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sertdemiry
Contributor
Contributor
‎03-24-2011 05:31 AM

VCB for Exchange and AD

Hello,

We are using vCenter with two server installed ESXi4.1 with one Storage which includes all VM data and ESXi data. I want to backup all of the VM which includes windows 2008 exchange, AD, Centos, Unix etc to outside of the system room.

I think to buy a NAS server and connect to our switch with 2 1GB ethernet connection, and backup all of the VMs to this NAS by using VCB.

Is there a problem with incremental backups of Exchange, AD, or others  with this method? NAS has two 1 gb connection to VM, is it enough for incremental backup?

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6 Replies
vmroyale
Immortal
Immortal
‎03-24-2011 06:23 AM

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Note: This discussion was moved from the VMware vCenter Server forum to the Backup & Recovery forum.

Do you have backup software, or are you going to rely just on VCB?  Technically you can do what you describe, but there may be a couple/few issues with it.  Also take note that VCB has pretty much reached end of life and won't make it into future versions of the software.  If you are just starting a backup strategy, you might want to implement one that will extend into the future a bit better.  With Exchange and AD, you will want to look into the supportability of this approach.  With DCs, I always just get the system state backed up and don't worry about an image.  You will also want to test any backups to ensure that they are the consistency you require.

Good Luck!

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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idle-jam
Immortal
Immortal
‎03-24-2011 06:41 AM

how large is your data? you might want look into vmware data recovery

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sertdemiry
Contributor
Contributor
‎03-24-2011 08:14 AM

Hello again,

I already installed Vmware Data Recovery in vCenter, and willing to use it for my backup job by both incremental and full.

Overall data can be max 600gb in the future, right now it is about 300-400gb.

I forgot to write that I also have SQL 2008 server in my system. I want to be sure about SQL and Exchange backups thats all.

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vmroyale
Immortal
Immortal
‎03-24-2011 10:21 AM

Make sure you have the VMware Tools installed in these VMs and also make sure to check out kb 1028881.  Again, make sure you test and verify that you are getting what you expect or that this approach meets your backup requirements.

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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Roggy
Contributor
Contributor
‎04-01-2011 08:50 AM

For Exchange and AD, use VDR but you must also use msbackup for system state for AD and exchange mailboxes.

It wil make your life alot easier.

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sertdemiry
Contributor
Contributor
‎04-02-2011 04:00 AM

Thanks for answers,

Firstly, I should create system state, exchange and sql database backup jobs in the windows 2008.

Secondly, I should create VDR backup for NAS.

I will stop here because some ppl told me that "More then 200gb data can create problems on your network". I will try to buy a NAS server with 2 gig interface, so do you think that it is enough for this backup job?

I am thinking that incremendal backup can overload my network so I can backup all my system daily basis at night.

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