> Commvault Cloud > Virtualization > VMware

Configuring Backups for VMware Virtual Machines

You can configure backups for VMware virtual machines. The configuration wizard guides you through the configuration process, which includes creating any new entities that are needed, such as a plan, a hypervisor, and a VM group.

Start the Configuration Wizard

  1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtualization.

    The Virtual machines page appears.

  2. In the upper-right area of the page, click Add hypervisor.

    The Configure Hypervisor page appears.

  3. Click VMware vCenter.

  4. Click Next.

    The Backup Method Overview page of the configuration wizard appears.

  5. Review the information.

  6. Click Next.

    The Backup Gateway page of the configuration wizard appears.

Backup Gateway

A backup gateway is required to back up VMs without egress charges. Access nodes run backups and other operations. See System Requirements for On-Premises Backup Gateways.

  1. Select an existing backup gateway or create a new backup gateway.

    Steps to create a backup gateway

    1. Click the add button add/plus button - gray - no border.

      The Add new backup gateway dialog box appears.

    2. Click Download.

      The backup gateway installer is downloaded. The file name of the installer is BackupGateway64.exe.

    3. On the computer that you will use as the backup gateway, install the software:

      1. Right-click the installation file, and then select Run as administrator.

        The Custom Package Manager dialog box appears.

      2. Extract the files.

        The Commvault Cloud installer appears.

      3. In the Installation Path box, enter the path to install the backup gateway (default path is C:\Program Files\Metallic\ContentStore) and then click Next.

        The Data Directory Path screen appears.

      4. In the Select data directory path box, enter the path on the dedicated data disk for the deduplication database, index cache, and job results folder.

        By default, a non-OS drive with the largest amount of available space is selected as the data directory path. For example, E:\Metallic\Data.

        Important

        Because the data disk is used for intensive I/O operations such as deduplication, job results, and index caching, use either a separate data disk or virtual drives using a storage pool.

      5. Click Next to start the installation.

        After the software is installed, the Server Authentication dialog box appears.

      6. Click Enter Credentials, and then enter the credentials that you use to log on to the Command Center.

      7. If you are an MFA-enabled customer, when prompted, enter the authcode that was displayed on the download screen.

        To view the authcode, go to Manage > Company.

      8. Click Next.

      9. Before leaving the installer, copy the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the backup gateway.

    4. Return to the Select backup gateway page.

    5. In the Backup gateway hostname box, enter the FQDN of the backup gateway.

    6. Click Submit.

      The backup gateway registers with Commvault Cloud.

    7. Return to Commvault Cloud.

    8. Refresh the list of backup gateways, and then select the backup gateway that you created.

  2. Click Next.

    The Local Storage page of the configuration wizard appears.

Local Storage

For optimal performance, store a primary copy locally and a secondary copy in a cloud location. If you back up directly to cloud, without a local copy, you might experience sub-optimal performance.

  1. Decide whether to use local storage:

    • To store the primary backup only in the cloud, move the Backup to cloud storage only toggle key to the right.

    • To store the primary backup locally, select existing local storage or create a new local storage location.

      Steps to create local storage

      1. Click the add button add/plus button - gray - no border.

        The Add local storage dialog box appears.

      2. In Name, enter a descriptive name for the local storage.

      3. Click Add.

        The Add backup location dialog box appears.

      4. From the Access node list, select the backup gateway to use.

      5. For Type, select whether the storage is local or on a network.

      6. If you selected Network, enter the credentials to access the backup location.

      7. For Backup location, enter the path to store the backup in.

      8. Click Add.

      9. Click Save.

  2. Click Next.

    The Cloud Storage page of the configuration wizard appears.

Cloud Storage

To review the supported combinations of primary and secondary storage, see Commvault Cloud Storage Options.

  1. Decide whether to use cloud storage:

    • If you specified local storage, and you don't want to use cloud storage, move the Only use on-premises storage toggle key to the right.

    • Select existing cloud storage or create new cloud storage.

      Steps to create cloud storage for the primary copy

      1. Click the add button add/plus button - gray - no border.

        The Add cloud storage dialog box appears.

      2. From Type, select the storage provider, and then enter the necessary values.

        Storage provider

        Values

        Air Gap Protect

        • Cloud storage provider: Select Azure Blob Storage or OCI Object Storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        Amazon S3

        • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the cloud storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        • Service host: The Commvault Cloud software populates the default value.

        • Authentication: Select the type of authentication to use.

        • Credentials: Select existing credentials or create new credentials.

        • Bucket: Enter the name of the bucket.

        Microsoft Azure Storage

        • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the cloud storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        • Service host: The Commvault Cloud software populates the default value.

        • Authentication: Select the type of authentication to use.

        • Account name: Enter the name of the account.

        • Credentials: Select existing credentials or create new credentials.

        • Container: Enter the name of the container. For example, enter bucket_name.

        Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage

        • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the cloud storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        • Service host: The Commvault Cloud software populates the default value.

        • Credentials: Select existing credentials or create new credentials.

        • Compartment name: Enter the name of the compartment.

        • Bucket: Enter the name of the bucket.

      3. Click Save.

  2. If you are storing the primary copy in the cloud (not locally), and you want to store a secondary copy in the cloud, do the following:

    1. Move the Secondary copy toggle key to the right.

    2. For Storage location, select an existing storage location or create a new cloud storage.

      Steps to create cloud storage for the secondary copy

      1. Click the add button add/plus button - gray - no border.

        The Add cloud storage dialog box appears.

      2. From Type, select the storage provider, and then enter the necessary values.

        Storage provider

        Values

        Air Gap Protect

        • Cloud storage provider: Select Azure Blob Storage or OCI Object Storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        Amazon S3

        • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the cloud storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        • Service host: The Commvault Cloud software populates the default value.

        • Authentication: Select the type of authentication to use.

        • Credentials: Select existing credentials or create new credentials.

        • Bucket: Enter the name of the bucket.

        Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage

        • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the cloud storage.

        • Storage class: Select the storage class for the type of access that you want to have for the data.

        • Region: Select the region for the cloud storage.

        • Service host: The Commvault Cloud software populates the default value.

        • Credentials: Select existing credentials or create new credentials.

        • Compartment name: Enter the name of the compartment.

        • Bucket: Enter the name of the bucket

      3. Click Save.

  3. Click Next.

    The Plan page of the configuration wizard appears.

Plan

A plan specifies the storage to back up the data to and other settings such as recovery point objective (RPO) settings.

  1. Select an existing plan or create a new plan.

    Steps to create a plan

    1. Click the add button add/plus button - gray - no border.

      The Add plan dialog box appears.

    2. In the Plan name box, enter a descriptive name for the plan.

    3. For the plan settings, select pre-defined settings or create custom settings:

      • To select pre-defined settings, under Retention rules, select one of the following:

        • Select Standard retention to retain the incremental backups for 1 month.

        • Select Extended retention for optimized storage where the incremental backups of primary and secondary copies are retained for 1 month, and extended retention for monthly and yearly full backups.

          Note

          The Extended retention option is available only when the secondary copy backup is selected.

      • To create custom settings, select Custom plan, and then specify the following:

        • For Snapshot retention, specify the number of snapshots to retain for IntelliSnap backups.

        • For Retention, specify the amount of time to retain the backup jobs.

        • For Retention monthly full (Secondary copy), specify the amount of time to retain the monthly full backup on secondary copy.

        • For Retention yearly full (Secondary copy), specify the amount of time to retain the yearly full backup on secondary copy.

        • For Backups run every, specify how often to run backups.

    4. Click Done.

  2. Click Next.

    The Hypervisor page of the configuration wizard appears.

Hypervisor

  1. Select an existing hypervisor or create a new hypervisor.

    Steps to create a hypervisor

    1. Click Add a new hypervisor.

    2. In vCenter server name, enter the fully qualified hostname or IP address for the hypervisor.

    3. In Hypervisor display name, enter a descriptive name for the hypervisor.

    4. To provide access to the hypervisor, select one of the following:

      • Enter credentials: For Username and Password, type the user credentials to provide administrative access to the hypervisor.

      • Use saved credentials: For Credentials, select a credential from the list of those available.

        The credentials listed are applicable to this hypervisor.

        Note

        To create a new credential (with Windows account type), to the right of Credentials, click Create new. Enter the name of the new credential and the user name and password to provide administrative access to the hypervisor. For more information, see Credential Manager.

  2. Click Next.

    The Add VM Group page of the configuration wizard appears.

Add a VM Group

A VM group is a set of VMs that you want to back up with the same settings.

You can add content to the VM group by using rules that auto-discover VMs and/or by selecting specific VMs.

  1. In Name, enter a descriptive name for the VM group.

  2. To create rules that auto-discover and select VMs to back up, do the following:

    1. Click Add, and then select Rules.

      The Add rule dialog box appears.

    2. From the list, select the type of rule to create, and then specify the rule:

      • Browse: Select specific VMs. (Selecting this option changes the Add rule dialog box to the Add content dialog box.)

      • Custom attribute: Select VMs based on custom attributes in vCenter annotations for the VM summary. For example, to select VMs that have a custom attribute that equals "128", enter Custom attribute | Equals | 128.

      • Datastore: Select VMs based on the name of the datastore that contains them.

      • Guest DNS hostname: Select VMs based on a hostname or a domain. For example, to select hosts on the "mycompany.com" domain, enter Guest DNS hostname | Ends with | mycompany.com.

      • Guest OS: Select VMs based on operating system. For example, to select VMs that are not Windows, enter Guest OS | Does not contain | Windows.

      • Host: Select VMs based on hostname. For example, to select VMs that are on hosts that include "acme" in their names, enter Host | Contains | acme.

      • Notes: Select VMs based on notes contained in annotations for the VM summary. For example, to select VMs that have notes that begin with "Test", enter Notes | Starts with | Test.

      • Power state: Select VMs based on a power status of On, Off, or Other. (Other includes statuses such as Suspended).

      • Tag: Select VMs based on tags that the VMs are marked with.

      • Tag category: Select VMs based on tag categories that the VMs are marked with.

      • Template: Specify whether to select virtual machine templates. For example, to select templates, enter Template | Equals | True.

      • Virtual machine name or pattern: Select VMs based on their names. For example, to select VMs that have a name that includes "east", enter Virtual machine name or pattern | Contains | east.

    3. Click Save.

  3. To select VMs in other ways, do the following:

    1. Click Add, and then select Content.

      The Add content dialog box appears.

    2. From the Browse and select VMs list, select one of the following:

      • Hosts and clusters: Backs up the VMs that are in the hosts and/or clusters that you select. Or you can select specific VMs.

        Content is shown as follows:

        - First level: vCenters

        - Second level: ESX servers

        - Third level: VMs

      • VMs and templates: Backs up the VMs that you select.

      • Datastores and datastore clusters: Backs up the VMs that are in the datastores and/or datastore clusters that you select.

        Content is shown as follows:

        - First level: Hosts

        - Second level: Datastores

        - Third level: VMs

      • Tags and categories: Backs up the VMs that are marked with the tags that you select or with tags that belong to the tag categories that you select.

    3. Select the VMs to add to the VM group.

    4. Click Save.

  4. To see the VMs that are selected for the VM group, click the Preview button.

  5. Click Next.

    The Summary page of the configuration wizard appears.

Summary

  1. Review the summary.

  2. Click Finish.

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