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its-user01
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Valid Veeam backp of VMware NSX components

Post by its-user01 »

Simple, how do I make valid backup of all VMware NSX components (Manager, Controller, DLR, Edge)?
anthonyspiteri79
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Re: Valid Veeam backp of VMware NSX components

Post by anthonyspiteri79 » 1 person likes this post

Hey there Brian.

So NSX is a funny one when it comes to backing up. For the most the components you listed below are stateless and you don't need to back them up individually.

The main component you want to backup is the NSX Manager which holds pretty much all the configuration and settings of the rest of the components...though in actual fact the Manager it's self is somewhat disposable given you have backed up the config. It has an inbuilt backup mechanism where is backs up it's own config to a remote share. This can then be imported to a fresh deployment of the Manager if you where in a situation where it was lost. That said you can use Veeam to backup the VM without issue and for me represents the quickest way to recover from an issue.

The NSX Controllers should be deployed in a cluster of three (up to seven but recommended 3) but they each cover each other in case one or two go offline. There is no harm in backing them up with Veeam however they contain/control routing state information for the VXLAN VNI's so recovering one from say 8 hours before isn't going to be useful. They can be redeployed from the Web Client easy enough if something happens to them.

For the Edges and DLR's these are truly stateless with all their config coming from the NSX Manager which stores their config as well. If anything happens to the hosts where the Edges lived or if you lost them all, you would simply redeploy from the Web Client and they would come back as they where without issue. The DLR's are logical and live inside the config of the hosts so again, nothing really to backup.

Overall you need to consider the backup of the NSX Manager as a primary concern.
Anthony Spiteri
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its-user01
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Re: Valid Veeam backp of VMware NSX components

Post by its-user01 »

Thanks for your reply.
I will use Veeam to back up the Manager only. Is one backup every 24 hours enough?
Is it ok to make Veeam restore of EDGE, in case of failure?
anthonyspiteri79
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Re: Valid Veeam backp of VMware NSX components

Post by anthonyspiteri79 »

It should be enough yes...don't forget to still set the native backup option from the NSX Manage UI.

And with the Edge...you don't need to back those up as mentioned above.
Anthony Spiteri
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Email: anthony.spiteri@veeam.com
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stevenrodenburg1
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Re: Valid Veeam backp of VMware NSX components

Post by stevenrodenburg1 »

The only VMware supported way is making backups from within the NSX Manager. Image-based backups are not supported.

If the NSX manager appliance breaks, and VMware Support can't (or refuses to) fix it, you throw it away, deploy a new one, point it to the backup location and import the last good backup and reboot. All from inside the appliance GUI. That's the only correct way.
I've seen funky stuff happen where people did a complete VM restore (Veeam or other products, does not matter) and the NSX Manager started doing the funky chicken afterwards because it was never backed-up in a truly consistent manner. And VMware Support will hang up on you, because you used an unsupported method to make backups.

If a component other than the NSX Manager has a problem, you just re-deploy it. One does NOT back-up controller- or edge-appliances. Always re-deploy. That's what happens during most NSX upgrades too: the admin upgrades the NSX Manager and it upgrades all the other components by deleting them and deploying a newer version (rip-and-replace) and injecting the configuration again (which is stored in 1 location only: the manager).

I'm sorry to say this, but it's all very well documented in the NSX Documentation...
This is a general problem with virtual appliances using built-in databases etc. The various vendors devised methods to backup and restore them correctly. Just "Read The Friendly Manual".
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