vStorage API available also with ESX 3.0.2???

[crabanus]

Hi all,

recently I found out for my big surprise, that there are a couple of backup products that support backing up virtual machines via vStorage API even on earlier versions than vSphere 4.0. Verizon says, that vStorage API is supported starting from ESX 3.0.2!!! (Cmp. http://www.vizioncore.com/products/vRangerPro/documents/vRangerProDPP_vStorage_API_FAQ.pdf). And also NBU 7.0 supports backing up VMs on ESX 3.5. I've tested the latter - it really works without VCB.

On the other, it's documented in all VMware-documentation I'm aware of that the vStorage API is new to vSphere 4.0.

So does anybody know when VMware actually introduced vStorage API? Or is there an interface implemented in ESX quite a long time, but was not used?

Thank's for any information about this...

Best regards,

Christian

[lamw · Accepted solution]

That's incorrect, the vStorage API is only available with vSphere, that's when it was first introduced by VMware. Specifically for backup/replication, it's the vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) and the feature of Change Block Tracking that decreases the backup window for a VM as it only copies blocks that have changed. This feature not only requires vSphere but also VM Hardware 7 which is only available with vSphere, so I'm not sure why Vizioncore is claiming this feature in their documentation, this is false advertisement.

The support for pre-vSphere is most likely around the VCB framework and I believe other backup vendors, prior to vSphere has tried/has implemented something "similar" to Change Block Tracking, but again the official VMware vStorage API is a feature only from vSphere.

http://www.vmware.com/products/vstorage-apis-for-data-protection/features.html

For more details around what the vStorage API, take a look at this blog post - http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2010/06/vstorage-api-do-you-really-know-what-it.html

=========================================================================

William Lam

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[crabanus]

Thank you, William, for your reply. In the meanwhile I've investigated also a little bit and found out that the VDDK (VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit) also supports ESX 3.0. This VDDK is used by the vADP-API (VMware API for Data Protection). So would you agree with me that Verizon and others (Symantec, etc.), who claim to use vStorage API for their backup also with older releases of ESX basically mean this part of the API and not vStorage?

My tests with NBU 7.0 show, that the backup of a VM running in ESX 3.5 is actually working WITHOUT VCB or any other additional tool.

Please confirm and best reagrds,

Christian

[Doug_Hazelman]

There's aways confusion on the vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP). VADP is actually closely related to VCB and allows for a backup server to directly connect to SAN storage for backup operations. This functionality does actually work on ESX 3.5 update 4+ from what I understand.

CBT as William noted is only available on vSphere since it's a Virtual Machine setting that requires VM Hardware version 7 (only available on ESX(i) 4+). CBT is actually part of the Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK), not VADP.

I'm not sure why Vizioncore states what they do in their documentation, most likely a technical writer missed the entry and/or just updated what was there for VCB and didn't verify VADP requirements.

-

Doug Hazelman

Sr. Director, Product Strategy

Veeam Software

[lamw]

That's partially correct, VDDK was out prior to release of vSphere and if you take a look at my blog post, you'll notice that in the current incarnation of vStorage API for Data Protection (ADAP) is really the combination of vSphere API + VDDK.

They may have/is using the VDDK to backup the disk and perhaps implementing their "own" CBT, but it's in no way/shape or form the current vSphere vStorage API for Data Protection implementation where Change Block Tracking information is automatically provided by VMware.

As Doug mentioned, CBT is a feature of VDDK, but to say that a product supports vStorage API (VADP), you must have a vSphere environment.

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William Lam

VMware vExpert 2009

VMware scripts and resources at:

Twitter: @lamw

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[crabanus]

Thanks a lot, guys, for your answers!

Christian