Proxies

[marky]

I'm about to start testing backup of our various VM's and understand proxies are a must. Having come from a Backup exec background I'm keen to understand their advantages and setup.

Firstly, could I register an already configured VM (which I use for various management tasks) as a Proxy or should they be dedicated for use as mentioned?

Thanks

[veremin]

Firstly, could I register an already configured VM (which I use for various management tasks) as a Proxy or should they be dedicated for use as mentioned?

Hi, Mark,

You can go either way. The central management server performs the “brain” role of solution – this component is responsible for job management and scheduling, indexing tasks, and general orchestration of the backup and replication environment. Meanwhile, all of the required operations are done by “muscles” (proxy servers). By default, the role of proxy is played by VB&R management server. However, you can assign this role to whatever Windows-based machine you want to.

I strongly encourage you to review the sticky FAQ, as well as, the corresponding section of the User Guide.

Thanks.

[marky]

Thanks Vladimir,

Query, it mentions in the sticky about proxies on physical servers (which Veeam creates by default), since our Veeam Server is a dedicated Physical, is there any need for VM Proxies for redundancy since this is all it will be doing?

I can see how VM Proxies (because of where they sit) could improve throughput by acting as a type of router, but if the proxy in our case is sitting on a physical, how would it be better, because that's what the readme suggests?

Thanks

[veremin]

I can see how VM Proxies (because of where they sit) could improve throughput by acting as a type of router, but if the proxy in our case is sitting on a physical, how would it be better, because that's what the readme suggests?

I assume you're using vSphere, right? If so, there are three possible proxy mode: Direct-SAN proxy (only physical machine), Hot-Add proxy (virtual), Network proxy (doesn’t matter).

Being unaware of your environmental peculiarities, it's hard to say which one answers your requirements best. However, generally, the Direct SAN is faster than Hot Add mode, which, in its turn, faster than Network one.

Thanks.

[marky]

Yep, running vSphere.

We run 3 x ESXi hosts with a mirrored HP SAN

Sounds like our dedicated physical veeam server is the way to go.

[veremin]

Sounds like our dedicated physical veeam server is the way to go.

Yes, you can specify existing physical machine in Direct SAN mode and see whether it meets your expectations.

Kindly, keep us updated about the results you get.

Thanks.

[Vitaliy S.]

In addition to what Vladimir has said above, I would also recommend installing one virtual proxy server to run full VM restores in the HotAdd mode and not in the network.

[marky]

I've started to look at the Direct SAN LUN access but would appreciate some pointers. Apparently 2012R2 has iSCSI support but the service is not started automatically by default, are there any readme's on this and assigning permission to the Datastore volumes for said Veeam Server?

[veremin]

Kindly, see our sticky FAQ, the required information is present there:

Q: I have never configured Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator, settings seem too complex.
A: See the following step-by-step guide: The Mission Manual Part 1: Veeam B & R Direct SAN Backups (courtesy of Justin Paul)

Thanks.

[marky]

Thanks, that's a good readme, I'm currently investigating where to configure the permission for the Veeam Server, then I can configure iSCSI access.

[veremin]

If you're after different levels of security, there are four of them that can be assigned to users working with backup server. More detailed description can be found here.

Thanks.

[marky]

If you're after different levels of security, there are four of them that can be assigned to users working with backup server. More detailed description can be found here.

Thanks.

Thanks, no I'm simply looking at the moment where on the SAN I give the Veeam Server read access to permit Direct SAN Access.

[foggy]

Not all of the SAN models provide this functionality, so better contact your's directly. Also, this is not actually required since Veeam B&R automatically sets SAN Policy to Offline and disables disk automount during installation of the proxy server to prevent disks from being initialized.