VMware Cloud Community
andreaspa
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Does VMware Data Recovery need SAN access?

Hi,

My customer wants to set up VDR, but they want a new ESX host to run it on. The question is, does it suffice for the VDR appliance to be run on a host that is managed by the vCenter Server, but that host only has local disks?

Or does the VDR appliance need to talk directly to the disk files on the SAN?

TIA.

/Andreas

Reply
0 Kudos
9 Replies
alefestaedist
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

As lonh as know vDR need to "read" the vm from the virtual center and use the network to export the snapshot from the host to the destination storage.

The Administration guide may help you anyway "http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vdr_10_admin.pdf"

Alex

Reply
0 Kudos
DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal

Yes as long as vDR is managed by vCenter the storage can be on local disks.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
Reply
0 Kudos
andreaspa
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

I did some thinking, and if I remember correctly, the VDR appliance attaches the disk from the VM it is backing up in order to read all the data fast, so it will indeed need direct access to the SAN where the VMs are stored. I also ran a test on our lab cluster to verify:

2011-02-18 16-29-43.png

As you can see, my VDR appliance attaches the disks of the VMs it need to backup to itself.

@alefestaedist, I've read the administrators guide, the evaluators guide and the FAQ and came up empty, thats why I asked here Smiley Happy Should have stated so in my first post, sorry about that.

Reply
0 Kudos
alefestaedist
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

You may backup disk on a share no need to add the disk to the vDR, it will be a slower backup but it works..so no need for the vDR to have direct access to the disks.

Reply
0 Kudos
DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal

I have one vDR appliance that I use on local disks. Works just fine.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
Reply
0 Kudos
andreaspa
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

But does the ESX host have access to the SAN?

Reply
0 Kudos
alefestaedist
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

vDR need to have access to the Vcenter that is responsabile to present to vDR the disk architecture and the VM location so IMO no.

Reply
0 Kudos
DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal

vDR does not necessarily need access to the SAN. I have just verified that I can have a VM on local disks located on one host backed up to a vDR appliance on a different host running on local disks.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
Reply
0 Kudos
alefestaedist
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Did the same test. basically the vStorage API is responsible to understand if the "protected" VM need ndb or san transport (nbd and san as defined in the old vcb style...). So this means that the vDR may be located everywhere as long have access to vCenter.

Reply
0 Kudos