Deploying a Virtual Machine for UNIX-Based File Restores

You can deploy a VMware Linux access node using the Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) template provided by Commvault, with support for ext2, ext3, ext4, XFS, JFS, HFS, HFS Plus, and Btrfs file systems (subvolumes). You can use the Linux access node to perform VM backup, Live Browse and File Recovery operations and browse virtual machine data from a backup for the source virtual machine (VM).

The Linux access node is deployed as a MediaAgent in restore-only mode, and does not consume a license. The client does not appear in the Client Computers list unless the Show Unlicensed with software (Restore only Clients) option is selected in User Preferences.

Requirements

• Before creating a virtual machine for Linux file restores, install the latest available service pack for Commvault on the CommServe host and Virtual Server Agent.

• Use the latest available version of the Access Node and MediaAgent template. The template version must match the Commvault software service pack version.

• To verify the supported VMware software versions, see System Requirements.

• Ensure that the ESX server where you deploy the access node meets the following requirements:

  • Deployment uses 4 GB of RAM

  • Deployment uses 4 vCPUs

  • Disk requirements: 80 GB (thin or thick provisioned)

• Verify that the VMware servers, the CommServe server and machine where you deploy the access node can communicate with each other.

• If a firewall is used, see Entering Required Firewall Settings.

• The virtualization client must refer to a vCenter user with permissions defined as described in Configure User Accounts.

• The following vSphere permissions are required to enable deployment or reconfiguration of a Linux access node:

  Category	Available Permissions
  vApp	Import
  vApp	vApp application configuration
  vApp	vApp instance configuration

• The following Commvault permissions must be assigned to the CommServe user account in the CommCell Console:

  Category	Permission	Usage
  Global	Administrative Management	Enables the CommServe user (identified as CS User Name below) to deploy the Linux access node in the CommServe environment.
  Client	Agent Management	Enables the Linux access node to be added to a client computer group.

Considerations

• Live recovery is only supported for recovery from backups using magnetic disk libraries, not from backups to tape libraries.

• Live browse and file recovery operations are not supported for XFS realtime subvolumes.

• The Linux access node supports NFS version 3 for guest file restores.

• After deploying the access node, download and install HotFixes for the installed Commvault service pack.

Procedure

1. Download the Access Node and MediaAgent OVA template for your appropriate Commvault release, and save it to a location that is accessible from the vCenter.

2. In vCenter, click the File menu and select Deploy OVF Template.

   The Deploy OVF Template wizard appears and displays the Select an OVA template page.

3. Browse to the location of the Access Node and MediaAgent template file, select the file, and then click Next.

4. Review the OVF Template Details dialog and click Next.

5. On the Name and Location dialog, enter a name for the virtual machine (for example, VM_LinuxAccessNode); then click Next.

6. On the Host / Cluster dialog, select a data center and ESX server; then click Next.

7. On the Resource Pool dialog (optional), select a resource pool and click Next.

8. On the Storage dialog, select a datastore and click Next.

9. On the Disk Format dialog, click Next to accept the default format.

10. On the Network Mapping dialog, select the source and destination networks as needed; then click Next.

11. On the Properties dialog, enter the following information:

    CS Configuration:

    • CS Client Name: Short name for the CommServe system. This entry is case sensitive.

    • CS Hostname: Host name or IP address for the CommServe system. This entry is case sensitive.

    • CS User Name: User name for the CommCell Console. The user must have the Global > Administrative Management permission for the CommServe system.

    • CS Password: Password for the CommCell Console user.

    Client Configuration:

    • Client Name: Short name for the virtual machine (for example, VM_LinuxAccessNode).

    • Client Hostname: Host name or IP address for the client.

    • New root password: Password for the root user of the virtual machine.

    • Client Group Name: Name of a client computer group; the Linux access node is assigned to this group if the group exists (the name is case-sensitive).

    • Automatic OS updates: Select this option to enable automatic OS updates.

      By default, automatic updates are applied daily for security updates. To modify the security level, perform the following steps after the access node has been deployed:

      1. Modify the /etc/yum/yum-cron.conf file to use one of the following options with the update_cmd entry, as shown in the last line of the following example:

         # What kind of update to use: 
          # default = yum upgrade 
          # security = yum --security upgrade 
          # security-severity:Critical = yum --sec-severity=Critical upgrade 
          # minimal = yum --bugfix update-minimal 
          # minimal-security = yum --security update-minimal 
          # minimal-security-severity:Critical = --sec-severity=Critical update-minimal 
          update_cmd = security

      2. Run the systemctl restart yum-cron command to apply the specified security level.

    IP Configuration:

    Note

    Specify the following values if you are deploying the Linux access node using a static IP address or with DHCP if there is a possibility that the DHCP server in your environment provides incorrect or incomplete DNS information. These values override the DNS configuration obtained from the DHCP servers.

    • Use DHCP: Select this option or enter values for the Static IP Address, Netmask, and Gateway.

    • DNS Search Suffix: Identifiers for domains to be supported. You can enter multiple search suffixes separated by whitespaces.

    • Name Server 1: IP address for the primary name server.

    • Name Server 2: IP address for the secondary name server.

    Firewall Configuration: Indicate whether the CommServe system is behind a firewall and enter values for Option 1, Option 2, or Option 3:

    • Is CS behind a firewall?: Select this option if a firewall is enabled on the CommServe system.

    • [Option 1] CS f/w tunnel port (client can connect to CS): Enter the tunnel port number the client can use to open a connection to the CommServe system.

    • [Option 2] Client f/w tunnel port (CS can connect to client): Enter the tunnel port number the CommServe system can use to open a connection toward the client.

    • For Option 3, enter all of the following values:

      • [Option 3] Proxy Hostname (CS reachable via proxy)

      • [Option 3] Proxy Clientname (CS reachable via proxy)

      • [Option 3] Proxy port number (CS reachable via proxy)

      • If an HTTP proxy is used for communication between the CommServe server and the Linux access node, provide the following information:

        HTTP Proxy Hostname

        HTTP Proxy Port

12. After verifying the information, click Next.

13. On the Ready to Complete dialog, review the deployment options and click Finish.

14. Configure an access node to use for UNIX-based file restores as described in Specifying the Preferred Linux Access Node for a Virtual Server Instance, and an ESX server to host the NFS datastore as described in Identify the Proxy ESX Server.