VDP6 - FLR on Linux

[dimka2000]

Hello,

as no one runs Linux with GUI installed, I'm trying to figure out if we can come up with some permanent workaround for the File Level Restores on Linux?

I'm thinking we can have a dedicated Linux VM with GUI and a browser installed, added to the VDP backup, which we can then use to do advanced logins from and be able to restore files from other VDP backed up Linux VMs.

If the above works, what about different distors? We use RHEL5.5/ext3, RHEL6/ext4, SLES11/ext3, all using LVM, all 64-bit. Will we have to have one VM of each kind with GUI installed for FLRs?

Thanks.

[jhunter1]

The solution you proposed should work. FLR has some limitations (see the admin guide) but, you should not need one for every distribution. For the dedicated VM with the GUI installed, I would try the latest distribution you have first. I would think a newer distribution would be more compatible with older distributions (not vice versa). Please post you findings here after you have done some experimentation - it would be good to hear what you came up with.

Short blog article on Linux FLR: vSphere Data Protection Linux File Level Restore | VMware vSphere Blog - VMware Blogs

It does not cover having multiple Linux distributions.

[dimka2000]

Appreciate the feedback!

Quick question (hopefully): when I try to deploy an external proxy (so I get the FLR support for ext4/LVM), I get the error: "IP/DNS could not be resolved. Check the IP, DNS values for forward and reverse lookup validation". This is confusing as the wizard did not ask me to provide a host name for the external proxy I'm creating, so how would I know what hostname to add to DNS?

[jhunter1]

Similar to the VDP appliance, a DNS record for the external proxy should be created prior to deploying the external proxy appliance. The wizard will query DNS for this host name and display it on the Ready to Complete screen - see attached screen shot.

[dimka2000]

OK, maybe I'm missing something obvious here. When I was installing VDP appliance it first asked me for the hostname I want to use, so I could make sure this name is registered in DNS.

When I click to create a new external proxy, the wizard never asks me to provide a host name, and then it just complains it could not do a DNS lookup. So, what name is it trying to look up?

[dimka2000]

ok, never mind. It was somewhat obvious, but, to my defense, not usual. Looks like you have to create a DNS entry first and then the wizard picks up the name using reverse lookup.

It may be worth it to clarify this in the guide.

[dimka2000]

not my lucky day today, external proxy failed to deploy. What can I do to try to undrestand the cause?

[jhunter1]

Verify DNS is properly configured on the VDP appliance and vCenter Server: nslookup by IP address and FQDN on both or simply ping in both directions using IP and FQDN. Make sure reverse lookup is enabled in DNS. If you are still having challenges, please open a Support Request (SR) with VMware Support. I don't think it is a bug in VDP 6.0 as I just deployed an external proxy about an hour ago and it deployed fine.

[dimka2000]

appreciate the suggestions.

Why can't I authenticate to vdp via ssh with the same root account I succesfully use to logon to vdp's WebGUI? Should I be using a different account for ssh?

[jhunter1]

SSH is disabled by default for security. To enable remote login using SSH: Enable SSH Root Login for vSphere Data Protection | VMware vSphere Blog - VMware Blogs

[dimka2000]

thanks for the tip!.

btw, I was able to deploy a vDP external proxy in our DR site in esxi5.5/vcsa5.5 cluster no problem

However, as I've reported, it fails in our other site in esxi5.1/windows based vCenter5.1 environment

I checked forward and reverse lookups, and pinging by name and fqdn from vdp and vcenter successfully, so as the next step I'll be opening a ticket.

[jhunter1]

VDP 6.0 requires vCenter Server 5.5 or vCenter Server 6.0. VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes

[dimka2000]

sorry, correction, the site with the issue is windows based vCenter5.5/esxi5.1

in this site I am also having issues with testing FLR restore client. logon always fails with "Login failed. Unable to authenticate client using provided local credentials." I've tried a local admin account on this VM and a domain admin account which is a member of the local admin group. Must be some SSO related issues. However, backups, replications and full VM restores work fine there.