Rapid Recovery 6.7 - User Guide

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

Complete the following procedure to agentlessly protect one or more ESXi virtual machines (VMs).

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

   Table 54: vCenter/ESXi 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 443.
   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. 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 you want to protect. You can use the drop-down menu to display a tree of Hosts and Clusters or of VMs and Templates exactly as they appear in your vCenter/ESXi environment.

   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.

   a

   b

   NOTE: VMware Changed Block Tracking (CBT) must be enabled on each of the VMs you want to protect. If it is not enabled, Rapid Recovery automatically enables CBT to ensure protection.

9. If you want to automatically protect new VMs when they are added to the host, select Auto protect new machines, and then complete the following steps.
   1. Click Next.
   2. On the Auto Protection page, select any containers in which you expect to add new machines.
      

      NOTE: You may need to switch between views of Hosts and Clusters and VMs and Templates.

10. Click Next.
11. On the Protection Rules page, select any of the following options:

    Table 55: ESXi and vCenter agentless protection options

    Option	Description
    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 VMware Tools must be installed. This option is selected by default.
    Protect machine if it is paired with a different Core	Protects the VM with this Core and discontinues protection from the other Core.
    Delete old VMware snapshots in order to enable Changed Block Tracking	Lets the Core delete previous VMware snapshots, including snapshots created by a user or another program, if required to enable Changed Block Tracking (CBT).
    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. Click Next.
13. On the Protection page, 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 takes 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 continue to step 16 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 56: 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.

17. Click Next.
18. 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.
19. On the Repository page, select the repository you want to use to store recovery points for this machine, and then click Next.
20. 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 57: 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.

21. 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.