To secure your VMware environment against VM failures, you can use Nakivo Backup and Replication to backup VMware vSphere workloads running on your virtual environment.
Before proceeding with the creation of a Backup Job, make sure at least one Backup Repository has been already configured and created in Nakivo.
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Nakivo Backup & Replication Overview
Nakivo Backup Repository
Nakivo Backup VMware vSphere
Nakivo Restore VMware VMs
Nakivo VMware vSphere Replication
Nakivo Ransomware Protection
Nakivo IT Monitoring
Backup VMware vSphere
To backup VMware vSphere you need to create a Backup Job in Nakivo.
Access the Nakivo console and go to the Jobs section. Click the + (plus) icon to create a new Backup Job.
Select Backup for VMware under Backup Job.
Select VMs to backup then click Next.
Specify the Destination to save the backup. From the drop-down menu Select target destination, select the repository to use.
Click the Advanced setup link.
In the Advanced setup you can define additional settings for each VM to backup, such as a different Target destination or disks to exclude from the backup. Click Next to continue.
Specify the backup Schedule based on business requirements. You can perform the backup on Weekly, Monthly, Yearly or Periodic basis as well as After another job. Enabling the Prioritize schedules option, configured schedules will be treated in term of priorities processing only the schedule with the highest priority in case of schedule overlap. Here you can also define the backup retention by specifying the Keep backups for parameter.
You can create multiple schedules by clicking Add another schedule.
A second Schedule for the same Backup Job is configured in the same way. Click Show calendar to see the already scheduled Backup Jobs.
How schedules are displayed in the Calendar. Click Next to continue.
Type a Job name and specify the Job priority. If you are backing up a VM that requires app-aware processing (Active Directory, Exchange, SQL Server, Oracle Database), make sure App-aware mode is set to Enabled and click settings to configure VMs to process (it is required the latest version of VMware Tools installed and VSS properly configured on source VMs).
Select only the VMs that require app-aware processing then click Apply.
To ensure consistency for the databases installed on the VMs to backup, specify the Pre and Post Actions to run during the Backup Job operation. Leave the Transport mode set as Automatic selection unless you know what you are doing and enable the Limit transporter load to to specify the max number of concurrent tasks. Enabling the Bottleneck detection option may be useful to identify the bottlenecks in your network that slow down the backup. Click Finish to save the Backup Job.
The created Backup Job.
Run the Backup Job
To run the backup without waiting for the schedule, right click the Backup Job and select Run.
Click Run.
The backup is being executed.
Running jobs can also be verified in the Activities section.
After some minutes, the backup completes successfully.
Create a Backup Copy Job
To backup VMware vSphere with a higher level of protection, an additional copy of the backup should be made. The Backup Copy Job is used to create another copy of the backup by taking the data directly from the Backup Repository without affecting the Production. To create a Backup Copy Job, an existing Backup Job is required.
From the Nakivo console click the + (plus) icon and select Backup copy under Backup Copy Job.
Select the Backup Job to process and the VMs to include in the job. Click Next.
Specify the Destination type (values are Disk or Tape) and the Destination (can be any repository configured in Nakivo). For obvious reasons, don't select the same repository used by the Backup Job. Click Next.
Specify the desired Schedule for the Backup Copy Job. Enable Maintain exact copy of the source backup to keep same retention of the corresponding Backup Job. Click Next.
Type a Job name and specify the Job priority if requested. Click Finish to save the configuration.
The created Backup Copy Job.
Run the Backup Copy Job
To execute the created Backup Copy Job without waiting the schedule, right click the job and select Run.
Click Run.
The Backup Copy Job is being executed.
After some minutes, the operation completes successfully.
Backup Copy to an off-site Destination
To comply the 3-2-1 backup rule, the Backup Copy Job can also be configured to send a copy to an off-site Destination. To store the backup off-site you need to configure an external repository first. In this example, the Wasabi Repository is used to store the Backup Copy.
From the Nakivo console click the + (plus) icon and select Backup copy under Backup Copy Job.
Select from the list the Backup and the VMs to use as source. Note you have both Backup Job and Backup Copy Job displayed. Click Next.
Select Disk as Destination type and Wasabi (the configured off-site repository) as Destination. Click Next.
Specify the desired Schedule and click Next.
Enter a Job name and click Finish to save the configuration.
The created Backup Copy Job.
To run the Backup Copy Job immediately, right click the job and select Run.
Click Run.
The Backup Copy Job is being executed.
After some minutes, the operation completes successfully.
To configure the backup VMware vSphere in Nakivo is really a matter of few clicks and the available options support the modern backup requirements.
Nakivo Backup and Replication is available to download as 15-day trial.
