When it comes to data backup, there are several options available, including tape, external hard drives, and cloud-based storage solutions. However, these methods often have limitations, such as limited scalability and flexibility, high costs, and inadequate data protection. In contrast, agent-based backups offer a robust and cost-effective solution that has gained a wide adoption in recent years.
Agent-based backup works by installing a small software component on each virtual machine (VM) that needs protection. These software agents actively secure individual VMs and manage their data backups.
Businesses choose this approach because it offers significant advantages when backing up applications within VMs. Many legacy systems rely on it, allowing companies to maintain existing IT environments with minimal disruption. Since agent-based backup remains a common practice, it supports a variety of hypervisors.
Should You Use Agent-based Backup?
The hypervisor market is evolving, and many users are exploring alternative options as they grow frustrated with VMware. Broadcom’s acquisition and its new product strategy are driving this shift.
But don’t worry – switching isn’t as daunting as it seems!
You can reconfigure a VM backup solution to support the transition. The good news is that agent-based backup is straightforward and won’t cause major complications.
To demonstrate its effectiveness, we’ve put together a real-life case study to show you how easy using agent-based backup really is.
A Real-life Example of Agent-based Veeam Backup of Guest VMs
Veeam is a popular backup and disaster recovery product that focuses on protecting virtual infrastructure.
It provides workflows and processes for managing those backups, in addition to disaster recovery and full site replication.
Let’s explore how Veeam works with in-guest agents and run through some examples of setting this up with SvHCI as the underlying hypervisor.
This example covers how to perform basic full backups of guest virtual machines. It also demonstrates how Veeam in-guest agents are deployed and work.
Step 1: Install Veeam
Veeam is generally installed in Windows as a guest VM within the infrastructure. In this example, it is outside the SvHCI cluster, but on the same local network and able to communicate with the two hosts over fast networking.
In our example, Veeam has its local storage, however, it offers the ability to consume external storage as a backup repository.
Typically Veeam will have more than one backup location, with a local drive as the first destination, and often an off-site second location for recovery, an external backup repository or SAN, and in some cases direct connections to dedicated hardware provisioned for disaster recovery.
Veeam includes options for these secondary and tertiary locations, so they all integrate as part of the overall workflow for an organization.
Step 2: Login to the Veeam Backup and Replication Console
Once installed and licensed, log into the Veeam Backup and Replication console with the details provided on installation.
In a VMware vSphere setup, Veeam connects to vCenter to manage backups through the hypervisor. However, StorMagic SvHCI isn’t supported under ‘virtual infrastructure’, so its VMs must be treated like physical machines, requiring agent-based backups.
This means Veeam connects to each VM individually instead of the hypervisor. Managing many VMs this way can be complex, so Veeam’s ‘protection group’ feature helps organize and schedule backup jobs efficiently.
What is a Protection Group?
A protection group is a collection of computers (in this case, VMs) that helps organize and schedule backups efficiently.
Step 3: Create a Protection Group and Add VMs
Open Veeam and navigate to Protection Groups. Select ‘Individual Computers’ as our VMs are not part of a traditional hypervisor setup.
- Add the IP address of each VM.
- Click “Add” to enter login credentials.
- Select the correct authentication method:
- SSH for Linux VMs
- Standard account for Windows VMs
- (Optional) Store credentials for future use.
To keep things organized, label credentials based on their VM type (e.g., Windows Guest VM, Ubuntu Guest VM).
Make Sure to Test!
Use the ‘Test Now’ button in the bottom right to test that these credentials work, ensure this test passes before moving on to the next section.
Step 4: Schedules and Agent Installation
Next, decide on schedules and set up the agent installation. Agent installation happens remotely, via this wizard, assuming the correct credentials and the login test has passed.
Veeam will install the backup agents remotely, provided that the login credentials are correct. Select a Distribution Server (typically the Veeam server). For larger deployments, choose the preferred backup server based on proximity to VMs.
Advanced Options:
- Enable application-aware processing for SQL/File Servers if needed.
- Adjust bandwidth throttling under advanced settings if required.
Step 5: Confirm and Apply
The next page confirms any actions that need to be performed on the backup server before the group can be created. Click on ‘Apply’ and let the system go ahead and install the agents and create the protection group. Then, click ‘Finish’.
Step 6: Automatic Discovery Job
Next, a discovery job starts automatically.
What is the Discovery Job Process?
The discovery job process scans for VMs and adds them to Veeam’s infrastructure. If any errors occur, troubleshoot connectivity issues before proceeding. Any Windows virtual machine built with BIOS rather than the required UEFI support will fail to deploy the Veeam Agent. See here: UEFI firmware requirements | Microsoft Learn for more details.
Step 7: Create Job or Policy
Once the protection group has been created, select ‘Create Job or Policy’. Then click the following:
- Choose ‘Managed by Agent’.
- Provide a Job Name.
- Click ‘Add’ and select the Protection Group created earlier.
- Choose the backup type:
- Entire Computer: Recommended for full VM recovery
- File-Level Backup: For granular data restoration.
Step 8: Configure and Run VM Backup
Select ‘Veeam Backup Repository’ as the destination, choose the local Veeam server, and pick the appropriate repository. Adjust guest processing settings if needed. Set a backup schedule, review the summary, then start and monitor the backup job. Completed backups will appear in Job History.
Agent-based Backup is A Smooth, Effective Process!
By following these steps, we successfully created a Protection Group for SvHCI VMs, installed and configured backup agents, set up and started a backup job, and monitored the VM backup process.
At StorMagic, we can support you with this process. Our experts have in-depth knowledge of how to successfully (and easily!) run agent-based backup. We’re fully equipped to guide you through every step, ensuring a smooth and successful implementation. However, we hope this guide enables you to manage it independently. Please get in touch if you need more information. Or, book a demonstration of SvHCI and agent-based backup and have your questions answered by the StorMagic Technical Services team.
