Recovery Target Options for VMware with Distributed Storage

Distributed Storage clusters can be used as replication targets. Datastores are created as NFS datastores on the VMware vCenter.

When you configure a recovery target for VMware, provide VMware-specific values for the destination site.

Note

Test failover is supported only for replication to VMware destinations.
To configure an isolated network for test failover operations, download a gateway template and copy it to a location where it can be accessed from the Command Center.

Select vendor: Select VMware.
Application type: Select the type of operations that use this recovery target.
Regular: To use this recovery target for live mount operations, virtual lab operations, or Virtualize Me operations, select this option.
Replication: To use this recovery target as a destination site for replication jobs, select this option.

General Options

Recovery target name: Enter a descriptive name for the destination site (for example, DR site 1).
Destination hypervisor: Select a hypervisor for the destination VMs.
Access node: Select an access node or an access node group to perform operations for the recovery target.

To restore multiple instances or VMs simultaneously, select Automatic to distribute the workload (instances or VMs) in the auto recovery job across the access nodes that are assigned for the destination hypervisor. This option is available for operations both from streaming backups or IntelliSnap backup copies.

First, the VMs are assigned to the access nodes by a host match. If access nodes are not available in the same host, then the VMs are assigned to access nodes in the same data center. If there is no host or data center match, then VMs are assigned using the round-robin method.

If you select an access node group to restore VMs, the Commvault software distributes the workload (instances or VMs) in the restore job across the access nodes (also called proxies) that are available in the access node group.
Users and user groups: Select items from the list and click OK to associate users or user groups with the recovery target.
VM display name: Select Prefix or Suffix, and then enter a string to append to source VMs to create the display name for each destination VM.
Destination host: Enter the name or IP address for an ESX server, or click Browse to select an ESX host or cluster for the hypervisor.
Datastore: Select Create Hedvig datastore.

The Add Hedvig datastore dialog box appears.
- Name: Enter a name for the Distributed Storage datastore.
- Hedvig cluster: Select a Distributed Storage cluster.
- To register a new Distributed Storage target, click Add.

Hedvig proxy: Select a Distributed Storage proxy that is installed on the ESX server. The proxy must be enabled to serve NFS traffic.

Capacity: Enter the maximum capacity of the Distributed Storage datastore.
Resource pool: Select a resource pool for all destination VMs.
VM folder: To restore to a folder, click Browse and select the destination folder.
Destination network: Select a network that is available for the destination.

If you select Not Connected or do not select a destination network, virtual machines are restored with network interfaces in disconnected state.

Test Failover Options

Expiration time: To enable a destination to be used for live mount or test failover operations, select Hours or Days and specify the amount of time that live mounted VMs can run before they expire.

To keep VMs available beyond the expiry time, specify the expiration time in days and then select the Migrate VMs option.
MediaAgent (Optional): To use a specific MediaAgent for live mounts, select this option and then choose a MediaAgent from the list.
Migrate VMs: To enable live mounted VMs to be mounted to the destination datastore for extended availability, select this option.

This option is only available when the expiration time is specified in days.

Virtual Lab Options

Prerequisites

The following conditions must be met to use virtual lab options:

If you want to create a gateway computer that allows communication with computers outside of the virtual lab, you must download the V11 CV VLab Gateway Template - VMware that is compatible with your service pack from the Commvault Store, import it into vCenter, and convert it into a template.

For download instructions, see Downloading Items from Commvault Store.

Important

You must name all virtual machine templates using this format: CV_VLAB_GATEWAY_*. Only templates that begin with this prefix are displayed.
For a Virtual Lab Policy configured with an external network, the vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) feature is not supported. With an external network configuration, you must disable DRS on the cluster. If DRS is enabled, the lab configuration for the virtual lab might fail because the gateway VM can migrate to a different host and not add the required network.

Options

Configure isolated network: To use an isolated network with VMs mounted for a virtual lab or test failover operation, select this option and then provide the following settings:
- Gateway template: Click Browse to select a gateway template.
- Gateway network: Select the network.
Configure existing network: To use an existing network with VMs mounted for a virtual lab or test failover operation, select this option, and then from the Network list, select a network.