Best practices for Backup Exec 12.5 Agent for VMware Virtual Infrastructure

Best practices include tips and recommendations to help you effectively use Backup Exec 12.5 Agent for VMware Virtual Infrastructure (Agent for VMware). For more information about the Agent for VMware, see the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Administrator's Guide.

The following best practices help you use the Agent for VMware effectively:

• To use Backup Exec's Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) with the Agent for VMware, do the following:

  • Install the VMware Consolidated Backup framework on the media server and on the VCB proxy server.

  • Install the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Systems on any virtual machines that run Windows as needed to perform a granular restore.

• To use GRT when you create a restore job, do the following:

  • Expand the network bios name of the virtual machine.

  • Select the individual drives, files, and folders that you want to restore.

• You cannot select individual drives, folders, and files from the virtual machines that appear when you expand VMware VirtualCenter and ESX Servers.

• If you select the VirtualCenter or the ESX server as a backup resource, all virtual machines are backed up. For a recurring job, any virtual machines that you add after the job is created are not included in the backup.

• If you select to back up the VirtualCenter or the ESX server, the backup job does not include the following:

  • Configuration files for the VirtualCenter or the ESX server

  • Virtual machine templates

  • Physical Raw Disk Mapping (RDM) devices

  • Independent disks

• If you have the Central Admin Server Option (CASO) installed, you must run backup jobs for VMware resources on a VCB proxy server. A VCB proxy server must have the Virtual Consolidated Backup (VCB) framework and the Remote Agent for Windows and NetWare Systems installed.

• VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) does not automatically discover and quiesce Volume Snapshot Service (VSS) applications. VSS applications include Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Active Directory. To fully protect VSS-aware applications, install the optional Symantec VSS Provider component on your Windows virtual machines.

• If you restore a single Virtual Machine Disk Format (VMDK) file, then you must move the VMDK to the datastore after the restore completes. Then, the VMDK file, not the entire virtual machine, is restored.

• You must assign shadow storage to each NTFS volume that exists on a virtual machine if the following conditions exist:

  • Hyper-V is installed on the virtual server.

  • The virtual machine uses the Windows 2008 operating system.

    Otherwise, the job fails.