Host-based backup of VMware vSphere VMs.
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myrdin
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Backing up replicated VM

Post by myrdin »

Hi,

this is the situation:

server 1 site A it is replicated to site B

There is a tape drive on site B and i need to push to tape server 1 (the replica) on site B.

I dont seem to be able to create anything like a vm to tape job, i can only apparently create a backup job of the replica locally somewhere on site B, then create a backup to tape job that pushes the backup files to tape.

Ideally i'd like to have plain files to tape as these tapes are designed to be stored for 7 years and and veeam 11 will be out, it might not be able to read veeam 8 files.

The other concern is that if i take a backup of the replica (which is going to take a snapshot of the replica VM) might overlap the helper snapshot created by the replica job on site A which is not aware of what is happening on site B.

Suggestions?

thanks
foggy
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by foggy »

myrdin wrote:Ideally i'd like to have plain files to tape as these tapes are designed to be stored for 7 years and and veeam 11 will be out, it might not be able to read veeam 8 files.
Veeam B&R always provides backward compatibility in terms of backup file format, so that backups created by any of the previous releases be recoverable.
myrdin wrote:The other concern is that if i take a backup of the replica (which is going to take a snapshot of the replica VM) might overlap the helper snapshot created by the replica job on site A which is not aware of what is happening on site B.
You can backup replica VMs, however consider some limitations regarding that.

Another approach would be to sync local backups offsite to be able to write them to tapes there and use replica from backup functionality for replication.
myrdin
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by myrdin »

thanks Foggy. So basically i cant use CBT, shouldnt be a major issue. What about the snapshots? If i have a replica running the time i have a backup, is the backup job gonna take a snapshot over the helper snapshot of the replica job?

thanks
Vitaliy S.
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by Vitaliy S. »

Hi Nick,

Helper snapshot will not be taken over, but it's better not to have the overlap between these two scheduled jobs. Do you have any local backups for quick restores?

Thanks!
myrdin
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by myrdin »

Hi Vitality, thanks. No local backup as it is a replica machine to another site. I will give it a shot and see how we go.

thanks as usual for now,
Vitaliy S.
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by Vitaliy S. »

Got it, if you have any spare resources locally, I would also suggest doing local backups, then configuring replication jobs from these backups and then use backup copy jobs for tape backups. This should make your backup window smaller, cause backup jobs over the LAN should be quicker than replication jobs over the WAN link.
TheGreenGorilla
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[MERGED] Backup replicas

Post by TheGreenGorilla »

Hi,

I have quite a simple question(s) but was having difficulty finding a definitive answer.

Can you backup replica VMs, as opposed to the live ones, and is there a best practice?

Thanks
Vitaliy S.
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Re: Backing up replicated VM

Post by Vitaliy S. »

Yes, you can backup replicated VMs, please review this topic for more info.
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