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glab75
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Able to perform snapshot of vCenter if vCenter HA is configured?

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

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jonastro
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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

VMware Cloud Foundation

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jonastro
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Hello,

Thanks for posting in VMware communities.

Snapshot is currently not supported on any of the VCHA nodes. So using any backup software for the active node is not advisable as it will cause the VCHA to fail or trigger failover.

However you can use image level backup for the active VCHA node and restoring of only the active node is supported.

Regards,

Jonathan

Please mark the response as correct if my answer has helped you solve the issue

VMware Cloud Foundation
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glab75
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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

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jonastro
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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

VMware Cloud Foundation
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glab75
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Great.  Thanks for your feedback!  Appreciated.

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