Does IDrive support incremental backups for VMware virtual machines?
Yes, after the initial full backup subsequent backups with IDrive are incremental. To perform incremental backup, enable Change Block Tracking (CBT).
To enable CBT,
Power off the virtual machine.
Right-click the virtual machine and click 'Edit Settings'.
Click the 'Options' tab.
Click 'General' under the 'Advanced' section, and then click 'Configuration Parameters'. The Configuration Parameters dialog box appears.
Click 'Add Row'.
Add the ctkEnabled parameter, and then set its value to true.
Click 'Add Row', add scsi0:0.ctkEnabled, and set its value to true.
Note: scsi0:0 in scsi0:0.ctkEnabled indicates the SCSI device assigned to the hard disk, which is added to the virtual machine. Every hard disk added to the virtual machine is given a SCSI device similar to scsi0:0, scsi0:1, or scsi 1:1. The CBT option is either enabled or disabled on each disk.
How do I disable Change Block Tracking (CBT) for VMware backup?
To disable CBT for VMware backup,
Power off the virtual machine.
Right-click the virtual machine and click 'Edit Settings'.
Click 'Options'.
Under the 'Advanced section', click 'General' and then click 'Configuration Parameters'.
The 'Configuration Parameters' dialog opens.
Set the 'ctkEnabled' parameter to false for the desired SCSI disk(s).
Power on the virtual machine.
Which ports are required by the IDrive application to perform backup and restore operations?
Ports 443 and 902 should be open and accessible on the source host to perform backup and restore operations.
How do I test the VMware connectivity to port 902?
To test Port 902 on an ESXi host, execute the following command:
C:\>telnet server 902
How can I backup my VMware virtual machine(s)?
To backup your VMware virtual machine(s),
Log in to the IDrive application and click the 'Server Backup' tab.
In the VMware Backup section, click 'Backup'. The VMware login screen appears.
Select the 'ESXi 5.5/ 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0' radio button.
Enter valid credentials and click 'Login to ESXi'.
Select the 'Local Backup + Cloud Backup' or the 'Local Backup Only' radio button.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list and specify a temporary path for the local backup.
Click 'Schedule Now'. The Schedule backup screen appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
How do I view and backup virtual machines from vCenter?
To backup multiple ESXi virtual machines,
Log in to the IDrive application and click the 'Server Backup' tab.
In the VMware Backup section, click Backup. The VMware login screen appears.
Select the 'vCenter' radio button.
Enter IP address, Username, Password, and click 'Login to vCenter'.
Select the 'Local Backup + Cloud Backup' or the 'Local Backup Only' radio button.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list and specify the temporary path for the local backup.
Click 'Schedule Now'. The Schedule backup screen is displayed where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machines.
Can I backup VMware virtual machines to a network mapped drive or NAS drive?
Yes, you can backup VMware virtual machines to a network mapped drive or NAS drive. While choosing a local backup path, select the network mapped drive / NAS drive and provide the necessary authentication.
To backup your VMware virtual machine(s) to a network mapped / NAS drive,
Log in to the IDrive application and click the 'Server Backup' tab.
In the VMware Backup section, click ‘Backup’. The VMware login screen appears.
Select the 'ESXi 5.5/ 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0' radio button.
Enter valid credentials and click ‘Login to ESXi’.
Select the 'Local Backup + Cloud Backup' or the 'Local Backup Only' radio button.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list.
Select the network mapped drive / NAS drive as the location for creating the disk image and click 'Schedule Now'.
Enter your username and password to authenticate network mapped drive / NAS drive and click ‘Authenticate’.
The Schedule backup screen appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
Do I need to turn off or shutdown the virtual machine(s) in VMware manager to take a backup?
No, you do not have to shut down your active virtual machine(s) to perform a backup. IDrive enables you to backup virtual machine(s) in their running state.
Is there a need for an additional/external storage volume for VMware backup?
No. However, do ensure that the temporary location that you select while scheduling the VMware backup has sufficient disk space to hold the selected items, during the backup process.
Can I upload the backed up VMDK file using 'vsphere client/web interface' to attach to VMware ESXi?
Yes, you can upload the backed up VMDK file to ESXi using vsphere client. However, you need to convert the monolithic sparse VMDK file to thin disk after uploading, using 'vmkfstools', to attach to VMware.
Run the following command to convert the monolithic sparse vmdk file:
vmkfstools - i "Source vmdk path" "destination vmdk path after conversion" For example: vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/centos/centos.vmdk" "/vmfs/volumes/datastore1/centos/centosafterconvert.vmdk"
Does VMware ESXi require a license version to perform backups?
Yes, VMware ESXi requires a license version to create snapshots and to perform backups.
