Protecting VMware virtual machines with file-level backups

In most cases, Unitrends recommends that you use host-level backups to protect your VMware 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 VMware virtual machines:

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

Notes:   

To protect a VM with both host-level and file-level (agent-based) backups, be sure to adhere to the following:

• Ensure that the VM's host-level and file-level jobs do not overlap. Running both simultaneously may lead to undesirable results.
• If protecting hosted SQL or Exchange databases with agent-based application backups, do not use application-aware protection for host-level backups. Doing so may compromise log truncation changes and lead to other undesirable results.

VMware 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.)
• Leverages VMware’s VADP framework to perform application and operating system consistent backup and recovery.
• Application-aware protection of Exchange or SQL simple recovery model applications.
• For Recovery Series and Recovery MAX appliances, supports SAN-direct backup.
• For Unitrends Backup on VMware appliances, supports HotAdd backup.
• Supports backup of VMware templates.
• Supports excluding disks from a backup. If you have a requirement to exclude data at the directory- or file-level, or if you don’t have space in your VMFS datastores for snapshots of your VMs, consider using file-level backups.
• Supports recovering individual files from backups for VMs running Windows or Linux.
• Supports VMware instant recovery to quickly spin up a failed VM.

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.
• 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 Protected assets.

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.

Exchange

Do one of the following:

• Use host-level protection with the application-aware feature (see VMware application-aware protection for details).
• Use file-level application protection if more granular control is needed.

SQL

For simple recovery model databases, do one of the following:

• Use host-level protection with the application-aware feature (see VMware application-aware protection for details).
• Use file-level application protection for more granular control.

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.)

Disk configuration

 

Cluster with fault tolerant disks

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

Physical RDM disks

Use file-level protection. (These disks are automatically excluded from host-level backups.)

Independent or pass-through disks

Use file-level protection. (These disks are automatically excluded from host-level backups.)

Sparse disks

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

Other VM considerations

 

Dynamic MAC address

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

VMs hosted on free ESXi versions

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

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.

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. (With host-level you can exclude virtual disks only. File-level provides more granular control.)

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.