NetApp VSC 4.1 Series - Part 3/7: How to Backup

Note: Here we go in via the NetApp icon under vSphere in ‘Solutions and Applications’, it is also possible (with Storage Systems first configured in the ‘Backup and Recovery’ section of the NetApp VSC interface) to simply right-click a VM or Datastore and Backup from there.

vSphere Client > Home > Solutions and Applications > NetApp

Backup and Recovery > Setup

- Click ‘Add…’ to add in the Storage System(s)

Image: NetApp VSC 4.1 Backup and Recovery - Setup

Note i: The controllers might already have been added in under ‘Monitoring and Host Configuration’ but they need to be entered again in the ‘Backup and Recovery’ section!

Note ii: The VSC can also update SnapMirror relationships if you add in the remote Storage System too.

Backup and Recovery > Backup

- Under ‘All Backup Jobs’ click on Add… which brings up the ‘Backup Wizard’

Image: NetApp VSC 4.1 Backup and Recovery - Backup (also showing fields)

Backup Wizard - Step 1: Job Name

- Enter Name and Description

- Tickable options include: ‘Initiate SnapMirror update’, ‘Perform VMware consistency snapshot’, and ‘Include datastores with independent disks’

- Click Next >

Image: VSC Backup Wizard - Step 1

Backup Wizard - Step 2: Virtual Entities

- Select either the VM(s) and/or Datastore(s) that you want to backup

- Click Next >

Image: VSC Backup Wizard - Step 2 with a selected entity of Datastore

Note i: If a Datacenter is selected in the ‘Entities’ drop down, the ‘Available Entities’ are Datastores.

Note ii: If a Datastore is selected in the ‘Entities’ drop down, the ‘Available Entities’ are VMs.

Backup Wizard - Step 3: Spanned Entities

*This step is skipped if there are no VMs that span datastores outside what was selected. Otherwise - “Some of the virtual machines span multiple datastores. You can exclude datastores from the backup.”

Backup Wizard - Step 4: Scripts

- Select from the Available scripts (** that is if there are any - hope to write more on this at a later date **)

- Click Next >

Image: VSC Backup Wizard - Step 4 (currently showing no available scripts to select)

Backup Wizard - Step 5: Schedule

- Select schedule as required from the options of Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly or One time only

- Click Next >

Backup Wizard - Step 6: Credentials

- Specify the credentials which will be used to run the backup job, this can be the ‘default vCenter credentials’.

- Click Next >

Backup Wizard - Step 7: Retention and Alerts

- Specify backup retention based on maximum days, maximum no of backups, or backup indefinitely

- Specify email alerts settings or set to ‘Notify on: Never’

- Click Next >

Image: VSC Backup Wizard - Step 7

Backup Wizard - Step 8: Ready to Complete

- Review the Summary, and - if all is okay - tick whether to ‘Run Job Now’ or not, and click Finish

Image: VSC Backup Wizard - Step 8

The newly created backup job will then appear in the list of ‘All Backup Jobs’ as in the example below.

Image: VSC 4.1 Backup and Recovery > Backup > All Backup Jobs

And if all’s working then tasks similar to the below example should appear in the vSphere Client.

Image: vCenter vSphere Client NetApp Create Backup tasks