VMWare 5.1 and VEEAM 6.1 Hot Add Failing over to NDB

[skeeziix]

I have VMWare 5.1 and VEEAM 6.1. On VMWare I have a Windows 2008 R2 Server installed with VEEAM which is on the same ESXi host (Dell Poweredge R710) as the servers I am attempting to backup, they are also Windows 2008 R2. I do have vCenter Server setup also. Sometimes it goes to hotadd but most of the time it defaults over to ndb. I have a proxy on the source servers and tried to force it by making the proxy only virtual appliance w/o failover, yet it still goes ndb? I've read all of the issues on this and have come up with nothing thus far. It would be nice to have a HOW TO for VMWare and VEEAM. It is supposed to automatically detect this but apparently it isn't doing that. Any ideas, resources, anything??? Thanks!

[skeeziix]

I've read the proxy needs to be on the host that has "access" to the datastore, how exactly do I set this up?

[Vitaliy S.]

Actually there is nothing to setup. If you want to use HotAdd backup mode, then make sure that the ESX(i) host running backup proxy server VM have all datastores where protected VMs' disks reside connected to it. Thanls!

[skeeziix]

They are all on the same host and on the same datastore, why then would it failover to ndb?

[skeeziix]

It says "Using source proxy SERVER [ndb]"
then "Preparing guest for hot backup"

sometimes it says [hotadd] but now it mostly defaults to ndb

[foggy]

They are all on the same host and on the same datastore, why then would it failover to ndb?

There are several limitations of using hotadd mode outlined in the following KB article: http://www.veeam.com/KB1054.

Also, do you see this on all of your VMs? Please note, that the proxy server cannot backup itself using hotadd mode (this is a known limitation covered in the release notes). While backing up itself, proxy server fails over to the network mode.

[skeeziix]

Yes, I have read and reread that documentation. Our setup is pretty cookie cutter. And we are not backing up the proxy server on the VM. Like I said it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't

[foggy]

Then my guess is vSphere 5.1, which is (just to remind) not officially supported in the current version of Veeam B&R. Although seems that basic functionality works according to our testing, however, the testing was not comprehensive enough to reveal all possible issues.

[skeeziix]

Might be a stupid question but I am unclear on this... where should the proxy for the source be? Do I want it installed on the servers I am backing up, on the backup server itself, or on the vCenter Server?

[foggy]

You can set it up on any Windows machine that meets the corresponding system requirements (and you already have a default one installed as a part of your Veeam B&R). Please review the sticky FAQ topic for some recommendations and there are also a number of existing topics regarding that.

[skeeziix]

^^^ Yes, I have read that also...

Here is what I found. If I leave everything default on the Job it works. Keep the Backup Proxy = Automatic selection on the Job and under the Proxy settings.

[foggy]

And which configuration does not work for you? Btw, do you have several proxy servers?