Editing VM Group Settings for VMware

For an existing VM group, you can modify options that affect backups.

If you enable file indexing, and the MediaAgent associated with the backup plan or storage policy that is assigned to back up the VM group does not have the software packages that are required for file indexing, then Commvault installs those packages automatically.

If you enable file indexing, and the access node (VSA proxy) that is assigned to back up the VM group does not have the software packages that are required for file indexing, then Commvault installs those packages automatically.

Procedure

1. From the navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtualization.

   The Virtual machines page appears.

2. Click the VM groups tab.

   The VM group page appears. The VM groups area displays summary information for any existing VM groups.

3. Click a VM group.

   The VM group properties page appears.

4. Click the Configuration tab.

5. To modify the security associations for the VM group, in the Options area, click Edit.

6. In the Options area, you can make the following changes directly:

   • To use changed block tracking (CBT) for backups, move the Use changed block tracking toggle key to the right.

     With CBT, backups only write blocks that have changed since the previous backup. For virtual machines where there is a known issue with CBT, you can turn off CBT to run backups using the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) method instead.

   • To discover VM owners during backups, move the Auto detect VM owner toggle switch to the right.

   • To enable file indexing, move the Index files after backup toggle key to the right.

7. To edit other settings, in the Options area, click Edit.

   The Edit Options dialog box appears.

   Provide the following information:

   • No. of readers: Set the number of readers to control how many parallel read operations can be launched during backups.

   • Virtual machine backup type: Select the type of backup to perform:

     • Application Aware: Uses in-guest application plug-ins to assist the Virtual Server Agent in quiescing the file system and applications and supporting granular application data recovery.

       To specify credentials for guest VMs in the VM group, click the key button (), and then provide the guest credentials.

     • File system and application consistent: Quiesces the file system and applications while performing the backup.

     • Crash-consistent: Takes a point-in-time snapshot of virtual machine data without quiescing.

     • Application Based: Performs application discovery for those VMs selected within the VM group and configures backups by installing an in-guest application agent.

       To specify credentials for guest VMs in the VM group, click the key button (), and then provide the guest credentials

   • Transport mode for VMware: Select one of the following options:

     • Auto: The transport mode is selected automatically based on the backup environment:

       If the datastore is accessible to a physical proxy, SAN is used.

       If the datastore is accessible to the ESX server for a virtual proxy, HotAdd is used.

       Otherwise, NBD is used.

     • SAN: For directly connected storage using Fibre Channel (FC) or Internet SCCI (iSCSI) protocols. The Virtual Server Agent must have access to the datastore LUNs (logical drives) that provide storage for virtual machine disks. Data is read directly from the storage where virtual machines reside, without going through the ESX host or transferring data over the local area network (LAN). The ESX host is contacted only to coordinate access to the LUN. SAN transport mode cannot be used if the proxy computer is a virtual machine.

     • Hot Add: The Virtual Server Agent is installed on a virtual machine residing on an ESX server. In HotAdd mode, the data volumes containing the virtual machines to be backed up are automatically mounted to the proxy, so they can be accessed by the proxy as a local disk. The ESX host the proxy is running on must have access to all datastores for the virtual machine. If the virtual machine and the proxy are not on the same host, all datastores must be shared between the hosts.

     • NBD: Data is transferred using the TCP/IP connection between the ESX server and the proxy computer. The local area network (LAN) can be the production network or a dedicated backup network.

     • NBD SSL: Similar to NBD mode, but data transfer between the proxy computer and the ESX server is encrypted. Encryption should be used for sensitive information, even within a private network.

     • NAS: NAS (network attached storage) transport mode enables the virtual server agent (VSA) proxy computer to read data directly from the network file server (NFS), without going through an ESX host or transferring data over the local area network (LAN).

   • To ensure that there is sufficient free space on the datastore before performing a backup, move the Datastore freespace check toggle key to the right and then, in the Datastore freespace required box, enter the percentage of free space that should be available on the datastore before performing the backup.

8. To associate a storage array with the VM group, perform the following steps:

   1. In the Snapshot management area, move the Enable hardware snapshot toggle key to the right

      The Snapshot management dialog box appears.

   2. From the Engines list, select a snapshot engine.

   3. Under Snap mount ESX host, expand the tree and then select an ESX server that can be used to mount snapshots for IntelliSnap backups.

   4. Click Save.

9. To modify the plan or policy associated with the VM group, click Edit in the Plan area or the Policies area.

   The name of the area depends on whether the VM group was defined to use a backup plan that was created in the Command Center or a storage policy that was created in the CommCell Console. You cannot change that selection for an existing VM group, but you can select a different plan or policy, as follows:

   • When editing the Plan setting, you can select a plan that was previously defined in the Command Center.

   • When editing the Policies setting, you can make the following changes:

     • From the Storage policy list, you can select a storage policy that was previously defined in the CommCell Console or a plan that was defined in the Command Center.

     • Optional: You can select a schedule policy that was previously defined in the CommCell Console.

10. Click Save.