Where are we at with in-guest clusters and backup?

[JamesNT]

I have a Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V cluster. On top of that cluster, I have an in-guest SQL Server cluster also running Windows Server 2022. Veeam seems to have a tough time backing up the cluster. Further, checkpoints aren't always deleted after backup so we have the occasional avhdx file laying around.

Is having an in-guest cluster just not a good idea or do we have any future outcomes to look forward to?

JamesNT

[david.domask]

Hi JamesNT,

Sorry to hear about the troubles; just to confirm, these are configured as a VHDSet ( VHDS ), correct? These are supported, but there can be some challenges with such configurations

VHDSets can have some challenges when doing image level backups as described in the KB article linked; have you considered using our Plugin for Microsoft SQL? This works without the need for Hyper-V snapshots, preventing the issues mentioned.

You can similarly use Veeam Agent for Windows to protect SQL Clusters, but there are some considerations that need to be checked.

All in all, try the MSSQL Plugin; I think it will likely be the best experience for protecting the actual SQL data.