NetVault Plug-in for VMware 11.1

Deployment overview

You can deploy the Plug-in for VMware on any Windows- or Linux-based NetVault Backup Client. This client acts as the Backup Proxy. You can select either a physical machine or a virtual machine as the backup proxy.

NOTE: Installing the Plug‑in for VMware on a vCenter Server is not recommended.

When you run the plug-in on a vCenter Server, the increased resource demands on the server can affect the overall performance of the server. Also, trace files for large jobs can consume a large amount of disk space.

Figure 1. Plug‑in for VMware deployment

Deploying the plug-in on a physical machine

If the virtual machine disks are stored on Fibre Channel SAN, iSCSI SAN, or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) storage devices, you can select a physical machine to host the plug-in. In this type of deployment, backups are offloaded to the physical backup proxy.

This type of deployment supports SAN and LAN (NBD or NBDSSL) transport modes. For more information about transport modes, see Supported transport modes.

Deploying the plug-in in a virtual machine

You can also configure one of the virtual machines as the backup proxy to host the plug‑in. This configuration works with all types of storage devices (including local storage on the ESX Server).

This type of deployment supports HotAdd and LAN (NBD or NBDSSL) transport modes. For more information about transport modes, see Supported transport modes.

NOTE: If VMware vSphere® Storage DRS™ is enabled for your datastore cluster, exclude the backup proxy from the Storage DRS before you run a job using the HotAdd mode.

Prerequisites

Before installing the plug-in, verify that the following requirements are met:

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Install NetVault Backup Client: Install the NetVault Backup Client software on the physical or virtual machine on which you want to install the Plug‑in for VMware. For LAN-free backups, you must obtain a NetVault Backup SmartClient license. For more information about installing the NetVault Backup Client, see the Dell NetVault Backup Installation Guide.

NOTE: To perform file-level backups of virtual machines, you must install the plug-in on a Windows-based client. The plug-in version for the Linux OS does not support this feature.

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Install applicable libraries on Linux-based clients: On Linux-based clients, the Plug‑in for VMware and Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) require the following libraries:

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Plug‑in for VMware requirements: On Linux-based systems, the Plug‑in for VMware requires the following libraries:

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libssl.so

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libcrypto.so

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VDDK requirements: On Linux-based systems, VDDK requires the following libraries:

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libexpat.so.1.5.2: To use advanced transport modes, install the XML library libexpat 1.95.8 on the client. Without the correct version of this library, the jobs that use advanced transport modes may fail.

During installation, the plug-in automatically creates a symbolic link (libexpat.so.0) to the library if this link is not present on the client. The plug-in only checks the /lib64 and /usr/lib64 directories where this library is typically installed. If the library is installed in a different directory, then you must manually create this link.

To create the symbolic link, type:

ln -s libexpat.so.1.5.2 <full file path to the library>

For example, if libexpat.so.1.5.2 is installed in the directory /lib64, type:

ln -s libexpat.so.1.5.2 /lib64/libexpat.so.0

If you encounter any issues with the use of advanced transport modes, verify that the correct version of the libexpat package is installed. If necessary, manually create the symbolic link. If binary compatibility is present, you can also use a higher version of the library.

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C++ Library Package: Verify that the C++ Library is available on the Linux client. Some old Linux distributions might not include this package in a base installation. On such systems, install the C++ Library Package from the distribution ISO.

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Additional library requirements: VDDK also requires the following libraries:

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libgmodule-2.0.so

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libxml2.so

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libgcc_s.so

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Add the NetVault Backup Client: Add the designated client to the NetVault Backup Server. For more information about adding clients, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

Installing the plug-in

You can install the plug-in simultaneously on multiple machines by using the configuration wizard. Alternatively, you can install a plug-in on a single client from the Manage Clients page.

The following sections describe the different procedures that you can use to install the plug-in:

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Installing the plug-in using the push installation method (Windows only)

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Installing the plug-in using the configuration wizard

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Installing the plug-in from the Manage Clients page

Installing the plug-in using the push installation method (Windows only)

On Windows-based machines, you can use the push installation method to install the plug-in on multiple clients at the same time. You can perform push installations from the NetVault WebUI.

NOTE: To use this method, the NetVault Backup Server must be running on a Windows-based machine. The server version must be 11.0 or later.

Before you start the push installation procedure, verify that the following requirements are met:

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Copy the packages to a shared location: Copy the plug-in packages to a shared location. Only CIFS shares are currently supported as package stores. The path must be accessible to the NetVault Backup Server and all target machines where you want to install the packages.

Make sure that you use the original names of the installation packages. Renamed packages cannot be selected for push installations.

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Configure a package store in NetVault Backup: After copying the installation packages, configure the shared location details in NetVault Backup. For more information, see the NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

To install the plug-in on Windows-based clients

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Install Software/Add Clients.

On the Select Software/Add Clients page, select Install NetVault software on remote machines.

In the Package Store list, select the repository that contains the installation packages that you want to deploy.

To add plug-in packages, click Add NetVault plug-in package.

In the Select Packages for Deployment dialog box, select the check boxes corresponding to the “.npk” binary files that you want to use, and click OK.

Click Next.

On the Machines to Have NetVault Software Installed page, click Choose Machines, and select From available machines.

On the NetVault Machine Details tab, select the client that you want to add, and click OK.

To add more machines, repeat Step 5 and Step 6.

To submit the task, click Install Software/Add Clients.

You can monitor the progress and status of the task from the Deployment Task Status page. For more information, see the NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

Installing the plug-in using the configuration wizard

On Linux-based machines, you can use the configuration wizard to install the plug-in on multiple clients at the same time. NetVault Backup 10.x also supports this method on Windows-based machines.

NOTE: When you use this procedure, make sure that the plug-in binary file is compatible with the client OS and platform.

To install the plug-in on Linux- and UNIX-based clients

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Install Plugins.

In the NetVault Backup Clients table, select the clients on which you want to install the plug-in.

Click Choose Plug-in File, and in the browse window, navigate to the location of the “.npk” installation file for the plug-in (on the installation CD or the directory to which the file was downloaded from the website).

Select the file named vmw-w.x.y.z-<platform>.npk (where w.x represents the version number, y represents the patch level, and z represents the build number), and click Next to begin installation.

After the plug-in is installed successfully, a message is displayed.

Installing the plug-in from the Manage Clients page

From the Manage Clients page, you can install a plug-in on a single client.

To install the plug-in from the Manage Clients page

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients table, select the client, and click Manage.

At the lower-right corner of the Installed Plug-ins table, click the Install Plugin button (

Select the file named vmw-w.x.y.z-<platform>.npk (where w.x represents the version number, y represents the patch level, and z represents the build number), and click Install Plugin to begin installation.

After the plug-in is installed successfully, a message is displayed.