Host-based backup of VMware vSphere VMs.
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rrkerr
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Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by rrkerr »

If in v6, as restore points are saved in the datastore as snapshots, do snapshots for all the hard disks get stored with the VM configuration file, even if the replica job is configured to map each disk to a unique datastore? example:

VM1 configuration file and HDD1 in datastore 1
VM1 HDD2 in datastore 2
VM1 HDD3 in datastore 3

In DR, the same datastores exist and the replica job is configured to map each VM disk to the appropriate datastore.
Will the subsequent restore points (snapshots) for each disk be stored in datastore1, same as when a snapshot is made of a running VM?
foggy
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Re: Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by foggy »

Ryan, replica restore points are stored just like the snapshots of the original VM are stored in the source environment. I.e., by default, if you do not have the workingDir parameter set, restore points are stored along with the .vmx file.
rrkerr
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Re: Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by rrkerr »

foggy wrote:Ryan, replica restore points are stored just like the snapshots of the original VM are stored in the source environment. I.e., by default, if you do not have the workingDir parameter set, restore points are stored along with the .vmx file.
Thanks Foggy for confirming. Am I right in thinking the workingDir param only be set once per VM and that is there no way to have each disks snapshot stored in the same datastore with its corresponding vmdk?

I realise this is a VMware issue, not Veeam but I wonder what others using Veeam for replication do in terms of datastore design/sizing and estimating snapshot requirements. Is it common to place the VM config and boot disk in a separate datastore from the other data disks; is that necessary if both datastores reside on the same array? Splitting up VM disks seems to complicate things when dealing with snapshots.
dellock6
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Re: Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by dellock6 » 1 person likes this post

I can be wrong, but is not so common to store different vmdk of the same VM in different datastore, I've seen only in few places with really specific needs, or where you can leverage Storage DRS from vSphere 5. I can think of a use case when you have different storages with different performances and you want to use let's say slow storage for boot disk and fast storage for databases, but usually everyone places all the vmdks in the same datastore.
Luca Dell'Oca
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foggy
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Re: Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by foggy »

rrkerr wrote:Am I right in thinking the workingDir param only be set once per VM and that is there no way to have each disks snapshot stored in the same datastore with its corresponding vmdk?
Actually, this was the case prior to vSphere5, where each disk's delta vmdk is now created in the same home folder as the base disk by default (you can read in a bit more detail here).
rrkerr
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Re: Location of restore point files for replica VMs

Post by rrkerr »

Thanks for the info people.
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