Creating Backups Using Veeam

Lab 4

Learning objectives
After completing this lab, you should be able to:
• Create a backup configuration for VMware vSphere by using an array-based snapshot
• Check the status of a volume and a snapshot on the array
• Back up a virtual machine (VM) by using array snapshots

Overview
Veeam enables you to create application-consistent backups of VMware systems. Veeam integration with HPE Nimble
Storage enables you to create backups fast and efficiently by using array-based snapshots. These array-based snapshots
reduce the time for backups and provide a method for quick restore operations.

H9TJ6AAE | © Copyright 2020 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

Creating Backups Using Veeam

Exercise 1: Configure Veeam backup for vSphere

1. To monitor activities that occur on the vCenter server during backup operations, log on to the vCenter Web Client. In
order to do this, open Chrome by using its desktop icon.

2. Then use the vSphere Web Client bookmark.

3. Enter the login information for the vCenter server and click Login:
– User name: administrator@vsphere.local
– Password: VMware01! (The password is case sensitive.)

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4. Arrange the application windows in such a way that both the vSphere Recent Tasks panel and the Veeam Backup and
Replication panel are visible. Be sure to select the Home menu option in the bottom left of the Veeam application. We
will use this layout later to monitor how some of the Veeam tasks translate to vSphere.

5. From the top menu bar in the Veeam application, click the Backup Job icon and from the drop-down menu, select
Virtual Machine.

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6. Enter Backup with Nimble as the name for the backup job and click Next to continue.

7. On the right side of the screen, click the Add button to add VMs to this backup specification.

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8. In the Add Objects screen, expand the tree structure to find the win2016fs-01 VM. Select it and then click Add.

9. Make sure win2016fs-01 has been added and then click Next to continue.

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10. In this scenario we create a snapshot-only job. The only copy of data will be stored in the form of a Nimble snapshot,
which would not be considered a “real” backup. Later we will create a “real” one, too. From the backup repository drop-
down menu, select HPE Nimble Snapshot (Primary storage snapshot only). Then click Advanced to see the advanced
options.

11. In the Advanced Settings window, click the vSphere tab. Select the checkbox to Enable VMware Tools quiescence. This
setting enables application-consistent backups. Click Save As Default to set this option as the default. Then click OK.

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12. In the New Backup Jobs window, click Next to continue.

13. Leave the Enable application-aware processing checkbox unselected. We have already selected the Enable VMware
Tools quiescence option to create application-consistent storage snapshots. Click Next to continue.

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14. Normally the administrator will complete a schedule for the backup to run on a regular interval. For this lab, leave the
Run the job automatically checkbox unselected. The lab manually starts this backup in the next exercise. Click Apply to
continue.

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15. In the Summary screen, leave the Run job when I click Finish checkbox unselected. The lab checks the status of the
volumes and snapshots on the array before starting the backup. Click Finish to complete the backup configuration.

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Exercise 2: Check the status of volumes and snapshots on the array

1. Open a new tab in the Google Chrome browser. Click the nimble-01.edu.lab bookmark.
2. If you are prompted for security, click Proceed to continue to the website.
3. When the array login screen appears, log in to the array GUI using the following credentials:
– User name: admin
– Password: Nimble01! (The password is case sensitive.)
Click Log In to log in to the array as administrator.
4. Upon logging in to the array, you might be presented with a usage warning. Click OK to proceed.
5. From the top menu, click Manage → Data Storage. Find the VMware-Disk1 volume and click the volume name to see
the details about the volume.

6. Click the Data Protection tab. Note that there are no existing snapshots taken by Veeam. Still, you might see some
snapshots taken by the Nimble itself schedule.

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Exercise 3: Back up a virtual machine by using Veeam and array snapshots

1. Return to the Veeam Backup and Replication Home. Make sure the VMware vSphere Recent Tasks window is visible
behind this window. The backup configuration created in step 2 should still be displayed. Right-click the backup
configuration and from the drop-down menu, click Start.

2. Monitor the backup. Notice the activity that will appear in the vSphere Recent Tasks panel in 1 or 2 minutes. vSphere
created the VM snapshot to ensure the VM is consistent, and after creating the array snapshot for the data backup, the
VMware snapshot is deleted again. This reduces the impact on the system. The application VM only needs to be in
backup mode for a short period.

Wait for the backup job to complete before continuing.

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Exercise 4: Monitor the snapshot on the array

1. Return to the HPE Nimble management interface. (If the screen timed out, log on using user name admin and
password Nimble01!)
2. Return to the detail view of the VMware-disk1 volume. Make sure the Data Protection tab is selected. Refresh the view
using the browser refresh button or by pressing F5.
Notice the new snapshot with name starting with Veeam. The name indicates that Veeam created this snapshot and is
generally managing the snapshot. Remember, you might also see some snapshots taken by the Nimble itself schedule.

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