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Configuring storage

This section provides instructions for configuring the backup system’s connection to added storage. The following protocols are supported:

ClosedTo configure iSCSI storage

For iSCSI storage, Unitrends requires an active iSCSI session at all times. Unitrends supports array failover scenarios that utilize iSCSI redirect technologies, but not MPIO or active/passive failover configurations.

Use this procedure to configure iSCSI storage:

1 Add storage using one of these procedures:

Note:  Names for iSCSI storage must not contain spaces.

• To add backup storage and create a new device
• Adding archive storage

Note:  For archive to iSCSI LUN, it is recommended to not resize the LUN after it has been added to the backup appliance as the new size cannot be detected by the backup appliance.

• Adding vault storage
• VMware SAN-direct backups
2 If the iSCSI target is configured for CHAP authentication, you must set up CHAP in the Unitrends system. See About CHAP authentication.
3 Enter the IP address of the SAN storage array in the Host IP address field.
4 The default port used for iSCSI communication is 3260. If the LUN is configured to use a different port, enter it in the Port field.
5 Click Scan for List of Available Targets to retrieve a list of targets on the remote storage array, then choose one from the Select Target list.

Note:  If you do not see the LUN in the list, go to your SAN manager and check your LUN configuration by doing the following:

• Verify that you can see the Unitrends appliance in your SAN manager.
• Verify that you have a LUN assigned to the Unitrends system with the correct permissions.
• Check with your Storage Administrator for more information.
6 Enter the appropriate Logical Unit Number using the LUN counter, or click Scan for List of Available LUNs and select one from the Select LUN list.

Note:  If you receive an error indicating CHAP authentication has failed, CHAP has been configured on the target and either CHAP has not been enabled in the Unitrends system, or the Unitrends CHAP credentials do not match those of the target.

7 Click Confirm.
• If you are adding backup storage, continue with this procedure to add the backup device.
• To use this storage for archiving, select it as a target when running or scheduling archive jobs. See the Archiving Overview chapter for details.
• To use this storage for legacy vaulting, select it as a target when adding the backup system to the vault. For details, see Adding the backup system to the vault. Note that replication uses regular backup storage. Vault storage is used for systems that use the legacy vaulting feature only.
8 On the Add Device page, enter a name for the new device in the Device Name field.

This is the name that will be used whenever the device is selected. Device names must be unique and must not contain spaces.

9 Enter the amount of data that can be stored on the new device in the Capacity field.

The Capacity field governs the amount of data that can be stored on the device. The system manages to the capacity limit set and will assure that the data on the device does not exceed the capacity limit. If the capacity chosen exceeds the system license OR if there is not enough space on the file system to accommodate the allocation, a message displays indicating the need to adjust the capacity limit. Options for Capacity settings are:

• Standard Size - Use this to select from a list of values. Click the down arrow next to the device size and select the desired capacity.
• Custom Size - If the desired size of the device is not populated in the standard size list, select this option to specify a capacity.
10 Enter a brief description for the device in the Description field.
11 In the Max Concurrent Backups field, enter the number of backups that can be run simultaneously on the system.

The default value is three. The recommended range is three to ten, depending on network throughput, the number of devices defined, and the resources of the system.

12 Check these boxes as applicable:
• Online box to indicate that the device is online and ready for backups to be written.
• Default box to make this the default device. The default device is used if no other device is specified.
• Select Storage box to select external storage for virtual systems.

Note:  The Pathname displays the location on the system where the backups are stored. This field cannot be edited.

13 Click Confirm to add the device.

To store backups on this device, select it when running or scheduling backups. See the Backups Overview chapter for details.

ClosedTo configure Fibre Channel storage

For Fibre Channel storage, Unitrends requires a connection to an active LUN at all times. Unitrends supports array failover scenarios for active/active configurations only.

Use this procedure to configure Fibre Channel storage:

1 Complete the steps in To add archive storage or VMware SAN-direct backups.
2 Click Scan for List of Available Targets to retrieve the target LUNs exposed by the SAN.
3 Choose the desired target from the Select Target list.
4 Enter the Logical Unit Number using the LUN counter, or click Scan for List of Available LUNs and select one in the Select LUN list.

Note:  If you do not see the LUN in the list, check the following:

• Go to your SAN manager, check your LUN configuration, and verify that you can see the Unitrends appliance.
• Verify that you have a LUN assigned to the Unitrends system with the correct permissions.
• You may need to reboot the Unitrends system to enable it to discover the storage device.
• Check with your Storage Administrator for more information.
5 Click Confirm to complete the setup.

Note:  To remove the LUN from Fibre Channel storage in the Unitrends system, you must go to the SAN manager and indicate that the SAN should not use the LUN anymore.

ClosedTo configure CIFS and NFS NAS storage
1 Add storage using one of these procedures:

Note:  Names for NFS and CIFS storage must not contain spaces.

• To add backup storage and create a new device
• To add archive storage
• To add vault storage
• To protect a CIFS/NFS NAS as a client, see To add a CIFS/NFS client
2 If the NAS share is configured for authentication, provide the credentials in the Username, Password, and Verify Password fields.
• If domain credentials are being used, enter the user name as user@domain.com.
• If authentication is not used, skip this step.
3 Enter the IP address or hostname of the NAS share in the Host field.
4 Select the desired file system type from the Protocol list. The NAS share can be connected using the NFS or CIFS protocol.

Note:  For legacy vault storage, you must configure the NAS using the NFS protocol. The CIFS protocol is not supported for vault storage. The CIFS protocol can be used with the newer replication feature.

5 The Port field contains the default for the protocol selected. If the protocol uses a custom port, enter that port number.
6 Enter the full directory pathname of the NFS or CIFS share in the Share Name field. Do not use leading or ending slashes.
7 Click Confirm.
• If you are adding backup storage, continue with this procedure to add the backup device.
• If you are protecting data stored on the CIFS/NFS NAS, schedule backups for the CIFS/NFS client as described in NAS protection using CIFS/NFS.
• To use this storage for archiving, select it as a target when running or scheduling archive jobs. See the Archiving Overview chapter for details.
• To use this storage for legacy vaulting, select it as a target when adding the backup system to the vault. For details, see Adding the backup system to the vault. Note that replication uses regular backup storage. Vault storage is used for systems that use the legacy vaulting feature only.
8 On the Add Device page, enter a name for the new device in the Device Name field.

This is the name that will be used whenever the device is selected. Device names must be unique and must not contain spaces.

9 Enter the amount of data that can be stored on the new device in the Capacity field.

The Capacity field governs the amount of data that can be stored on the device. The system manages to the capacity limit set and will assure that the data on the device does not exceed the capacity limit. If the capacity chosen exceeds the system license OR if there is not enough space on the file system to accommodate the allocation, an error message is delivered indicating the need to adjust the capacity limit. Options for Capacity settings are:

• Standard Size - Use this to select from a list of values. Click the down arrow next to the device size and select the desired capacity.
• Custom Size - If the desired size of the device is not populated in the standard size list, select this option to specify a capacity.
10 Enter a brief description for the device in the Description field.
11 In the Max Concurrent Backups field, enter the number of backups that can be run simultaneously on the system.

The default value is three. The recommended range is three to ten, depending on network throughput, the number of devices defined, and the resources of the system.

12 Check these boxes as applicable:
• Online box to indicate that the device is online and ready for backups to be written.
• Default box to make this the default device. The default device is used if no other device is specified.
• Select Storage box to select external storage for virtual systems.

Note:  The Pathname displays the location on the system where the backups are stored. This field cannot be edited.

13 Click Confirm to add the device.

To store backups on this device, select it when running or scheduling backups. See the Backups Overview chapter for details.

ClosedTo modify CIFS credentials

The CIFS password on the backup system must match the password set on the CIFS targets accessed by the Unitrends system. If they do not match, your storage might fail to mount upon reboot. Use this procedure to update the CIFS passwords on the Unitrends system any time you change these passwords on the CIFS targets.

1 Update the password on all CIFS targets accessed by the Unitrends system.
2 In the Unitrends system, select Settings > Storage and Retention > Storage.
3 In the list of storage items, click to select the CIFS storage device row. The Modify Backup Storage dialog opens.
4 Enter the updated Password and then enter it again in the Verify Password field.
5 Click Confirm to save.
ClosedTo configure added internal storage

This option is only available for virtual systems. Unitrends Backup treats all storage attached through the hypervisor as internal storage, whether this is direct attached storage (DAS, internal to the hypervisor) or storage that resides on an external array.

1 Add a disk to the datastore or volume used by the Unitrends Backup VM.

For instructions on creating and adding a VMDK disk, see one of the following VMware documents:

• vSphere 5.1: Create a Virtual Disk in vSphere Client 5.1
• vSphere 5.5: Create a Virtual Disk in vSphere Client 5.5

For instructions on creating and adding a VHD(X) disk, see the following Microsoft documents:

• To create a virtual hard disk
• To add a hard disk to a virtual machine
2 Add storage of type Added Disk using one of these procedures:
• To add backup storage and create a new device
• To add archive storage
• To add vault storage
3 Select a disk from the Select Added Disk list.
4 Click Confirm.
5 Check the I understand... box to indicate you are aware that any data on the selected disk will be deleted upon adding storage to the backup system.
6 Click Confirm.
• If you are adding backup storage, continue with this procedure to add the backup device.
• To use this storage for archiving, select it as a target when running or scheduling archive jobs. See the Archiving Overview chapter for details.
• To use this storage for legacy vaulting, select it as a target when adding the backup system to the vault. For details, see Adding the backup system to the vault. Note that replication uses regular backup storage. Vault storage is used for systems that use the legacy vaulting feature only.
7 On the Add Device page, enter a name for the new device in the Device Name field.

This is the name that will be used whenever the device is selected. Device names must be unique and must not contain spaces.

8 Enter the amount of data that can be stored on the new device in the Capacity field.

The Capacity field governs the amount of data that can be stored on the device. The system manages to the capacity limit set and will assure that the data on the device does not exceed the capacity limit. If the capacity chosen exceeds the system license OR if there is not enough space on the file system to accommodate the allocation, an error message is delivered indicating the need to adjust the capacity limit. Options for Capacity settings are:

• Standard Size - Use this to select from a list of values. Click the down arrow next to the device size and select the desired capacity.
• Custom Size - If the desired size of the device is not populated in the standard size list, select this option to specify a capacity.
9 Enter a brief description for the device in the Description field.
10 In the Max Concurrent Backups field, enter the number of backups that can be run simultaneously on the system.

The default value is three. The recommended range is three to ten, depending on network throughput, the number of devices defined, and the resources of the system.

11 Check these boxes as applicable:
• Online box to indicate that the device is online and ready for backups to be written.
• Default box to make this the default device. The default device is used if no other device is specified.
• Select Storage box to select external storage for virtual systems.

Note:  The Pathname displays the location on the system where the backups are stored. This field cannot be edited.

12 Click Confirm to add the device.

To store backups on this device, select it when running or scheduling backups. See the Backups Overview chapter for details.