All, I am trying to figure out if you are able to take a snapshot of the active vCenter in vSphere if vCenter HA is configured (active/passive/witness)? This is a v6.7 environment.
Asking since Im wondering if I can still have VEEAM backup the active vCenter if vCenter HA is enabled hence VEEAM will initiate a temporary vSphere snapshot of the VM it will backup therefore not sure if this would still be an option if vCenter HA is configured.
thanks,
George
Hello,
Yes, I meant the native file backup on the vCenter VAMI.
Since snapshots are not supported for active,passive and witness nodes, the only option is the file based backup on the vCenter.
However this backup method is to be used only if there is a catastrophic failure on the vCenter and it involves steps in re-creating the entire VCHA again when you need to restore it.
Procedure:
Backup:
Go to the VAMI page of the active vCenter node
Back up only the Active node (Do not back up the Passive node and Witness node)
Detailed steps are mentioned here in our blog - vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 File-Based Backup and Restore Walkthroughs - VMware vSphere Blog
You can also refer the steps here - http://www.vmwarearena.com/ultimate-cheat-sheet-backup-restore-vcsa-6-5/
At this point you will have a file level backup of the vCenter
Restore:
Since only the active node will be restored, before you restore the cluster, power off and delete all the vCenter nodes (the current active,passive and witness).
Follow the same link shared above to restore the active node.
The restored Active node will act as a standalone vCenter Server Appliance.
You need to now Re-create the vCenter HA on the restored node.
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Jonathan
Please mark the response as correct if my answer has helped you solve the issue
Hello,
Thanks for posting in VMware communities.
Regards,
Jonathan
Please mark the response as correct if my answer has helped you solve the issue
Thanks Jonathan. When you say image-level backup, are you referring to the native file backup you can schedule through the vCenter VAMI? I looked through the doc you referenced but still not clear.
Thanks
Hello,
Yes, I meant the native file backup on the vCenter VAMI.
Since snapshots are not supported for active,passive and witness nodes, the only option is the file based backup on the vCenter.
However this backup method is to be used only if there is a catastrophic failure on the vCenter and it involves steps in re-creating the entire VCHA again when you need to restore it.
Procedure:
Backup:
Go to the VAMI page of the active vCenter node
Back up only the Active node (Do not back up the Passive node and Witness node)
Detailed steps are mentioned here in our blog - vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 File-Based Backup and Restore Walkthroughs - VMware vSphere Blog
You can also refer the steps here - http://www.vmwarearena.com/ultimate-cheat-sheet-backup-restore-vcsa-6-5/
At this point you will have a file level backup of the vCenter
Restore:
Since only the active node will be restored, before you restore the cluster, power off and delete all the vCenter nodes (the current active,passive and witness).
Follow the same link shared above to restore the active node.
The restored Active node will act as a standalone vCenter Server Appliance.
You need to now Re-create the vCenter HA on the restored node.
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Jonathan
Please mark the response as correct if my answer has helped you solve the issue
Great. Thanks for your feedback! Appreciated.