Back up a VMware ESX Server 2.5.x Virtual Machine

The system allows you to back up VMware virtual machines using the Linux File System iDataAgent.

Before You Begin

• It is assumed that you are already familiar with the VMware ESX Server and the iDataAgent used to perform the backup.

Required Capability:  See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To back up a VMware virtual machine:

1. Ensure that the Linux File System iDataAgent (CVGxIDA) is installed on the VMware ESX Server (i.e., ESX Console). See Deployment - Unix File System iDataAgents.
2. From the VMware console, determine your system configuration. For example, your system may have the following three virtual machines configured: Novell NetWare 6, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and GNU/Red Hat AS 3. On the ESX Server, the actual virtual machine files in this case are displayed as follows:
   
   -rw------ 1 root root 2146435072 Mar 31 16:18 SwapFile.vswp
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:15 Win2003Server.vmdk
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:15 linux.vmdk
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:18 Untitled.vmdk
   
   (Untitled.vmdk is the default name of the NetWare 6 virtual machine. SwapFile.vswp is the swap file used by all the virtual machines.)
3. Ensure that a subclient has been created whose content is the Virtual Machine to be backed up. For more information, see Subclients.
4. Create one PreBackup process script and one PostBackup process script that will allow the system to create a snapshot the virtual machine. See Create Pre/Post Backup Process Scripts to Back up VMware Virtual Machines Using the Linux File System iDataAgent for step-by-step instructions.
5. In the CommCell Console, go to the Subclient Properties dialog box for the default subclient of the Linux File System iDataAgent. Click the Pre/Post Process tab. In the PreBackup process field, browse or type the path for the PreBackup process script that you created. Similarly, in the PostBackup process field, browse or type the path for the PostBackup process script that you created. In each case, be sure to include the entire path. Also, select Run Post Backup Process for all attempts.
6. Click the Filters tab in the same Subclient Properties dialog box. Then browse or type the path for all the virtual machine swap files in the Exclude these file/folders patterns field and click OK.

   The backup will fail unless all virtual machine swap files are excluded from the backup.

   Here's an example of how the virtual machine directory may appear once the REDO files have been created.
   
   -rw------ 1 root root 2146435072 Mar 31 16:18 SwapFile.vswp
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:15 Win2003Server.vmdk
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:15 linux.vmdk
   -rw------ 1 root root 10485760512 Apr 1 14:18 Untitled.vmdk
   -rw------ 1 root root 16777728 Apr 1 14:25 linux.vmdk.REDO
   -rw------ 1 root root 16777728 Apr 1 14:25 Win2003Server.vmdk.REDO
   -rw------ 1 root root 16777728 Apr 1 14:27 Untitled.vmdk.REDO

7. Run the backup.