Defining Filters for Content

Filters can be configured to exclude virtual machines or disks from backups. You can define filters on a subclient (only applies to that subclient) or on a backup set (applies to all subclients under the backup set).

For each subclient under a backup set, the filtering specified for the backup set is combined with the filtering for the subclient to determine which content is excluded from backups. Any filtering defined in a backup set is also visible in the subclients under the backup set when the Show Backupset Filters option is selected, and is applied at the subclient level even if backup set filters are not displayed.

If a virtual machine is added by browsing and selecting the VM display name, discovery is performed based on the GUID for the VM. If that virtual machine is later restored in place from a backup, a new GUID is generated, and that virtual machine is no longer filtered from the backup. To filter that VM, you must remove the old filter rule, then add a new rule or use a name pattern for the filter.

Procedure

1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > Nutanix AHV > backup_set.

2. Right-click the backup set and click Properties.

3. In the Subclient Properties dialog box, click the Filters tab.

4. Browse or define a rule to select objects:

   Browse to include virtual machines by selecting objects:

   1. Click Browse.

   2. Select a view from the list at the top left of the Browse dialog box:

      • Data Protection: Select a protection domain or virtual machines.

      • VMs: Select one or more virtual machines.

      • Container: Select a storage container or specific virtual machines.

   3. Click OK.

   Define a rule to exclude virtual machines:

   1. In the VM Filters area, click Add.

   2. In the Rule Group box, select the rule type from the drop-down list and enter the appropriate information in the box on the right:

      VM Name/Pattern	Enter the display name of the virtual machine or a pattern using wildcards (for example, Test* to identify VMs for which the VM name begins with "Test"). You can also click ... to browse for a VM.
      Power State	Select the power on status of virtual machines to be included in the subclient content. You can select one of the following options: Powered On - to identify VMs that are powered on. Powered Off - to identify VMs that are powered off. Other - to identify VMs with a different power on status, such as Suspended.

   3. To define multiple rules in a rule group, click + and define another rule. The following options are available for a rule group with multiple rules:

      • If you define multiple rules, you can indicate whether virtual machines are selected when they match all of the rules, or when they match any of the rules. For rule groups that include Power State rules, you can only select virtual machines that match all of the rules.

      • To exclude virtual machines based on any of the criteria, you can use the Does Not Equal operator for one or more of the rules in a rule group. (For rule groups with a single rule, the only operator you can use is Equals.)

   4. Click OK.

   Define a rule to exclude virtual machine disks:

   1. In the VM Disk Filters area, click Add.

      The Add Disk Filter dialog box appears.

   2. Select one of the following options:

      • Disk Address: After selecting this option, select pci, scsi, or ide, and then enter an integer for the disk suffix. For example, for scsi.0, select scsi and enter 0 as the suffix.

      • Container: After selecting this option, enter the container name.

   3. Click OK.

5. To modify a filter, select the filter and then click Edit.

6. To remove a filter, select the filter and click Delete; then confirm the deletion request.

7. Click OK.