Veritas NetBackup™ for VMware Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.1.1)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Updates to this guide for NetBackup 8.1.1
    3.  
      About the virtual machine backups that include database data
    4.  
      About the NetBackup appliance as a VMware backup host
    5.  
      NetBackup for VMware components
    6.  
      Appliance as backup host: component overview
    7.  
      Media servers as backup or discovery hosts
    8.  
      Overview of the VMware backup process
    9.  
      NetBackup for VMware license requirement
    10.  
      NetBackup for VMware terminology
  2. Required tasks: overview
    1.  
      Overview of VMware tasks
    2.  
      Overview of NetBackup tasks
  3. Notes and prerequisites
    1.  
      NetBackup for VMware prerequisites
    2.  
      NetBackup for VMware: notes and restrictions
    3.  
      Notes on VMware Virtual Volumes (VVols)
    4.  
      NetBackup IPv6 parameter required for backups in VMware IPv6 environments
    5.  
      NetBackup for VMware: notes on Linux virtual machines
    6.  
      Notes on the NetBackup appliance as a VMware backup host
    7.  
      NetBackup for VMware support for SAN multi-pathing
    8.  
      NetBackup for VMware support for fault tolerant VMs
    9.  
      NetBackup character restrictions for the Primary VM identifier
    10.  
      In the policy Query Builder, display names, resource pool names, and vApp names are case-sensitive
    11.  
      Notes on the hotadd transport mode
    12.  
      Notes and limitations for tag usage in VMware Intelligent Policy queries
    13.  
      Notes and limitations for the backup and restore of VMware tag associations
  4. Configure NetBackup communication with VMware
    1.  
      Adding the VMware backup host to NetBackup
    2. Adding NetBackup credentials for VMware
      1.  
        Using the VMware Managed Object Browser to verify the server name
    3.  
      Changing the host name of a VMware server in NetBackup
    4.  
      Setting privileges for posting events to vCenter
    5.  
      Authentication token for the NetBackup vSphere Web Client plug-in
    6.  
      Setting global limits on the use of VMware resources
  5. Configure NetBackup policies for VMware
    1.  
      Configuring a VMware policy from the Policy Wizard
    2.  
      Configuring a VMware policy from the Policies utility
    3.  
      Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for VMware)
    4. VMware backup options
      1.  
        VMware backup host
      2.  
        Optimizations options (VMware)
      3.  
        Primary VM identifier options (VMware)
      4.  
        Existing snapshot handling options (VMware)
      5.  
        Transport modes options (VMware)
      6.  
        Application protection options (VMware)
      7.  
        VMware - Advanced Attributes dialog
      8.  
        About the Post vCenter events option (VMware Advanced Attributes)
    5. Exclude Disks tab
      1.  
        About the exclude disk options for virtual disk selection
      2.  
        Exclude disks from backups: an example to avoid
      3.  
        Restoring data from the backups that excluded the boot disk or data disks
    6.  
      Browse for VMware virtual machines
    7.  
      Limiting the VMware servers that NetBackup searches when browsing for virtual machines
    8.  
      Virtual machine host names and display names should be unique if VMs are selected manually in the policy
    9.  
      Primary VM identifier option and manual selection of virtual machines
    10.  
      About incremental backups of virtual machines
    11.  
      Configuring incremental backups
    12.  
      Storage Foundation Volume Manager volumes in the virtual machine
  6. Configure a VMware Intelligent Policy
    1.  
      About automatic virtual machine selection for NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Support and use of VMware tag associations
    3.  
      The basics of a NetBackup query rule
    4.  
      Important notes on automatic virtual machine selection
    5.  
      NetBackup requirements for automatic virtual machine selection
    6.  
      Automatic virtual machine selection: Task overview
    7.  
      Options for selecting VMware virtual machines
    8.  
      Configuring automatic virtual machine selection
    9.  
      Editing an existing query in Basic Mode
    10.  
      Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode
    11.  
      AND vs. OR in queries
    12.  
      Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder
    13.  
      The IsSet operator in queries
    14.  
      About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple policies
    15.  
      Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)
    16.  
      Parentheses in compound queries
    17.  
      Query rules for resource pools
    18.  
      Query rules for datacenter folders (host folder)
    19.  
      Query rules for duplicate names
    20.  
      Query rules for tags
    21.  
      Query Builder field reference
    22.  
      Test Query screen for VMware
    23.  
      Test Query: Failed virtual machines
    24.  
      Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query results
    25.  
      Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test query results
    26.  
      Refreshing the display of virtual environment changes in the Query Builder
  7. Reduce the size of backups
    1.  
      About reducing the size of VMware backups
    2.  
      Block-level backup (BLIB): full vs incremental
    3.  
      Deleting a vSphere Client snapshot
  8. Back up virtual machines
    1.  
      Backing up virtual machines
    2.  
      Using the Activity Monitor to monitor virtual machine backups
    3.  
      Restarting jobs individually in the Activity Monitor
    4.  
      Viewing NetBackup activity in vSphere Web Client
    5.  
      Using OpsCenter to report on virtual machine backups
  9. Use Accelerator to back up virtual machines
    1.  
      About the NetBackup Accelerator for virtual machines
    2.  
      Accelerator: full vs. incremental schedules
    3.  
      How the NetBackup Accelerator works with virtual machines
    4.  
      Accelerator notes and requirements for virtual machines
    5.  
      Accelerator forced rescan for virtual machines (schedule attribute)
    6.  
      Accelerator requires the OptimizedImage attribute
    7.  
      Accelerator backups and the NetBackup catalog
    8.  
      Accelerator messages in the backup job details log
    9.  
      NetBackup logs for Accelerator with virtual machines
    10.  
      About reporting the amount of Accelerator backup data that was transferred over the network
    11.  
      Replacing the Accelerator image size with the network-transferred data in NetBackup command output
  10. Restore virtual machines
    1.  
      Restore notes and restrictions
    2.  
      Restore notes and restrictions on Linux
    3. Restoring the full VMware virtual machine
      1. Virtual Machine Recovery dialog boxes (restore to original location)
        1.  
          Recovery Destination dialog box
        2.  
          Recovery Options dialog box
        3.  
          Virtual Machine Options dialog box
        4.  
          Perform Recovery dialog box
      2. Virtual Machine Recovery dialogs boxes (restore to alternate location)
        1.  
          Recovery Destination dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        2.  
          Recovery Options dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        3.  
          Select ESX server dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        4.  
          Select Folder dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        5.  
          Select Datastore or Datastore Cluster dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        6.  
          Storage Destination dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        7.  
          Network Connections and Other Recovery Options dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        8.  
          Perform Recovery dialog box (restore to alternate location)
    4.  
      About VMware virtual machine disk restore
    5. Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using Backup, Archive, and Restore
      1.  
        Select Virtual Disks panel
      2.  
        Recovery Destination panel
      3.  
        Virtual Disk Destination panel
      4.  
        Storage Destination panel
      5.  
        Recovery Summary panel
    6. Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using NetBackup commands
      1.  
        Determining the backup image ID from which to restore a VMware virtual machine disk
      2.  
        Creating the VMware virtual machine disk restore file
      3.  
        Modifying the virtual machine disk restore file
      4.  
        Validating the virtual machine disk restore file
      5.  
        Restoring the virtual machine disk or disks by using the nbrestorevm command
      6.  
        VMware virtual machine disk restore file
    7.  
      About restoring individual VMware files
    8. Restoring individual VMware virtual machine files
      1.  
        Setting up NetBackup Client Service for VMware restores to a Windows shared virtual machine drive
      2.  
        Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of VMware files
    9.  
      How NetBackup handles VMware tag associations at restore
    10. Browse and search virtual machines for restore
      1.  
        Search Virtual Machines for Restore dialog
      2.  
        Browse the vCloud or vSphere view for virtual machine clients
      3.  
        Search results dialog
    11.  
      If the recovery host is not at the same NetBackup release level as the backup host
  11. Restore virtual machines with Instant Recovery
    1.  
      About Instant Recovery for VMware
    2.  
      Task overview for Instant Recovery for VMware
    3.  
      Performance recommendations for Instant Recovery for VMware
    4.  
      Requirements for Instant Recovery for VMware
    5.  
      Notes on Instant Recovery for VMware
    6.  
      Restarting the Client for NFS service on a Windows restore host
    7.  
      Instant Recovery options on the nbrestorevm command
    8.  
      Restoring a virtual machine with Instant Recovery for VMware
    9.  
      Restoring a virtual machine to a different location with Instant Recovery for VMware
    10.  
      Restoring individual files with Instant Recovery for VMware while the current virtual machine is running
    11.  
      Job types for Instant Recovery for VMware
    12.  
      Reactivating a restored virtual machine with Instant Recovery for VMware
  12. Use NetBackup for vCloud Director
    1.  
      About NetBackup for vCloud Director
    2.  
      Notes on creating a NetBackup policy for vCloud
    3.  
      Notes on restoring virtual machines into vCloud Director
    4.  
      Restoring virtual machines into vCloud Director
    5.  
      Reducing the time required for VM discovery in a large vCloud environment
    6. Virtual machine recovery dialog boxes for vCloud Director
      1.  
        Recovery Destination dialog box (vCloud Director)
      2.  
        Recovery Options dialog box (vCloud Director)
      3.  
        Recovery vApp Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to original location)
      4.  
        Virtual Machine Options dialog box for vCloud Director
      5.  
        Perform Recovery dialog box for vCloud Director
      6.  
        Recovery Options dialog box for vCloud Director (restore to alternate location)
      7.  
        Recovery vApp Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to alternate location)
      8.  
        Select a vApp dialog box
      9.  
        Recovery Destination Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to alternate location)
      10.  
        Virtual Machine Options (restore to alternate location)
      11.  
        Network connections (restore to alternate location)
      12.  
        Perform Recovery dialog box for vCloud Director (restore to alternate location)
  13. Best practices and more information
    1. NetBackup for VMware best practices
      1.  
        NetBackup for VMware with deduplication
    2.  
      Best practices for VMware tag usage
    3.  
      Further assistance with NetBackup for VMware
  14. Troubleshooting
    1.  
      Notes on troubleshooting NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Beware of unsupported backup host
    3.  
      How to determine the ESX network that NetBackup used for the backup or restore
    4.  
      NetBackup logging for VMware
    5.  
      Configuring VxMS logging
    6.  
      Format of the VxMS core.log and provider.log file names
    7.  
      Configuring the VDDK logging level
    8.  
      Preventing browsing delays caused by DNS problems
    9.  
      Changing the browsing timeout for virtual machine discovery
    10.  
      Changing timeout and logging values for vSphere
    11.  
      Credentials for VMware server are not valid
    12.  
      Snapshot error encountered (status code 156)
    13.  
      The origin of the snapshot failure: NetBackup or VMware?
    14.  
      Conflict between NetBackup and VMware Storage vMotion with vSphere 5.0 or later
    15.  
      Incremental backups of the VM may fail if the NTFS file system in the guest OS is corrupted and the backup uses MSDP storage
    16.  
      The restore fails when you restore individual files to a virtual machine that has NetBackup client software
    17.  
      Backup or restore job hangs
    18.  
      VMware SCSI requirements for application quiesce on Windows
    19.  
      Mount point missing on a restored Windows virtual machine
    20.  
      Mount points not available when restoring files from a Linux virtual machine
    21.  
      Invalid client error when you restore files using NetBackup BAR interface installed on the virtual machine
    22.  
      VMware virtual machine does not restart after restore
    23.  
      A restored VM may not start or its file system(s) may not be accessible
    24.  
      NetBackup job fails due to update tasks on the VMware server
    25.  
      The vSphere interface reports that virtual machine consolidation is needed
    26.  
      The Enable file recovery from VM backup option does not work if a volume disk set contains a mixture of disk types
    27.  
      Linux VMs and persistent device naming
    28.  
      For a VMware virtual machine with Windows dynamic disks, a restore from incremental backup fails with a Windows restore host and the hotadd transport mode
    29.  
      Simultaneous hotadd backups (from the same VMware backup host) fail with status 13
    30.  
      Troubleshooting VMware tag usage
    31.  
      Ensuring that guest customizations can be restored in vCloud Director
    32.  
      Troubleshooting vmdk restore to existing VM
  15. Appendix A. NetBackup commands to back up and restore virtual machines
    1. Using NetBackup commands to create a VMware policy
      1.  
        Notes on creating a VMware policy for vCloud Director
      2.  
        VMware policy: bpplinfo options and keywords
      3.  
        bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in a VMware policy
    2.  
      Using the nbdiscover command to search the virtual environment
    3.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machines into vSphere
    4.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machines into vCloud Director
    5.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machine disks
    6.  
      The nbrestorevm -R rename file for restoring virtual machines
    7.  
      Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command
    8.  
      Query format and examples for searching virtual machine backups
    9.  
      Allowing other servers or clients to restore virtual machines
  16. Appendix B. Configuring services for NFS on Windows
    1.  
      About installing and configuring Network File System (NFS) for Granular Recovery Technology (GRT)
    2. About configuring services for NFS on Windows 2012 or 2016 (NetBackup for VMware)
      1.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on a Windows 2012 or 2016 media server (NetBackup for VMware)
      2.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on a Windows 2012 or 2016 restore host (NetBackup for VMware)
    3. About configuring services for NFS on Windows 2008 and 2008 R2 (NetBackup for VMware)
      1.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on Windows 2008 or 2008 R2 (NetBackup for VMware)
    4.  
      Disabling the Server for NFS (NetBackup for VMware)
    5.  
      Disabling the Client for NFS on the media server (NetBackup for VMware)
    6.  
      Configuring a UNIX media server and Windows backup or restore host for Granular Recovery Technology (NetBackup for VMware)
    7.  
      Configuring a different network port for NBFSD (NetBackup for VMware)
  17. Appendix C. The Reuse VM selection query results option
    1.  
      About the Reuse VM selection query results option
    2.  
      The effect of virtual machine discovery on vCenter
  18. Appendix D. Backup of VMware raw devices (RDM)
    1.  
      About VMware raw device mapping (RDM)
    2.  
      Configurations for backing up RDMs
    3.  
      About alternate client backup of RDMs
    4.  
      Requirements for alternate client backup of RDMs
    5.  
      Configuring alternate client backup of RDMs

The nbrestorevm -R rename file for restoring virtual machines

The -R option on the nbrestorevm command is for restoring a VM to a different location. It identifies a text file that is called the rename file. This file describes the restore location by means of change directives. Each change directive provides information about a VMware attribute or object that defines the VM when it is restored. For example: the change directives can set the display name for the restored VM, the name of the datastore, and the name of the ESX server.

Note the following about the -R rename file:

  • The -R option must specify the absolute path to the rename file.

  • The -R option and rename file are not required when you restore the VM to its original location with all its original settings.

  • Each change directive in the -R rename file must end with a carriage return. If the file contains only one change directive, that line must end with a carriage return.

  • The change directives to include in the rename file depend on the VMware environment.

    Unlike the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface, the nbrestorevm command does not have its own validation checks. When you use the nbrestorevm -R option, you must include all the change entries that the VMware environment requires. Otherwise, the restore does not succeed or the VM does not function correctly.

  • The change directives can be placed in any order in the file.

  • The change directive should be entered exactly as shown in Table: -R rename file change directives, except for the variable at the end (such as new_display_name). Replace that variable with the new name.

  • If a vSphere object does not apply to the restore destination, enter None as its value. For example: For restore to a standalone ESX, enter change datacenter to None.

  • The rename file overrides the nbrestorevm -vmsn and -vmvmxd options:

    • If the rename file includes a change directive for a .vmdk path and nbrestorevm includes the - vmvmxd option, the - vmvmxd option is ignored. The change directive determines the .vmdk path of the restored VM.

    • If the rename file includes a change directive to designate a network for the restored VM and nbrestorevm includes the - vmsn option, - vmsn is ignored.

Table: -R rename file change directives

-R rename file directives

Description and notes

change vmname to new_display_name

Sets the display name for the restored VM. If this entry is omitted, the original display name is used.

change esxhost to new_ESX_host

Designates the ESX server to restore to. This entry is required when you restore to a different ESX server.

change datacenter to /new_datacenter

Designates the datacenter in which to restore the VM. If the destination does not have a datacenter, enter None as the value:

change datacenter to None

change folder to /new_datacenter/new_folder

Designates the folder in which to restore the VM. If the destination does not have a folder, enter None as the value:

change folder to None

change resourcepool to /new_datacenter/host/new_ESX_host/resources /new_resource_pool

For restore to a different ESX server, specify a different resource pool. (The original resource pool cannot be used to create a VM on a different ESX server.) You must specify a resource pool by including the following line in the rename file:

For restore to a standalone ESX server, the change resourcepool entry must include the literal string ha-datacenter in the path:

change resourcepool to /ha_datacenter/host/new_ESX_host/Resources

change datastore to new_vmx_datastore

Designates the vmx datastore (configuration datastore) of the restored VM. The vmx datastore contains the configuration files that describe the virtual machine.

This change entry is required when you use the - vmvmxd option on the nbrestorevm command. The -vmvmxd option allows the vmdk files to be restored to the same datastore where the vmx file is specified.

Note:

See the change /original_vmdk_path to /new_vmdk_path directive in this table.

change /original_vmdk_path to /new_vmdk_path

Designates the original path to the .vmdk file, and the new path to the .vmdk file of the restored VM. As a rule, this change entry is required when you restore to a different datastore. Depending on your VMware environment, this change entry may take the following form:

change /original_datastore/original_VM_folder/original_vmdk.vmdk to /new_datastore/new_VM_folder/new_vmdk.vmdk

Note:

If you use the -vmvmxd option on nbrestorevm to restore the .vmdk files to the vmx datastore, do not use this change directive. By specifying the datastore for the vmdk files, this change directive overrides the -vmvmxd option.

Note:

If the change vmdk directive specifies a different path for some of the VM's vmdk files, the other vmdk files are restored to their original datastore.

To restore more than one vmdk file to a specified datastore:

change /first_vmdk_path to /new_first_vmdk_path
change /second_vmdk_path to /new_second_vmdk_path
change /nth_vmdk_path to /new_nth_vmdk_path

change network to new_network

Designates the new network for the restored VM. To designate multiple networks, enter the following:

change network to new_network, new_network(n)

change organization to new_organization

Designates the vCloud Director organization to restore to.

change orgvdc to new_organization_virtual_datacenter

Designates the virtual datacenter in the vCloud Director organization to restore to.

change vcdserver to new_vcdserver

Designates the vCloud Director server to restore to.

change vcdvapp to new_vcdvapp

Designates the vCloud Director vApp to restore to.

change vcdvapptemplate to new_vcdvapptemplate

Designates the vCloud Director vApp template to restore to.

change vcdvmname to new_vcdvmname

Sets the display name for the restored VM in vCloud Director.

change vcdcatalog to new_vcdcatalog

Designates the vCloud Director catalog to restore to.

See Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command.