Does IDrive support incremental backups for VMware virtual machines?
Yes, after the initial full backup subsequent backups with IDrive are incremental. To perform incremental backup, enable Change Block Tracking (CBT).
To enable CBT,
Power off the virtual machine.
Right-click the virtual machine and click 'Edit Settings'.
Click 'Options'.
Click 'General' under the 'Advanced' section, and then click 'Configuration Parameters'. The Configuration Parameters dialog box appears.
Click 'Add Row'.
Add the ctkEnabled parameter, and then set its value to true.
Click 'Add Row', add scsi0:0.ctkEnabled, and set its value to true.
Note: scsi0:0 in scsi0:0.ctkEnabled indicates the SCSI device assigned to the hard disk, which is added to the virtual machine. Every hard disk added to the virtual machine is given a SCSI device similar to scsi0:0, scsi0:1, or scsi 1:1. The CBT option is either enabled or disabled on each disk.
How do I disable Change Block Tracking (CBT) for VMware backup?
To disable CBT for VMware backup,
Power off the virtual machine.
Right-click the virtual machine and click 'Edit Settings'.
Click 'Options'.
Under the 'Advanced section', click 'General' and then click 'Configuration Parameters'.
The 'Configuration Parameters' dialog opens.
Set the 'ctkEnabled' parameter to false for the desired SCSI disk(s).
Power on the virtual machine.
Which ports are required by the IDrive application to perform backup and restore operations?
Ports 443 and 902 should be open and accessible on the source host to perform backup and restore operations.
How do I test the VMware connectivity to port 902?
To test Port 902 on an ESXi host, execute the following command:
C:\>telnet server 902
How can I backup my VMware virtual machine(s)?
To backup your VMware virtual machine(s),
Sign in to the IDrive application and click 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears. By default, 'VMware backup' is selected.
Select 'ESXi 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0'.
Enter valid credentials and click 'Connect to ESXi'.
Select 'Online Backup', or 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Note: On selecting 'Online Backup', the data will be stored on the IDrive cloud whereas on selecting 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup' the data will be stored in the local drive.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list and specify a temporary path for the local backup.
Click 'Schedule Now'. The 'Scheduler' appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
How do I view and backup virtual machines from vCenter?
To backup multiple ESXi virtual machines,
Sign in to the IDrive application and click 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears. By default, 'VMware backup' is selected.
Select 'vCenter'.
Enter IP address, Port, Username, Password, and click 'Connect to vCenter'.
Select 'Online Backup', or 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list and specify the temporary path for the local backup.
Click 'Schedule Now'. The ‘Scheduler’ is displayed where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machines.
Can I backup VMware virtual machines to a network mapped drive or NAS drive?
Yes, you can backup VMware virtual machines to a network mapped drive or NAS drive. While choosing a local backup path, select the network mapped drive / NAS drive and provide the necessary authentication.
To backup your VMware virtual machine(s) to a network mapped / NAS drive,
Sign in to the IDrive application and click 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears. By default, 'VMware backup' is selected.
Select 'ESXi 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0' or 'vCenter'.
Enter valid credentials and click 'Connect to ESXi'/'Connect to vCenter'.
Select 'Online Backup', or 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Select the virtual machine(s) from the list.
Select the network mapped drive / NAS drive as the location for creating the virtual machine backup and click 'Schedule Now'.
Enter your username and password to authenticate network mapped drive / NAS drive and click 'Authenticate'.
The 'Scheduler' appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
How do I backup VMware virtual machines to a network computer?
To backup your VMware virtual machines to a computer on the local network,
Go to 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears. By default, 'VMware backup' is selected.
Select 'ESXi 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0' or 'vCenter', as required.
Enter the server IP address, Port, Username, and Password and click 'Connect to ESXi/Connect to vCenter'.
Select 'Online Backup', or 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Select the virtual machine(s) for backup from the list which appears.
Click against 'Temporary path for VMware local backup'.
In the popup window that appears, click 'Network'. Double-click and select the required computer from the list of network computers.
You may be prompted to authorize access. Enter the username and password to proceed.
Click 'Schedule Now'.
The 'Scheduler' appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
How do I perform backup of VMware virtual machines to a network location or network-attached storage?
To backup your VMware virtual machines to the network,
Go to 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears. By default, ‘VMware backup’ is selected.
Select 'ESXi 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0' or 'vCenter', as required.
Enter the IP address, Port, Username, and Password of the server and click 'Connect to ESXi/Connect to vCenter'.
Select 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Select the required virtual machine(s) from the list which appears.
Click 'Verify access to network location for backup'. This will open the 'Network Details' pop-up.
Enter your NAS/Network UNC path (''\\IP Address or Computer name\dir''), username, and password to validate.
Click 'Schedule Now'.
The 'Scheduler' appears where you can schedule the backup for any future day and time or perform an immediate backup of the selected virtual machine(s).
Do I need to turn off or shutdown the virtual machine(s) in VMware manager to take a backup?
No, you do not have to shut down your active virtual machine(s) to perform a backup. IDrive enables you to backup virtual machine(s) in their running state.
How can I restore VMware virtual machines from a network location?
To restore a virtual machine from a network computer,
Go to 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears.
Click 'VMware restore'.
Enter valid credentials and click 'Connect to ESXi'.
Browse the 'IDVMwareBackup'' backup folder from the network computer (download the 'IDVMwareBackup' folder from your IDrive account or local drive to a network computer).
Note: If 'Local Restore' is selected, you can choose the required version from the 'Version' list.
Click . The 'Browse My Computer' popup will appear.
Click 'Network' and double-click the required computer.
Enter your username and password for network authentication.
Select the 'IDVMwareBackup' folder from the network location.
Select the virtual machine(s) you want to restore to your VMware server and click 'Restore Now'.
A popup will appear to inform you to power off the virtual machine before continuing with the restore operation. Click 'Continue'.
On successful completion of the restore operation, a restore summary will be displayed.
To restore a virtual machine from a network / NAS location,
Go to 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
Click 'VMware'. The VMware connection screen appears.
Click 'VMware restore'.
Enter 'IP address', 'Port', 'Username', 'Password', and click 'Connect to ESXi'.
Select 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Browse the 'IDVMwareBackup'' backup folder from the network computer (download the 'IDVMwareBackup' folder from your IDrive account or local drive to a network / NAS location.
Note: If 'Local Restore' is selected, you can choose the required version from the latest 30 versions using the 'Version' list.
Click 'Verify access to network location for restore'. The 'Network Details' popup will appear.
Enter the UNC path ("\\IP Address or Computer name\dir") of network / NAS location, your username and password for network authentication.
Select the 'IDVMwareBackup' folder from the network location.
Select the virtual machine(s) you want to restore to your VMware server and click 'Restore Now'.
A popup reminder will inform you to power off the virtual machine before continuing with the restore operation. Click 'Continue'.
On successful completion of the restore operation, a restore summary will be displayed.
Is there a need for an additional/external storage volume for VMware backup?
No. However, do ensure that the temporary location that you select while scheduling the VMware backup has sufficient disk space to hold the selected items, during the backup process.
Can I upload the backed up VMDK file using 'vsphere client/web interface' to attach to VMware ESXi?
Yes, you can upload the backed up VMDK file to ESXi using vSphere client. However, you need to convert the monolithic sparse VMDK file to thin disk after uploading, using 'vmkfstools', to attach to VMware.
Run the following command to convert the monolithic sparse vmdk file:
vmkfstools - i "Source vmdk path" "destination vmdk path after conversion" For example: vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/centos/centos.vmdk" "/vmfs/volumes/datastore1/centos/centosafterconvert.vmdk"
Does VMware ESXi require a license version to perform backups?
Yes, VMware ESXi requires a license version to create snapshots and to perform backups.
against 'Temporary path for VMware local backup'.
