Virtual Machine Backup User's Guide Version 5.3

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Version 5.3

Last Revised: January 04, 2016

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No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without written permission of STORServer. While STORServer believes the information included in this publication is correct as of the date of publication, it is subject to change without notice. STORServer shall not be liable for technical errors, omissions, or consequential damages.

STORServer is a registered trademark of STORServer, Incorporated. VMware is a

registered trademark of VMware, Incorporated. IBM and Tivoli are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. All other brand and product names mentioned herein may be

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ABOUT STORSERVER VMB 1 About STORServer Virtual Machine

Backup 1

VMB backup technologies 2

Comparison of TSM for VE and VDDK backup technologies 4

VMB backup types 11

CONFIGURING STORSERVER VMB 15 Post-installation configuration tasks 15

Roadmap for configuring a STORServer VMB server and

client 15

Roadmap for configuring a standalone STORServer VMB

client 15

Defining or modifying STORServer VMB configuration settings 16

License requirements 17

Configuring VMB servers to use the STORServer License Server 18

Viewing license status 19

Replacing a trial license with a

production license 21

Purchasing additional licenses 22

Revoking licenses for reuse 22

Configuring VMB database

connections 23

Adding a VMB server and

database connection 24

Editing client-side database

connections 24

Deleting a VMB server and

database connection 25

Editing the VMB server's database

connection 25

Restarting the VMB server 27

Configuring TSM servers 28

Adding a TSM server to

STORServer VMB 29

Editing a TSM server 29

Setting a default TSM server 30

Enabling and disabling a TSM

server 30

Changing the TSM server assigned

to a client 30

Deleting a TSM server from

STORServer VMB 31

Configuring STORServer VMB to use

TSM for VE 31

Defining the TSM administrator account for TSM for VE 32

Defining vCenter Server

credentials for the backup-archive

client 33

Configuring the use of datacenter

nodes 34

Configuring automatic notification 35

Defining or editing SMTP server

information 36

Defining or editing addresses for schedule completion notifications 37

Defining or editing addresses for client backup completion

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BACKING UP/ARCHIVING VIRTUAL

MACHINES 39

Configuring client backups and

archives 39

Registering virtual machine

clients 40

Configuring server-level settings

for client backups 41

Changing the default backup

technology 41

Editing client properties 42

Changing the backup technology for individual clients 42

Enabling changed block tracking

(CBT) 43

Deleting clients from the VMB

database 44

Scheduling client backups and

archives 44

Creating a schedule 45

Adding virtual machine clients to

a schedule 46

Copying an existing schedule 47

Editing schedule properties 48

Enabling and disabling schedules 48

Removing clients from a schedule 49

Deleting schedules 50

Running on-demand jobs 50

Running a schedule on demand 50

Backing up or archiving individual

clients on demand 51

Using client options with

STORServer VMB 51

About the dynamic client options files generated by VMB 52

Creating client options files for

use with VMB 54

Required file specification syntax for client options (VDDK

only) 55

Configuring VMB to use global

client options 57

Configuring VMB to use

client-specific client options 57

RESTORING AND RETRIEVING DATA 59

Restoring or retrieving individual

files and directories 59

Locating files for restore or

retrieval 68

Restoring virtual machines 69

Restoring virtual disks 72

Restoring a deleted virtual machine

client 72

Restoring and retrieving from VCB

backups and archives 73

MONITORING JOBS AND CHECKING

STATUS 77

Getting a quick status of a job 77

Expanding and collapsing entries on

the Status tab 78

Filtering status information 78

Checking the status of individual

client tasks 79

Changing the final status of a job 79

Adding notes to a job log 80

Changing the refresh frequency for

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Disabling the automatic refresh of

the Status tab 81

Viewing the Status tab in a separate

window 81

Stopping on-demand jobs,

schedules, and tasks 81

Stopping a schedule or an

on-demand job 82

Stopping individual tasks 82

BACKING UP AND RESTORING VMB'S

DATABASE 85

Configuring automatic database

backups 85

Disabling automatic database

backups 87

Restoring the VMB database 87

TROUBLESHOOTING 89

Error retrieving virtual machines

from vCenter Server 89

Disable vMotion task fails during

backups 91

No virtual machines/disks listed for restore (proxy access errors) 92

ANS9365E VMware vStorage API

error during backups 93

Backups fail or end with a Warning when application protection is

enabled 93

Backups fail with "Password file is not available" error 94

Backups fail with "Unable to load DLL SsVmbLog.dll" error 95

Backups for some clients fail with VIX_E_DISK_NOLICENSE exception 96

Problems connecting to the VMB

database 97

Schedule shows status of

PrecludedRunning 98

ANS1353E Session rejected:

Unknown or incorrect ID entered 99

Full machine backups to a single ESX/ESXi host are failing 99

VMB reports that CBT is unsupported and performs full

machine backups 100

Help does not always take you

back to the previous topic 101

Error logs 101

Viewing a client log 102

Exporting client log messages to

a file 103

Viewing a schedule or job log 104

Exporting schedule log messages

to a file 105

Changing the log retention

period 106

Deleting logs 106

GETTING HELP 107

Documentation for VMB 107

About STORServer Virtual Machine Backup

STORServer® Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) lets you back up and archive virtual machines to your IBM® Tivoli® Storage Manager (TSM) server. You can also restore or retrieve virtual machine data without the need for individual backup clients on the virtual machines.

STORServer VMB has three components:

l Server — The VMB server manages schedules, commands, and the database, and runs as a service called STORServer VMB Server. A VMB client is always installed with the VMB server.

l Database — The VMB server uses a SQL database to store configuration and internal software settings. Each VMB server has its own database. VMB clients can be

configured to connect to multiple VMB server databases.

l Client — The VMB client is the user interface or UI. It is always installed with the VMB server. It can also be installed separately (on a laptop, for example). You can

configure the VMB client to manage one or more VMB servers by defining a database connection to each server’s database.

To back up or archive virtual machine data with STORServer VMB, you can create different schedules and then add virtual machine clients to the appropriate schedules. You can further automate your backups by using default schedules, one for each backup type (full and incremental), and let VMB manage the addition of virtual machine clients. On-demand backups of selected virtual machine clients can be run any time, as needed.

The type of backup that STORServer VMB performs is based on the backup type that you selected for the schedule or on-demand job, the backup technology that is configured for use, and whether VMware changed block tracking (CBT) is enabled for the virtual machines that are being backed up.

VMB supports the use of two backup technologies: VDDK and TSM for VE. These

technologies are described further in the sections that follow. Detailed descriptions of the backup types that you can select and how they are performed are also provided.

Tip! Before using STORServer VMB, please read this entire topic to familiarize

yourself with the backup technologies, their differences and restrictions, and the manner in which VMB performs backup and archive operations.

What would you like to do?

Learn more about supported backup technologies Compare the two backup technologies

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VMB backup technologies

Earliest versions of STORServer VMB (originally released as the "STORServer Agent for VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB)") used the VCB utility (vcbMounter) for backup and archive operations. VMB Version 3.0 introduced the use of the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) technology as a replacement for VCB. However, STORServer VMB continued to support the use of VCB for customers who wanted to continue using that technology. Support for VCB backups and archives was completely removed in VMB 5.0. However, virtual machines that were backed up or archived using VCB can still be restored using VMware Converter. (Instructions are provided.)

STORServer VMB 5.0 introduced an additional backup technology, Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) for Virtual Environments (VE), while continuing to support the use of the VDDK backup technology, for customers who prefer not to change their current backup methods and for use during archive and retrieve operations, which are not supported by TSM for VE. You can configure STORServer VMB to use one of these backup technologies as the default technology, and optionally specify the use of the other technology for selected virtual machine clients.

Descriptions of both backup technologies follow. SeeComparison of TSM for VE and VDDK backup technologiesfor more details.

l VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK)

STORServer VMB is configured to use the VDDK backup technology by default. This technology allows STORServer VMB to perform the following backup and archive operations, which are described further inVMB backup types:

Full machine backups using base then differential backups (CBT required) Incremental file-level backups (Windows clients only)

Full machine archives

File-level archives (Windows clients only)

Tip! The recommended backup strategy with VDDK technology is to

perform weekly full machine backups and daily incremental file-level backups.

Before backing up a virtual machine client with VDDK, STORServer VMB takes a quiesced snapshot of the virtual machine. (Machines that cannot be quiesced, such as database servers, can be configured to allow VMB to capture the snapshot without waiting for a quiesced state.) VMB then backs up virtual machine data to TSM

directly from the VMware datastore.

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backup is performed. You can modify the differential percentage at the client level. Differential backups are much faster than the block-level full machine backups performed with the TSM for VE technology because less data is transferred. (TSM for VE backs up all provisioned or allocated blocks during each full machine backup.) They are also much faster than the full machine backups performed with the VDDK technology for all virtual machine clients that do not have CBT enabled. (VDDK is automatically used to back up all clients on which CBT is disabled.)

STORServer VMB also uses the VDDK backup technology for all archive and retrieve requests because TSM for VE does not support archiving. VDDK is also used to back up virtual machine clients that do not have CBT enabled but are configured to use TSM for VE. (The TSM for VE backup technology requires the use of CBT for all backups.)

l Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments (TSM for VE)

The TSM for VE backup technology allows you to use many of the features of the IBM Data Protection for Virtual Environments product from within VMB. CBT must be enabled on all virtual machine clients that are being backed up or restored with the TSM for VE technology.

NOTE! You may need to install additional software and upgrade existing

software in order to use the TSM for VE backup technology. SeeConfiguring VMB to use the TSM for VE backup technology for more information.

When STORServer VMB is configured to use the TSM for VE technology for client backups, it attempts to enable CBT on clients before backing them up. If CBT cannot be enabled, because the ESX host does not meet minimum requirements for using CBT, for example, VMB backs up those clients with the VDDK technology.

When the TSM for VE technology and CBT are in use, STORServer VMB performs the following backup types, which are described further inVMB backup types:

Block-level full machine backups

Block-level incremental backups (Windows and non-Windows virtual machines)

A key feature or TSM for VE is the incremental forever backup strategy, which eliminates the need for weekly full machine backups. A full machine backup is performed the first time an incremental is requested, and block-level incremental backups are performed thereafter.

Tip! The recommended backup strategy with the TSM for VE technology is

to configure STORServer VMB to perform incremental backups forever.

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GUI (a component of the prerequisite TSM for VE software) during the restore. This GUI allows you to mount the volume containing the backed up data to your local system, where you can then select and restore files and directories using Windows Explorer.

You may also use other TSM user interfaces, such as the VMware vSphere Client Plug-In (an optional component of the TSM for VE software) to restore virtual machine data that was backed up with STORServer VMB. Instant restores of virtual machine disk volumes can be achieved using the Data Protection for VMware Recovery Agent GUI.

Archiving is not supported with this backup technology. STORServer VMB automatically uses VDDK technology for all archive/retrieve requests.

Comparison of TSM for VE and VDDK backup technologies

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Feature TSM for VE VDDK

Block-level full machine backups

Both backup technologies can perform block-level full machine backups of virtual machines running both Windows and non-Windows operating systems.

Note the following differences between the two technologies:

l TSM for VE requires that changed block tracking (CBT) be enabled on all client machines. The use of CBT is

recommended but optional with VDDK.

l TSM for VE backs up the entire virtual machine each time a full machine backup is requested. However, the incremental

forever backup strategy (described below)

eliminates the need for periodic full machine backups in most cases.

l When CBT is enabled, VDDK performs a

base backup, followed by differential backups thereafter. Differential backups

are faster because only changed blocks are copied. (See the description of block-level differential backups for more details.) When CBT is not enabled,

however, VDDK backs up all blocks during each full machine backup.

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Block-level differential full machine backups

This backup type is unique to the VDDK technology. CBT must be enabled on all client machines.

During the initial backup, STORServer VMB performs a base backup, followed by differential backups thereafter. When the amount of data being transferred reaches 60 percent of the previous base backup, VMB performs another base backup. You can modify the differential percentage threshold at the client level.

These high performance backups move much less data that the more traditional full machine backups, where all blocks are copied (with TSM for VE technology, and with VDDK technology when CBT is not enabled on a virtual machine client).

No Yes

Block-level incremental backups

Only TSM for VE technology performs this type of incremental backup. (VDDK performs file-level incremental backups.) CBT must be enabled on all client machines.

STORServer VMB backs up only those blocks that have changed since the last incremental or full machine backup. These high performance incremental backups are significantly faster than the file-level incremental backups performed with VDDK.

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Incremental forever backup strategy

This backup strategy is performed with TSM for VE only. It eliminates the need for scheduled full machine backups. CBT must be enabled on all client machines.

STORServer VMB performs an initial block-level full machine backup when the first incremental backup is requested. Block-level incremental backups are performed thereafter. No additional full machine backups are necessary in most cases. (If your backup requirements include long-term storage or tape retention of your data, periodic full machine backups will still be needed.)

Yes No

File-level incremental backups

This backup type is performed with VDDK backup technology only, and is valid only with virtual machines that are running a Windows operating system. CBT is not required.

STORServer VMB backs up all files on the client's disk volumes during the initial backup of a virtual machine. For subsequent backups, VMB scans the volumes for changed files, and backs up new or changed files only.

No Yes

Backup of non-CBT clients

Requires the use of the VDDK backup technology. STORServer VMB uses VDDK automatically when attempting to back up virtual machines that do not have CBT enabled.

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Archiving and retrieving

STORServer VMB uses VDDK for all archiving and retrieving functions. (TSM for VE does not support archiving.) Full machine and file-level archives performed much like the corresponding backup types. For example, base and

differential archives are performed for full machine archives provided CBT is enabled. And file-level archives are restricted to Windows virtual machines only.

No Yes

Restore virtual machine from full machine backups

Both backup technologies support the restore of virtual machines from full machine backups, regardless of operating system.

l With VDDK, you can restore a virtual machine from a differential backup. STORServer VMB restores the most recent base backup plus the selected differential backup. Individual files and directories cannot be restored from full machine backups.

l With TSM for VE, you may restore virtual machines as well as individual files and directories from full machine backups.

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Restore virtual machine from incremental backups

Only TSM for VE allows you to restore an entire virtual machine from an incremental backup (as opposed to a full machine backup). This

provides a more recent version of the virtual machine because incremental backups are typically performed daily, whereas full machine backups are performed less frequently or not at all (with the incremental forever backup

strategy).

Yes No

Restore virtual machine with VMware vSphere Client

The TSM for VE software includes an optional component called the VMware vCenter plug-in, which allows you to restore a virtual machine directly from the VMware vSphere Client.

Yes No

Restore files from full machine backups

Only TSM for VE backup technology allows you to restore files and directories from a block-level full machine backup. (With VDDK,

individual files and directories must be restored from a file-level incremental backup.)

To restore files and directories for a virtual machine that is running a non-Windows

platform, you must use a TSM for VE UI that is running on a non-Windows platform. This type of restore cannot be performed directly from STORServer VMB.

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Restore files from incremental backups

Both backup technologies allow you to restore files or directories from incremental backups, including block-level, file-level, and incremental forever types.

l With VDDK, STORServer VMB launches the TSM Backup-Archive GUI, where you can select and restore files and directories from file-level incremental backups, which are restricted to Windows virtual machines only.

l With TSM for VE, STORServer VMB launches the Data Protection for VMware Recovery Agent GUI, a component of the TSM for VE software that you use to mount a TSM volume to your local system. You can then select and restore files and directories using Windows Explorer. You can also restore files from outside VMB, using one of the TSM for VE UIs.

To restore files for a non-Windows virtual machine, you must use a TSM for VE UI that is running on a non-Windows platform. This type of restore cannot be performed directly from STORServer VMB.

Yes Yes

Restore individual virtual disks

Both technologies support the ability to select and restore individual virtual disks onto an existing virtual machine. This is useful when only one virtual disk is corrupted, for example.

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Instant restore of disk volumes

This TSM for VE feature requires the use of the Data Protection for VMware Recovery Agent GUI, a component of the TSM for VE software. An instant restore allows you to restore a virtual machine disk volume (backed up with

STORServer VMB) without interrupting user access.

Yes No

Restore using TSM for VE user interfaces

Requires the use of TSM for VE. Virtual

machines and files that were backed up with this technology can be restored using STORServer VMB or several native TSM user interfaces as follows:

l For full virtual machine restores: the TSM Backup-Archive GUI or command line interface, or the TSM for VE Data Protection for VMware vCenter plug-in GUI or command line interface.

l For file or directory restores: the TSM for VE Recovery Agent for VMware GUI or command line interface

(TDPVMwareshell.exe).

l For instant restores of disk volumes: the TSM for VE Recovery Agent for VMware GUI.

Yes No

VMB backup types

When you schedule virtual machine backups or run them on demand with STORServer VMB, you must indicate the type of backup or archive that you want VMB to perform. You may choose from the following (detailed descriptions follow):

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The manner in which backups and archives are performed depends upon the backup technology that is configured for use and the state of VMware changed block tracking (CBT) on the virtual machines that are being backed up.

NOTE! vSphere 4.0 or newer is required to use CBT.

Detailed descriptions of the backup and archive types are as follows:

Full machine backups

STORServer VMB performs a full machine backup as follows:

l When VDDK backup technology is being used, VMB takes a snapshot of the virtual machine and then backs up the virtual machine's virtual disks to the TSM server as follows:

When CBT is enabled on the virtual machine, VMB performs the following backup types. (You may notice references to these in log messages.)

n Base backup — The first full machine backup is a baseline or base backup of the entire machine. During a base backup, VMB copies all allocated blocks for thin-provisioned disks, and all provisioned blocks for thick provisioned disks. A base backup is repeated when the specified differential percentage threshold is reached. (See the description of a differential backup.) Base backups are also repeated after you restore or retrieve a virtual machine or individual virtual disks.

n Differential backup — After the initial base backup, VMB performs differential backups when a full machine backups are requested. Only those blocks that have changed since the last base backup are copied during each differential backup. When the amount of data being moved reaches or exceeds 60 percent (by default) of the data that was moved during the previous base backup, another base backup is performed.

Tip! You can change the differential percentage in client properties.

When CBT is not enabled on a virtual machine client, VMB backs up the entire virtual machine each time a full machine backup is requested. These backups take longer to complete because significantly more data is being moved each time.

You can restore virtual machines and individual virtual disks from this VDDK backup type.

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Tip! The incremental forever backup strategy, available with TSM for VE

only, eliminates the need for full machine backups (after the initial one, which is performed automatically) and is recommended for use where appropriate. However, if your backup requirements include long-term storage or tape retention of your data, periodic full machine backups are still necessary.

You can restore virtual machines, individual virtual disks, and individual files and directories from this TSM for VE backup type.

Incremental backups

STORServer VMB performs an incremental backup as follows:

l When VDDK backup technology is being used, a file-level incremental backup is performed for virtual machines running a Windows operating system only.

STORServer VMB takes a snapshot of the virtual machine and mounts each volume on the backup server. Individual files are then backed up to TSM directly from the

mounted VMware volumes. After an initial backup that copies all eligible files, only new or changed files are backed up.

You can restore individual files and directories from this VDDK backup type.

l When TSM for VE technology is in use, a block-level incremental backup is performed, utilizing CBT technology, for all virtual machine clients regardless of operating system. During the initial backup of a virtual machine, STORServer VMB performs a full machine backup.Only changed blocks from the previous full or incremental backup are backed up thereafter.

You can restore individual files and directories as well as virtual disks and entire virtual machines from this TSM for VE backup type.

Full machine archives

NOTE! STORServer VMB uses the VDDK backup technology for all archives,

regardless of which backup technology is selected. (TSM for VE does not support archiving.)

A full machine archive is performed much like the full machine backup performed with the VDDK technology. The only difference is that TSM performs an archive rather than a backup, and uses the archive copy group in the specified or default management class.

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File-level archives

NOTE! STORServer VMB uses the VDDK backup technology for all archives,

regardless of which backup technology is selected. (TSM for VE does not support archiving.) File-level archives are restricted to Windows virtual machines only.

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Post-installation configuration tasks

Before you start backing up your virtual machines with STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB), you must perform some configuration-related tasks. This topic provides

"roadmaps" for configuring VMB components. Each roadmap lists the required tasks and provides links to procedural sections for more detail.

What do you want to do?

View the roadmap for configuring a STORServer VMB server and client View the roadmap for configuring a standalone STORServer VMB client

Roadmap for configuring a STORServer VMB server and client

To configure a newly installed VMB server and client on a backup server:

1. Start the VMB client (the user interface) and define a series of configuration values.

SeeDefining or modifying STORServer VMB configuration settings.

2. If open registration is not in effect on the TSM server, manually register all virtual machine clients that will be backed up by VMB. (When open registration is in effect, STORServer VMB automatically registers virtual machine clients when the schedule or job that they have been added to is run.)

SeeRegistering virtual machine clients.

3. Configure VMB to back up or archive virtual machine data.

SeeConfiguring client backups and archives.

Roadmap for configuring a standalone STORServer VMB client

If your STORServer VMB client will be used to manage a single VMB server, no

configuration tasks are required. Your VMB client will connect to the VMB server that you specified during client installation. You can modify the VMB server properties as described inEditing VMB server or database properties.

To configure a VMB client to manage multiple VMB servers, you must define a database connection for each additional VMB server.

SeeConfiguring STORServer VMB servers and database connections.

NOTE! Your VMB client must be connected to a VMB server’s database before you

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Defining or modifying STORServer VMB configuration

settings

Tip! If you are configuring STORServer VMB for the first time, you may want to

read thePost-installation configuration taskstopic, which presents a high-level overview of the processes for configuring a new VMB server and client, and for configuring a remote VMB client only.

This procedure explains how to set or modify configuration settings for STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) at the VMB server level. Additional configuration-related settings are available elsewhere in the VMB user interface. See the notes at the end of this section for more details.

To define or modify general STORServer VMB configuration settings:

1. On the Settings tab click Edit Settings.

2. In the STORServer Virtual Machine Backup Settings dialog box, enter or modify values on each of these tabs:

n General tab

n vCenter Server tab n Backups tab

n E-mail Notification tab n License Server tab

Tip! To quickly access these tab-specific topics from the VMB user

interface, click Help | Help on Current Tab or press F1.

3. Click Save to save your changes and exit the dialog box.

Notes...

l When changing the default backup technology to TSM for VE, additional tasks may be required. SeeConfiguring STORServer VMB to use TSM for VEfor details. (For an overview of available backup technologies, seeVMB backup technologies.)

Tip! You can configure the VMB server to use one backup technology by

default, and then configure selected clients to use another for their backups and restores. See the Help for theClient Information dialog box

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l SeeConfiguring client backups and archivesandScheduling client backups and

archivesfor related procedures.

l STORServer VMB can be configured to send e-mail notifications for schedule completions and individual client backup completions. SeeConfiguring automatic notificationfor more information.

License requirements

STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) requires a license file that limits the number of virtual machines that can be backed up by one or more VMB servers at your site. This file must have a .lic extension and be placed in a specific location, as described in the

STORServer VMB readme file. This file resides in the VMB install directory (C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB, by default) and is named README.htm.

The license file for STORServer VMB is made up of a specific number of license units — one for each virtual machine client that is backed up by VMB. The STORServer License Server, a prerequisite of STORServer VMB and other STORServer software products, distributes, tracks, and audits license units. (The license server is not used with trial licenses.)

When a virtual machine performs its first backup, it is granted a license unit, which it retains indefinitely and uses for all future backups. Once all authorized license units have been granted, attempts to back up additional virtual machines will fail with license-related errors. You must then either purchase additional license units from STORServer or revoke licenses from virtual machine clients that no longer need them, making them available for reuse by other clients.

CAUTION! Modifying the license file will render it invalid immediately.

License status information, such as the number of license units granted and the total number of remaining license units, appears in the About STORServer Virtual Machine Backup dialog box. Messages appear there when VMB is unable to connect to the license server and a local license cache is in use, or when the license server is not functioning properly, for example.

Tip! License units can be managed from the local cache for up to 10 days, at

which time a connection to the license server is required to continue virtual machine backups.

For more information on the STORServer License Server, refer to its readme file.

What do you want to do?

Configure VMB servers to use the STORServer License Server View status information about my licenses

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Purchase additional licenses

Revoke licenses for reuse by other virtual machines

Configuring VMB servers to use the STORServer License Server

Once you have downloaded, installed, and enabled the STORServer License Server and placed the license file for STORServer VMB in the license directory, you must configure each VMB server to use the license server.

To configure a VMB server to use the license server:

1. Make sure that your VMB client is connected to the VMB server whose configuration is being modified.

Check the server name or address that appears in the title bar of the main window.

To change the active VMB server:

a. Click the VMB Servers button at the bottom of the main STORServer

Virtual Machine Backup window.

b. In the STORServer VMB Servers dialog box, select a new server and click

Active.

The icon next to that server changes to .

c. Click Save.

2. On the Settings tab, click Edit Settings.

3. In the STORServer Virtual Machine Backup Settings dialog box, click License

Server.

4. Modify these values:

n License server name or address — The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the computer on which the license server is running. For example: backup3.bigcorp.com or 192.168.10.101. The default value is localhost.

n Port number — The number of the TCP/IP port that is used for incoming connections to the license server. The default port number is 7721.

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Viewing license status

To view license status information for the active STORServer VMB server (the server to which your VMB client is connected):

1. Click the Help button at the bottom of the main STORServer Virtual Machine

Backup window and select About STORServer Virtual Machine Backup

2. View license information in the About box.

License-related messages that may appear in the About STORServer Virtual Machine Backup dialog box are as follows:

Message

Type Descriptions and Examples

Status Examples of possible status messages include the following:

Status: 363 Remaining authorized licenses

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Message

Type Descriptions and Examples

This is the number of licenses authorized (purchased) minus the number of licenses that have been granted to virtual machines.

Status: All authorized licenses in use

This message appears when the number of virtual machines being backed up is equal to the number of authorized licenses.

Status: Failure retrieving license information

Indicates that VMB was unable to retrieve license information from the STORServer License Server. Subsequent error messages may indicate the exact cause of the failure.

VMB will manage license units from a local cache for up to 10 days. The "License info" label in the About box changes to "License info (cached)" when the local cache is in use. (This is always the case with a trial license.)

Error Message

Error messages appear when the VMB server or license server encounters an error. For example:

Error Message: The license server at 192.168.10.155 is not running

Indicates that the license server is not responding.

Error Message: Error querying for license pool information

Indicates that an attempt to query the license server for license status information failed.

Error Message: Cannot verify license server license

Indicates that the license server failed to load or verify its own license.

Licenses Authorized

Indicates the total number of authorized (purchased) licenses, which is the total number of virtual machines authorized for backup. For example:

Licenses Authorized: 500

Licenses Granted

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Message

Type Descriptions and Examples Licenses Granted: 137

Expiration Specifies the date on which the specified number of authorized licenses expires. For example:

Expiration: 04/30/2013 (50), None (100)

This sample message indicates that 50 virtual machine licenses will expire on April 30, 2013, and 100 additional virtual machine licenses will never expire.

Last Validated

Indicates when the VMB server last checked the status of the licenses. For example:

Last Validated: April 09, 2013 10:27:11 AM

If VMB is configured to use the STORServer License Server but is unable to connect to it, this entry continues to show the date and time of the last successful connection. If licenses are being

managed from the local cache, the "License Info" label changes to "License info (cached)."

Replacing a trial license with a production license

To replace a free STORServer VMB trial license with a purchased production license:

1. Install the STORServer License Server for use at your site. For download instructions, refer to the STORServer VMB readme file. This file resides in the VMB install

directory (C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB, by default) and is named README.htm.

2. Put the license server license AND the purchased VMB license in the license server directory.

3. Delete the trial license from the VMB install directory or rename it to something other than .lic.

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5. If the license server is not installed on the same machine as the VMB server, define the IP address and port number of the license server to the active VMB server as follows:

a. On the Settings tab, click Edit Settings.

b. In the STORServer Virtual Machine Backup Settings dialog box, click

License Server.

c. Modify these values accordingly:

n License server name or address — The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the computer on which the license server is running. For example: backup3.bigcorp.com or 192.168.10.101. The default value is localhost.

n Port number — The number of the TCP/IP port that is used for incoming connections to the license server. The default port number is 7721.

d. Click Save.

Purchasing additional licenses

To purchase additional virtual machine licenses for use with STORServer VMB, contact STORServer using either of the following methods:

l By phone: Visit our website atwww.storserver.comand click Contact Us to obtain the phone number for your region.

l By e-mail: Send your request to:[email protected]

To replace existing licenses (during an upgrade, for example), see the instructions in the STORServer VMB readme file. This file resides in the VMB install directory (C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB, by default) and is named README.htm.

Revoking licenses for reuse

Each virtual machine client that has been granted a license by STORServer VMB retains that license unit indefinitely. You can revoke licenses from virtual machine clients that no longer need them, making them available for reuse by other clients.

To determine which virtual machine clients are currently using license units:

Check the Using License column on the Clients tab.

Use either of the following methods to revoke a client's license:

l Delete the client from VMB's database.

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This removes the client from all VMB schedules, revokes its license, and removes it from the list of clients on the Clients tab. (If this client still exists in vCenter Server, it will reappear the next time the client list is refreshed.) It also removes all

information related to this client from the VMB database. This action does NOT delete the client or its backup data from the TSM server.

l Disable the client.

1. On the Clients tab, double-click the client whose license you want to revoke.

2. In the Client Information dialog box, select the Disable this client in all

schedules check box.

3. Click OK.

This prevents all schedules from backing up this client and revokes the client's license, making it available to other virtual machine clients.

Tip! To verify that additional licenses are now available for reuse,check the license status informationin the About box. It may take a few minutes for this information to appear.

Configuring VMB database connections

Each STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) server has its own database where it stores data and configuration settings. The database connection used by the VMB server is defined during installation, based on answers you provide to the setup wizard. The VMB server's database connection properties are stored in an XML file, which can be modified if necessary. You must then restart the VMB server to use the new connection values.

If you have multiple backup servers and VMB servers running at your site, you may need to connect to each VMB server's database using your VMB client (the user interface (UI)). You do this by adding database connection information for each VMB server to your client’s configuration (via the UI). You can then access the different databases by changing the "active VMB server" from the VMB UI.

Tip! If you have a single backup server and STORServer VMB server, you

typically do not need to modify these settings.

What do you want to do?

Add a VMB server and database connection to my client's configuration Edit database connection information that the client uses

Change the active VMB server

Delete a VMB server's database connection information from my client Edit the database connection used by the VMB server

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Adding a VMB server and database connection

To configure your STORServer VMB client to connect to a VMB database other than the one configured during VMB setup:

1. Click the VMB Servers button at the bottom of the [main] STORServer Virtual

Machine Backup window.

2. Click Add in theSTORServer VMB Servers dialog box.

3. Define values in theSTORServer VMB Server Properties dialog box.

4. Click Test Connection to verify that the VMB client can connect to the specified database.

5. Click OK to close the properties dialog box.

6. Select the newly added VMB server and click Active to have VMB connect to and use this database.

The icon next to the VMB server changes to .

7. Click Save.

Editing client-side database connections

To modify the database connection properties used by the VMB client when connecting to a VMB server's database:

2. Select the VMB server whose properties you want to edit and click Edit.

3. Change one or more values in theSTORServer VMB Server Properties dialog box.

4. Click OK to close the properties dialog box.

5. Click Save to save your changes.

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Changing the active VMB server

To connect to a different STORServer VMB server’s database from the VMB client (UI), change the active VMB server as follows:

2. In theSTORServer VMB Servers dialog boxselect the VMB server whose database you want to connect to and click Active.

The icon next to the VMB server changes to .

3. Click Save.

Deleting a VMB server and database connection

To remove a STORServer VMB database from your VMB client’s configuration:

2. In theSTORServer VMB Servers dialog boxselect the VMB server and click Delete.

3. Click Save.

Editing the VMB server's database connection

The database connection used by the STORServer VMB server is defined during installation. You can change database connection values after installation, if necessary, by using the DbEdit.exe utility to modify values in the database connections file, SsDbConnections.xml.

To edit a VMB server's database connection using the DbEdit.exe utility:

1. Open a command prompt window.

2. Change directory to the install folder, where the DbEdit.exe utility resides.

For example (default install directory shown):

C:\> cd “C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB”

C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB>

3. Enter the following command to run the DbEdit utility and identify the file it will modify:

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The main menu, which varies depending upon the number of connections that are currently defined, appears. For example:

1. Edit/Delete Server connection ‘Scheduler’ 2. Edit/Delete Viewer connection ‘Local’ 3. Edit/Delete Viewer connection ‘hqprod1’ 4. Add 'Server' connection

5. Add 'Viewer' connection 6. Exit

4. Type the number that corresponds to the task you want to perform and press ENTER.

For example, to edit the connection named hqprod1, type 3 and press ENTER. Another list of menu options appears:

1. Connection Name: hqprod1 2. SQL Server Name: hqprod1

3. Instance Name:

4. Database Name: SsVcb

5. Database Filename: C:\Program Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB \SsVcb.mdf

6. Windows Authentication: false

7. SQL User Id: vmbuser

8. SQL User Password: ******* 9. Connection Pooling: true 10. Maximum Pool Size: 100 11. Minimum Pool Size: 0 12. Connection Active: true 13. Delete

14. Done 15. Cancel

5. Type the number that corresponds to the attribute that you want to edit.

For example, to change the name of the database server machine, type 2 and press ENTER. You will be prompted for the new value. Enter the new value and press ENTER. For example:

Enter the number of the item you would like to change. 2

Enter the new value: MyServer

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6. Do one of the following:

n To accept changes, type 14 (Done) and press ENTER.

n To cancel changes, type 15 (Cancel) and press ENTER.

n To delete the connection, type 13 (Delete) and press ENTER.

You are returned to the main menu described instep 3.

7. To exit, type the number corresponding to the Exit command and press ENTER.

You will be prompted to save changes. A backup copy of the SsDbConnections.xml file is created when you save your changes.

8. Restart the VMB server. SeeRestarting the VMB serverfor instructions if needed.

Notes...

l If you change the connection authentication method to SQL Server, verify that the database server is configured to allow this type of access. The specified SQL user (user ID and password) must also be properly configured on the database server.

l When using Windows authentication, make sure that the database server can authenticate the account under which the VMB server's service (STORServer VMB Server) is running.

l Connection pooling is set to true (enabled) by default. The maximum pool size (maxPoolSize) must be an integer value that is larger than the minimum pool size (minPoolSize). Neither value may be negative. When connection pooling is set to false, the other two pooling options (maxPoolSize and minPoolSize) are ignored.

Restarting the VMB server

Use either of the following methods to stop and restart the STORServer VMB server:

Tip! To put VDDK configuration file changes into effect, simply click the Reload

Configuration File button located on the Settings tab. A restart of the VMB server is not necessary.

To restart the VMB server from the command line:

1. Exit any open STORServer VMB user interfaces (clients).

2. Open a command prompt window and enter the following commands in the order shown:

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C:\> net start ssvcbsched

To restart the VMB server using the Windows services manager:

1. Open the Windows services manager (My Computer | Manage | Services and

Applications | Services).

2. Right-click the service STORServer VMB Server and select Restart on the shortcut menu.

Configuring TSM servers

Each TSM server that will manage backed up or archived virtual machine data must be added to the STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) configuration. When you add a TSM server, it is enabled by default. The first enabled server that you add becomes the default TSM server. Each virtual machine client that is backed up by VMB will be backed up to this server unless otherwise specified. (You can assign a client to a different server if desired.)

Valid account credentials must be specified for each TSM server that will store virtual machine client data that is backed up using the TSM for VE backup technology. VMB uses this account to access the TSM administrative command-line interface (DSMADMC) on the TSM server.

What do you want to do?

Add a TSM server Edit a TSM server

Set a default TSM server Enable or disable a TSM server

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Adding a TSM server to STORServer VMB

To add a TSM server to STORServer VMB:

1. On the Settings tab click Edit Settings to open the STORServer Virtual Machine

Backup Settings dialog box.

2. On the General tab click Add.

3. Define TSM server properties in theTSM Server Information dialog box.

4. Click OK.

5. Click Save to save the new TSM server properties.

Notes...

l The first enabled TSM server that you add automatically becomes the default TSM server. You can change the default server later, if necessary, as described inSetting a default TSM server.

l If STORServer VMB is configured to use TSM for VE backup technology for any client machines that will be backed up to this TSM server, you must provide VMB process credentials (the credentials for a TSM administrator account with System authority). STORServer VMB uses this account to access the TSM administrative command-line interface (DSMADMC).

NOTE! STORServer recommends that you set the password for this account

to never expire if this does not violate your company's security policies. Otherwise, VMB's ability to interact with this TSM server ceases abruptly when the password expires.

Editing a TSM server

To modify the properties of a TSM server that has been defined to STORServer VMB:

2. On the General tab select the TSM server to modify and click Edit.

3. Change one or more values in theTSM Server Information dialog box.

4. Click OK.

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Setting a default TSM server

To change the default TSM server:

2. Select an enabled TSM server on the General tab.

3. Click Default. The icon next to the server name changes to:

4. Click Save.

Enabling and disabling a TSM server

When you add a TSM server to STORServer VMB, that server is enabled by default.

To disable a TSM server:

2. On the General tab select the TSM server that you want to disable.

3. Click Disable. The icon next to the server name changes to:

4. Click Save.

To enable a disabled TSM server:

2. On the General tab select the disabled TSM server.

3. Click Enable. The icon next to the server name changes to:

4. Click Save.

Changing the TSM server assigned to a client

To change the TSM server to which a particular client is assigned:

1. On the Clients tab, click next to the client's name to view the list of schedules to which that client belongs.

2. Edit each schedule as follows:

a. Right-click the schedule name and select Edit Schedule.

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c. In the list of clients that have already been added to the schedule (at the bottom), select the client whose TSM server you want to change.

d. Click Assign TSM server and select a server from the drop-down list.

e. Click OK.

Notes...

You can change the TSM server assignment for an on-demand backup by selecting a different server in the On-Demand Client Backup dialog box.

Deleting a TSM server from STORServer VMB

To delete a TSM server from the STORServer VMB configuration:

2. On the General tab select the TSM server to delete.

3. Click Delete.

The TSM server is removed from the list.

4. Click Save to delete the TSM server from VMB’s configuration.

If the TSM server you are attempting to delete has one or more clients assigned to it (from within a schedule), a message appears stating that the server cannot be deleted and listing the schedules that point to that server. Before you can delete this TSM server, you must change the TSM server assignments within the named schedules, as described in the preceding section,Changing the TSM server assigned to a client.

Configuring STORServer VMB to use TSM for VE

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1. Verify that your backup server and storage environment meet the prerequisite software requirements for TSM for VE use. For more details, see the STORServer VMB readme file. This file resides in the VMB install directory (C:\Program

Files\STORServer\Agent for VCB, by default) and is named README.htm.

NOTE! The prerequisite software for TSM for VE differs from that of the

VDDK backup technology. Be sure to read the VMB readme file carefully.

2. Configure TSM for VE as your default backup technology OR keep VDDK as your default technology and configure selected virtual machine clients to use TSM for VE.

3. Define a TSM administrator account for STORServer VMB on each TSM server that will store data that is backed up with the TSM for VE technology. This account

requires System authority. Add the account credentials to the TSM server properties in VMB.

4. On the TSM backup-archive client that resides on the backup server, define the vCenter Server login credentials for the account that STORServer VMB uses to access vCenter Server.

5. Define datacenter nodes in VMB if the virtual machines that will be backed up are associated with datacenters in vCenter Server, and register these nodes with the TSM server.

What do you want to do?

Make TSM for VE the default backup technology Configure individual clients to use TSM for VE

Define the TSM administrator account for use with TSM for VE Define vCenter Server credentials on the TSM backup-archive client Configure the use of datacenter nodes

Defining the TSM administrator account for TSM for VE

When using TSM for VE backup technology, STORServer VMB requires access to the TSM Administrative Command Line interface (DSMADMC) on each TSM server that will store backed up virtual machine data. To enable this access, you must set up an account for VMB use (a VMB process account) and then define the account credentials in the TSM server properties.

NOTE! The VMB process account requires System authority. Also, STORServer

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After you have created a VMB process account on each TSM server, define the account credentials in STORServer VMB as follows:

2. On the General tab do either of the following:

n Select the TSM server and click Edit.

n To add a new TSM server and define the account credentials click Add.

Tip! SeeAdding a TSM server to STORServer VMBfor related information.

3. Enter the user ID and password values in theTSM Server Information dialog box.

4. Click OK.

5. Click Save to save the new/updated TSM server properties.

Repeat this procedure for each TSM server.

Defining vCenter Server credentials for the backup-archive client

Before you can use the TSM for VE backup technology, you must define vCenter Server login credentials to the TSM backup-archive client on the backup server. You only need to do this once.

STORServer recommends that you specify credentials for the same account that

STORServer VMB uses when accessing vCenter Server. (These credentials are specified on the vCenter Server tab of the STORServer VMB Settings dialog box.) The same privileges are required. See the list of minimum required privileges in theSTORServer VMB Settings dialog boxsection.

Use either of the following methods to define the vCenter Server account credentials to the TSM backup-archive client on the backup server:

l From the TSM Backup-Archive Command Line (DSMC), enter this command:

set password –type=VM vCenterServerName.domain userID password

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Configuring the use of datacenter nodes

If you are using datacenters in vCenter Server and want to back up your virtual machine clients to a specified datacenter node using the TSM for VE backup technology, or if you are adding STORServer VMB to a storage environment that already uses TSM for VE and datacenter nodes, you need to perform some or all of the following steps:

1. To enable the use of datacenter nodes for all backups performed using STORServer VMB and TSM for VE backup technology:

a. On the Settings tab click Edit Settings to launch the STORServer Virtual

Machine Backup Settings dialog box.

b. On the Backups tab underDatacenter Nodesselect the Use datacenter

nodes for VE backups check box.

2. Define datacenter nodes in STORServer VMB.

The list of datacenters under Datacenter Nodes shows the datacenters that are currently defined in vCenter Server. A default datacenter node name and password is assigned to each datacenter. (When the Password field is blank, the node name is used by default.)

You can either click Save to accept the default values or modify node names and/or passwords as follows:

a. Select the node name to modify and click it again to edit it.

b. Select the password that you want to edit (click inside the cell) and click again to enter a new password.

c. Click Save.

3. Register each datacenter node on the TSM server using the same node name and password as specified to STORServer VMB.

Use the REGISTER NODE command from the TSM Administrative Command Line interface to register each datacenter node. For example:

tsm: > register node datacenter12 datacenter12

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Notes...

l The use of datacenter nodes applies to all backups performed using TSM for VE technology. It cannot be modified at the client level.

l Each datacenter node name that you specify must be unique on the TSM server, and must comply with TSM naming conventions for node names. The following characters may be used in a TSM node name: A-Z, 0-9, _ (underscore), . (period), - (hyphen), + (plus sign), and & (ampersand). TSM node names are not case sensitive. The

maximum number of characters permitted is 64.

l TSM for VE adds the prefix VMFULL- to all file space names, for both full and block-level incremental backups, followed by the virtual machine name. An example of the file space for a virtual machine client (AdminCenterR20) that is backed up to a datacenter node is as follows:

DatacenterNode_1\VMFULL–AdminCenterR20

l The Add Datacenter and Delete Datacenter buttons under Datacenter Nodes are intended for use during special circumstances only. For example, if a virtual machine backup is stored under a datacenter node, but the datacenter is no longer available in vCenter Server, you could define the original datacenter, node name, and password in STORServer VMB before restoring that data, and then delete the

datacenter from the VMB database after the data has been restored. Datacenters that you add to STORServer VMB are not defined in vCenter Server.

Configuring automatic notification

You can configure STORServer Virtual Machine Backup (VMB) to send two types of e-mail notification:

l Schedule completion messages, which include information about each VMB schedule (schedule name, type, start/end times, amount of data transferred, data transfer rates, and final schedule status), and about the clients associated with that schedule (client name, backup start/end times, elapsed time, data transferred and completion status).

l Client backup completion messages, which indicate the final status of individual client backups.

If any backups fail or end with an error or warning, relevant error logs are attached to the notification messages. These logs include messages from VMB, VMware, and TSM in some cases.

Tip! You can configure VMB to exclude all error logs or include them in the body

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Notification messages are sent to e-mail addresses that you specify. Each notification type (schedule or client) uses a separate address list, as described in the sections that follow. This allows you to notify client owners regarding their client's backup, while notifying administrators of all schedule and client backup completions.

NOTE! STORServer VMB uses an SMTP server when sending automatic e-mail

notifications. You must define a valid SMTP server address and port number to enable these features.

What do you want to do?

Define or edit SMTP server information

Define or edit addresses for schedule completion notifications Define or edit addresses for client backup completion notifications

Defining or editing SMTP server information

NOTE! All STORServer VMB automatic notification features as well as the Send

Application Information wizard require the use of an SMTP server.

To define or edit an SMTP server for use by VMB:

1. On the Settings tab, click Edit Settings to open the STORServer Virtual

Machine Backup Settings dialog box.

2. On theE-mail Notification tabenter the following values:

n SMTP server — The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the outgoing mail (SMTP) server used at your site. For example: email.bigcorp.com or 192.168.10.101.

n Port number — The number of the TCP/IP port used by SMTP. The default port is 25.

n From address — The address that will appear in the From field of all automatic e-mail notifications sent by STORServer VMB and all support requests

submitted by the Send Application Information wizard.

3. If the SMTP server that you specified requires authentication when relaying

messages to other mail servers, select Requires authentication enter a valid user name and password for that server.

4. Click Save.

Notes...

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Information wizard on your behalf, the From address must include your company domain.

Defining or editing addresses for schedule completion notifications

Before you begin...

If you have not yet defined a valid SMTP server for STORServer VMB's use, seeDefining or editing the SMTP server and port number.

To define or edit e-mail addresses that will receive schedule completion notifications:

1. On the Settings tab, click Edit Settings to open the STORServer Virtual Machine

2. On theE-mail Notification tab, enter valid e-mail addresses in the E-mail list. Press

Enter after each address.

Tip! STORServer recommends that you specify the name of a distribution

list here (your operations staff, for example).

3. Click Save.

Notes...

By default, error logs for client backups that failed or ended with an error or a warning are attached to schedule completion notifications. You can configure STORServer VMB to exclude logs or include them in the message body by changing the selection under Client and Schedule Notification Details. Note that this setting affects both schedule and client backup completion notifications.

Defining or editing addresses for client backup completion

notifications

Before you begin...

If you have not yet defined a valid SMTP server for STORServer VMB's use, seeDefining or editing the SMTP server and port number.

To define or edit e-mail addresses that will receive client backup completion notifications:

1. Select one or more virtual machine clients and click Edit Clients from either of the following locations:

n TheClients tab

n TheAdd/Remove Clients tabof the Schedule Information dialog box

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address.

3. Click OK.

Notes...

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Configuring client backups and archives

Client backup and archive operations can be invoked by a schedule or run on demand from the Clients tab. There are various attributes in STORServer VMB that affect client backups. Most backup-related settings can be found in the following locations in the VMB user interface:

l STORServer Virtual Machine Backup Settings dialog box(VMB server-level settings) l Client Information dialog box(client-level settings)

l On-Demand Client Backup dialog box(settings for one backup only) l Schedule Information dialog box

When setting up STORServer VMB to back up or archive your virtual machines, consider the following:

l Backup technologies — VMB supports two: VDDK and TSM for VE. You can select one as your default technology and the other for selected clients only. See topics under About STORServer Virtual Machine Backupfor technology descriptions and feature comparisons, as well as detailed descriptions of the different backup types that VMB can perform.

If you will be backing up your vCenter Server with VMB, refer to the STORServer white paper titledProtecting and Restoring a VMware vCenter Server Virtual Machine with STORServer Virtual Machine Backup(available on the STORServer website) for additional considerations and recommendations.

l Changed block tracking (CBT) — This VMware feature must be enabled for all clients that will be backed up using the TSM for VE technology. Its use is also recommended with VDDK technology to allow VMB to perform faster full machine backups.

l Client registration — VMB registers virtual machine clients that have been added to a schedule or on-demand job if open registration is in effect on the TSM server. Otherwise, you must register clients manually before you can back up or archive their data.

l Client options — VMB supports various methods for assigning client options to virtual machine backups. It applies a set of dynamically generated options to all backups and supports the use of both global and client-specific client options.See Using client options with STORServer VMB.