vRanger 7.8.2 - Integration Guide for Quest QoreStor

Additional required software

Additional required software

In addition to a supported version of Windows® and a supported VMware® Infrastructure, you may need some additional software components, depending on your configuration.

•	Microsoft® .NET Framework: vRanger requires the .NET Framework 4.5. The vRanger installer installs it if not detected.

•	SQL Server: [Optional] vRanger utilizes two SQL Server® databases for application functionality. vRanger can install a local version of SQL Express 2014 SP3 or you can choose to install the vRanger databases on your own SQL instance.

•	Windows PowerShell 3 or above.If you are installing vRanger on Windows 2008 R2 SP1, you will need to install Windows PowerShell 3 or above before installing vRanger

•	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. vRanger uses the VA for the following functions:

▪	Replication to and from VMware® ESXi™ hosts.

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

▪	Optionally for backups and restores.

•	Updates for Windows Server 2012 R2: Before installing vRanger on Windows Server 2012 R2, ensure that the Windows updates listed below are installed:

▪

KB2939087

▪

KB2975061

▪

KB2919355

▪

KB2999226

Installing vRanger

Installing vRanger

The installation of vRanger has several options. Unless you have a valid reason not to, accept the defaults wherever possible. The installation follows this sequence:

1	Launch the installer, and accept the vRanger license.

The install process does not continue until the license is accepted.

2	Enter the credentials under which the vRanger services should run.

The credentials used need to have local administrator privileges on the vRanger machine.

3	Choose an installation directory.

4	Select the vRanger database.

You may choose to install vRanger with a new instance of SQL Server® Express or on an existing SQL Server.

5	Configure the runtime credentials for the vRanger Database.

6	[Optional] Install the vRanger Catalog Service.

The installation completes.

For more information, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

Configuring vRanger

Configuring vRanger

vRanger requires some basic configuration before data protection can begin. The bulk of this configuration is driven by the Startup Wizard which starts the first time the application is opened. For more information, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

The following lists the primary configurations you need to make.

•	Add source servers: Before you can begin backups, you must add one or more source objects to the vRanger inventory. Source objects can include VMware® vCenter™ or ESXi™ hosts, Hyper-V® clusters or hosts, or physical machines.

•	Add vRanger virtual appliances (VAs): vRanger VAs allow you to distribute the backup workload and gain direct access to target VM’s storage for improved performance.

 

IMPORTANT: To be able to run in Deduplication Mode, the vRanger VA should be configured with four vCPUs and 2 GB of RAM. This configuration lets you run four backup jobs per VA.

•	Add repositories: Repositories are where vRanger stores the savepoints created by each backup job. For the purposes of this integration, a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository should be used.

Adding a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository

Adding a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository

QoreStor optimizes storage utilization and reduces network bandwidth requirements with in-line deduplication, server-side compression, and compressed and deduplicated replication.

QoreStor supports CIFS, NFS, and RDA protocols. The RDA protocol provides a logical disk interface for QoreStor. The RDA protocol also enables better coordination and integration between vRanger and QoreStor and provides for client-side deduplication of vRanger backups.

 

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

For more information about QoreStor, see the QoreStor documentation at support.quest.com/qorestor.

This topic describes the process for adding a Quest Rapid Data Access (RDA) repository. The following procedure assumes that:

•	You have a properly configured QoreStor server 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 the Quest QoreStor documentation.

To add a QoreStor server as a Quest 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 QoreStor server.

▪	RDA Username: Enter a user account that can be used to log in to the device. The default account is backup_user.

▪	RDA Password: Enter the password for the backup_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.