vRanger 7.8 - Integration Guide for EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost)

Getting started

vRanger integration quick start for DD Boost

 

NOTE: The information in this topic is intended only to provide an overview of the steps required to configure vRanger and DD Boost. Review all applicable documentation before implementing this solution.

Integrating EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™) with vRanger is achieved by adding an EMC® Data Domain® appliance running DD Boost to vRanger as a repository. Backups written to that repository are deduplicated according to your configuration. The following steps describe the integration process at a high level, and provide links to the remaining topics for more exploration. Before implementing this solution in a production environment, read this documentation thoroughly.

1	Install DD Boost: To install and enable DD Boost, perform the following operations:

▪	Obtain the license required to enable DD Boost on the Data Domain system. You can purchase a DD Boost license key directly from EMC. The DD Boost license allows you to back up and restore data.

▪	Enable and configure DD Boost on the Data Domain system. At a minimum, configuration includes specifying the DD Boost user name and password.

▪	Install vRanger, which contains the DD Boost Libraries.

2	Configure DD Boost: After DD Boost is licensed and enabled, perform the following steps, if applicable:

▪	Create DD Boost User: vRanger uses the DD Boost user credentials to connect to the Data Domain system.

▪

Create Storage Units: When used with vRanger, a DD Boost repository is configured at the Storage Unit level, meaning each DD Boost repository in vRanger equates to exactly one Storage Unit. You may create storage units through the vRanger user interface (UI), or directly on the Data Domain system, as described in Creating Storage Units.

▪	Configure Distributed Segment Processing: This step allows parts of the deduplication process to be performed by the DD Boost Library, which avoids sending duplicate data to the DD Boost repository. For more information, see Configuring distributed segment processing.

▪

Configure Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover: This feature allows for combining multiple Ethernet links into a group. Only one of the interfaces on the Data Domain system is registered with vRanger. The DD Boost Library negotiates with the Data Domain system on the interface registered with vRanger to obtain an interface to send the data. For instructions, see Configuring Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover.

3	Install vRanger: Using the vRanger installer, install vRanger on a machine meeting the vRanger system requirements. For an overview of the installation process, see Installing vRanger. For detailed information, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

4	Create DD Boost Repository: After vRanger is installed, add the DD Boost instance to vRanger as a repository. Any backup written to this repository is deduplicated according to your Data Domain configuration. For more information, see Managing repository replication.

vRanger integration quick start for DD Boost

Getting started

vRanger integration quick start for DD Boost

 

NOTE: The information in this topic is intended only to provide an overview of the steps required to configure vRanger and DD Boost. Review all applicable documentation before implementing this solution.

Integrating EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™) with vRanger is achieved by adding an EMC® Data Domain® appliance running DD Boost to vRanger as a repository. Backups written to that repository are deduplicated according to your configuration. The following steps describe the integration process at a high level, and provide links to the remaining topics for more exploration. Before implementing this solution in a production environment, read this documentation thoroughly.

1	Install DD Boost: To install and enable DD Boost, perform the following operations:

▪	Obtain the license required to enable DD Boost on the Data Domain system. You can purchase a DD Boost license key directly from EMC. The DD Boost license allows you to back up and restore data.

▪	Enable and configure DD Boost on the Data Domain system. At a minimum, configuration includes specifying the DD Boost user name and password.

▪	Install vRanger, which contains the DD Boost Libraries.

2	Configure DD Boost: After DD Boost is licensed and enabled, perform the following steps, if applicable:

▪	Create DD Boost User: vRanger uses the DD Boost user credentials to connect to the Data Domain system.

▪

Create Storage Units: When used with vRanger, a DD Boost repository is configured at the Storage Unit level, meaning each DD Boost repository in vRanger equates to exactly one Storage Unit. You may create storage units through the vRanger user interface (UI), or directly on the Data Domain system, as described in Creating Storage Units.

▪	Configure Distributed Segment Processing: This step allows parts of the deduplication process to be performed by the DD Boost Library, which avoids sending duplicate data to the DD Boost repository. For more information, see Configuring distributed segment processing.

▪

Configure Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover: This feature allows for combining multiple Ethernet links into a group. Only one of the interfaces on the Data Domain system is registered with vRanger. The DD Boost Library negotiates with the Data Domain system on the interface registered with vRanger to obtain an interface to send the data. For instructions, see Configuring Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover.

3	Install vRanger: Using the vRanger installer, install vRanger on a machine meeting the vRanger system requirements. For an overview of the installation process, see Installing vRanger. For detailed information, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

4	Create DD Boost Repository: After vRanger is installed, add the DD Boost instance to vRanger as a repository. Any backup written to this repository is deduplicated according to your Data Domain configuration. For more information, see Managing repository replication.

Product overviews

The following topics provide an overview of vRanger and EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™), and important information about the licensing required to integrate the two products.

What is vRanger?

vRanger is the leading VMware® data protection solution that also backs up and recovers Windows® physical servers and files with blazing speed and minimal storage requirements. With vRanger, you get comprehensive protection for both virtual and physical environments that you can manage from one intuitive interface.

vRanger has historically supported EMC® Data Domain® systems as repositories, but required that the Data Domain system was configured as a Common Internet File System (CIFS) share. vRanger extends this functionality to support the more advanced functionality offered by EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™), and allow direct configuration of DD Boost repositories.

vRanger licensing

For virtual machine (VM) backup, a license for vRanger controls the number of source CPUs that you can configure for backup. For licensing purposes, a multi-core processor is counted as a single CPU. For physical backup, each server protected consumes one physical backup license.

Every VMware® ESXi™ host for which vRanger is expected to provide protection must be properly licensed, both by VMware and in the vRanger Host Licensing tab.

 

IMPORTANT: A Quest vRanger license is required for integration with EMC® Data Domain® Boost (DD Boost™). vRanger Standard Edition (SE) and vReplicator are not supported by DD Boost. This documentation uses “vRanger” for simplicity, but only vRanger Backup & Replication is supported for use with DD Boost.