Rapid Recovery 6.4 - User Guide

Protecting Hyper-V virtual machines using agentless protection

This procedure requires that you first create a repository that is accessible from the Rapid Recovery Core. For more information, see Understanding repositories.

The Rapid Snap for Virtual feature lets you protect Hyper-V virtual machines or clusters agentlessly by installing the Rapid Recovery Agent on only the Hyper-V host instead of every virtual machine (VM).

1. From the Rapid Recovery Core Console button bar, click the Protect drop-down menu, and then select Protect Multiple Machines.

   The Protect Multiple Machines Wizard opens.

2. On the Welcome page, select one of the follow installation options:
   • If you do not have multiple repositories defined for this Core, or you do not need to establish encryption, select Typical.
   • If you have multiple repositories defined, or if you want to establish encryption, select Advanced (show optional steps).

     Optionally, if you do not wish to see the Welcome page for the Protect Machine Wizard in the future, select the option Skip this Welcome page the next time the wizard opens.

3. Click Next.
4. On the Connection page of the wizard, from the Source drop-down list, select one of the following options:
   • Hyper-V Server
   • Hyper-V Cluster

5. Enter the host information and logon credentials as described in the following table.

   Table 62: Hyper-V connection settings

   Text Box	Description
   Host	The name or IP address of the virtual host.
   Port	The port used to connect to the virtual host. The default setting is 8006.
   User name	The user name used to connect to this machine; for example, Administrator (or, if the machine is in a domain, [domain name]\Administrator). Enter the user name or, to use a set of credentials saved to Credentials Vault, use the drop-down list and select a user name. Optionally, to save your credentials to Credentials Vault, click the plus sign next to the text box. For more information, see Credentials Vault.
   Password	The secure password used to connect to this virtual host.

6. Depending on your choice from step 4, ensure that Use Rapid Snap for Virtual host-based protection is selected. (This option is selected by default).
7. Click Next.
8. On the Select Machines page, select the VMs that you want to protect.

   Caution: Quest recommends that you limit agentless protection to no more than 200 VMs at once. For example, do not select more than 200 VMs when using the Protect Multiple Machines Wizard. Protecting more than 200 VMs results in slow performance. There is no limit to how many VMs a Core can agentlessly protect over time. For example, you could protect 200 VMs today and another 200 VMs tomorrow.

9. Optionally, if you want to automatically protect new VMs when they are added to the host, select Auto protect new virtual machines.
10. Click Next.
11. On the Protection Rules page, select any of the following options:

    Table 63: Hyper-V agentless protection options

    Option	Description
    Install the Agent on the host on which the virtual disks for VMs are located	Installs the Agent on the same machine as the virtual disks, which may be located on Hyper-V Server, a Hyper-V cluster node, SMB Server, or Scale-Out File Server (SOFS). If necessary, the host restarts automatically after the installation is complete. This option is selected by default.
    Upgrade the Agent on the hosts on which virtual disks for VMs are located	If the Agent is located on the same host as the virtual disks, this option upgrades the Agent to the latest release. Virtual disks may be located on Hyper-V Server, a Hyper-V cluster node, SMB Server, or Scale-Out File Server. If necessary, the host restarts automatically after the upgrade is complete. This option is selected by default.
    Protect SMB/SOFS server if a disk is located on an SMB or SOFS server	If any of the virtual disks for VMs are located on an SMB Server or Scale-Out File Server, then the server that hosts the share is also protected. This option is selected by default.
    Protect machine if it is orphaned by this Core	Lets the Core protect a machine that was previously protected but was then removed from protection because the hypervisor became unreachable. This option is selected by default.
    Protect machine if it already has recovery points	Shows existing recovery points alongside the new recovery points after protection. This option is selected by default.
    Protect machine agentlessly if it is already protected with the Rapid Recovery Agent	If a Core detects that a machine is already protected by the Rapid Recovery Agent, this option permits duplicate protection (both agentlessly and with the Agent). The protected VM must be powered on and Integration Services must be installed.
    Protect machine with both supported and unsupported virtual disk types	The Core does not support VHD or VHD Set virtual disk formats. If selected, only the support virtual disk types will be protected. If not selected, virtual machines with an unsupported disk format will not be protected.
    Save Rules	Saves the selected rules to use for future VM agentless protection on this hypervisor host. These rules apply to machines protected automatically or by using the Protect Multiple Machines wizard.

12. When satisfied with the set of rules selected, click Next.
    
13. Select the appropriate protection schedule settings as described below:
    • To use the default protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Default protection (hourly snapshots of all volumes).

      With a default protection schedule, the Core will take snapshots of all volumes on the protected machine once every hour. To change the protection settings at any time after you close the wizard, including choosing which volumes to protect, go to the Summary page for the specific protected machine.

    • To define a different protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Custom protection.

      Schedule options are added to the wizard workflow.

14. Proceed with your configuration as follows:
    • If you specified default protection, then click Next and skip to step 17 to the ABM Settings page.
    • If you specified custom protection, then click Next and continue to the next step to configure a protection schedule.
15. On the Protection Schedule page, define a custom protection schedule and then click Next. For details on defining a custom protection schedule, see Creating custom protection schedules in Simple Mode.
16. Optionally, on the ABM Settings page, select Enable Active Block Mapping, and then complete the following information: 

    Table 64: Active Block Mapping settings

    Option	Description
    Enable Active Block Mapping	Lets you enable or disable the ABM feature.
    Enable swap file blocks exclusion	Excludes the content of system files, such as pagefile.sys, hyberfill.sys, and swapfile.sys, from the backup.
    Exclude subdirectories	Lets you exclude specific files by specifying '<file name>' or '<folder>\<subfolder>\<file name>'. Only the files will be excluded. The folders or subfolders that contained excluded files are included in the mount point, with no contents. NOTE: This option may affect the performance of the "determining data" phase of transfers.
    + Add	If you opted to exclude subdirectories, click Add and enter the location in the Path table for each item you want to exclude.

    For more information, see Understanding Active Block Mapping.

    NOTE: Active Block Mapping only supports NTFS file systems. Any type of dynamic disk is not supported.

17. Proceed with your configuration as follows:
    • If you selected a Typical configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard in step 2 and specified default protection, then click Finish to confirm your choices, close the wizard, and protect the machine you specified.
    • If you selected Advanced configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard in step 2, then click Next to see repository and encryption options.
18. On the Repository page, select the repository you want to use to store recovery points for this machine, and then click Next.
19. On the Encryption page, do one of the following:
    • If you want to use encryption keys for data stored in the repository, select Encrypt the data at rest in a repository, and then do one of the following:
      • To select an existing encryption key to apply to all new data stored in your repository, select Encrypt data using Core-based encryption with an existing key, and from the Select encryption key drop-down menu, select the encryption key.
      • To define a new encryption key at this time to apply to all future data stored in your repository, select Encrypt data using Core-based encryption with a new key, and then enter information about the key as described in the table below:

      Table 65: Define new encryption key

      Text Box	Description
      Name	Enter a name for the encryption key. Encryption key names must contain between 1 and 64 alphanumeric characters. Do not use prohibited characters or prohibited phrases.
      Description	Enter a descriptive comment for the encryption key. This information appears in the Description field when viewing a list of encryption keys in the Rapid Recovery. Descriptions may contain up to 254 characters. Best practice is to avoid using prohibited characters and prohibited phrases.
      Passphrase	Enter a passphrase used to control access. Best practice is to avoid using prohibited characters. Record the passphrase in a secure location. Quest Data Protection Support cannot recover a passphrase. Once you create an encryption key and apply it to one or more protected machines, you cannot recover data if you lose the passphrase.
      Confirm passphrase	Re-enter the passphrase. It is used to confirm the passphrase entry.

    • If you want to encrypt all data that transports over a network, select Encrypt the data in transport over a network.

      NOTE: This option is enabled by default, so if you do not want to encrypt data in this fashion, clear this option.

20. Click Finish to save and apply your settings.

    NOTE: The first time protection is added for a machine, a base image (that is, a snapshot of all the data in the protected volumes) transfers to the repository indicated in your Rapid Recovery Core following the schedule you defined, unless you specified that the Core should initially pause protection. For information on pausing and resuming protection, see Pausing and resuming protection.

Protecting multiple machines manually

The protecting procedure requires the following tasks be completed before you begin:

• The Rapid Recovery Agent has been deployed and installed on the machine you want to protect.
• The machine you want to protect was restarted after the Agent installation.
• A repository has been created and is accessible from the Rapid Recovery Core.

Use this procedure to manually specify details for multiple machines that you want to protect simultaneously using the Agent software. The details identify each machine on the network uniquely, and include connection information and credentials. This approach is often used when protecting Linux machines. However, using this process, you can protect only Windows machines, only Linux machines, or a combination of both.

1. From the Rapid Recovery Core Console button bar, click the Protect drop-down menu, and then select Protect Multiple Machines.

   The Protect Multiple Machines Wizard opens.

2. On the Welcome page, select one of the follow installation options:
   • If you do not need to define a repository or establish encryption, select Typical.
   • If you want to define a repository or if you want to establish encryption, select Advanced (show optional steps).

     Optionally, if you do not wish to see the Welcome page for the Protect Machine Wizard in the future, select the option Skip this Welcome page the next time the wizard opens.

3. Click Next.
4. On the Connection page of the wizard, from the Source drop-down list, select Manually.
5. Click Next.
6. On the Select Machines page, for each machine you want to protect, enter the machine details in the dialog box. Press Enter to separate information for each machine you want to add. Use the format hostname::username::password::port. The port setting is optional. The default port for installing Agent on Windows machines is 8006. For Linux machines, the default port is number 22 (SSH port). Examples include:

   10.255.255.255::administrator::&11@yYz90z

   Linux-host-00-2::administrator::p@$$w0rD::22

7. Click Next.

   If the Protection page appears next in the Protect Multiple Machines Wizard, skip to step 11.

   If the Agent software is not yet deployed to the machines you want to protect, or if any of the machines you specified cannot be protected for another reason, then the selected machines appear on the Warnings page.

8. Optionally, on the Machines Warnings page, you can verify any machine by selecting the machine and then clicking Verify in the toolbar.
9. Optionally, on the Machines Warnings page, select After Agent installation, restart the machines automatically.

   Caution: Quest recommends this option. You must restart agent machines before they can be protected. Restarting ensures that the Agent service is running, and that proper kernel module is used to protect the machine, if relevant.

10. If the status indicates that the machine is reachable, click Next to install the Agent software.

    The Protection page appears.

11. Optionally, on the Protection page, if you want a name other than the IP address to display in the Rapid Recovery Core Console for this protected machine, then in the Display name field, type a name in the dialog box.

    You can enter up to 64 characters. Do not use the special characters described in the topic prohibited characters. Additionally, do not begin the display name with any of the character combinations described in the topic prohibited phrases.

12. Select the appropriate protection schedule settings as described below:
    • To use the default protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Default protection (hourly snapshots of all volumes).

      With a default protection schedule, the Core will take snapshots of all volumes on the protected machine once every hour. To change the protection settings at any time after you close the wizard, including choosing which volumes to protect, go to the Summary page for the specific protected machine.

    • To define a different protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Custom protection.

      Schedule options are added to the wizard workflow.

13. Proceed with your configuration as follows:
    • If you selected a Typical configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard in step 2 and specified default protection, then click Finish to confirm your choices, close the wizard, and protect the machine you specified.
    • If you selected Advanced configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard in step 2, and default protection, then click Next to see repository and encryption options.
    • If you selected a Typical configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard and specified custom protection, then click Next and continue to step 14 to choose which volumes to protect.
    • If you selected Advanced configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard in step 2, and default protection, then click Next and proceed to step 16 to see repository and encryption options.
14. On the Protection Volumes page, select which volumes you want to protect. If any volumes are listed that you do not want to include in protection, click in the Check column to clear the selection. Then click Next.

    NOTE: Typically, it is good practice to protect, at minimum, the System Reserved volume and the volume with the operating system (typically the C drive).

15. On the Protection Schedule page, define a custom protection schedule and then click Next. For details on defining a custom protection schedule, see Creating custom protection schedules in Simple Mode.
16. On the Repository page, select the repository you want to use to store recovery points for this machine, and then click Next.
17. On the Encryption page, do one of the following:
    • If you want to use encryption keys for data stored in the repository, select Encrypt the data at rest in a repository, and then do one of the following:
      • To select an existing encryption key to apply to all new data stored in your repository, select Encrypt data using Core-based encryption with an existing key, and from the Select encryption key drop-down menu, select the encryption key.
      • To define a new encryption key at this time to apply to all future data stored in your repository, select Encrypt data using Core-based encryption with a new key, and then enter information about the key as described in the table below:

      Table 66: Define new encryption key

      Text Box	Description
      Name	Enter a name for the encryption key. Encryption key names must contain between 1 and 64 alphanumeric characters. Do not use prohibited characters or prohibited phrases.
      Description	Enter a descriptive comment for the encryption key. This information appears in the Description field when viewing a list of encryption keys in the Rapid Recovery. Descriptions may contain up to 254 characters. Best practice is to avoid using prohibited characters and prohibited phrases.
      Passphrase	Enter a passphrase used to control access. Best practice is to avoid using prohibited characters. Record the passphrase in a secure location. Quest Data Protection Support cannot recover a passphrase. Once you create an encryption key and apply it to one or more protected machines, you cannot recover data if you lose the passphrase.
      Confirm passphrase	Re-enter the passphrase. It is used to confirm the passphrase entry.

    • If you want to encrypt all data that transports over a network, select Encrypt the data in transport over a network.

      NOTE: This option is enabled by default, so if you do not want to encrypt data in this fashion, clear this option.

18. Click Finish to save and apply your settings.

    NOTE: The first time protection is added for a machine, a base image (that is, a snapshot of all the data in the protected volumes) transfers to the repository indicated in your Rapid Recovery Core following the schedule you defined, unless you specified that the Core should initially pause protection. For information on pausing and resuming protection, see Pausing and resuming protection.

Monitoring the protection of multiple machines

1. In the Rapid Recovery Core Console, navigate to the Rapid Recovery Home page and then click (Events).

   The Events page displays, broken down by Tasks, Alerts, and Events. As volumes are transferred, the status, start times, and end times display in the Tasks pane.

   You can also filter tasks by status (active, waiting, completed, queued, and failed). For more information, see Viewing tasks.

   NOTE: To only see tasks that are waiting to be performed, make sure that you select the (Waiting Tasks) icon.

   As each protected machine is added, an alert is logged, which lists whether the operation was successful or if errors were logged. For more information, see Viewing alerts.

   For information on viewing all events, see Viewing a journal of all logged events.

Enabling application support

After a VM has been placed under agentless protection, you can support the Exchange or SQL application installed on that machine.

1. From the Core Console, go to the Machines page.
2. Complete one of the following actions:
   • To enable application support for single VM, click the Actions menu for that VM, and then click Enable application support.
   • To enable application support for multiple VMs simultaneously, select the VMs, click the Application Support drop-down, and then click Enable application support.
3. In the Edit Application Support dialog, enter the credentials for the VM.