VDP - VMware Data Protection 5.1 is Free ?

[SESCMS]

Hello,

I have 3 clusters running ESXi 5.0 with VCenter 5.0.

I would like to use the VDP 5.1, but for that I need to update the VCenter 5.1.

Know tell me that the VDP 5.1 (2TB) is free?

Someone does not recommend its use?

Tks,

Message was edited by: Brian Atkinson to remove the ALLCAPS from the subject line

[tomtom901]

VDP is included with vSphere Essentials Plus and higher. And for it's usage, we tried it for a small sized customer. It worked rather well (too bad FLR was not available for Linux) and we had some "minor" bugs (the VDP appliance losing backup jobs and stuff). That's why we went with Veaam after all.

[SESCMS]

Hello,

You use Veeam Free or Paid?

Tks

[tomtom901]

Paid. It's not that expensive, and seeing how important a good backup solution is..

[OscarDavey]

VDP has a limited feature as i would not recommended VDP in a huge virtual infra..

We are using Vmware to reduce downtime of server and business continuity.so don't take risk and use No .1 backup solution Veeam backup.

Your Oscar

[MaximK10]

You can try Veeam Backup free version which has no expiration date and no limitation on the number of VMs to be protected, at least to check out some of the features. It does have limited functionality. Veeam Backup & Replication will have all the features. You can get some documents on the features that are available and the difference between paid and free at the previous link.

[admin]

VDP is free solution for VMware backup but has some storage limitations. please see these FAQs

Q: What is VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP)?
VDP is a robust, simple-to-deploy, disk-based backup and recovery solution. VDP is fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server and the VMware vSphere Web Client. VDP enables centralized and efficient management of backup jobs while storing backups in deduplicated destination storage.

Q: Is VDP replacing VDR (VMware Data Recovery)?
Yes. VDR is not supported with vSphere 5.1 and higher. VDR is being deprecated, but will be supported as detailed in the VMware Life Cycle Policies.

Q: Will I be able to use my backups from VDR with VDP?
Yes. A migration tool is included with the 5.1.10 release of VDP. This tool handles migration of data and restore points. Backup jobs cannot be migrated. For more information, see:

• The VMware vSphere Blog post, vSphere Data Protection (VDP) Version 5.1.10 is Generally Available.
• Migrating restore points from VDR to VDP (2051891)
  

Q: Do I need additional licenses to use VDP 5.1?

VDP is included with vSphere Essentials Plus and higher.

Q: How is VDP deployed?

Like VDR, VDP is an appliance that is delivered as an OVA template. Each OVA is preconfigured with destination datastore sizes of 0.5 TB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Note that the actual storage consumed by the appliance is greater than the destination datastore sizes.

Q: How does VDP compare to VDR?

VDR was a first generation solution bundled with vSphere 4 for the rapidly growing backup market and experienced rapid adoption by VMware customers. However, in the constant effort to deliver more value to customers, VMware has been actively working on improving data protection and disaster recovery with enhanced backup and replication solutions. This led VMware to introduce a new, more robust product in the form of VDP. To maximize customer value, VMware decided to collaborate with the EMC Avamar team, who has world-class industry leading expertise in backup and recovery technology to build the underlying foundation for VDP.

Q: Is it possible to mount a CIFS of NFS share directly from the appliance and use these as backup data destinations?

Mounting a CIFS or NFS share directly from or “within” the appliance is not supported. The VDP appliance (.vmdk files) can be deployed to a NFS share mounted by a vSphere host. Windows based NFS shares are not supported.

Q: Are there any limits for VDP?

VDP supports these specifications:

• Each vCenter Server can support up to 10 VDP appliances.
• Each VDP appliance supports backup for up to 100 virtual machines.
• Only 1 VDP appliance can exist per ESXi/ESX host.
• Support for 0.5 TB, 1 TB, or 2 TB of deduplicated backup data.

Q: Can VDP appliances work together as a unit sharing information such as backup job details, capacity information, etc?

No. Each VDP appliance operates independent of other VDP appliances.

Configuration

Q: VDP comes in 3 different OVA sizes: 0.5 TB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Why is this, and is this all the space I need for the appliance?

VDP comes preconfigured with the destination datastores already attached. The OVA sizes indicate the size of the destination datastore. Additional space is required for the operating system and VDP operations (checkpoints, logs, etc). The amount of disk space required is:

OVA Size	Disk Space Required
0.5 TB	850 GB
1 TB	1600 GB (1.57 TB)
2 TB	3100 GB (3.02 TB)

Notes: 

• In VDP 5.5 one OVA size is available, you will be prompted to choose the size of your deduplication store during configuration.
• When a VDP appliance is deployed, additional space cannot be added to an existing appliance. If more destination datastore capacity is needed, a new VDP appliance can be deployed (up to 10 appliances can be deployed per vCenter Server).