vRanger 7.8.1 - User Guide

Selecting Storage

Selecting Storage

The Storage page allows you to configure the primary datastore which acts as the default selection for restored VM disks. You may also deselect individual disks, or map individual disks to a storage device other than the primary datastore.

To configure storage selections:

1	For a single VM:

a	In the Primary Datastore field, confirm the datastore listed, or click the browse icon and select a different datastore from the list.

This page lists all datastores associated with the selected host. Datastores are first grouped based on whether they are governed by a storage policy. Datastores are also grouped based on whether they reside in a DRS cluster. You can expand or collapse groups as needed.

By default, vRanger assigns the same storage selection to the primary VM and its disks, if applicable.

b	To select a different datastore for a disk, click the browse button in the Target Datastore column entry for the disk and select the applicable datastore or DRS. Click OK.

NOTE: VVol datastores only support thin disks. If your VM resided on a thick disk during the backup and you select a VVol datastore for the restored VM, vRanger automatically converts the setup to thin disks.

c	Click Next.

2	For multiple VMs:

a	For each machine, confirm the datastore listed in the Primary Storage field.

OR

Click the browse button and select the appropriate storage from the available options. Click OK.

b	Click Next.

Selecting a network

Selecting a network

The Network Selection page lets you configure the virtual network to which each vNIC should be connected upon restore.

To select a network:

1	For a single VM:

a	For each network adaptor, select the appropriate network from the drop-down list in the Restore to Network column.

b	Click Next.

2	For multiple VMs:

a	Expand the VM entry to view the network adaptors that are part of that VM.

b	For each network adaptor, select the appropriate network from the drop-down list in the right-most column.

c	Click Next.

Selecting a transport method

Selecting a transport method

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; 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 or Hyper-V® virtual server. When backing up physical servers and Hyper-V VMs, vRanger sends the backup data over the network to the repository. Because this method is the only one available for transporting data for physical and Hyper-V servers, the Transport Selection page of the Backup Wizard does not display.

To select a 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 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 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 when transferring files over the LAN connection.

 

CAUTION: This option causes reduced performance.

5	Click Next.

Configuring restore options

Configuring restore options

The Options Selection page displays the restore options available depending on the type of VM you want to restore.

To configure restore options:

1	On the Options Selection page, select from the following restore options:

▪	Force overwrite: This option overwrites any existing disk or config files of the same name as those files in the destination host.

▪	Force power on: This option turns on the VM after the restore.

▪	Create cluster role for restored virtual machine: This option is for Hyper-V® VMs only. It attempts to add the VM as a cluster resource of the Hyper-V host parent cluster.

 

NOTE: The cluster option is available only when a Hyper-V cluster has been added to the vRanger inventory and includes the host that is selected as the restore destination.

2	Click Next.