VMKernel interace for recovery

[zak2011]

Hi,

Since it is a requirement to have VMKernel interface to do an instant recovery of a VM, is this also a requirement while doing a normal restore? Could anyone guide me on how to setup the VMkernel interface on the esxhost. Do i need to have the VMkernel interface to be physical connected to a switch.
Thanks for your time and patience!

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi Arun,

vPower functionality is not used during "normal" restore operations, so you do not need to have vmKernel interface on the same network as a backup repository.

vmKernel interface should be placed on the same network as a backup repository, only when you need to perform Instant VM Recovery and other vPower based tasks.

Here is a step-by-step video that demonstrates how to add vmKernel port to the ESX host, please take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... wcU#t=190s

Thanks!

[zak2011]

Hi Vitaliy,
Thanks for your reply. So do you mean to say that during a normal restore operation, vmKernel interface is not used. How does Veeam then access the backup files in the case of a normal restore. Incase of a restore does not the Veeam server use the vmkernel interface to access the backup repository?
Thanks!

[J1mbo]

Files are uploaded to datastores using (by my understanding) the same mechanism as file upload via datastore browser in vSphere client... and the same 10 MB/s limit with it. Hence always best to use vPower instant recovery then storage vMotion or other datastore relocation mechanism.

[Gostev]

To speed up full recoveries, you can use hot add restores (which require virtual backup proxy), these do not have the 10 MB/s limit as they are performed directly to the storage (through ESXi storage I/O stack).

[zak2011]

Okay..so coming back to my query..Incase of a restore does not the Veeam server use the vmkernel interface to access the backup repository?

[Gostev]

Your question is really confusing, as I am not sure how vmkernel has any play here. This is just basic networking stuff unrelated to VMware or anything else. Windows OS on backup proxy server doing restore will use the NIC that resides on the backup repository network to get the data from backup repository.

[Gostev]

VMkernel is required for Instant VM Recovery because VMware can only access NFS storage from VMkernel interface (and vPower functionality is based on the NFS server Veeam backup repository implements). Since regular restores do not use vPower NFS, there is no any requirements around VMkernel .

[zak2011]

Sorry for the confusion..my question was would not Veeam server need the vmkernel interface to access the backup data which resides on the local storage in case of a normal restore. If not how does it retrieve the data.... I was confused on how the vmkernel interface ( which needs a physical NIC to access the datastore) is used for Instant VMrecovery and why it would not be used in the case of a normal restore operation.
Hope its clear for you!

You said, "Since regular restores do not use vPower NFS, there is no any requirements around VMkernel" --just curious to know..how does regular restores work in Veeam?
Thanks

[Gostev]

By writing the VM files to datastore. Either over network - through ESXi management network and to datastore, or with hot add process - when restored VM disks are directly attached to virtual backup proxy server performing the restore for populating with data (the latter is more efficient).

[zak2011]

Thanks Gostev for the reply. My present setup has the backup repository directly connected to the backup proxy which would then make normal restores more efficient. i am planning to have a backup job locally and a second backup job at the DR site along with some replicas. In this case if i need to do a normal restore from the backups stored on the DR site..this will be done via the ESXI mangement network and to the datastore. I hope i understood correctly and what i said makes sense.

[zak2011]

just rephrasing my question. If i need to run the backups from a DR site , would the best approach be to import the backups to the Veeam backup server at the DR site..or would it make sense to run the backups from the Veeam backup server at the production site? This is just a case where i dont replicate all VMs.

[Vitaliy S.]

i am planning to have a backup job locally and a second backup job at the DR site along with some replicas.

Your approach looks good to me.

If i need to run the backups from a DR site , would the best approach be to import the backups to the Veeam backup server at the DR site..or would it make sense to run the backups from the Veeam backup server at the production site?

Well...normally mission critical VMs are replicated to the offsite location, so you could fire them up if the disaster strikes. As to the backup files, then usually they are stored on the production site (for FLR operations) and at DR site for protection from losing the entire production site.

[zak2011]

Thanks Vitaliy. You have a way of explaining your recommendations quite well and simple. Makes it very helpful for new comers like myself.