DR procedure

[kzhang]

For our DR strategy (i don't know if it makes sense), we do a weekly copy of all the vbk and vrb files onto tape and store it offsite.
in case of a DR, everything burned down, what is the procedure? what good will these vbk and vrb files do to us?

here's what I understand.
1. deploy a new veeam server.
2. import the backups from these vbk files
3. rebuild your vmware environment.
4. restore

My question is about the importing the backups. It only sees the vbk files, which from what I understand is NOT the latest state of your VM. The most up to date version of your vm should be one of the vrb files. So restoring from the vbk files will do us no good.

Am I missing something??

thanks very much.

[jlehtinen]

Kzhang,

I'm learning the processes here myself, but maybe I can give you some pointers in the right direction.

- You're going to need the .vmdk files, as these are the actual "harddrives" for your Virtual machines. The .vbk and .vrb are just the changes made TO the .vmdk files. I don't believe you're going to be able to deploy anything with just the vbk/vrb files backed up.

- You're also going to need to back up the SQL database from Veeam. Without this, a new Veeam server is not going to be able to work with previously created backup files correctly.

So your recovery process would be:

- Recover SQL database for veeam
- Deploy new Veeam server, pointing it to database
- Recover backed up VM's
- Run restore job from Veeam, pointing it at the restored backup files

[Gostev]

Ke Zhang - while Import Backup dialog sees VBK only, it will still import all restore points present in the same folder next to the VBK file (VRB/VIB). Just try it now by importing VBK from your existing backup location.

John - actually, restoring database is not needed. You just deploy fresh VM install, import backups, and restore your data using any restore mode our product provides. You may also want to archive extract.exe (please search forum for more info) to each tape with backup files (it is very small file). This way you will be able to extract backups located on tapes from command line even in 10 years from now, without having to look for and install Veeam Backup.

Thanks!

[kzhang]

jlehtinen, the vbk file is the FULL backup of a VM, the vrb are the incrementals.

Gostev, thank you. that's what exactly what I'm looking for.
I will try it out with the Import utility.

About the extract.exe, I tried it before. Do I point to the vbk file? or point to the latest vrb file?

[Gostev]

Please, do use search I just posted throrough reply about this tool last week...
Extract utility: restore to ESX and VIB support

Also, page 99 in the User Guide has extensive usage information.

[jlehtinen]

kzhang,

Sorry about that - I was looking at replicas, not backups. For example, I've got an 8MB .vbk and 160 MB vrb associated with a 50 GB .vmdk for a replica.

Does that mean that .vrb contains a full compressed backup of that 50 GB .vmdk? I'm going to assume that replicas use these files differently?

[Gostev]

Nope...

VBK is full backup file
VIB is incremental data
VRB is reversed incremental data

See the blog post referenced in Backup section of FAQ, it covers replication as well in case you wonder how replication works with these files.

[jlehtinen]

Thanks Gostev.

So from reading the blog post:

For backups, the VBK IS the most current backup of your VM actually (going back to the OP's question), and the VRB/VIB's are the snapshots of the changes made that brought you up to the current VBK. So theoretically, if you didn't need snapshots, you could just simply back up the VBK and restore that out when needed.

For replicas, the VMDK is the most current file with changes being fed directly INTO the vmdk. The VBR's for replicas contain your failover points.

Strangely, the post says there should be no VBK's for replicas, but I checked every replica I have and they all have .VBK's. What's up with that?

[Gostev]

Whether or not VBK is most current depens on backup mode you are using, in reversed incremental backup mode - it is, in incremental backup mode - it is not. VRB and VIB is not the same thing, as per my previous post. Please review backup mode FAQ section for more information on backup modes available.

Replication also works in reversed incremental mode... replica.vbk holds some metadata used by replication job.