Protecting Hyper-V virtual machines with file-level backups

In most cases, Unitrends recommends that you use host-level backups to protect your Hyper-V virtual machines. However, in some instances, you might wish to protect your VMs at the guest level in the same way you would protect physical machines, using file-level backups. Host- and file-level backups provide you with different options.

Use the following topics to determine whether to run host- or file-level backups of Hyper-V virtual machines:

General features of Hyper-V host-level and file-level protection are given here:

Hyper-V protection strategy

Considerations

Host-level backups
• Quickest setup, do not need to add VMs individually or install a Unitrends agent on each VM.
• Automatically include new VMs in backup schedules. (Not supported for SLA policy schedules.)
• Recover individual files from backups for VMs running Windows or Linux.
• Rapid disaster recovery of a failed VM using Virtual machine instant recovery.

File-level backups
• Backup appliance treats the VM like a physical asset.
• All backup options are supported, including options to exclude files, directories, or volumes from backup, and run pre- and post-backup commands. Recommended for VMs where more granular exclusion of data is required.
• Provide application and operating system consistent backup and recovery.
• Protect VM configurations that cannot be protected by host-level backups (such as shared VHDX disks, pass-through disks, and VHDS clusters).
• Support Windows replicas to quickly spin up a virtual replica of a failed Windows asset.

File-level application backups provide these benefits:

Note:  Application backups schedules cannot be created through SLA policies.

• SQL, Exchange, Oracle, and SharePoint backups perform application-level post backup processing, such as log truncation.
• Support all SQL database recovery models. Must run file-level application backups for all recovery models other than simple.
• Support backup of multi-node SharePoint farms.

Specific instances when you might want to protect VMs at the asset level are described below. For instructions on setting up file-level protection, see File-level Backups Overview.

Note:  To protect a VM with both host-level and file-level (agent-based) backups, ensure that the VM's host-level and file-level jobs do not overlap. Running both simultaneously may lead to undesirable results.

VM type

Protection considerations

Hosted applications

 

Hosted applications for which you need more granular control.

Use file-level application backups to select individual databases to back up and recover.

Application versions that are not supported by Integration Services

Use file-level application backups to protect the databases. Use file-level protection for the VMs’ file and operating systems.

Exchange

Use either host-level or file-level application backups. (Use file-level application backups if more granular control is needed.)

SQL

For simple recovery model databases, use either host-level or file-level application protection.

For full or bulk-logged recovery model databases, use file-level application protection. (Host-level protection is not supported.)

SharePoint

 Use file-level application protection. (Host-level protection is not supported.)

Oracle

 Use file-level application protection. (Host-level protection is not supported.)

Other VM considerations

 

VMs running operating systems that are not supported by Integration Services

With host-level backups, these VMs are temporarily put in a saved state for a brief time during the backup. If you cannot permit a brief VM downtime during the backup, use file-level protection instead.

VMs in a cluster configuration with only one cluster shared volume

Unitrends recommends that you use file-level protection.

VM configurations that cannot be protected with host-level backups.

For these VM configurations, use file-level protection. (See Virtual machine configuration to determine whether host-level backups are supported for your VM.)

VMs for which you would like to exclude volumes or large numbers of files when running backups.

Use file-level protection and exclude files from backups.

VMs functioning as large file servers for which you may need to frequently recover files.

Use file-level protection so you can search for files to recover by name.

Windows VMs that you would like to protect with Windows replicas.

Use file-level protection.

Virtualized Active Directory (AD) servers for which you are not following Microsoft’s best practices

Use file-level protection.

VMs in Distributed File System environments for which you are not following Microsoft’s best practices.

Use file-level protection.