Tivoli Data Protection

Showing posts with label Tivoli Data Protection. Show all posts

How to install and configure Data Protection for VMware V8.1 - Video Tutorial

00:00 Posted by Anil K Y Ommi No Comments

Data Protection for VMware includes several components which you can install to protect your virtual environment. Before installing Tivoli Storage Manager for VE to protect your VMware infrastructure, you need to plan and decide how many Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI's are required based upon your size of your environment. Depending on the operating system environment, the following Data Protection for VMware features are available for installation.

1) IBM Spectrum Protect recovery agent

This component provides virtual mount and instant restore capabilities.

2) Recovery agent command-line interface

The command-line interface used for mount operations.

3) Data Protection for VMware enablement file

This component enables IBM Spectrum Protect to run the following backup types:

Incremental-forever incremental backup

Incremental-forever full backup

This component is required for application protection. If you offload backup workloads, this file must be installed on the vStorage Backup Server.

See Screenshots: How to install TSM for Virtual Environment ?

4) Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI

This component is a graphical user interface (GUI) that accesses VM data on the VMware vCenter Server.

5) File restore GUI

This component is a web-based GUI that enables you to restore files from a VMware virtual machine backup without administrator assistance. The GUI is installed automatically when the Data Protection for VMware GUI is installed. It is enabled through the configuration wizard.

6) Data mover

The IBM Spectrum Protect data mover moves data for Data Protection for VMware. This functionality is referred to as the data mover. The data mover moves data from the virtual environment to the IBM Spectrum Protect server. When you install the data mover on a server, the server can be used as a vStorage backup server. You can install the data mover

on the same system as Data Protection for VMware or on another server.

Also Read: Different types of VM backups through BA Client command line

Watch the below 3 videos to understand the components of Data Protection for VMware V8.1 and the steps to be followed for installing and configuring the Data Protection for VMware V8.1 software.

New features in IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual environment V8.1.0 for easy administration by VMware users.

00:00 Posted by Anil K Y Ommi No Comments

The IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual environment V8.1.0 comes with an advanced features which optimize the backup, restore administrative tasks performance. Data Protection for VMware works with the Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client which is installed on the vStorage Backup server to complete full and incremental backups of VMs. The new version of IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual environment comes with an extension in the VMware vSphere Web Client API which offers new and enhanced features which are explained below.

1) It provides new options for restoring VMs

The Restore a Virtual Machine wizard provides many expanded features that enable you to

Select the backup that you want to use for the restore operation using a calendar interface.

Choose the restore type: restore, instant restore, or instant restore with instant access.

Restore all virtual disks in a VM or just selected disks.

Select the datastore for the restored VM.

Select the data mover or mount proxy that you want to use for the restore operation.

Also Read: Taking Virtual Machines backup through CMD & GUI

2) Setting at-risk policies for VMs

VMs can be at risk of being unprotected because of failed or missed backup operations. You can set a policy for a VM that specifies if or when the VM is shown as at-risk if a backup operation does not occur in a specified time interval.

3) Easy viewing of backup information for VMs at the object level

You can view the most recent backup information for all VMs that are in the following vSphere objects. For each VM, you can view information such as the risk status, completion date, duration, and size of the backup.

Datacenter
Folder (host, cluster, and VM)
Host
Host Cluster
Resource Pool

4) Data protection tags for tagging support

New data protection tags are added to help you manage virtual machine backup operations with the IBM Spectrum Protect extension in the VMware vSphere Web Client. In addition to using tags to exclude virtual machines from scheduled backup operations and assign retention or management classes, introduced in V7.1.6, you can assign the new tags to vSphere inventory objects to do the following tasks:

Include virtual machines in scheduled backup operations

Assign a data mover to a virtual machine

Specify a list of virtual disks to back up

Assign a backup schedule to virtual machines in a container

Specify the data consistency to achieve for snapshot attempts during virtual machine backup operations

Provide application protection to virtual machines that run Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Exchange Server software

5) Set a default data mover for tagging

You can set a default data mover for protecting virtual machines in vSphere inventory objects that are tagged with data protection tags. New virtual machines that are added to the tagged container and are protected by a schedule but do not have a data mover tag are backed up by the default data mover.

6) VMs can be added to a backup schedule by using the IBM Spectrum Protect extension

You can select a backup schedule for VMs from the IBM Spectrum Protect extension in the VMware vSphere Web Client. The backup schedule specifies how often and when to automatically back up the VMs in a vSphere inventory object.

7) Enhancements for backup and restore performance for VMs

The following enhancements were made for backup and restore operations:

Optimized backup operations for multiple virtual disks by using parallel sessions, one session for each virtual disk.

Optimized backup operations for a single virtual disk by using parallel sessions, multiple sessions for each virtual disk.

Optimized recovery operations for single virtual disk by using multiple sessions, multiple sessions for each virtual disk.

Updated the common data format to reduce the number of objects that are stored on the IBM Spectrum Protect server for larger virtual disk sizes.

The following options were added:

Vmmaxbackupsessions

The vmmaxbackupsessions option specifies the maximum number IBM Spectrum Protect server sessions that move VM data to the server that can be included in an optimized (parallel) backup operation.

Vmmaxrestoresessions

The Vmmaxrestoresessions option specifies the maximum number IBM Spectrum Protect server sessions that can be included in a restore operation for a virtual disk.

The following video will introduce you the new features in V8.1.0 which will ease the backup and restore tasks for VMware administrators.

How to backup or protect the applications which are installed inside Virtual Machines (VMs) ?

07:11 Posted by Anil K Y Ommi No Comments

Data Protection for VMware can protects Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and Active Directory Domain Controllers that run inside VM guests. In prior releases (before V7), Data Protection for VMware used VMware functions to quiesce applications that run on the VM guest.

During backup processing, the application server was not notified that the backup to the Tivoli Storage Manager server completed successfully. As a result, logs were not truncated on the application server. Data Protection for VMware V7.1 backs up VM guests with both guest level application consistency and log truncation which is not available in previous versions. You can back up these VM guests with the following interfaces

Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI

Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client command-line interface

Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client Web client

Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client GUI based on Oracle Java

However, to implement this function, you must specify the following Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client V7.1 option in the dsm.opt file (Windows) or dsm.sys file stanza (Linux).

INCLUDE.VMTSMVSS vmname

This option notifies VM applications that a backup is about to occur. This notification allows the application to truncate transaction logs and commit transactions so the application can resume from a consistent state when the backup completes. By default, this option is not enabled. You must set this option to enable application protection for a VM.

Also Read: Full and Incremental backups types for taking VM backups

When a virtual machine is included by this option, Tivoli Storage Manager, provides application protection. That is, Tivoli Storage Manager freezes and thaws the VSS writers and truncates the application logs. If a virtual machine is not protected by this option, application protection is provided by VMware, and VMware freezes and thaws the VSS writers, but application logs are not truncated.

The vmname value specifies the name of the VM that contains the applications to quiesce. Specify one VM per INCLUDE.VMTSMVSS statement. To protect all VMs with this option, use an asterisk as a wildcard (INCLUDE.VMTSMVSS *). You can also use question marks to match any single character. For example, INCLUDE.VMTSMVSS vm?? protects all VMs that have names that begin with "vm" and followed by any two characters (vm19, vm27).

After a backup is completed, you can use the QUERY VM command with the -Detail option to view the status of application protection for your VM backups

Choosing the protection type for database & applications inside the VM's

With TSM for VE you can protect database and application products that are typically hosted in VMware virtual server environments and gives guidance on choosing between three generic types of data protection.

Off-host data protection solutions that feature a backup/recovery agent that can be hosted on a machine other than the hypervisor host, for example, Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments (Data Protection for VMware) and Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager for VMware.

In-guest data protection solutions that require the deployment of a backup/recovery agent in the guest machine, for example, Tivoli Storage Manager for Mail (Data Protection for Microsoft Exchange Server) or Tivoli Storage Manager for Databases (Data Protection for Microsoft SQL Server).

Hybrid solutions that use elements of both off-host data protection and in-guest data protection solutions.

Also Read: Quick Steps to configure TSM for Database (TDPOracle & TDPSQL) and TSM for Mail (TDPExchange & TDPDomino)

There are several considerations that need to be taken into account when choosing the appropriate data protection solution, for example:

Recovery time objectives (RTO) - block-level recovery from an off-host backup may give shorter recovery time as compared to recovery from an in-guest backup.

Recovery point objectives (RPO) - recovery of transaction logs produced by in-guest backup may minimize data loss in a recovery scenario.

Type of storage - raw device mapping disks in physical compatibility mode cannot be the target of a VMware snapshot operation and would be better suited for in-guest solutions.

Other considerations including storage vendor, data layout, Tivoli Storage Manager server configuration, long-term recovery requirements, and so on.

Also you should consider that the following types of virtual disks do not support VMware snapshot operations. If you have data stored on these types of disks, it is generally recommended to use in-guest agents to protect the data on these disks

Raw device mapped volumes created in physical compatibility mode (pRDM)

Independent disks

iSCSI disks attached directly to the virtual machine

Restoring a full VM that was backed up with self-contained application enabled, is the same as restoring a full VM that did not have self-contained application protection enabled. When the VM is powered on after a restore, the applications resume automatically, unless they are configured to be started manually.

Protecting Microsoft SQL Server database inside the VM

Off-host solutions such as Data Protection for VMware are well suited for single instance deployments of Microsoft SQL Servers that don't have strict recovery point objectives. For more sophisticated Microsoft SQL Server deployments that have many databases and/or require more granular recovery points, it might be desirable to use a cooperative solution that allows an in-guest agent to recover a single database without disrupting the entire Microsoft SQL Server or virtual machine. Such a cooperative solution can also be used to allow an in-guest agent to manage log backups so that recovery can be accomplished to any specific point in time.

Also Read: Steps to take MS SQL DB backup and Restore using TDP for SQL

Finally, in-guest agents need to be used in situations where disks cannot be protected by off-host solutions (for example, physical raw device mapped volumes) or there are very specific recovery use cases.

When to use only Off-host data protection

If one or more SQL databases are configured in full recovery mode, Data Protection for VMware is recommended as it provides the ability to truncate logs after a successful backup operation. However, use of the self-contained application protection feature of Tivoli Storage Manager is required to truncate logs. Choose Off-host data protection if you have below settings.

Microsoft SQL Server database files are already stored on disks that can be protected by virtual machine snapshots.

Not having AlwaysOn Availability Groups, AlwaysOn Failover Clusters, or SQL servers deployed in cluster configurations.

No requirement to recover to any specified point in time and databases are configured in simple recovery mode.

SQL databases are configured in full recovery mode but log roll-forward is not a requirement.

No need to recover individual databases or already protecting Microsoft SQL Server database in some other way.

If you can use a global policy on a per-virtual machine or per-datastore basis to manage retention of Microsoft SQL Server data

When to use Hybrid solution using off-host data protection with an in-guest agent

With the hybrid solution, full database backups are contained within the Data Protection for VMware virtual machine backups & Data Protection for Microsoft SQL Server can be deployed in-guest to recover an individual Microsoft SQL Server database from a virtual machine backup. Choose hybrid solution (Off-host & in-guest) data protection if you have below settings.

If you have Microsoft SQL Server database files stored on disks that can be protected by virtual machine snapshots.

If you don't have AlwaysOn Availability Groups, AlwaysOn Failover Clusters, or SQL servers deployed in cluster configurations.

If you need to recover individual databases without disrupting other databases on the same server.

If you need to recover to any specified point in time using transaction logs

When to use only In-guest data protection

Choose only in-guest data protection if you have below settings.

If you have Microsoft SQL Server databases deployed on physical compatibility raw device mapped (pRDM), independent, or direct iSCSI mounted disks.

If you have AlwaysOn Availability Groups, AlwaysOn Failover Clusters, or Microsoft SQL Server deployed in a cluster configuration.

If you need to define policy at an individual database level

Protecting Microsoft Exchange Mail Server inside the VM

Off-host solutions such as Data Protection for VMware are well suited to help optimize recovery of an entire virtual machine into a DAG by seeding the Microsoft Exchange Server databases on the virtual machine so that the native Microsoft Exchange Server database facilities don't have to resynchronize entire databases but only the set of changes since the latest recovery point.

If you require frequent mailbox or mailbox item recoveries beyond what native Microsoft Exchange Server features provide, it might be desirable to use a cooperative solution that allows an in-guest agent to recover individual mailbox or mailbox items.

Finally, in-guest agents need to be used in situations where disks cannot be protected by off-host solutions or there are very specific recovery use cases.

When to use only Off-host data protection

For Microsoft Exchange Server databases not using continuous replication circular logging, Data Protection for VMware is recommended as it provides the ability to truncate logs after a successful backup operation. Choose Off-host data protection if you have below settings.

If you have Microsoft Exchange Server database files stored on disks that can be protected by virtual machine snapshots.

If you don't need to recover an individual database.

If you can use a global policy on a per-virtual machine or per-datastore basis to manage retention of Microsoft Exchange Server data.

If you are using native Microsoft Exchange Server features to satisfy individual mailbox/mailbox message recovery or you do not need to recover individual mailbox/mailbox messages.

If you do not have any special recovery point objective requirements that would necessitate log recovery or if you are using continuous replication circular logging.

If you need to be able to recover an entire virtual machine to rebuild a Microsoft Exchange Server configured in a database availability group.

Also Read: Integrating TDPO with RMAN to configure Oracle DB backups

When to use Hybrid solution using off-host data protection with an in-guest agent

You can protect full database backups by using Data Protection for VMware & Data Protection for Microsoft Exchange Server can be deployed in-guest to recover individual Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes and mailbox items from a virtual machine backup. Choose hybrid solution (Off-host & in-guest) data protection if you have below settings.

If you have Microsoft Exchange Server database files stored on disks that can be protected by virtual machine snapshots.

If you have no special recovery point objective requirements that would necessitate log recovery or you are using continuous replication circular logging.

If you can use a global policy on a per-virtual machine basis to manage retention of Microsoft Exchange Server data and any of the following conditions are met.

If you need to perform frequent individual mailbox or mailbox item recovery operations and concerned with recovery time objectives.

If you need to be able to recover an entire virtual machine to rebuild a Microsoft Exchange Server configured in a database availability group.

When to use only In-guest data protection

With In-guest data protection, you can have below advantages

Recovery of individual databases and/or servers can be coordinated with other resources (for example, for clustered servers or database availability group configurations).

Recovery to specific point-in-time states based on log recovery can be achieved to satisfy recovery point objective requirements.

Mailbox and mailbox item recovery is integrated in the native in-guest agent interfaces

Choose In-guest data protection, if you

Have Microsoft Exchange Server databases deployed on physical compatibility raw device mapped (pRDM), independent, or direct iSCSI mounted disksneed to perform frequent individual mailbox or mailbox item recovery operations.

Have special recovery point objective requirements that would necessitate log recovery.

Need to perform frequent recoveries of individual databases.

Need to define policy at an individual database level

Protecting File/web/print server/workstation (unstructured data)

Protecting virtual machines that are primarily managing unstructured data such as file servers, web applications, or workstations.

Off-host solutions such as Data Protection for VMware are well suited for most backup and recovery use cases as they provide efficient block-level, incremental backups to reduce the steady-state backup windows and provide administrators with the ability to perform recoveries of the entire virtual machine or recoveries of only specific files and directories.

In-guest agents need to be used in situations where disks cannot be protected by off-host solutions (for example, physical raw device mapped volumes) or there are very specific recovery use cases.

Also Read: Steps to configure SAP Oracle DB backup with TSM for ERP using BRTools

Protecting Microsoft Active Directory

Off-host solutions such as Data Protection for VMware are well suited to help optimize recovery of an entire virtual machine into a site that has a pre-existing domain controller by seeding the Active Directory databases on the virtual machine so that the Active Directory database replication facilities dont have to resynchronize an entire database but only the set of changes since the latest recovery point.

Microsoft and VMware have provided built-in tools to facilitate recovery and replication with Windows Server 2012. Prior versions of Windows Server required explicit changes in the data protection products in order to ensure that Active Directory replication was aware when a machine was being recovered to a site with at least one pre-existing domain controller.

In-guest agents need to be used in situations where disks cannot be protected by off-host solutions or recovery of individual Active Directory objects is required.

Protecting Other applications

If you are using any other applications other than the above discussed applications, it is recommended to use In-guest data protection software to protect them. For example

If you are using Lotus Domino, SAP ERP or Oracle Databases within the VM's, it is recommended to use In-guest data protection (TDP Domino, TDP Oracle etc.) to protect the application data.

If you are using DB2 database, you can use only BA Client to configure the backup to TSM server.

How to backup VMware Virtual Machines (VMs) using TSM for VE ?

09:06 Posted by Anil K Y Ommi 5 Comments

To protect your VMWare infrastructure, you can either take manual backups through BA Client GUI or command line or define a backup schedule through Data Protection for VMware Vsphere GUI. The following are some the advantageous parameters which you can use to schedule your VM backups. You need to consider these parameters according to your VMware & TSM infrastructure.

Multiple VM Backups

The TSM backup-archive client now has the ability to backup multiple virtual machines simultaneously from the same backup instance. Simplified configuration by eliminating the need to configure multiple backup instances as a means to process more than one virtual machine backup simultaneously. Instead, multiple threads are used within one backup instance to process virtual machines in parallel up to a user specified limit. The limit is specified with the new vmmaxparallel option. Data Protection for VMware provides parallel backup processing: a single data mover node can back up multiple VMs at the same time.

It can also optimizes backup throughput by load balancing across multiple threads from the entire domain of virtual machines to backup. New options vmlimitperhost and vmlimitperdatastore are available to control the maximum number of virtual machines that can be simultaneously processed on a given VMware host or datastore. These three parallel processing options are only valid in the dsm.opt file (Windows) or dsm.sys file stanza (Linux) that is defined for each data mover node.

To take multiple VM's backup the TSM server must be configured to allow multi-session backups. You need to define MAXNUMMP node parameter and server MAXSESSION option for allowing sufficient number of sessions for the multi-session VM backups.

Also Read: Full and Incremental backups types for taking VM backups

Using the ASNODE Capability

The TSM Backup-Archive client and server provide the ability to grant a proxy relationship between two nodes such that one of those nodes can be used for purposes of authentication while the other is used to store backup data. This proxy relationship is defined with the grant proxy command on the TSM server, and the node transition is controlled using the -asnode option on the backup-archive client. In addition, the Data Protection for VMware solution uses several nodes to represent VMware elements such as the Virtual Center. There are two types of nodes involved in a proxy relationship

Agent node - An agent node is used to authenticate to the TSM server, and is also associated to a specific defined schedule on the TSM server using the define association command. An agent node should be created for each TSM backup instance which in most cases will be one agent node for each datamover. The agent nodes will have proxy granted to a common target node.

Target node - The target node is used to store backup data for all virtual machines in a group. A group should correspond to one of the grouping types within VMware, such as, a datacenter. By having the backup instance for each VMware cluster store backups to the same target nodename, problems such as redundant backups are avoided in cases where a virtual machine is migrated from one VMware host to another. Since VMware does not allow for migration across datacenters, the VMware datacenter becomes the best level of grouping to use for a target node.

Incremental-forever backup Strategy

Incremental-forever backup uses TSM grouping technology to create new synthetic-full recovery points by combining required blocks from previous backups with the changes from daily incremental backups. Eliminates the requirement to take a periodical full backup which eliminates the need to manage two separate schedules for weekly full and daily incremental backups. It also reduces the number of vStorage backup servers required due to the reduction in the volume of data to backup.

Taking VM's backup using BA Client GUI & Command-line

Use backup VM command to backup the VM's in the VM infrastructure. You can either backup single VM or multiple VM's at a time. For example

backup vm <vmname>

You can also customize the type of VM backup you want with the backup VM command. Use -vmbackuptype and -mode options along with backup VM command to choose the type of backup you want. Check the above link for more options.

backup vm vmname -vmbackuptype=fullvm -mode=full

You can also use BA client GUI to backup the VM's. Open the BA client GUI and click ACTIONS tab.

Then, just like a regular BA client backup window, you will see all the VM's which you you can select to be backed-up as shown below.

Taking VM's backup using Data Protection for VMware Vsphere GUI

Data Protection for VMware provides the ability to schedule backups of a large collection of VMware virtual machines providing an automated backup solution that allows for the automatic discovery of newly created virtual machines as well as providing parallel backup of multiple virtual machines. This can be implemented in a way which minimizes the impact to any single VMware ESX or ESXi host. The combination of the new incremental-forever and multi-session backup capabilities enables a larger VMware environment to be protected with fewer vStorage backup servers.

Also Read: How to Configure Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environment (TSM for VE) ?

The vCenter plug-in interface provides the ability to create these backup schedules from a convenient interface where you can select the VMware components to include in the backup scope. The vCenter plug-in interface provides a wizard that simplifies the process of defining the backup schedules. To launch the wizard for schedule creation, select the Schedule a Backup link from the backup tab of the vCenter plug-in as shown below.

Next, you need to choose the VM's which need to be backup and in the below screen you can schedule the timing for the backup to be run in regular intervals.

Manually defining the VM backup schedules on TSM Server

You can also manually configure VM backup schedules on the TSM server. A single schedule can be defined to perform incremental-forever backups. During the backup, TSM automatically performs a full backup when needed for cases like the initial full backup of a virtual machine of for incidental full backups of some virtual machines when required by VMware's changed block tracking.

The following commands can be issued to the TSM server to define schedules that perform VMware incremental-forever backups once per day. One or more associations should be defined to associate this schedule with each datamover node.

DEFINE SCHEDULE vmdomain vm_ifincr TYPE=CLIENT ACTION=BACKUP SUBACTION=VM OPTIONS='-ASNODENAME=dc_prd -MODE=IFINCR' STARTDATE=23/01/2015 STARTTIME=23:00 SCHEDSTYLE=ENHANCED DAYOFWEEK=ANY

DEFINE ASSOCIATION vmdomain vm_ifincr dm_prdvm

Customizing VM backups

You can customize the VM backups by using certain parameters with backup vm command. Below are some of the options you can use to manage the VM backups depending on your requirement.

Also Read: Quick Steps to configure TSM for Database (TDPOracle & TDPSQL) and TSM for Mail (TDPExchange & TDPDomino)

Use management classes to determine how to manage your VM backups on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. Use the vmmc option to store the VMware backups with a management class other than the default management class. The vmmc option is only valid when vmbackuptype=fullvm.

dsmc backup vm "vmname" -vmmc=vmmgmt

You can use include options to specify the VMs that you want to include for backup services. When VMware virtual machine data is backed up, it is bound to a management class that is specified by the vmmc option. You can use the include.vm option in the options file to override the management class that is specified by vmmc and bind the backed up data for a virtual machine to a different management class.

include.vm vmtest* MCFORTESTVMS

You can use include and exclude statements to control the disks to be processed. Use this feature to exclude a virtual disk during a backup operation. When the VM is restored, the excluded disk is created on the restored VM. However, no actual disk data is restored. Only the disk definition is restored. Therefore, make sure that the disk is properly formatted before using.

EXCLUDE.VMDISK <vmname> "Hard Disk 3"

A secondary method for excluding a virtual disk is to specify the -vmdk option in the backup-archive client command-line interface. For example

dsmc backup vm "<vmname>:-vmdk=Hard Disk 3"

Use the INCLUDE.VMDISK statement to back up only certain disks. When the include disk statement is specified, this statement implies that only disks specifically included are backed up. As a result, other hard disks are not backed up.

INCLUDE.VMDISK vm5_fin_com "Hard Disk 1"

How to Configure Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environment (TSM for VE) ?

02:38 Posted by Anil K Y Ommi 1 Comments

After the successful installation of TSM for VE package on the Vstorage backup server, you need to configure TDP for Vsphere GUI to configure VM backups. This process will automatically register required client nodes and creates required client schedule services. You can also do these steps manually. It is recommended to do it through GUI to make configuration easier and you will be sure that you did not miss any steps in between. The below screenshots are taken from IBM for your understanding.

Configuring TSM for VE for protecting Virtual Machines

1) If you chose to enable access to the GUI via a web browser during installation process, the web browser will be automatically invoked after completion of the installation. If you wish to use this feature, click continue to this website.

Also Read: Full and Incremental backups types for taking VM backups

You will see the below screen on a web browser, if you click Continue in the above figure. You can access the GUI via web browser by using URL https://hostname:9081/TsmVMwareUI/ or via the start menu from the vStorage backup server where the GUI is installed. Log in using vCenter Server credentials.

2) If you choose to Register the GUI as a vCenter Plug-in during installation, you can also access the GUI from the Solutions and Applications section of vCenter. Whether you use the web browser access or the vCenter plug-in access, the interface will look the same.

3) When you open the GUI for the first time, it will automatically launch the Configuration Wizard as below. If you are opening it for second time or later, you need to click EDIT CONFIGURATION tab. You just need to click NEXT to start the configuration.

Also Read: Integrating TDPO with RMAN to configure Oracle DB backups

4) Enter your TSM Server credentials here and click NEXT.

5) TDP for VMware requires several nodes to be defined on the TSM server to protect the entire VM infrastructure. The configuration wizard will create these nodes. This screen gives the option to assign a common prefix to these nodes as well as to select a TSM policy domain. The wizard will automatically place an underscore between the prefix and the rest of the node name. Select the desired Policy Domain and then click NEXT.

6) This step will register the Vcenter node in the TSM server. The first field will be pre-filled with a node name for the vCenter node in TSM. It consists of the node prefix if specified earlier followed by ‘_VC’ followed by the vCenter name as shown in the vCenter. You may modify the name if desired or use the generated default name. Check the ‘Register Node’ box and enter a password for the new node. The new node will be registered in TSM server automatically with the specified password & then click NEXT.

7) Similarly, you have to create the VMCLI node and register in the TSM server as above.

8) Select the datacenter to be managed, you will see all the available datacenters to be managed on the right side. Select the datacenter and click NEXT

Also Read: Steps to configure SAP Oracle DB backup with TSM for ERP using BRTools

9) This step will create the Datacenter Node and initial TSM Data Mover Node. The datacenter node name consists of the specified prefix followed by an underscore followed by the datacenter name. The Data Mover node name consists of the datacenter node name with a suffix of ‘_DM’. Each of these may be modified by highlighting the line containing the name and then either clicking on the node name or clicking on ‘Edit Node Name’.

Then you have to set the TSM node passwords for the Datacenter and Data Mover nodes. To set the password for a node, either highlight the line and click on ‘Set Password’, or click on ‘Not Set’. Enter a password for the selected node and click OK as shown below. Repeat the Set Password process for the other node(s) until all nodes show ‘Change’ in the Password column.

10) In this step, you have to decide whether to allow the wizard to create the Data Mover services. Note the ‘Create Services’ column with a checkbox for each Data Mover node. When this box is checked, the wizard will create the required option file and TSM client services for the Data Mover node. Remember that this checkbox should only be used for Data Mover nodes to be created on the vStorage backup server where this GUI is installed. Since this is the first Data mover node, tick the create services box and click NEXT.

When the ‘Create Services’ box is checked for a particular Data Mover, the wizard will create the required option file and TSM client services for the Data Mover node. This is optional. You may still create the option files and services manually. If you want to add a secondary vStorage backup server, the Data Mover option file and services should be created manually. If you leave the ‘Create Services’ box checked when creating the additional Data Mover node definition, the option file and services will be created on the original vStorage backup server rather than on the new server.

11) Here, the summary page will show all the nodes which are registered in the TSM server i.e vCenter Node, VMCLI Node, Datacenter Node and Data Mover Node.

12) In the next step, you should see the Data Mover verification successful. If you receive a failure on the ‘Verify Data Mover nodes’ task, it is likely due to the creation of the TSM services not yet being completed. If you receive a failure on the ‘Verify Data Mover nodes’ task, the Datacenter will show a warning icon.

There is a known issue in the older version of vCenter plug-in which does not set the vCenter credentials. This will prevent the datamover from being successfully validated. If you got stuck in this stage, you must log into the vStorage backup server, start the BA Client GUI using the generated dsm.<datamover>.opt file and set the credentials using the preferences editor. Restart the CAD service for the datamover, then retry the validation. This is not an issue with the web browser GUI.

13) Next, open the BA Client Preference editor by using dsmc -optfile=dsm.opt and update the Vmware Virtual Center User and Password in the VM Backup tab as shown below.

14) To check the configuration, you can login to TSM server and run query node and query proxy commands which shows the proxy relationship between the nodes which we have configured earlier.

15) A client option file will be created with the naming format dsm.<datamover>.opt in the default BA Client directory, You need to Copy the generated file to a file called dsm.opt. This the default option file used by the BA Client GUI and command line interfaces. This will allow the BA Client GUI and command line interfaces to be used for VM guest backup and full VM restore.

Edit the dsm.opt file and add the asnodename parameter with the node name of the datacenter node as shown above. This means that the backup will be performed by Data Mover node and the actual backup will be stored under the Data Center node name in TSM server.

Next, you can start taking manual VM backups or schedule backups through DP for Vsphere GUI.