User Guide

User Guide as BDRSuite for VMware

User Guide for VMware Backup & Replication

Evaluators Guide for VMware

Best Practices for VMware Backup

Release Notes

Vembu BDR Suite Release Notes

FAQ

  • What are the supported versions of ESXi for Vembu VMware Backup?
    Vembu VMware Backup supports agentless backup for the VMs running on VMware vCenter/ESXi version 4.0 and above. Also, the ESXi must be of a licensed edition.
  • What if I want to backup VMs on free edition ESXi?
    Vembu supports the agent-based backup for Free Edition ESXi VMs. Vembu ImageBackup / NetworkBackup client should be installed on each virtual machine to backup them.
  • What is agentless VMware Backup?
    Virtual machines running on a VMware vCenter server/ESXi host can be backed up without installing an agent on each VM.
  • What are the best practices for VMware backup?
    Never treat snapshots as backups
    Create image-level and application-aware backups
    Truncate application logs
    Use Changed-block tracking
    Encrypt backups
    Create Offsite Copies
    Use Automatic Site Recovery functionality
  • Can Snapshots be used as backups?
    VM Snapshots are not a valid form of backup/disaster recovery. They can be easily corrupted as they are on the ESXi host where the VM you snapshots exists.
  • How many VMs can I backup from a single VMware host?
    Any number of VMs can be backed up from a single ESXi host using Vembu VMware backup.
  • What is the RTO and RPO for VMware backup?
    Vembu offers near Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for VMware VMs and ensures 15 mins RPO by allowing you to run backups every 15 mins. Also, Vembu assures an RTO of less than 15 mins through its instant recovery options like Instant Boot VM.
  • Does Vembu support backing up VMs through a vCenter?
    Yes, Vembu supports backup of VMs through a vCenter server.
  • Does Vembu support backing up VMs through vCloud director?
    Vembu VMware backup currently does not support backup for VMs through the vCloud director. But, this feature is already under development and it will be available in our upcoming release.
  • Does Vembu VMware backup support different VMware transport modes?
    Yes, Vembu VMware backup supports different VMware transport modes like Direct SAN, HotAdd, Network transport mode(NBD and NBDSSL) for transferring the backup data.
  • What ports are required to be opened by default in the ESXi server?
    TCP ports 80, 443 and 902 need to be opened to connect the ESXi host from the BDR backup server.
  • Does Vembu VMware Backup support backing up of encrypted VMware VMs?
    Vembu VMware Backup does not support backing up of encrypted VMware VMs.
  • Can I exclude particular disks of a VM during the backup?
    Yes. Vembu provides the VM/Disk Exclusion option to exclude disks of VMs during a backup job configuration. You can also exclude VMs with this option.
  • Can Vembu backup virtual machines with RDM?
    Vembu VMware backup skips the RDM disks during backup. If you would like to backup the VMs having RDM disks, you need to install the Vembu ImageBackup/Network client inside the VM.
  • Should I turn off or shut down the virtual machines to configure the backup?
    Vembu supports backup of VMs even if they are in running state. Hence, you need not shut down or turn off your VMs while configuring backups.
  • What is Vembu VM Replication?
    Vembu VM Replication will replicate the virtual machine from one ESXi host (production environment) to another ESXi host (DR location) for high availability.
  • What is Failover and Failback in Vembu VM Replication?
    Failover is a process of switching the operations from Source VM to its replica on the target host during downtime.

    Failback is a process of permanently moving the failover VM to the source or different ESXi host.

  • Does Vembu support backup of applications & databases running on your VMs?
    Yes, Vembu supports backup of all types of applications and databases running on your VMware VMs. Also, it provides Application-Aware backups and log truncation options for Microsoft applications like Exchange, SharePoint, SQL, and Active Directory. Also, Vembu supports the granular level recovery of MS applications using universal explorer tool.
  • Does Vembu support granular recovery of files/folders from the VMware VM backup?
    Yes. Vembu supports individual file/folder level restore using a File-Level recovery option.
  • Can I restore my backed up VMware VM to another ESXi host or another hypervisor?
    Yes, the backed up VMware VM can be restored to another ESXi host through Live Recovery option and can be restored to another hypervisor using the Download recovery option.
  • How is Vembu VMware backup licensed?
    Vembu VMware backup is licensed based on the number of physical CPU-Sockets on the ESXi host that is to be backed up. This lets you backup any number of VMs running on that host. Further, Vembu also offers a VM level licensing option.
  • How many VMs can be backed up using the Vembu BDR Suite free edition?
    With Vembu BDR Suite – Free Edition you can backup upto 10 VMs without any hassle.