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Working with vCenter and ESX servers

The following VMware virtual entities can be registered to the Unitrends appliance to protect hosted virtual machines. You will need an account with full administrative privileges to add the vCenter or ESX server.

Item	Description
vCenter only	If the ESX servers are accessible through a vCenter, registering the vCenter to the Unitrends appliance automatically detects all of the associated ESX servers and their hosted virtual machines. This also allows the Unitrends Virtualization Protector to be compatible with vMotion, a process through which VMs can migrate amongst the vCenter’s ESX servers. In this case, the system detects when virtual machines move between ESX servers in a cluster and contacts the appropriate server to perform backups. Note: The Unitrends appliance cannot detect VM migration between vCenters (a feature of vCenter 6 and 6.5 only). If a vCenter 6/6.5 VM migrates to a different vCenter, that VM is no longer protected on the original Unitrends schedule. You must manually add it to a new schedule to resume protection.
ESX server only	If ESX servers are not accessible through a vCenter, or if only a subset of the VMs hosted on the vCenter’s ESX servers are to be protected, then individual ESX servers can be registered. In this case, the system contacts the ESX servers directly for backup and restore operations.
vCenter and associated ESX servers	If ESX servers are registered to a vCenter and both are accessible on the network, it is recommended that you register both the vCenter and its ESX servers. This allows the Unitrends Virtualization Protector to contact the vCenter for management operations (including vMotion support) and to directly contact the ESX servers for backup and restore operations, potentially improving performance by reducing network traffic around the vCenter server.

Item

Description

vCenter only

If the ESX servers are accessible through a vCenter, registering the vCenter to the Unitrends appliance automatically detects all of the associated ESX servers and their hosted virtual machines. This also allows the Unitrends Virtualization Protector to be compatible with vMotion, a process through which VMs can migrate amongst the vCenter’s ESX servers. In this case, the system detects when virtual machines move between ESX servers in a cluster and contacts the appropriate server to perform backups.

Note: The Unitrends appliance cannot detect VM migration between vCenters (a feature of vCenter 6 and 6.5 only). If a vCenter 6/6.5 VM migrates to a different vCenter, that VM is no longer protected on the original Unitrends schedule. You must manually add it to a new schedule to resume protection.

ESX server only

If ESX servers are not accessible through a vCenter, or if only a subset of the VMs hosted on the vCenter’s ESX servers are to be protected, then individual ESX servers can be registered. In this case, the system contacts the ESX servers directly for backup and restore operations.

vCenter and associated ESX servers

If ESX servers are registered to a vCenter and both are accessible on the network, it is recommended that you register both the vCenter and its ESX servers. This allows the Unitrends Virtualization Protector to contact the vCenter for management operations (including vMotion support) and to directly contact the ESX servers for backup and restore operations, potentially improving performance by reducing network traffic around the vCenter server.

For instructions on adding vCenter and ESX servers to the Unitrends appliance, see:

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About adding clients

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Adding a VMware client

For instructions on modifying and deleting a VMware vCenter and ESX servers, see About working with clients.