System Requirements - Virtual Server iDataAgent

The following requirements are for the Virtual Server iDataAgent:

Microsoft Virtual Server/Hyper-V Requirements

The following requirements are for Microsoft Virtual Server/Hyper-V virtual environments.

Virtual Server Application Software

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Editions with a minimum of Service Pack 1

Hyper-V version 6.x

Physical Machine Operating Systems - Microsoft Virtual Servers

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 32-bit, 64-bit, and x64 Editions with a minimum of Service Pack 1

Physical Machine Operating Systems - Hyper-V Virtual Servers

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64 Editions

Microsoft Windows Server Core 2008 x64 Editions

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

Microsoft Windows Server Core 2008 R2 x64 Editions 

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions

VMware Requirements

The following requirements are for VMware environments.

Special support considerations apply for the components listed below. See VMware Support Considerations for details.

Virtual Server Application Software (VCB Environments)

VMware ESX Server

VMware ESX 3.0

VMware ESXi 3.0

VMware ESX 3.5

VMware ESXi 3.5

VMware ESX 4.0

VMware ESX 4.1

VMware ESXi 4.0

VMware ESXi 4.1

VMware Management Server

VMware Virtual Center 2.5.0

vCenter 4.0

vCenter 4.1

VMware Utilities

VMware Consolidated Backup 1.5

VMware Converter 3.0.3

vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.1

Virtual Machine Hardware

Version 4.0

Version 7.0

Virtual Server Application Software (vSphere VADP Environments)

VMware ESX Server

VMware ESX 4.1

VMware ESXi 4.0

VMware ESXi 4.1

VMware Management Server

VDDK1.1.1 or higher (for 64-bit installations, refer to Notes on 64-bit VDDK1.1.1 Installations below.)

Virtual Machine Hardware

Version 7.0

If the Virtual machine version is of v4.0, backups will be failed back to VCB mounter and backup continues. Hence, it is recommended to upgrade your virtual machines to v7.0.

Virtual Machine Operating Systems

Microsoft Windows XP Professional 32-bit and x64 Editions

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit, 64-bit and x64 Editions with a minimum of Service Pack 1

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit and x64 Editions

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 32-bit and x64 Editions

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions

Proxy Computer Operating Systems

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit, 64-bit and x64 Editions with a minimum of Service Pack 1

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 32-bit and x64 Editions

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions

Cluster Support

See Clustering - Support

Processor

All Windows-compatible processors supported

For Hyper-V, only virtualization-capable processors are supported.

Memory

32 MB RAM minimum required beyond the requirements of the operating system and running applications

Hard Disk

117 MB minimum of hard disk space for software/ 498 MB recommended

100 MB of additional hard disk space for log file growth

81 MB of temp space required for install or upgrade (where the temp folder resides)

Peripherals

DVD-ROM drive

Network Interface Card

Miscellaneous

TCP/IP Services configured on the computer.

Notes on Virtual Server iDataAgent Installations for Microsoft Virtual Servers/Hyper-V

For Microsoft Windows Virtual Server Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V, the Virtual Server iDataAgent is installed directly onto the host computer.

Prior to installing the Virtual Server iDataAgent for use with Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V, the latest available HotFixes must be installed. This HotFix allows backups of virtual machines with invalid, missing, or corrupt configuration files. To obtain the latest HotFixes, you can run a Windows update on the computer or obtain them from the Microsoft web site.

Notes on Virtual Server iDataAgent Installations for VMware

For VMware, the Virtual Server iDataAgent is installed on a proxy computer that can communicate with the host computer.

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or higher is required for VMware virtual server discovery.

If Microsoft .NET Framework is not installed during the Virtual Server iDataAgent installation, the .NET Framework software must be installed following the Virtual Server iDataAgent.

VMware Support Considerations

Consider the following prior to installing the Virtual Server iDataAgent:

The following utilities must be installed prior to performing any backup operations using the Virtual Server iDataAgent (these packages can be obtained from the VMware web site):

  • VMware Consolidated Backup (refer to the VMware customer support web site for support information for the VMware Consolidated Backup utility.)
    • The Virtual Server iDataAgent supports all modes supported by the VMware Consolidated Backup utility.
    • Refer to the VMware customer support web site for support information for the VMware Consolidated Backup utility.
  • VMware Converter (refer to the VMware customer support web site for support information for the VMware Converter utility.)
    • Ensure that the guest operating systems are using the supported version of the VMware Converter.
    • The VMware Convert 4.0 package must be installed for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 environments.
Ensure that the latest version of VMware Consolidated Backup and that VMware Converter 4.0.1 are installed.
  • Restores of entire virtual machines from ESX Server 4.0 to a prior version of ESX Server are not supported.

Notes on VDDK1.1.1 Installations

If installing VDDK1.1.1 or higher on 64-bit operating systems, the following steps must be performed:

  1. VDDK 1.1.1 must first be installed on the proxy server to its default location.

    For example, C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit

  2. Create a new folder and point it to the path below on the proxy computer.

    For example, C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\

  3. From the VDDK x64 installation directory C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\bin, unzip the vddk64 folder to a temporary location. Once unzipped, copy the bin, lib, and plugins folders to the new folder created in Step 2.
  4. Create the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\InstallPath

    with the following string value: (this should be the path created in Step 2)

    C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit\

DISCLAIMER

Minor revisions and/or service packs that are released by application and operating system vendors may, in some cases, affect the working of our software. Although we may list such revisions and/or service packs as “supported” in our System Requirements, changes to the behavior of our software resulting from an application or operating system revision/service pack may be beyond our control. However, we will make every effort to correct such disruption as quickly as possible. When in doubt, please contact your software provider to ensure support for a specific application or operating system.

Additional considerations regarding minimum requirements and End of Life policies from application and operating system vendors are also applicable.