Offhost proxy server crashed, need to run bkup w/out it.

[ceez]

Ok so we have a physical server acting as an offhost proxy, it keeps on powering off randomly and need to troubleshoot. In the meanwhile I need to get my backups running.

We have a 3 node cluster running hyper-v server 2012r2, attached via iscsi to a powervault san. My crashed offhost was running windows server 2012r2 + hyper-v role + powervault storage drivers (mpio?) + san storage listed as offline.

if I change my backup proxy to on-host backup it would just take a toll on the hosts that running the vm that is being backed up, what work around do I have available at this time?

Thanks!

[PTide]

Hi,

it would just take a toll on the hosts that running the vm that is being backed up,

May I ask you what's wrong with that approach? Do you have concerns about hosts resources? You might want to try assign an off-host proxy role to a VM, please check this article for details.

Thanks

[ceez]

Thanks for the reply PTide,

If a backup job uses one of the hyper-v hosts in which a vm resides, then all other vm's running within that host would slow down and affect performance.

If I use a vm as a proxy - this vm would reside on the same san storage as the vm's being backed up, would that be a problem?

[PTide]

If I use a vm as a proxy - this vm would reside on the same san storage as the vm's being backed up, would that be a problem?

No, that should not cause any performance problems since proxy does not generate much IO. I guess you don't have local storage on the hosts (probably installed directly to usb stick), is that correct?

[ceez]

The 3 node hosts have local storage but the VM's are not housed there, only the hyper-v server 2012r2 OS is installed on the local storage. Again, the vm's run on a powervault connected via iscsi to the hosts.

[PTide]

Ok, I see. Basically now you have only one workaround - to install a VM on the local storage and use it as an off-host proxy. The problem is that such approach is not supported by MS. Please check these articles: 1 and 2.

Thanks

[ceez]

- to install a VM on the local storage and use it as an off-host proxy. The problem is that such approach is not supported by MS. Please check these articles: 1 and 2.

How can running a hype-v VM inside one of the hosts be a solution? From the links you sent even it's for nested hyper-v servers but running a regular vm that runs from the root drive of the host is not a nested setup? or is it?

C:\ drive of the host currently runs hyper-v server 2012r2
within this server create a virtual machine, save it under C:\vm\offhostproxy.vhdx
start up this vm
configure it via veeam as an offhost proxy.
configure jobs to use this vm as offhost proxy.

[PTide]

How can running a hype-v VM inside one of the hosts be a solution?

On-host proxy might consume more resources than you'd want it to, while having an "off-host" proxy inside a VM ensures that it won't eat more than the VM actually has available. Another, and probably more efficient way to curb the on-host proxy's appetite is to limit the number of concurrent tasks.

Thank you