Disaster Recovery Solutions with Virtual Infrastructure: Backup and Recovery. Paul Nashawaty Session SLN104B

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1 Disaster Recovery Solutions with Virtual Infrastructure: Backup and Recovery Paul Nashawaty Session SLN104B

2 What to Expect from This Session An understanding of how to protect your data in virtualized environments using backup methodology Understanding disk structures, files and redo technologies Why and when to use different backup method

3 Agenda Introduction Disk structure of ESX Server Disk files and redo logs Accessing and managing virtual disk files Management of virtual machines As physical machines As files on ESX Server As files on shared storage Backing up the service console

4 Disk Structure of ESX Server VMware File System (VMFS) Simple and high-performance Raw Device Mappings Connect the raw LUN to virtual machine

5 Disk Files and Redo Logs Disk files Default state, a virtual machine disk is simply a single file Changes written directly to.vmdk file example: disk.vmdk Redo logs Added to a.vmdk file All writes are trapped in the redo log example: disk.vmdk.redo Recommend maximum of two log files per VMFS volume Redo logs used for disk snapshots technology

6 Managing Virtual Disk Files Virtual disk files on VMFS are accessible through ESX Server, Virtual Center and SDKs vmkfstools command Add redo log, commit a redo log, and export.dsk files most vmkfstools operations can be performed in VMware Management Interface (web-based tool)

7 What to Backup on ESX Server Virtual disks Virtual machine configuration files The configuration of the ESX Server Console How? VMware virtual machines can be backed up using three different approaches: 1.Backup clients from within a virtual machine performing file-level or system level backups. Treating virtual machines as a physical. 2.Backup clients agents from the ESX Server service console, backing up virtual machines in their entirety as.dsk and/or.vmdk files residing in the ESX Server VMFS file system. Treating virtual machines as files. 3.Back up virtual machine data by running a backup server within a virtual machine that is connected to a tape drive or other SCSI-based backup media attached to the physical system.

8 Treating Virtual Machines as Physical Machines Advantages File-level backup and restoration Choice of backup software Applications can be quiesced Disadvantages Can not take advantage of the encapsulation Can not back up and restore the virtual machine as a whole

Backing Up Virtual Machines as Physical Machines Compatible with the following virtual driver formats: Virtual disks (all formats) RDM disks (all formats) Points to consider Is backup server on a

9 Backing Up Virtual Machines as Physical Machines Compatible with the following virtual driver formats: Virtual disks (all formats) RDM disks (all formats) Points to consider Is backup server on a physical or virtual machine The network configuration Type of long term storage Operating System Backup Agent Operating System Backup Agent Operating System Backup Agent Operating System Backup Agent

10 Implementation Steps: Backup Virtual Machine as Physical Setup Network configuration Install backup agent Backup and recovery options Backup Server Tape Array

11 Treating Virtual Machines as Files on ESX Server Backup occurs from the service console via file system Advantages Simple view of backups and restorations One step backup/restore Disadvantages No file-level restorations Not great for large virtual machines

12 Backup/Recovery of the ESX Server Service Console Can be recovered without much trouble Removes the need to back up the service console as frequently Using a Backup Agent on the Service Console Advantage: similar to a standard network backup Disadvantage: places a heavy load on the service console

13 ESX Server Service Console Implementation Steps Install the backup agent on the service console Install the backup server on a separate platform, which could be a physical or a virtual machine Ensure network connectivity between the service console and the backup server Make sure the VMFS is mounted on the service console Schedule the backups and manage the tapes as directed by the documentation for the backup program Schedule the virtual machine power-down and power-up cycle to match the backup schedule

14 Backup/Recovery of the ESX Server Service Console Backup Server Tape Array

15 Creating Backup Copies of Virtual Machine Files on ESX Server vmsnap, addredo.pl or Backup agent Consider Can you shut down the virtual machine for the duration or to take a snapshot Using backup tools or built-in VMware file operations Backup tool of choice qualified with the service console

16 Backing up Virtual Machines Online 1. Configure network connectivity. 2. Install appropriate client on the ESX Server Service Console 3. Run vmsnap.pl to create a local backup of the virtual machine. 4. On the backup server specify the ESX Server hosting the virtual machines to be backed up. 5. You may need to enter the fully qualified path to the files of vmsnap output, in this case: /vmimages/winxpproback up/winxppro/* 6. Start Manual Backup Example: root@localhost M1winXPPro]# vmsnap.pl -c /root/vmware/vm1winxppro/winxppro.vmx -d /vmimages/winxpprobackup -l vmsnap: virtual machine config file is '/root/vmware/vm1winxppro/winxppro.vmx' vmsnap: Local Directory is '/vmimages/winxpprobackup' vmsnap: This virtual machine will only be backed up locally. vmsnap: Disks found that are in use: vmsnap: Disk found: scsi0:0 (vmhba0:1:0:1:vm1_empty.vmdk) vmsnap: 1: scsi0:0 vmsnap: Creating the RedoLogs for cfg : /root/vmware/vm1winxppro/winxppro.vmx vmsnap: scsi0:0:adding REDO vmsnap: scsi0:0: BACKUP STARTING NOW... local dir : /vmimages/winxpprobackup has k space /vmfs/vmhba0:1:0:1/vm1_empty.vmdk size : k

17 Built-in VMware File Operations Compatible with virtual disks Vmkfstools Handles files larger than 2 GB Guarantees good read and write performance to the VMFS partition Migration Convert ESX Server format to format of GSX Server and VMware Workstation and vice versa Portable

18 Built-in VMware File Operations vmsnap Performs ESX Server snapshots Backup of disks, config, log and nvram vmres Restoration of the previously archived virtual machine Can be used to migrate backups from one ESX Server to another

19 Third-Party Tools esxranger - perform online hot backups of guest operating systems on VMware ESX Server ( vmbak.pl - perl script procedure to permit VMware ESX guest's hot backup (

20 Backup Options to Consider Backup off-loading Snapshot functionality of storage area networks SAN image SAN vendor to create backup images Server-based replication Replication agent in each of the virtual machines

21 Treating Virtual Machines as Files on Shared Storage SAN-based imaging Off-load backup resource demands and resources No resource contention on ESX host Enables LAN-free backup Typically will not require backup agents in virtual machines Better performance using fiber channel transfer rate

22 New Feature in ESX 3.0 RapidBackup RapidBackup is a new, backup solution for ESX + SAN Backup is offloaded to a dedicated host Supports different backup flavors File-level backup (Windows guests) Full virtual machine backup (all guests) Works with existing third-party backup software Detailed Session: PAC484: Consolidated Backup with ESX Server: In-depth Review

23 Using Specialized ESX Server for Backup Uses ESX Server s built-in snapshot function: rapid backup Advantages Consistent methodology is used for all SAN-stored data backups do not overload the service console Disadvantages Shared storage Backup image is crash consistent

24 Implementation Steps for Specialized ESX Server 1. Using the SAN management software, schedule snapshots on the disk backend. 2. Schedule the backups of the SAN snapshots and manage the tapes as directed by the documentation for your backup program.

25 Using Specialized ESX Server for Backup Backup Server Tape Array Production Server Backup Server

26 Backup/DR Options and Sessions Array-based cloning SLN381: VMware with EMC CLARiiON SLN521: Storage Best Practices for VMware ESX Server 2.x PAC267-B: ESX Server Storage II: Tips and Tricks SLN539: HP StorageWorks VMware Solutions and More... Host-based cloning SLN494: Leveraging Replication with Virtual Machines Labs and sessions LAB003: Virtual Infrastructure in Production: Backup and Disaster Recovery PAC484: Consolidated Backup with ESX Server: In-depth Review

27 Summary Understanding of disk structures, files, and redo logs Understanding of method to protect data in virtualized environment When,why and how to backup ESX Server and virtual machine As files Like physical machines Offload backup

28 Reference VMware ESX Server Using Raw Device Mapping: esx25_rawdevicemapping.pdf ESX Server Administration Guide, (pp290 for vmkfstools): admin/index.html Backup Compatibility Guide: esx_backup_guide.pdf

29 Questions?

30 Creating Backup Copies of Virtual Machine Files on ESX Server vmsnap, addredo.pl or Backup agent

Disaster Recovery Solutions With Virtual Infrastructure: Implementation andbest Practices

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