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VDR: Best Practice to backup VM's on local storage

This is not a real world scenario, but more a question for a better understanding!

Given a configuration with 3 ESX hosts and vCenter (Essentials Plus), no shared storage. The VM's are stored on the local discs of the hosts. Data Recovery backs up on a CIFS share.

What would be the best practice to minimize network traffic during backup?

If I install only one Data Recovery appliance, the backup of VM's located on the other 2 hosts would have to cross the network twice. First from the VM's host to the VDR appliance and second from the appliance to the CIFS share. Additionally, since the de-dup is done in the VDR appliance the vmdk's would have to be transferred completely.Correct?

So I assume it would make sense to install a data recovery appliance on each host and backup the VM's of each host from the specific appliance. In this case I would connect each appliance to a separate CIFS share.

Does this assumption work. And further more, is it a supported configuration?

Thanks

André

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CHogan
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Hi André,

From a support perspective, we have only tested a single instance of vDR running with vCenter.

So if you do deploy multiple appliances in your environment, I can confirm that you will be putting yourself in an unsupported configuration.

HTH

Cormac

http://cormachogan.com

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Erik_Bussink
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As far as I know, you're vCenter4 will only work with a single DataRecovery appliance (because you need to upload the Plug-Inand then make a connection to the Backup Appliance).

So you will have network traffic anyway from the ESX host that don't host the DataRecovery Appliance and the ESX server that does.

Erik Bussink Solution Architect @VMware CISSP, VCP#67, RHCE, DCUCD
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Erik_Bussink
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And now for a walk on the wild side...

You can map various Network shares or Local VMDKs to the DataRecovery Appliance.

Assuming that you are hosting you're DR appliance on ESX1

You could in Theory, create a new VirtualMachine running OpenFiler on ESX2 and ESX3, and map you're DR Appliance onto these shares.

When you create backup jobs, you can select the destination to store you're backup files, VM's from ESX1 are stored on ESX2 local disk, ESX2 VMs on ESX3 local disk etc...

This is just design ranting, and would complicate matters and network performances.

Alternatively, you could use vCenter Orchestrator and make a backup workflow that makes backups from ESX1 > ESX2, ESX2 > ESX3, ESX3 > ESX1. I have done such a design 3 years ago with Orchestrator (it was Dunes VS-O then)

Erik Bussink Solution Architect @VMware CISSP, VCP#67, RHCE, DCUCD
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CHogan
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Hi André,

From a support perspective, we have only tested a single instance of vDR running with vCenter.

So if you do deploy multiple appliances in your environment, I can confirm that you will be putting yourself in an unsupported configuration.

HTH

Cormac

http://cormachogan.com
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etamir
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Hi Coramc,

I have bumped into your reply which implied that it is not supported to run more than a single VDR instance (which takes care of 100 VMs only) in the vCenter environment...Can you please approve?

I have been told several times (bylocal VMware representatives) that to surpass the limit of 100VMs per VDR you will simply run several VDR appliances while each one will take care of another 100VMs...

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Andy25
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I have 4 VDR appliances in in vCenter. It works, you just have to log into each instance of VDR to manage it. Like most people, I do have some issues with VDR, but I don't think its related to running multiple VDR appliances...

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cgnti
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Page 8 of the VMware Data Recovery Administration guide states:

"Each instance of vCenter Server can support up to ten Data Recovery backup appliances and each backup appliance can protect a total of 100 virtual machines."

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admin
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This is a change in VDR 1.2, which was released in early June

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