Watch this session by vExpert Rick Vanover to get the VMware backup best practices like backup requirements and how-to’s, difference-making technologies, virtual machine design and many more.

1. Best Practices
for VMware Backups
Rick Vanover
MCITP vExpert VCP
Software Strategy Specialist
Veeam Software
http://www.veeam.com/blog
Twitter: @RickVanover, @Veeam

2. About the Speaker
Contributor to industry publications

3. Agenda
About VMware vSphere
Backup requirements and how-to
Difference-making technologies
Considerations of image-based backups
Virtual machine design and provisioning
Separation of source and target
Organization of backups
Ensuring application consistency
Testing recoverability
Considerations for multiple OSes and applications
Retention, availability and integrity
Job notifications, alerts and management

4. About VMware vSphere

5. VMware backup requirements
RTO & RPO
 Key metrics: RTO and RPO
 Recovery time objective—The amount of downtime tolerable to get
back up and running.
 Recovery point objective—The tolerable amount of data loss during an
availability incident.

6. How are requirements going to be met
Leverage the platform for optimized backups
 Bottom line: Confidence in the restore

7. Difference-making technologies
 By leveraging the platform, fundamental improvements
in data protection can be achieved.
vSphere platform enables changes to be made
VM VM VM VM VM
Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows Backup
VM VM VM VM VM Restore
Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows

8. Consideration of image-based backups
Image, agent and file-level backups all different
VM Agent File-level
Windows
VM VM VM
Windows Windows Windows

9. Virtual machine design and provisioning

10. Separation of source and target
VM VM VM VM VM
Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows
VM VM VM VM VM
Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows
Backup
software
ESX(i) host(s)
Shared storage resources

11. Organization of backup jobs
Intuitive flow from production source to backup target
vSphere Source Backup Software Backup Target
Organization in Jobs in backup Folders or shares
vSphere with Software with the on file system with
Folders or same name as same names as
Resource pools folder in vSphere backup jobs

12. Design example – vSphere folders
 Used as a container for VMs
 View accessible by selecting
“VMs and Templates”
 Can also be a parent object for
permissions
 Can be nested

13. Design example – backup targets
 Good example is a folder or share
 Caution not to make it too complicated
 This again will function as a container

14. Ensure application consistency
 Difference between crash-consistent and application-
consistent backups
Quiescing of application critical
VM
Windows

15. Test recoverability
 Different than backup verification
Ensure a VMware virtual machine backup is usable

16. Consideration for multiple OSes and applications
 Things are easier in a Windows-only world
Arrange best tools for each platform

17. Backup retention, availability and integrity
Ensure all requirements are met
Tape offload? VM replication? Backup file replication?
VM
Windows Backup
Restore

18. Job notifications, alerts and management
Critical for ongoing success

19. What We Covered
About VMware vSphere
Backup requirements and how-to
Difference-making technologies
Considerations of image-based backups
Virtual machine design and provisioning
Separation of source and target
Organization of backups
Ensuring application consistency
Testing recoverability
Considerations for multiple OSes and applications
Retention, availability and integrity
Job notifications, alerts and management

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