The most cost-effective way to protect VMware VMs that reside in multiple regions is to create a multi-region plan, assign the plan to your VM groups, and then block cross-region backups for your hypervisors. With this configuration, if the Commvault software detects that a backup job will incur egress charges (by moving data from one region to another), the backup job fails.
Prerequisites
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When you block cross-region backups for on-prem VMware VMs:
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IntelliSnap backup of VMs is not supported with a multi-region server plan assigned to a VM Group. Only streaming backup of the VMs is supported.
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The Commvault software automatically picks appropriate access node and MediaAgent based on region and subnet configuration of the ESX server.
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Configure an access node for each region that you specify in the server plan.
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Set the workload region at the storage level associated with the server plan.
Step 1: Create a Multi-Region Plan
Create a plan that includes all the regions that your VMs reside in.
Start the Plan Wizard
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From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Manage > Plans.
The Plans page appears.
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Click Create plan, and then select Server backup.
The Create server backup plan wizard appears.
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Specify whether to create a new plan or to use an existing base plan.
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In Plan name, enter a name for the plan.
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Click Next.
The Backup destinations page appears.
Specify Backup Copies, Storage, and Retention for the First Region
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Click Add copy.
The Add copy dialog box appears.
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In Name, enter a name for the primary copy of the backups for the first region.
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From the Storage list, select the storage for the backups.
You can use the Air Gap Protect cool storage class for creating secondary copies, but not for creating primary copies.
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For Retention rules, specify the amount of time to retain the backups.
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To specify additional backups for the primary copy of the backups, such as weekly full backups, move the Extended retention rules toggle key to the right, and then add rules.
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Click Save.
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If necessary, specify a backup copy and a snapshot copy.
Important
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To avoid unintentional cross-region backups (which incur egress charges), if you specify a snapshot copy (by clicking Add snap copy), you must also specify a backup copy (by clicking Add copy).
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If you want all the VMs in a VM group to be retained and pruned according to the same settings, specify the same retention rules for each type of copy that you specify. In other words, consider the following:
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All primary copies associated with the plan must have the same retention rules.
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All backup copies associated with the plan must have the same retention rules.
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All snapshot copies associated with the plan must have the same retention rules.
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Move the Multi-region toggle key to the right.
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From the Region list, select the region.
Specify Backup Copies, Storage, and Retention for the Other Regions
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Click Add destinations for another region.
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Specify backup copies, storage, and retention for the other regions, using the same steps as for the first region.
Step 2: Assign the Multi-Region Plan to Your VM Groups
For each VM group that contains VMs that you want to protect, use the following steps to assign the multi-region plan.
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From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtualization.
The Overview page appears.
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On the VM groups tab, click the VM group.
The VM group page appears.
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In the Summary section, for Plan, click the edit button, select the multi-region plan, and then click Submit.
Step 3: Block Cross-Region Backups for Your Hypervisors
For each hypervisor, use the following steps to block cross-region backups.
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From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtualization.
The Overview page appears.
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On the Hypervisor tab, click the hypervisor.
The hypervisor page appears.
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On the Configuration tab, move the Restrict cross-region backups toggle key to the right.