Creating a Subclient for VMware

To provide protection for a specific set of virtual machines, create a subclient. A user-defined subclient can identify virtual machines that have the same Service Level Agreement (SLA) or that need to be backed up on the same schedule.

Best Practices

• Do not create a separate subclient for each VM. Instead, create subclients for groups of VMs that require similar processing. For example:

  • VMs on the same ESXi host or cluster

  • VMs that are on the same subnet

  • VMs that are backed up using a specific transport method

  • VMs that are part of a particular application or workflow

• When possible, use automatic discovery rules to assign VMs to subclients or to filter VMs, rather than selecting specific VMs. Automatic discovery rules ensure that backups can account for VMs that are added, moved, or deleted.

Before You Begin

• Configure a storage device. For more information, see the following:

  • Disk Libraries

  • Tape Libraries

• Create a storage policy.

Procedure

1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > VMware.

2. Right-click a backup set and click New Subclient.

3. Provide basic information on the General tab:

   1. Enter the Subclient name.

   2. By default the Transport Mode for VMware is set to Auto; the transport mode is selected automatically depending on the proxy computer used for backup and the virtual machines included in the backup.

      To use a specific transport mode, select one of the following:

      • SAN

      • HotAdd

      • NBD

      • NBD SSL

      • NAS

      For more information, see Transport Modes.

4. Identify virtual machines to back up:

   1. Click the Content tab.

   2. Click Browse.

   3. Navigate to one or more virtual machines and select them.

      Note

      If you have deployed MediaAgents, VSA proxies, or vCenter on virtual machines, filter those virtual machines from VSA backups. (If you need to protect files on those virtual machines, install in-guest agents on those virtual machine to perform file backups.)

   4. Click OK.

      The selected virtual machines are displayed in the Contents of subclient list.

   You can also define rules to select or exclude virtual machines based on various criteria; see Virtual Machine Discovery and Filtering.

5. Click the Storage Device tab.

6. Select a Storage Policy.

7. Click OK.

8. In the Backup Schedule dialog box, click Do Not Schedule, and then click OK.

Related Topics

• VM Dispatch and Proxy Selection for VMware Backups

• Virtual Machine Discovery and Filtering