incremental backups to perform before a full backup is done.

Use the up and down arrows to select a threshold count — the default is 6.

▪	Full Backup Days: Select the day or days on which you want vRanger to take a full backup of the server.

 

NOTE: To run full backups only on the selected days, the Threshold Count must be set to a value of 8 or higher. A threshold count of 7 or less causes a full backup to run seven days from the date the job is scheduled, even if that day is not a selected day.

4	Click Next.

Creating a differential backup job

For differential backups, vRanger performs a full scan of the source VM, but copies only blocks that have changed since the last Full backup.

Differential backups are typically slower than incrementals and can consume more storage space. They are faster to restore, however, and require only one differential backup and the parent full backup to restore.

Differential backups can be modified with the following operations:

•

Active Block Mapping (ABM): ABM scans the disks on a VM and detects the blocks actively used by the disk, as opposed to blocks that were deleted by the Windows® operating system. With ABM enabled, vRanger only backs up the part of a virtual disk that has active data on it. ABM also provides the following settings options:

▪	Do not include the Windows page file.

▪	Do not include the Windows hibernation file.

 

NOTE: In vRanger 6.1, page files and hibernation files were not backed up by default. In vRanger 7, page and hibernation 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 the page file or hibernation file, or both.

 

CAUTION: ABM does not back up deleted data. If a VM backed up using ABM is restored, undelete operations are not possible.

•

Changed Block Tracking (CBT): 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. This often results in shorter durations for backup operations, and reduced resource consumption on network and storage elements.

 

NOTE: CBT copies deleted blocks if ABM is not also enabled. CBT is a VMware® feature, and does not apply to physical machine or Hyper-V® VM backup.

For more information about selecting the ABM and CBT operations, see Configuring backup options.

To create a differential backup job:

1	On the Retention Policy Selection page, select your Savepoint Count — the default setting is 7, the maximum value is 1000.

2	In the Space Saving Technology section, select Differential.

The Options section appears.

3	Configure your incremental options by selecting one the following:

▪	Threshold Count: This option defines the number of incremental backups to perform before a full backup is done.

Use the up and down arrows to select a threshold count — the value is 6.

▪	Full Backup Days: Select the day or days on which you want vRanger to take a full backup of the server.

 

NOTE: To run full backups only on the selected days, the Threshold Count must be set to a value of 8 or higher. A threshold count of 7 or less causes a full backup to run seven days from the date the job is scheduled, even if that day is not a selected day.

▪	The Threshold Size refers to the percentage of the hard disk of a VM that must be captured in differential backups before performing a full backup. Using the Threshold Size value might cause your full backups to be taken on unexpected days.

 

NOTE: The Threshold Size setting is still applied if one or more Full Backup Days are set. To prevent the Threshold Size setting from triggering an unwanted full backup, set the Threshold Size to 100 or higher.

4	Click Next.