vRanger 7.8 - User Guide

Adding a NetVault SmartDisk repository

The following process describes how to add a Quest NetVault SmartDisk repository.

To add a NetVault SmartDisk repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click anywhere, and click Add > NetVault SmartDisk (NVSD).

2	In the Add NVSD Repository dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: Enter the IP or FQDN for the NetVault SmartDisk server.

▪	User name and Password: Enter the credentials for the account that vRanger should use to connect to the repository.

 

NOTE: If you have enabled WebDav authentication on your NetVault SmartDisk server, use those credentials here. If you have not enabled WebDav authentication, no credentials are required. For more information, see the Quest NetVault SmartDisk Administrator’s Guide.

▪

Target Directory: This value is a logical identifier for the repository on the NetVault SmartDisk Instance, rather than a specific directory on the NetVault SmartDisk server. If you have previously created one or more repositories on the target NetVault SmartDisk Instance, the existing target directories are available in a drop-down menu.

To create a repository, enter a name for your repository.

▪	Port: Enter the port that vRanger should use to connect to the NetVault SmartDisk server — the default is 37453.

▪	Timeout: Enter a value that determines how long to wait before terminating an idle connection.

 

NOTE: Encryption is not supported for NetVault SmartDisk repositories.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the repository is tested and the repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

vRanger checks the configured repository location for existing manifest data to identify existing savepoints.

4	If vRanger finds existing savepoints, click the applicable button:

▪	Import as Read-Only: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, but only for restores, click this button. You cannot back up data to this repository.

▪	Import: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, click this button. vRanger is able to use the repository for backups and restores. vRanger requires read and write access to the directory.

▪	Overwrite: To retain the savepoint data on the disk and not import it into vRanger, click this button. vRanger ignores the existence of the existing savepoint data and treats the repository as new.

Removing a NetVault SmartDisk repository

The process for removing a NetVault SmartDisk repository is the same as removing any other repository type.

To remove a NetVault SmartDisk repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the NetVault SmartDisk repository, and select Remove.

The Remove Repository dialog box appears, showing the savepoints in the selected repository.

When removing a repository, you have the option of keeping the savepoints on disk or deleting them.

2	To remove the savepoints, select Delete all savepoints in this repository.

 

CAUTION: This step deletes the savepoints from the repository disk, not just the vRanger database. Exercise caution when deleting savepoints.

3	If you chose to delete the savepoints, click OK when the Delete Savepoints dialog box appears.

The savepoints are deleted, along with the repository.

Adding an EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost) repository

The following process describes how to add an EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™) repository. The following procedure assumes that:

•	You have a properly configured Data Domain appliance that is accessible to the vRanger machine.

•	DD Boost is licensed and enabled on the Data Domain device.

•	You have designated a DD Boost User account.

 

NOTE: For information on setting up the preceding configurations, see your EMC Data Domain documentation.

To add an EMC Data Domain Boost Repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click anywhere, and click Add > EMC Data Domain Boost (DDB).

2	In the Add EMC Data Domain Boost Repository dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: Enter the IP or FQDN for the Data Domain device.

▪	User name and Password: Enter the credentials for the account selected as the DD Boost User on the Data Domain device.

 

NOTE: For information on creating a DD Boost user name, see your Data Domain documentation.

▪	Storage Unit: This field specifies the Storage Unit configured on the Data Domain device. Select one from the drop-down menu, or enter the name for a new Storage Unit and vRanger creates one for you.

 

IMPORTANT: The supported characters are alphanumeric characters and ~!@#$^_+`-={}[],.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the repository is tested and the repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

vRanger checks the configured repository location for existing manifest data to identify existing savepoints.

4	If vRanger finds existing savepoints, click the applicable button:

▪	Import as Read-Only: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, but only for restores, click this button. You cannot back up data to this repository.

▪	Import: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, click this button. vRanger is able to use the repository for backups and restores. vRanger requires read and write access to the directory.

▪	Overwrite: To retain the savepoint data on the disk and not import it into vRanger, click this button. vRanger ignores the existence of the existing savepoint data and treats the repository as new.

Configuring repository replication

Replication is configured through the My Repositories pane of the vRanger interface. The following procedure assumes that:

•	You have configured at least one DD Boost repository in vRanger.

•	At least one other Data Domain device with DD Boost enabled is available in your environment to serve as the replication target. You do not have to add this device to vRanger.

•	All devices used in replication have a Replicator license installed.

To configure replication:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the Data Domain Boost repository, and select Configure Replication.

2	In the Configure Replication dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: Enter the IP or FQDN for the Data Domain device.

▪	DD Boost User name and Password: Enter the credentials for the account selected as the DD Boost User on the Data Domain device.

▪	Storage Unit: This field specifies the Storage Unit configured on the Data Domain device. Select one from the drop-down menu, or enter the name for a new Storage Unit and vRanger creates one for you.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the device is tested and the device is added as a repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

After replication is configured for a repository, the Configure Replication option is disabled for that repository.

 

IMPORTANT: After a repository is configured for replication, you must select a synchronization method before replication occurs. For information on manual and automatic synchronization options, see Managing repository replication.

Editing a replication configuration

You may edit an existing replication configuration to update credentials or timeout values. You may also use the Edit Repository Details dialog box to view free space for the repository.

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the EMC Data Domain Boost repository, and select Edit Replication Configuration.

2	In the Edit EMC Data Domain Boost Repository dialog box, edit any of the following fields:

▪	Repository Name

▪

User Name

▪

Password

3	Alternatively, view the Free Space field for up-to-date information about this repository.

4	If you edited any of the fields, click Update.

 

NOTE: For information on disabling repository replication, see Disabling repository replication.

Removing an EMC DD Boost repository

The process for removing an EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™) repository is the same as removing any other repository type, except that you also have the option of removing the storage unit used by the repository. There is a hard limit on the number storage units that can be configured on a Data Domain device, which makes removing unused storage units an important maintenance effort.

To remove a DD Boost repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the applicable EMC Data Domain Boost repository, and select Remove.

The Remove Repository dialog box appears, showing the savepoints in the selected repository.

When removing a repository, you have the option of keeping the savepoints on disk or deleting them. To remove the storage unit associated with the repository, you need to remove the savepoints. If replication is configured for this repository, you are also given the option to delete the savepoints in the replicated repository.

2	Select Delete all savepoints in this repository.

 

CAUTION: This step deletes the savepoints from the repository disk, not just the vRanger database. Exercise caution when deleting savepoints.

3	To delete the savepoints in a replicated repository, select Delete all savepoints in replication repository.

4

Click OK.

5	When the Delete Savepoints dialog box appears, select Delete DD Boost storage unit, and click OK.

The savepoints are deleted, along with the storage unit associated with the repository.

Adding a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository

The Quest DR Series disk-based data protection appliances optimize storage utilization and reduce network bandwidth requirements with in-line deduplication, server-side compression, and compressed and deduplicated replication.

The Quest DR Series include the following appliance types:

•	DR4000 System: This version consists of preinstalled Quest DR System software on a Dell™ PowerEdge™ R510 appliance platform.

•	DR4100 System: This version consists of preinstalled Quest DR System software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance platform.

•	DR6000 System: This version consists of preinstalled DR6000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance platform. This version differs from the DR4100 by including a higher level of base system hardware.

The Quest DR Series supports Common Internet File System (CIFS), Network File System (NFS), and RDA protocols. The RDA protocol provides a logical disk interface for the Quest DR Series system, and enables better coordination and integration between vRanger and the Quest DR Series system and provides for client-side deduplication of vRanger backups.

 

NOTE: Quest recommends that you use the RDA protocol when using a Quest DR Series system as a repository.

For more information about the Quest DR Series systems, see the Quest DR Series System Administrator Guide.

Adding a Quest DR Series system as an RDA repository

The following process describes how to add a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository. The following procedure assumes that:

•	You have a properly configured the Quest DR Series appliance that is accessible to the vRanger machine.

•	You created at least one storage container to be used as a Logical Storage Unit. When creating the storage container, use the options:

▪	Connection type: RDA

▪	RDA type: RDS

•	You have designated an RDA User account.

•	You configured your firewall to enable the following TCP ports.

▪

9904

▪

9911

▪

9915

▪

9916

▪

9920

 

NOTE: For information on setting up the preceding configurations, see your Quest DR Series documentation.

To add a Quest DR Series system as an RDA repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click anywhere, and click Add > Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA).

2	In the Add Quest Rapid Access Repository dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: Enter the DNS name or IP address of the Quest DR Series system.

▪	RDA Username: Enter a user account that can be used to log in to the device. On the Quest DR Series system, only one user account exists, and the user ID for that account is backup_user. You can only change the password for this account; you cannot create an account or delete the existing account.

▪	RDA Password: Enter the password for the user account. The default is: St0r@ge!

▪	Logical Storage Unit: Enter the name of the storage container. Ensure that the container is created before you add the device. You cannot add the device if the specified container does not exist on the device. When creating the storage container, use the options:

▫	Connection type: RDA

▫	RDA type: RDS

▪	Port Number: Leave this value at 0 to use the default.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the repository is tested and the repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

vRanger checks the configured repository location for existing manifest data to identify existing savepoints.

4	If vRanger finds existing savepoints, click the applicable button:

▪	Import as Read-Only: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, but only for restores, click this button. You cannot back up data to this repository.

▪	Import: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, click this button. vRanger is able to use the repository for backups and restores. vRanger requires read and write access to the directory.

▪	Overwrite: To retain the savepoint data on the disk and not import it into vRanger, click this button. vRanger ignores the existence of the existing savepoint data and treats the repository as new.

Configuring repository replication

Data Replication is configured through the My Repositories pane of the vRanger interface.

 

TIP: For more information on repository replication, see the Quest DR Series System Administrator Guide.

The following procedure assumes that:

•	You have configured at least one Quest RDA repository in vRanger.

•	At least one other Quest DR Series appliance with RDA is available in your environment to serve as the replication target. You do not have to add this device to vRanger.

To configure Replication:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository, and select Configure Replication.

2	In the Configure Replication dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: The DNS name or IP address of the Quest DR Series system.

▪	RDA Username: Enter a user account that can be used to log in to the device. On the Quest DR Series system, only one user account exists, and the user ID for that account is backup_user. You can only change the password for this account; you cannot create an account or delete the existing account.

▪	RDA Password: Enter the password for the user account.

▪	Logical Storage Unit: Enter the name of the storage container. Ensure that the container is created before you add the device. You cannot add the device if the specified container does not exist on the device. When creating the storage container, use the options:

▫	Connection type: RDA

▫	RDA type: RDS

▪	Port Number: Leave this value at 0 to use the default.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the device is tested and the device is added as a repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

After replication is configured for a repository, the Configure Replication option is disabled for that repository.

 

IMPORTANT: After a repository is configured for replication, you must select a synchronization method before replication occurs. For information on manual and automatic synchronization options, see Managing repository replication.

Editing a replication configuration

You may edit an existing replication configuration to update credentials or timeout values. You may also use the Edit Repository Details dialog box to view free space for the repository.

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository, and select Edit Replication Configuration.

2	In the Edit Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) dialog box, edit any of the following fields:

▪	Repository Name

▪

User Name

▪

Password

3	Alternatively, view the Free Space field for up-to-date information about this repository.

4	If you edited any of the fields, click Update.

 

NOTE: For information on disabling repository replication, see Disabling repository replication.

Removing a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository

The process for removing a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository is the same as removing any other repository type.

To remove a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click the Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository, and select Remove.

The Remove Repository dialog box appears, showing the savepoints in the selected repository.

When removing a repository, you have the option of keeping the savepoints on disk or deleting them. To remove the storage unit associated with the repository, you need to remove the savepoints. If replication is configured for this repository, you are also given the option to delete the savepoints in the replicated repository.

2	Select Delete all savepoints in this repository.

 

CAUTION: This step deletes the savepoints from the repository disk, not just the vRanger database. Exercise caution when deleting savepoints.

3	To delete the savepoints in a replicated repository, select Delete all savepoints in replication repository.

4

Click OK.

5	When the Delete Savepoints dialog box appears, click OK to delete the savepoints.

Adding a Quest DR Series system as a CIFS repository

 

NOTE: Adding a Quest DR Series system as a CIFS repository does not take advantage of the full function of the DR Series system. Quest recommends adding the Quest DR Series as an RDA repository.

To add a Quest DR Series system as a CIFS repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click anywhere, and click Add > Windows Share (CIFS).

2	In the Add Windows Network Share Repository dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	User Name and Password: Enter the credentials for accessing the CIFS share.

▪	Security Protocol: Select a protocol, NTLM (default) or NTLMv2.

▪	Server: Enter the UNC path to the desired repository directory. Alternatively, you may enter a partial path and click Browse to find the target directory.

 

NOTE: You must enter a valid username and password before using the browse functionality.

 

IMPORTANT: Do not select Encrypt all backups to this repository. Using encryption or compression with deduplicated repositories limits or disables deduplication. Encryption and compression should not be used with any repository type that provides deduplication.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the repository is tested and the repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

vRanger checks the configured repository location for existing manifest data to identify existing savepoints.

4	If vRanger finds existing savepoints, click the applicable button:

▪	Import as Read-Only: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, but only for restores, click this button. You cannot back up data to this repository.

▪	Import: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, click this button. vRanger is able to use the repository for backups and restores. vRanger requires read and write access to the directory.

▪	Overwrite: To retain the savepoint data on the disk and not import it into vRanger, click this button. vRanger ignores the existence of the existing savepoint data and treats the repository as new.

5	Click Next.

Adding a Quest DR Series system as an NFS repository

 

NOTE: Adding a Quest DR Series system as a Network File System (NFS) repository does not take advantage of the full function of the Quest DR Series system. Quest recommends adding the Quest DR Series as an RDA repository.

To add a Quest DR Series system as an NFS repository:

1	In the My Repositories pane, right-click anywhere, and click Add > NFS.

2	In the Add Network File Share Repository dialog box, complete the following fields:

▪	Repository Name: Enter a descriptive name for the repository.

▪	Description: [Optional] Enter a long-form description for the repository.

▪	DNS Name or IP: Enter the IP or FQDN for the repository.

▪	Export Directory: Specify the export directory, which is similar in concept to a network share. You must create a target subdirectory in the export directory.

▪	Target Directory: Specify a subdirectory of the NFS export directory. This directory is the location to which savepoints are written.

 

IMPORTANT: Do not select Encrypt all backups to this repository. Using encryption or compression with deduplicated repositories limits or disables deduplication. Encryption and compression should not be used with any repository type that provides deduplication.

3

Click OK.

The connection to the repository is tested and the repository is added to the My Repositories pane and the Repository Information dialog box.

vRanger checks the configured repository location for existing manifest data to identify existing savepoints.

4	If vRanger finds existing savepoints, click the applicable button:

▪	Import as Read-Only: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, but only for restores, click this button. You cannot back up data to this repository.

▪	Import: To import all savepoint data into the vRanger database, click this button. vRanger is able to use the repository for backups and restores. vRanger requires read and write access to the directory.

▪	Overwrite: To retain the savepoint data on the disk and not import it into vRanger, click this button. vRanger ignores the existence of the existing savepoint data and treats the repository as new.

 

Understanding the vRanger virtual appliance (VA)

The vRanger VA is a small, pre-packaged Linux® distribution that serves as a platform for vRanger operations away from the vRanger server. With VAs, the workload can be spread across the other CPUs available to a host. This feature provides increased reliability and scalability over operations.

vRanger uses the VA for the following VMware® functions:

•	Replication to and from VMware® ESXi™ hosts.

•	File-level restore (FLR) from Linux machines.

•	Optionally, for backups and restores.

 

NOTE: The VA is not designed to be used with Hyper-V® machines.

The VA must be deployed to any ESXi host that you want to configure for replication — either as a source or a destination. For hosts in a cluster, you may deploy just one VA to the cluster; the VA is shared among the cluster’s hosts. When deploying a VA to a cluster, you must choose a host in the cluster to which the VA should be associated.

In addition, replication by way of a VA requires that if a VA is used on one host or cluster in a replication job, a VA must be used on both the source and destination host or cluster. In other words, VAs, when used for replication, must be used in pairs.

When configuring the VA, consider the amount of resources — CPU and RAM — allocated to the VA as the number of simultaneous tasks the VA can process is directly tied to available resources. In addition, if you want to perform replication tasks using a VA, carefully consider an appropriate size for the VA scratch disk. For more information, see The VA scratch disk.

For more information about vRanger VA configuration, see the following topics:

•	The VA scratch disk

•	Deploying the VA by using the Virtual Appliance Deployment Wizard

•	About deploying multiple VAs

•	Changing the VA configuration

•	Configuring VA networking

•	Disabling Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) for the vRanger VA