Acronis Backup Recovery for vCloud Administrator's Guide

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

Administrator's Guide

Table of contents

1 Administrator's Guide ............................................................................................................4

1.1 About this document ................................................................................................................. 4

1.2 Introduction to Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud ............................................................ 4

1.2.1 Software requirements ................................................................................................................................... 4

1.2.2 Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud architecture .................................................................................... 5

1.2.3 Planning hardware resources ......................................................................................................................... 7

1.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud ...................................................................... 9

1.3.1 Preparation ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

1.3.2 Installing and configuring RabbitMQ Server ............................................................................................... 10

1.3.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server ...................................................................... 11

1.3.4 Using the management console .................................................................................................................. 14

1.3.5 Integrating the management server with vCenter Server ......................................................................... 15

1.3.6 Deploying Agent for ESX(i) ............................................................................................................................ 15

1.3.7 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud ............................................................................ 17

1.3.8 Configuring Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud ........................................................................ 17

1.3.9 Checking network connections .................................................................................................................... 20

1.3.10 Uninstallation ................................................................................................................................................ 21

1.4 Logging in to the backup service .............................................................................................22

1.5 Administering organizations ....................................................................................................22

1.5.1 Monitoring organizations ............................................................................................................................. 22

1.5.2 Enabling backup for an organization ........................................................................................................... 23

1.5.3 Disabling backup for an organization .......................................................................................................... 25

1.5.4 Operating within an organization ................................................................................................................ 26

1.6 Configuring the backup service ...............................................................................................26

1.6.1 Managing system backup plans ................................................................................................................... 28

1.7 Generating usage reports ........................................................................................................29

1.8 Advanced cases ........................................................................................................................30

1.8.1 Recovery of files from a backup of a virtual machine ................................................................................ 30

1.8.2 Disaster recovery of physical machines to vCloud ..................................................................................... 31

1.8.3 Changing the backup storage ....................................................................................................................... 32

2 User's Guide ........................................................................................................................ 34

2.1 About the backup service ........................................................................................................34

2.2 Supported web browsers .........................................................................................................34

2.3 Installing VMware Tools ..........................................................................................................34

2.4 Basic operations .......................................................................................................................35

2.4.1 Logging in to the service ............................................................................................................................... 35

2.4.2 Backing up virtual machines ......................................................................................................................... 35

2.4.3 Applying a backup plan ................................................................................................................................. 36

2.4.4 Overwriting a virtual machine with its backed-up version ........................................................................ 37

2.4.5 Recovering a virtual machine ....................................................................................................................... 38

2.4.6 Monitoring protection statuses ................................................................................................................... 40

2.5 Operations with backups .........................................................................................................40

2.6 Operations with backup plans .................................................................................................41

2.6.1 Creating a backup plan ................................................................................................................................. 41

2.6.2 Editing a backup plan .................................................................................................................................... 44

2.6.3 Revoking a backup plan ................................................................................................................................ 45

2.6.4 Deleting a backup plan.................................................................................................................................. 45

2.7 Generating usage reports ........................................................................................................45

3 Terminology reference ......................................................................................................... 47

1 Administrator's Guide

1.1 About this document

This document is intended for system administrators of VMware vCloud Director who want to provide a backup service to vCloud organizations by using Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud.

The document explains how to:

 Install Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud  Configure it to work with vCloud Director  Enable the backup service for organizations  Administer the backup service (monitor the service status, configure backup and recovery

options, generate usage reports, and more)

For information about how to back up and recover virtual machines and administer an organization, please refer to the Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud User's Guide (p. 34).

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud belongs to the Acronis Backup & Recovery product family. Additional information about Acronis Backup & Recovery can be found in the Acronis Backup & Recovery Web Help: http://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/ABR11.5/

1.2 Introduction to Acronis Backup & Recovery for

vCloud

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud is a solution for backup and recovery of virtual machines managed by VMware vCloud Director.

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud provides the backup service at a system administrator level and organization user level. The backup service is available through a web interface. Users log in to the service by using their vCloud Director credentials.

In order to deploy the backup service to your vCloud Director infrastructure, you need to install Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud components and integrate them with the vCloud Director components.

Please review the topics in this section before starting with the installation.

1.2.1 Software requirements

Supported VMware vCloud Director versions

 VMware vCloud Director 1.5  VMware vCloud Director 5.0  VMware vCloud Director 5.1  VMware vCloud Director 5.5

Supported guest operating systems

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and all popular Linux distributions.

Supported web browsers

 Google Chrome 12 or later  Mozilla Firefox 12 or later  Windows Internet Explorer 9 or later  Safari 5 or later running in the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems

In other web browsers (including Safari browsers running in other operating systems), the user interface might be displayed incorrectly, or all functions might not be available.

Make sure that JavaScript is enabled in the browser.

The screen resolution for displaying the graphical user interface must be 1024x768 or higher.

1.2.2 Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud architecture

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud consists of multiple components that can be installed on separate machines.

Components of Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

A typical installation includes at least two virtual machines located in the vCloud management cluster and a number of virtual appliances running in the vCloud resource group.

The following components run in the vCloud resource group:

 Agents for ESX(i) run as virtual appliances.

Agent for ESX(i) performs backup and recovery of ESX(i) virtual machines without installing agents into the guest systems.

The following components run in the management cluster:

 Management Server needs to be installed on a virtual machine running Windows.

The management server integrates with vCenter Server (the one that is allocated for the resource group), deploys Agents for ESX(i), and manages backup and recovery.

The management server stores its configuration, logs and statistics in Microsoft SQL databases. The databases can be attached to the SQL Server Express instance that is installed by default with the management server, or to any other SQL Server instance accessible by the management server.

 Agent for vCloud runs on a Linux virtual machine, which also serves as the web server. The agent

is delivered as an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) template.

The agent enables communication between the management server and vCloud Director. It queries vCloud Director for necessary information and provides it to the management server. Agent for vCloud can retrieve the protection status of virtual machines directly from the management server database. Also, the agent provides the graphical user interface to the users.

Software that is necessary for using Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

vCloud users interact with Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud by using a web browser. To log in to the backup service, they use the same credentials as they use to log in to vCloud Director. The web

browser connects to the agent's web server and displays the information that the agent provides. The amount of information depends on the user rights in vCloud Director.

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console enables you to connect directly to the management server. This connection is required to integrate the management server with vCenter Server and to deploy Agents for ESX(i). Once these operations are completed, the console is not necessary for functioning of Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud. However, you may need it for deploying additional agents, for troubleshooting, and for other administrative tasks. The console can be installed along with the management server or on any other machine that has network access to the management server.

Agent for vCloud obtains events from vCloud Director via the RabbitMQ Server AMQP broker. This component is not a necessary part of vCloud deployment, so you might need to deploy it in addition to Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud.

Installation example

The following diagram illustrates a typical installation and interaction of the components. In our example, we assume that vCloud Director uses Microsoft SQL databases. Therefore, we can place the management server databases on the same virtual machine with vCloud Director databases. However, the management server databases must run on a separate SQL Server instance.

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console is installed on the same virtual machine with the management server.

Virtual machines that run Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud components are colored light blue.

Memory

Hard disk size

CPU number

Virtual machines that run VMware vCloud components are colored light green.

1.2.3 Planning hardware resources

Consider how much vSphere capacity you need for running Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud and where you will store the backups.

1.2.3.1 vSphere capacity requirements

Agent for ESX(i) (Virtual Appliance)

Agents for ESX(i) run as virtual appliances in the vCloud resource group. If a cluster contains a large number of virtual machines to be backed up, you may want to deploy more than one agent to this cluster.

The following table shows vSphere capacity requirements for Agent for ESX(i) (Virtual Appliance).

1 GB

6 GB (thick

provisioning)

2 (the default Virtual Appliance setting)

4-8 (recommended if backing up 5-10 VMs simultaneously)

Agent for vCloud

Memory

Hard disk size

CPU number

2 GB

8 GB (thin

provisioning)

Software installed on the machine

Memory

Hard disk size

CPU number

Management Server + Management Console

2 GB

min 20 GB (thick

provisioning)

Management Server + Management Console + Microsoft SQL Server Express (installed by default with the management server)

3 GB

min 30 GB (thick

provisioning)

Agent for vCloud needs to be imported from the OVF template to the management cluster.

The following table shows vSphere capacity requirements for Agent for vCloud.

Management Server

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server needs to be installed in the management cluster on a virtual machine running Windows.

The following table shows vSphere capacity requirements for a machine running Windows Server 2003/2008 R2 and the specified components.

1.2.3.2 Planning backup storages

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud stores backups in shared folders on the network.

Supported network protocols

The following network protocols are supported:

 NFS

Important. If you want to use NFS shares to store backups, install Microsoft Windows Services for NFS on the machine where Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server is installed. To do this, open Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, click Turn Windows features on or off, and then select the Services for NFS check box and its nested check boxes.

 SMB  FTP  SFTP

Backup storages

A backup storage is a folder allocated for storing organization's backups. A path to a backup storage should be specified in one of the following formats:

 NFS

nfs://ServerX/ExportPath:/PathInExportFolder (for example: nfs://Server/Backups/Organizations:/OrgName)

Note the colon after the export folder path. To specify the export folder without a subfolder, use the following notation: nfs://ServerX/ExportPath:/

 SMB

smb://ServerX/.../FolderName (for example, smb://Server/Backups/Organizations/OrgName)

\\ServerX\ShareA\...\FolderName (for example, \\Server\Backups\Organizations\OrgName)

 FTP

ftp://ServerX/.../FolderName (for example, ftp://Server/Backups/Organizations/OrgName)

 SFTP

sftp://ServerX/.../FolderName (for example, sftp://Server/Backups/Organizations/OrgName)

We strongly recommend that you create a separate folder for each organization. If you allow multiple organizations to share a common backup storage, every organization administrator will be able to see, delete, and even perform recovery from other organization's backups.

Storage capacity requirements

The storage space required for an organization's backups depends on the amount of the backed-up data, the backup schedule, retention rules, and other factors. As a rough estimate, you can expect that the backups will occupy as much space as is allocated for the organization in vCloud Director.

Organizing a backup storage on a LUN device

You can use the NFS protocol to access logical unit number (LUN) devices in a Fibre-Channel or iSCSI storage area network (SAN).

To organize an NFS folder on a LUN device

1. Install an NFS server on a machine running Linux.

2. Assign the LUN device to the machine so that the device appears as a local disk.

3. In the NFS server configuration, specify the LUN device as an NFS export folder.

Now you can create subfolders and specify their paths as described above for the NFS protocol.

Changing a backup storage

The organization's backup storage can be changed by a vCloud system administrator, if necessary. For more information about how to do this, refer to "Changing the backup storage" (p. 32).

1.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

1.3.1 Preparation

Before starting the installation, please familiarize yourself with the Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud architecture (p. 5) and make sure that:

 vCloud Director is installed and configured.  Sufficient vSphere resources are available to deploy Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud. Refer

to the exact values in "vSphere capacity requirements" (p. 7).

 You have storage that supports any of the following network protocols: NFS, SMB, FTP, or SFTP.

Refer to the exact requirements in "Planning backup storages" (p. 8).

 You have a virtual machine running a Windows operating system (except for the Start, Home,

and RT editions) to install Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server on. The machine must

have network access to the vCenter Server for the resource group and to the resource group ESX(i) clusters.

1.3.2 Installing and configuring RabbitMQ Server

Agent for vCloud obtains events from vCloud Director via the RabbitMQ Server AMQP broker.

If your vCloud Director already uses RabbitMQ Server, make sure that the exchange type is set to topic, and continue to "Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server" (p. 11).

If RabbitMQ Server is already installed, but not used by vCloud Director, skip to step 5 of the following procedure.

To install and configure RabbitMQ Server

1. Download RabbitMQ Server from http://www.rabbitmq.com/download.html.

2. If you want to install RabbitMQ Server on a machine running Windows, download and run Erlang

Windows Binary File, which is available at http://www.erlang.org/download.html.

3. Follow the RabbitMQ installation instructions to install RabbitMQ on any convenient host. The

host must have network access to vCloud Director.

4. The RabbitMQ management plug-in is required so that you can configure RabbitMQ Server. Do

one of the following, depending on the operating system of the RabbitMQ Server host:

 In Linux, run the following commands:

rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management service rabbitmq-server stop service rabbitmq-server start

 In Windows:

 Go to Start > All programs > RabbitMQ Server > RabbitMQ Command Prompt.  Run the following command: rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management  Run Start > All programs > RabbitMQ Server > RabbitMQ Service - stop.  Run Start > All programs > RabbitMQ Server > RabbitMQ Service - start.

5. Open a web browser and go to the RabbitMQ Server Web UI located at: http://<server

name>:15672/. Here, <server name> is the address of the RabbitMQ Server host.

6. Provide the credentials of a RabbitMQ Server user. The default credentials are:

 User name: guest  Password: guest

7. Click Exchanges.

8. Under Add a new exchange: a. In Name, specify a name for a new exchange that will be used by Agent for vCloud. For

example, specify vcdExchange.

b. In Type, select topic. c. Leave the default values for all other settings. d. Click Add exchange.

9. Log in as an administrator to vCloud Director.

10. Click Administration.

11. Under System settings, click Extensibility.

12. Under Notifications, select the Enable notifications check box.

13. Under AMQP Broker Settings: a. In AMQP Host, specify the name or IP address of the RabbitMQ Server host. b. In AMQP Port, type 5672. c. In Exchange, specify the name of the new exchange that you created in step 8. d. In vHost, type /. e. In Prefix, type vcd. f. In User Name, type guest. g. In Password, type guest.

14. Click Apply.

1.3.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server stores its configuration, logs, and statistics in Microsoft SQL databases. There are two options for storing the databases:

 Install and use SQL Server Express supplied with the management server. This option is available

through typical installation.

 Use any existing SQL Server instance accessible by the management server. This option is

available through both typical and custom installation.

The custom installation method also enables you to specify other installation parameters.

Depending on where you want the management server to store its databases, follow one of the procedures below.

1.3.3.1 Typical installation

1. On the machine that will act as the management server, log on as an administrator.

2. Start the Acronis Backup & Recovery setup program.

3. Click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery.

4. Accept the terms of the license agreement.

5. Select the Centrally monitor and configure backing up of physical and virtual machines check

box.

6. Provide the license for Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud. Type all your license keys or

import them from a text file.

7. Choose whether the machine will participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program (CEP).

8. Click Install to proceed with installation.

9. On successful installation, click Finish to close the wizard window.

10. Copy the script enable_remote_sql_access.js that is distributed with the product, to the

management server machine.

Details. The script configures the SQL Server instance to be accessible to Agent for vCloud. It creates a new SQL Server account that Agent for vCloud will use, configures the instance to listen to a static port, and configures Windows Firewall to allow connections through that port.

11. Run the script in the following format:

cscript enable_remote_sql_access.js <new-user-name> <new-password> [-p <port>]

Where:

 <new-user-name> and <new-password> are the user name and password for the new

account.

 -p <port> is an optional parameter that enables you to specify the port to use.

For example:

C:\>cscript enable_remote_sql_access.js User 123 -p 3322

If you do not specify the port, it will be chosen automatically. Examine the port number that was chosen by the script:

Port 1433 is picked

Important. Remember the credentials and the port number. You will be asked for them when configuring Agent for vCloud.

1.3.3.2 Custom installation

Preparing SQL Server

Ensure that the SQL Server instance that will be used by the management server meets the following requirements:

 The instance uses the mixed authentication mode. This mode guarantees that Agent for vCloud

can also access the instance.

 The TCP/IP protocol is enabled for the instance, the instance uses a static TCP port, you know the

port number, and your firewall allows connections through this port.

To change the authentication mode

1. Run Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

You can download Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7593

2. Right-click the instance, and then select Properties.

3. In Security, under Server authentication, select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode.

4. Restart the service for the instance.

To set the required TCP/IP properties

1. In Microsoft SQL Server Configuration Manager, expand the SQL Server XXXX Network

Configuration node. (Here, XXXX is the version of SQL Server, such as 2008.)

2. Select the instance.

3. In the details pane, double-click TCP/IP.

4. On the Protocol tab, in Enabled, make sure that Yes is selected.

5. On the IP Addresses tab, under IPAll, do the following:

 View or change the value in TCP Port.

 Make sure that the TCP Dynamic Ports field is blank.

6. If you made changes to the fields in the previous steps, restart the service for the instance.

Preparing user accounts

Decide whether the management server will use Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication to connect to the SQL Server.

 [Recommended] If Windows Authentication will be used, create local administrator accounts

with the same user name and password on the machine running SQL Server and the machine where the management server will be installed.

After the installation, you can remove the account from the Administrators group on the SQL Server machine. On the management server machine, the account must remain a local administrator.

 If SQL Server Authentication will be used, create a SQL Server login account that is a member of

the sysadmin role.

After the installation, you can replace the sysadmin role with the dbcreator role. To further restrict the account (for example, when the instance runs databases used by other products), edit the account properties as follows: In Server Roles, clear all check boxes; in User Mapping, select the acronis_cms and acronis_reports check boxes.

Installing the management server

1. On the machine that will act as the management server, log on as an administrator.

2. Start the Acronis Backup & Recovery setup program.

3. Click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery.

4. Accept the terms of the license agreement.

5. On the How do you want to use this machine page:

 Select the Centrally monitor and configure backing up of physical and virtual machines

check box.

 Select the I want to manually select the Acronis components and customize the installation

process check box.

6. [Optional] On the Select the components that you want to install page, clear the check box for

Components for Remote Installation. This will save about 900 MB of disk space.

7. Provide the license for Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud. Type all your license keys or

import them from a text file.

8. Keep the default installation path.

9. Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server runs as a service. Specify the user account for

running the service in either of these ways:

 [If you opted for Windows Authentication] Click Use an existing account, click Select, and

then specify the account of a local Windows administrator that you created in the "Preparing user accounts" step. If prompted, confirm adding the additional user rights to the account.

 Keep the default setting to create a dedicated user account for running the service.

10. Specify the Microsoft SQL Server instance for both Operational SQL Server and Reporting SQL

Server.

For each of the servers:

a. Click Change > Use existing SQL server and specify the name of the instance in the

MachineName\InstanceName format. For example: dbserver\MyDatabases.

b. Choose how the management server will connect to the SQL server:

 [If you opted for Windows Authentication] Choose the Acronis Management Server

Service account option. The management server will connect using the account of the

management server service.

 If you choose the SQL Server Authentication option, specify the login name and

password of a SQL server login account that is a member of the sysadmin server role.

11. Do not enable the Management Server Web page.

12. Choose whether the machine will participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program (CEP).

13. Click Install to proceed with installation.

14. On successful installation, click Finish to close the wizard window.

1.3.4 Using the management console

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console enables you to connect directly to the management server. The console can be installed along with the management server (by default) or on any other machine that has network access to the management server.

To be able to connect the console to the management server, a user must be a member of the Acronis Centralized Admins group on the management server machine.

If the console is installed on a different machine, the user must also be a member of the Acronis Remote Users group on the management server machine.

Both groups are automatically created during the management server installation. Members of the Administrators group are silently included in both groups.

To start the management console

Double-click the Acronis Backup & Recovery icon on the desktop, or select from the Start menu: Acronis > Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console > Acronis Backup & Recovery.

To connect the console to the management server

1. Click Connect to a management server.

2. Specify the host name or IP address of the management server machine and the credentials of a

user account that has the rights described earlier in this topic.

1.3.5 Integrating the management server with vCenter Server

Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server has to be integrated with the vCenter Server for the resource group.

To do this, use Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console. The console is automatically installed with the management server.

To integrate the management server with the vCenter Server

1. Connect the console to the management server as described in "Using the management console"

(p. 14).

2. In the Navigation tree, click Virtual machines and then click Configure VMware vCenter

integration.

3. Select the Enable integration with the following vCenter Server check box.

4. Specify the IP address or name of the vCenter Server for the resource group. Provide access

credentials for the server.

Details. This account will be used for deploying agents from the management server. This means the account must have the necessary privileges for creating virtual machines on the vCenter Server. We also recommend that the account have the necessary privileges for backup and recovery, because the agents will use this account to connect to the vCenter Server by default. For the exact list of the necessary privileges, refer to the "Privileges for VM backup and recovery" section of the Acronis Backup & Recovery built-in help.

5. If a DHCP server is present on the network, you may want to leave the Automatically deploy

Agent for ESX(i) (Virtual Appliance) check box selected. When a backup is about to start, the management server will automatically deploy Agent for ESX(i) to every cluster that has virtual machines to be backed up but does not have the agent yet.

If the network uses static IP addresses, or if you prefer to deploy the agents manually, or if the automatic deployment fails, clear the Automatically deploy... check box. You will need to perform a few additional steps described in "Deploying Agent for ESX(i)" (p. 15).

6. Click OK to confirm the changes.

The virtual machines managed by the vCenter Server appear in the Virtual machines section of the Navigation tree. The virtual machines are shown as grayed out because Agent for ESX(i) has not been deployed yet.

1.3.6 Deploying Agent for ESX(i)

Agent for ESX(i) (Virtual Appliance) will be deployed automatically as necessary, if this option was enabled when integrating the management server with the vCenter Server (p. 15).

If you disabled the automatic deployment, deploy the agent to every ESX(i) cluster whose virtual machines will be backed up.

If a cluster contains a large number of virtual machines, you may want to deploy additional agents to this cluster, regardless of the automatic deployment setting.

To deploy Agent for ESX(i)

1. Connect the console to the management server as described in "Using the management console"

(p. 14).

2. In the Navigation tree, expand Virtual machines, and then right-click the IP address or name of

the vCenter Server for the resource group.

3. Click Deploy Agent for ESX(i).

4. For each of the clusters whose virtual machine will be backed up, do the following: a. Select a host to which you want to deploy the agent. b. In Network interface, select the network interface that provides access to the management

server, the vCenter Server for the resource group, the cluster virtual machines, and the backup storage.

c. The Network configuration link enables you to select whether the agent will use a dynamic

(provided by a DHCP server) or a static IP address. If you want to leave the default setting of using a dynamic address, skip this step.

If you want the agent to use a static IP address:

 Click Network configuration.  Select Use the following network settings.  Specify the appropriate network settings for the agent, and then click OK.

Tip: You will be able to change the network settings after the agent is deployed. To do so, select the virtual appliance in VMware vSphere inventory and go to the virtual appliance console. Under Agent options, click the Change link next to the name of the network interface, such as eth0.

5. Click Deploy Agent for ESX(i).

The management server starts deploying Agent for ESX(i). The progress is shown at the bottom of the window.

Once the agent is successfully deployed, the agent machine appears in the Machines with agents view of the management server.

1.3.7 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud

Agent for vCloud is delivered as an OVF template.

To install the agent, deploy the OVF template to your management cluster. Map the network in the OVF template to a network that provides access to the management cluster virtual machines, the RabbitMQ Server host, and the SQL Server instance that stores the management server databases.

For general information about deploying an OVF template, refer to the following VMware knowledge base article: http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc_50/GUID-6C847F7 7-8CB2-4187-BD7F-E7D3D5BD897B.html.

1.3.8 Configuring Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud

Before configuring Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud, make sure that Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server is installed (p. 11) and configured (p. 15).

Logging in

 User name: root  Password: Default0 (case-sensitive)

Configuring the time zone

Set the time zone to that of the vCloud Director machine. This will enable Agent for vCloud to convert time between user's and vCloud Director's time zones.

1. Find out the time zone of the vCloud Director machine. If you are not sure, log on to the machine

and run the date command. The output contains the time zone abbreviation. For example:

Mon Aug 26 23:00:00 EST 2013

EST stands for Eastern Standard Time. This time zone includes parts of the United States and Canada, and some countries in South America. For more abbreviations see http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/.

2. On the machine with Agent for vCloud, in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory, find the file that

corresponds to your region and time zone.

For example, for the Eastern Time Zone of the United States, the time zone file is: /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Eastern

3. Delete the old time zone settings:

rm -f /etc/localtime

4. Specify the new time zone settings:

SQL Server Express installed by default

Another SQL Server

Host name/IP address:

Host name or IP address of the management server.

Host name or IP address of the machine with the SQL Server instance used by the management server.

Port [1433]:

The port that was defined when running the configuration script (p. 11) on the management server.

If you do not remember the port number, open SQL Server Configuration Manager on the management server, select SQL

Server XXXX Network Configuration > Protocols for ACRONIS, double-click TCP/IP, and examine the TCP Port field.

The port number that you assigned to the SQL Server instance during custom installation (p. 12).

ln -s <time_zone_file> /etc/localtime

For example:

ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Eastern /etc/localtime

Configuring connection parameters

1. Go to the /opt/acronis/vcd-agent/bin folder and run the configure.sh command.

All available configuration scenarios are shown.

2. Choose the Initial agent configuration scenario.

3. Provide the vCloud Director connection parameters:

 vCloud Director host name or IP address  vCloud Director system administrator credentials

4. Provide the credentials of a RabbitMQ Server user. The default credentials are:

 User name: guest  Password: guest

5. Provide the Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server connection parameters:

 Host name or IP address of the management server machine  The user name and password of a user who is a member of the Acronis Centralized Admins

and Acronis Remote Users group on the management server machine

6. Provide the connection parameters for the SQL Server instance that stores the management

server databases.

User name:

Password:

The credentials you entered when running the configuration script (p. 11) on the management server.

The user name and password of a user who has access to the management server databases (minimum SQL database role: public).

Configuring network settings

The machine with Agent for vCloud has two network adapters: eth0 for the internal network and eth1 for the external network.

eth0 connects to the internal network where Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud components

communicate with VMware vCloud components. It also accepts incoming connections from SSH clients and web browsers in the internal network.

eth1 accepts incoming connections from web browsers in the external network. Make sure that your firewall, NAT router, and other components of the network security system allow external connection to this adapter through ports 80 and 443.

By default, both adapters take network settings from a DHCP server. You can assign a static IP address to an adapter. For example, to ease port forwarding, you may want to assign a static IP address to the external adapter.

To change Agent for vCloud network settings

1. Run the configure.sh command and choose the Change network settings scenario.

2. Specify network settings for the eth0 adapter.

 To take the network settings from a DHCP server, press y.  To specify the network settings with a static IP address, press n, and then:

a. Specify the static IP address for the adapter, such as: 192.168.0.10 b. Specify the subnet mask for the adapter, such as: 255.255.0.0 c. Specify the IP address of the default gateway for the adapter, such as: 192.168.0.1

3. Specify network settings for the eth1 adapter.

 To take the network settings from a DHCP server, press y.  To specify the network settings with a static IP address, press n, and then:

a. Specify the static IP address for the adapter, such as 10.0.0.10 b. Specify the subnet mask for the adapter, such as: 255.0.0.0

The command does not prompt for the default gateway, because the adapter is used only for incoming connections.

4. If you configured both adapters to use static IP addresses, specify the following: a. In DNS server 1, specify the IP address of the DNS server. b. [Optional] In DNS server 2, specify the IP address of the secondary DNS server.

The DNS server settings apply to both adapters.

If one of the adapters uses a DHCP server, the DNS server settings for both adapters are taken from that DHCP server.

If both adapters use DHCP servers, the settings for both adapters are taken from the DHCP server for eth1 (provided that the list of DNS servers there is nonempty).

Other operations

To view the network settings

 Run the configure.sh command and choose the Show network settings scenario.

To view the connection parameters

 Run the configure.sh command and choose the Show agent configuration scenario.

To change the connection parameters

 Run the configure.sh command, choose the Change agent configuration scenario, and then

select the connection to change the configuration for.

1.3.9 Checking network connections

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud components use TCP ports to communicate with VMware vCloud components and with each other. Make sure that your firewalls and other components of your network security system allow connections through these ports.

The diagram below illustrates the network connections that are necessary for the backup service to function.

The arrow direction shows which component initiates a connection. The text shows the destination port. The source port is taken from a standard range, depending on the operating system:

 Agent for vCloud and Agent for ESX(i) use the range 32768–61000.  The management server and the external SQL Server use the range 1025–5000 (if installed in

Windows prior to Windows Vista) or 49152–65535 (if installed in Windows Vista and later).

Normally, the standard ranges are already open.

For the machine with Agent for vCloud, eth0 and eth1 show the network adapter through which the connection is performed.

* The port is configurable. The diagram shows the default value.

1.3.10 Uninstallation

To uninstall Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

1. Log in to the service (p. 22).

2. Disable backup (p. 25) for every organization.

3. Delete all Agents for ESX(i). a. Run Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console, and then click Connect to a

management server.

b. Specify the host name or IP address of the current machine and credentials of a user account

that is a member of the Acronis Centralized Admins group on the machine.

c. In the Navigation tree, click Virtual machines. d. On the toolbar, click Remove Agent for ESX(i). e. Select all agents. f. Click Remove Agent for ESX(i).

The management server removes Agents for ESX(i). The progress is shown at the bottom of the window.

g. Wait until all agents are removed.

4. Start the vSphere Client and log in to the vCenter Server for the management cluster.

5. Delete the Agent for vCloud virtual machine.

6. Delete the Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server virtual machine, or uninstall the

management server as follows:

a. Log in as an administrator on the machine. b. Click Start -> All Programs -> Acronis -> Uninstall Acronis Backup & Recovery. c. [Optional] To delete the management server databases, select the Remove the product's log,

tasks, vaults and configuration settings check box.

d. Click Remove.

7. [Optional] Delete all backups from the backup storages.

1.4 Logging in to the backup service

You can log in to the backup service as an administrator under the following conditions:

 Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud is installed and configured.  You have a vCloud Director system administrator account.

To log in to the backup service

1. Go to the login page of the backup service. The address of the login page looks as follows:

https://<BackupServiceAddress>/.

 When connecting from an internal network: <BackupServiceAddress> is the fully

qualified domain name, or the IP address of the Agent for vCloud host in this network. For example, https://vcloudagent.vcloud.example.com/ or

https://10.200.200.10/

 When connecting from an external network: <BackupServiceAddress> is the URL of

the backup service as it appears on the public side of a firewall, load balancer, NAT/reverse proxy, and other network components that you may have in front of your infrastructure.

For example: https://backup.example.com/

2. Type the user name and password of your vCloud Director system administrator account.

3. Click Log in.

1.5 Administering organizations

1.5.1 Monitoring organizations

To access the following information about organizations, click the Organizations tab.

 Backup enabled

Yes/No

 Protection status

 Not protected

None of the organization's virtual machines are protected. A virtual machine is considered protected if a backup plan (p. 28) is applied to it.

 Never backed up

There are protected machines in the organization, but a backup has not run on any of them.

 OK

The last backup was successful on all of the protected machines.

 Error

The last backup of at least one protected machine in the organization failed.

To view status of a particular machine, switch to the organization administrator view (p. 26). The statuses of a virtual machine are explained in "Monitoring protection statuses" (p. 40).

 Backup storage

The backup storage assigned to the organization.

 Quota

The storage quota for the organization.

If the quota is exceeded, the system administrators and the organization users see alerts in the backup service interface. Restrictions on using the backup service are not applied unless a system administrator does this manually.

To view the following information about an organization, select the organization in the list:

 Number of vApps and Number of VMs

For those organizations where the backup service is enabled, the following information is also displayed:

 Login page

The address that the organization users use to log in to the service.

 Backup storage

The path to the organization's backup storage, the storage quota for the organization, and the space occupied by the organization backups.

 System backup plans

The system backup plans (p. 28) available in the organization.

 Privileges for organization users

The actions that the organization users are allowed to perform.

1.5.2 Enabling backup for an organization

Prerequisites

Make sure that the public URL for the backup service is specified, as described in "Public URL" in "Configuring the backup service" (p. 26).

If the public URL is not specified, the users will not be able to log in to the backup service by using the login page address that you provide.

To enable backup for an organization

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Organizations tab.

A list of organizations registered in vCloud Director is shown.

3. Select the organization to enable backup for.

4. Click Configure.

5. On the Backup storage tab, do the following:

 In Backup storage, specify the path to the shared folder allocated for storing organization's

backups. If authentication is required to access the folder, specify the credentials of a user account that has read/write permissions for this folder.

We strongly recommend that each organization has a separate backup storage. You can allow multiple organizations to share a common backup storage, but in this case every organization administrator will be able to see, delete, and even perform recovery from other organization's backups.

 [Optional] Specify the quota for the organization.

6. [Optional] On the System backup plans tab, specify which of the system backup plans (p. 28) will

be available in the organization. By default, all of the system backup plans will be available.

7. [Optional] On the User privileges tab, specify the actions that the organization users will be

allowed to perform. By default, the following actions are available to the users:

 Apply and revoke backup plans  Create, edit, and delete backup plans  Perform backup on demand ('Back up now')  Recover virtual machines

Regardless of your selection, system administrators are allowed to perform all of these actions within the organization.

If you clear the Log in to the backup service check box, only system administrators will be able to use the backup service for this organization. For information about how to do this, refer to "Operating within an organization" (p. 26).

8. Confirm the changes.

Depending on your decision in step 7, the backup service becomes available for either system administrators only or for both system and organization administrators.

If the backup service is available for organization administrators:

1. Inform the organization administrator about the address of the login page for the organization.

You can see this address under Login page in the organization details area.

2. Inform the organization administrator about the Help link and User's Guide.

1.5.3 Disabling backup for an organization

To disable backup for an organization

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Organizations tab.

3. Select the organization to disable backup for.

4. Click Configure.

5. Clear the Enable backup for an organization check box.

6. Confirm the changes.

As a result:

 The organization users will no longer be able to use the backup service.

 The organization's backup plans will be revoked from virtual machines, but will be preserved by

Agent for vCloud. If you re-enable backup, it will be enough to reapply the backup plans to the machines so that the machines become protected again.

 The existing backups will be kept. If the backups are no longer needed, you can manually delete

them from backup storages.

1.5.4 Operating within an organization

vCloud system administrators can perform any operation that organization administrators can perform within an organization.

To administer an organization

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Organizations tab.

A list of organizations registered in vCloud Director is shown.

3. Select the organization to administer. The backup service must be already enabled for the

organization (p. 23).

4. Click Open.

You are now in the organization administrator's interface.

5. Depending on the operation you want to perform, refer to the corresponding section of the

Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud User's Guide (p. 34).

1.6 Configuring the backup service

To access these settings, click the Settings tab.

System backup plans

This setting is used for managing system backup plans (p. 28).

E-mail server settings

These settings are necessary for sending e-mail notifications to organization users. Unless the e-mail server parameters are filled in, no notifications will be sent.

The subject can include ordinary text and variables. In the received e-mail messages, each variable will be replaced by its value at the time of backup plan execution.

The default notification subject is: [Backup service]: %Organization name% - %Backup plan name%

Where:

 %Organization name% is the name of the organization.  %Backup plan name% is the name of the backup plan.

Other variables are not supported.

Backup and recovery options

 Simultaneous backup

Specify how many virtual machines Agent for ESX(i) may back up simultaneously. The default value is 5. The maximum value is 10.

The value you specify is effective for a backup plan. If an agent runs more than one backup plan simultaneously, the number of machines being backed up may exceed the setting, but it still cannot exceed 10. A backup plan that requires to back up the 11th machine will not start until one of the backup operations is finished.

Tip. Simultaneous backup of multiple virtual machines increases the amount of CPU resources used by Agents for ESX(i). By default, Agent for ESX(i) uses two virtual processors. If you observe that CPU usage during backup approaches 100%, increase the number of virtual processors in the virtual appliance settings. This may significantly increase the simultaneous backup performance.

 Network connection speed

Define the amount of network connection bandwidth allocated for transferring the backup data.

By default the speed is set to maximum, so that the software uses all the network bandwidth available when transferring the backup data. Use this option to reserve a part of the network bandwidth for other network activities.

 Error handling

Specify how to handle errors that might occur during backup or recovery.

When a recoverable error occurs, the program re-attempts to perform the unsuccessful operation. You can set the time interval and the number of attempts. The attempts will stop as soon as the operation succeeds OR the specified number of attempts are performed, depending on which comes first.

For example, if Number of attempts is set to 30, Interval between attempts is set to 30 seconds, and the backup destination on the network becomes unavailable or not reachable, the program will attempt to reach the destination every 30 seconds, but no more than 30 times.

Usage report for Acronis

These settings are used when you send reports about using the backup service to Acronis.

 Company name

Specify the name of your company. Acronis will use it to identify your usage reports.

 Contact e-mail

Specify your e-mail address. Acronis will use this address to contact you, if needed.

If you want to automate sending the reports, select the Automatically send usage reports to Acronis on the first day of each month check box.

For detailed information about usage reports, refer to "Generating usage reports" (p. 29).

Public URL

This setting is used to display an easily readable backup service address that you can provide to the organization users. The address is displayed in the organization details under Login page.

By default, Agent for vCloud uses its IP address to construct the login page addresses. For example, if the IP address is 10.200.200.10, after backup is enabled for an organization named MyOrganization, the address under Login page in the organization details will be displayed as: https://10.200.200.10/org/MyOrganization

In Public URL, specify how the URL of the backup service appears on the public side of a firewall, load balancer, NAT/reverse proxy, and other network components that you may have in front of your infrastructure.

For example: https://www.backup.example.com/

After the public URL is specified, the address under Login page in the organization details area will be

Name

Schedule

Retention period

Daily

Every day at 22:00

1 week

Weekly

Every Friday at 22:00

4 weeks

Monthly

Every 4 weeks on Friday at 22:00

48 weeks

displayed as follows: https://www.backup.example.com/org/MyOrganization

1.6.1 Managing system backup plans

What is a backup plan?

A backup plan is a set of rules that defines how to protect virtual machines. The rules include the backup schedule, retention rules, and backup options such as protecting backups with a password.

The backup service users create backup plans and apply them to their virtual machines.

What is a system backup plan?

In order to assist the backup service users, a system administrator can create ready-to-use backup plans, called system backup plans.

When enabling backup for an organization, the system administrator specifies which of the system backup plans will be available to the organization users. The users can apply these backup plans to their virtual machines but cannot edit or delete them.

The following table lists the system backup plans that are initially delivered with the software.

These backup plans start at 22:00 according to the time settings of Agent for ESX(i). The dates and times shown to a user are adjusted to the time zone of the user's machine. Therefore, users located in different time zones may see different times although the schedule is the same.

Operations with system backup plans

A system administrator can edit the system backup plans, create new ones, and delete existing backup plans.

To create or edit a system backup plan

Important: Editing a system backup plan will affect all organizations for which you made this backup plan

available.

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. Click System backup plans.

4. Depending on what you want to do, click Create or select the backup plan to edit, and then click

Edit.

5. In Name, type the name of the backup plan. The name must differ from names of other backup

plans in the list.

6. Specify the schedule and retention rules (p. 41) for the backup plan.

Details. Because a system backup plan can be distributed across many organizations, you cannot enable backup options, such as encryption or notifications.

7. Click OK.

To make a newly created backup plan available to an organization, go to the Organizations tab, select the organization, click Configure, click Backup plans, select the check box for the plan, and then click OK.

To delete a system backup plan

Caution: As a result, backups will no longer run on the machines to which the backup plan was applied, until

users apply different backup plans to the machines.

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. Click System backup plans.

4. Select the backup plan to delete.

5. Click Delete.

6. Confirm your decision.

1.7 Generating usage reports

Usage reports provide historical data about using the backup service. The following reports are available:

 Selected organization

This report contains statistics for a given organization. It can be used to charge organizations for the backup service.

 All organizations

This report contains statistics for all organizations that used the backup service in the reporting period (including organizations for which the backup service is currently disabled).

 Report for Acronis

This report contains the same information as the report for all organizations with the addition of your company name and contact e-mail.

Reporting parameters

The values of all parameters are checked every day at 23:55 according to the time settings of vCloud Director. The report uses the values as they were at that time.

The report includes the following parameters for the organization:

 Number of protected VMs: The total number of protected machines (that is, the machines to

which backup plans are applied), no matter whether backups of those machines exist

 Storage usage: The total size of all backups in the backup storage (in gigabytes)  Disk size of protected VMs: The total size of hard disks of the protected machines (in gigabytes),

regardless of the occupied space on those disks

 RAM size of protected VMs: The total amount of memory of the protected machines (in

gigabytes)

 CPU number of protected VMs: The total number of CPUs of the protected machines

To generate a usage report

1. Log in to the service.

2. Click the Organizations tab.

3. If you want to generate a report for an organization, select the organization. Otherwise, skip this

step.

4. Click Generate report, and then click Selected organization, All organizations or Report for

Acronis.

5. In Period, select the reporting period:

 Current calendar month: The report will include data from the first day of the current month

up to the current day (when generating the report after 23:55) or up to the previous day (when generating the report before 23:55).

 Previous calendar month: The report will include data for the previous month. For example,

in April you will get a report for the time interval from March 1 through March 31.

 Custom period: The report will include data for the time interval that you specify.

6. When generating a report for Acronis, skip this step. The report type will be set to Daily

statistics.

Otherwise, in Type, select the report type:

 Daily statistics: The report will include the values of the reporting parameters for each day of

the reporting period. The report also includes the summary: the minimum, maximum, and average values of each of the reporting parameters throughout the period.

 Summary report: The Selected organization report will include only the summary (see the

previous option). The All organizations report will include average values throughout the reporting period for each organization.

7. Click OK. The report will appear in a separate browser window or tab.

8. [Optional] To print the report, click Print. To save the report as a comma-separated values (.csv)

file, click Save as .csv file.

9. If you generated a report for Acronis and want to send it: a. Click Send to Acronis. b. If prompted, provide the name of your company and contact e-mail address.

Tip. The software can remember these settings so that you do not have to enter them every time. Refer to "Usage report for Acronis" in "Configuring the backup service" (p. 26).

c. [Optional] If you want to automate sending the reports, select the Automatically send usage

reports to Acronis on the first day of each month check box.

1.8 Advanced cases

This section describes how you can use Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud in more advanced cases.

1.8.1 Recovery of files from a backup of a virtual machine

Organization users are only allowed to recover entire virtual machines. If a user requests file-level recovery, you can recover individual files from a backup of a virtual machine by using Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Console.

You need to know the virtual machine name, the file path within this virtual machine, and the date to recover the file to.

Files can be recovered to a network share, to an FTP server, or to an SFTP server.

To recover files from a backup of a virtual machine

1. Connect the console to the management server as described in "Using the management console"

(p. 14).

2. Click Recover.

3. Under What to recover: a. Click Select data... > Data path, and then specify the path to the backup storage that

contains the backup.

b. Click the Archive view tab. c. Find the archive that is named after the backed up machine. d. Expand the archive, and then click the necessary backup. e. In Backup contents, select Files, and then select the files to recover. f. Click OK.

4. Under Where to recover: a. Click Browse, and then select Agent for ESX(i) that will perform the recovery. You can select

any agent that has network access to the backup storage and the recovery destination.

b. In Destination, click New location, and then select a location to recover the files to.

The files and folders will be recovered without recreating a full path, unless you clear the Recover without full path check box.

c. Choose what to do if the program finds a file with the same name in the target folder as in

the archive:

 Overwrite existing file: this will give the file in the backup priority over the file on the

hard disk.

 Overwrite existing file if it is older: this will give priority to the most recent file

modification, whether it is in the backup or on the disk.

 Do not overwrite existing file: this will give the file on the hard disk priority over the file

in the backup.

If you allow files to be overwritten, you still have an option to prevent overwriting of specific files by excluding them from the recovery operation.

d. [Optional] Click Recovery exclusions to specify files and folders you do not wish to be

recovered.

5. Click OK to recover the files.

For general information about how to perform recovery, refer to the "Creating a recovery task" section of the Acronis Backup & Recovery built-in help.

1.8.2 Disaster recovery of physical machines to vCloud

If an organization backs up its physical machines by using Acronis Backup & Recovery, you can allow the organization to store the resulting backups in their Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud backup storage.

To do this, expose the backup storage as a network share and let the organization administrator do any of the following:

1. Back up the physical machines directly to the backup storage.

2. Replicate or move backups of physical machines to the backup storage, as part of Acronis Backup

& Recovery backup plans.

3. Export the backups from their original location to the backup storage.

As a result, the organization administrator will see the backups of physical machines in the Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud interface. In case of a disaster, the organization administrator will be able to recreate a physical server as a virtual machine in their vCloud organization.

1.8.3 Changing the backup storage

vCloud system administrators can change the backup storage assigned to an organization.

If the storage device runs out of free space and cannot be upgraded, you may want to migrate some or all of the backup storages to a new device. Besides changing the storage paths, you need to move the previously created backups to the new location. Otherwise, these backups will not be available to the organization users. While the backups are being moved, all operations that require access to the backup storage must be disabled. Access to other backup storages located on the same device may slow down.

The following steps are required to migrate backups storages to a new location. For easier access to both the management server and the backup service interface, we recommend that you perform these steps on the management server machine.

Disabling user access to the service

1. Log in to the service and click the Organizations tab.

2. Select the organization to change the backup storage for, and then click Configure.

3. On the User privileges tab, clear the Log in to the backup service check box. Click OK to confirm

the changes.

This will prevent the organization users from using the backup service while you are changing the backup storage.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 for every organization for which the backup storage will be changed.

Disabling the backup plans

1. Connect the console to the management server (p. 14).

2. Click Backup plans and tasks.

3. Disable all backup plans that are applied to the organization's virtual machines by selecting each

of the backup plans and then clicking Disable.

Tip. A backup plan's name starts with the name of the organization. You can filter the backup plans by typing their names in the field below the Name column's header.

The management server names backup plans by using the following template: %OrgName%_%BackupPlanOwner%_%BackupPlanName%, where %OrgName% is the name of an organization, %BackupPlanOwner% is the name of the backup plan owner as it is displayed in the Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud interface, and %BackupPlanName% is the name of the backup plan as it is displayed in the Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud interface. For example, MyOrg_OrgUser_Daily.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 for every organization for which the backup storage will be changed.

5. If any of the disabled backup plans are running, wait until all of them stop.

Tip. You can inspect backup plan's Execution state to see if it is currently running.

Moving the backups

1. Move an organization's backup storage to the new storage device.

Important. All of the folders and files in the backup storage must be moved. This operation may be time consuming.

2. Repeat step 1 for every organization for which the backup storage will be changed.

Changing the backup storage

1. Log in to the service (if logged out) and click the Organizations tab.

2. Select the organization to change the backup storage for and then click Configure.

3. In Backup storage, specify the path to the new backup storage. If authentication is required to

access the folder, specify the credentials of a user account that has read/write permissions for this folder.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 for every organization for which the backup storage will be changed.

Enabling the backup plans

1. Connect the console to the management server (p. 14) (if not connected).

2. Click Backup plans and tasks.

3. Enable the previously disabled backup plans by selecting each of the backup plans and then

clicking Enable.

Enabling user access to the service

1. Log in to the service (if logged out) and click the Organizations tab.

2. Select the organization for which the backup storage has been changed and then click Configure.

3. On the User privileges tab, select the Log in to the backup service check box. Click OK to confirm

the changes.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 for every organization for which the backup storage has been changed.

2 User's Guide

2.1 About the backup service

This service enables you to back up and recover virtual machines managed by VMware vCloud Director.

The service is available through a web interface. To log in to the backup service, use your vCloud Director credentials.

2.2 Supported web browsers

 Google Chrome 12 or later  Mozilla Firefox 12 or later  Windows Internet Explorer 9 or later  Safari 5 or later running in the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems

In other web browsers (including Safari browsers running in other operating systems), the user interface might be displayed incorrectly, or all functions might not be available.

Make sure that JavaScript is enabled in the browser.

The screen resolution for displaying the graphical user interface must be 1024x768 or higher.

2.3 Installing VMware Tools

We recommend installing VMware Tools on all virtual machines which you are planning to back up in the powered-on state.

Installing VMware Tools is a common requirement for backing up at a hypervisor level. The backup service uses VMware Tools to create a time-consistent backup of the machine. All data will be backed up as it was at the moment when the backup started, even if the data changes while the backup is running.

To install VMware Tools on a virtual machine

1. Log in to vCloud Director.

2. In the list of virtual machines, examine the VMware Tools column for the virtual machine. This

column is hidden by default.

3. If this column shows Not installed, install the most recent version as follows: a. Power on the machine. b. Right-click the machine and then click Install VMware Tools. c. Follow the on-screen instructions.

For information about installing VMware Tools in a specific operating system, refer to the following VMware knowledge base article: http://pubs.vmware.com/vcd-51/topic/com.vmware.vcloud.users.doc_51/GUID-F0826E73-7F9F-489 C-B0DB-17C7D742B1AF.html.

2.4 Basic operations

This section describes typical usage of the backup service.

2.4.1 Logging in to the service

You can log in to the backup service under the following conditions:

 You are an organization administrator in vCloud Director.  A system administrator has enabled use of the service for your organization.

To log in to the backup service

1. Go to the login page of the backup service. The URL of the login page looks like:

https://backup.example.com/org/<Organization name>

If you are unsure about the address of the login page, contact the system administrator.

2. Type the user name and password of your vCloud Director account.

3. Click Log in.

2.4.2 Backing up virtual machines

The virtual machines that you can back up are listed on the organization tab.

The vApps list shows all vApps in the organization. The All virtual machines list shows all virtual machines from those vApps.

Starting a backup

Select one or more virtual machines that you want to back up, and then click Back up now.

If you want backups to run on a schedule, apply a backup plan (p. 36) instead.

Monitoring a backup

A backup may start with a delay, depending on the backup service load.

When the backup starts, you can see its progress in the machine details area on the right.

The number of machines that are backed up simultaneously and the order in which they are backed up are defined by the backup service.

If you need to stop the backup on a specific machine, select the machine, and then click Stop backup or click the stop button ( ) near the progress bar.

Viewing the result

Once a virtual machine is successfully backed up, the newly created backup appears in the Backups column on the Backup storage tab.

2.4.3 Applying a backup plan

Applying a backup plan to a virtual machine enables you to automate creating and deleting the machine's backups.

Depending on how the backup service is configured, you may be able to create your own backup plans, apply backup plans shared by the system administrator, or both.

To apply a backup plan to virtual machines

1. Select one or more virtual machines.

2. Click Apply backup plan.

3. Select the backup plan that you want to apply to the machines. For example, select Daily.

A backup plan contains the following instructions for the backup service:

 Schedule: When and how often to do backups.  Retention rules: How long to store the backups.  Backup options: Whether to exclude specific files and folders (Exclusions); to send

notifications about backup operation results (Notifications); and to encrypt backups (Encryption).

4. Click OK.

The name of the applied backup plan appears in the Backup plan column. If another backup plan was previously applied to the machine, that backup plan is revoked.

Tips on usage

 Should you need to restart a failed backup, click Back up now. The machine will be backed up

according to the backup plan settings. However, the retention rules will not be applied this time.

 Change a backup plan to one with a different Encryption setting (including different password)

only if it is really necessary. This operation is allowed, but it may cause some inconveniences. For details, refer to "Consequences of changing encryption" in "Editing a backup plan" (p. 44).

2.4.4 Overwriting a virtual machine with its backed-up version

This recovery procedure can be easily run directly from the organization tab.

Overwriting a machine means that only the content of its original disks is overwritten. The content of hard disks that were added after the backup will remain the same. The machine settings, such as CPU and memory settings, and the MAC addresses (also known as physical addresses) of the network adapters are also preserved.

Setting up the recovery

1. On the organization tab, select the machine that you want to recover, and then click Recover.

2. In Recovery point, select the date and time to which the machine will be recovered. By default,

the latest recovery point will be used.

If the vApp no longer has one or more networks that were used by the backed-up machine, you are prompted to map the network adapters of the virtual machine to the networks of the vApp.

3. [Optional] Select the Power on the virtual machine after recovery check box.

4. Click OK.

Monitoring the recovery progress

When the recovery starts, the machine will have the Recovering protection status. The progress of recovery is shown in the machine details area on the right.

If you need to stop the recovery, click the Stop recovery button or the stop button ( ) near the progress bar. The original machine will likely become corrupted.

2.4.5 Recovering a virtual machine

This is a common recovery procedure. Unlike overwriting an existing virtual machine, this enables you to recover a deleted virtual machine, create a new virtual machine by recovering it from a backup, and change the machine's network settings.

Setting up the recovery

1. Open the Backup storage tab.

2. In the list of backed-up machines, select the machine that you want to recover, and then click

Recover.

3. In Recovery point, select the date and time to which the machine will be recovered. By default,

the latest recovery point is selected.

4. In Target vApp, specify the vApp to which the machine will be recovered. By default, the original

vApp is selected.

5. In Name of the recovered machine, type a name that the recovered machine will have in the

vApp. By default, the original machine's name is selected.

If a machine with the same name exists in this vApp, the software examines the machine's unique identifier in vCloud Director. A machine with the same unique identifier will be overwritten. If the machine has a different unique identifier, the software creates a new virtual machine and adds a suffix like (1) to its name.

6. Under Show additional parameters, you can do any of the following:

 In Computer name, change or specify the name that the machine will have on the network.

This is the name defined in the guest operating system (Control panel > System > System Properties > Computer Name).

 In Network adapters, change or specify the settings for the machine's network adapters.  In Preserve MAC addresses, specify whether the machine's network adapters will have the

same MAC addresses as those of the original machine. To prevent a MAC address conflict, avoid selecting this check box if the original machine exists and will not be overwritten.

7. [Optional] Select the Power on the virtual machine after recovery check box.

8. Click OK.

Status

Meaning

Not protected

No backup plan is applied to the machine.

Never backed up

A backup plan is applied to the machine, but no backup has been run.

A backup plan is applied to the machine and the latest backup was completed successfully.

Error

A backup plan is applied to the machine, and the latest backup failed.

Monitoring the recovery progress

The progress of recovery is shown in the machine details area on the right.

If you need to stop the recovery, click the stop button ( ) near the progress bar.

2.4.6 Monitoring protection statuses

The Protection status column on the organization tab indicates how well a virtual machine or a vApp is protected.

Protection statuses of machines

The table below lists protection statuses of a machine by order of severity, from the least severe to the most severe.

Instead of these statuses, the Backing up… or Recovering… status is shown when a backup operation or a recovery operation is running.

Protection statuses of vApps

The protection status of a vApp is the most severe status among the machines in the vApp. This status does not depend on whether a machine is currently being backed up or recovered.

2.5 Operations with backups

The Backup storage tab shows the list of backed-up virtual machines. Each of the machines has one or more backups, also called recovery points. The backups are listed in the Backups area on the right.

Once you select a backup, the Machine details area shows the computer name, the guest operating system, and the IP addresses for the machine at the time of backup.

The following operations with backups are available:

 To recover a machine from a backup, select the machine and click Recover. Refer to "Recovering

a virtual machine" (p. 38).

 To delete one or more backups of a machine, select the machine and click Delete. In the opened

window, select the backups that you want to delete and click Delete.

 To delete all backups of two or more machines, select the machines and click Delete.

The Storage usage area on the bottom shows the following parameters:

 The storage quota for the organization (if set by the system administrator).  The total size of backups stored in the backup storage.  The number of backed-up virtual machines.  The column chart representing backup storage usage for the last 30 days.

You can also see historical data on the storage usage by clicking Generate usage report (p. 45).

2.6 Operations with backup plans

The Backup plans tab shows the backup plans that you can apply to your virtual machines.

The following backup plans are shown:

 System backup plans ( ). These are shared with your organization by the system administrator.

You cannot edit or delete these backup plans.

 Backup plans owned by you ( ). You can perform any operations with these backup plans.

When you create a backup plan (p. 41), you become its owner.

2.6.1 Creating a backup plan

In addition to using existing backup plans, you can create your own backup plans.

To create a backup plan

1. Open the Backup plans tab.

2. Click Create.

3. Type the name of the backup plan. The name must differ from names of other backup plans in

the list of backup plans.

4. Specify the schedule type: Daily, Weekly, or GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son).

5. On the Schedule and Retention rules tabs, specify the schedule and retention rules (p. 41) for

the backup plan.

6. On the Options tab, specify the backup options (p. 43).

7. Click OK.

After creating the backup plan, you can apply it to your virtual machines (p. 36).

2.6.1.1 Schedule and retention rules

The backup operation runs according to the schedule you specify. The resulting backups are kept according to the retention rules and then deleted.

The scheduled time is displayed according to the time zone set on the machine from which you are logged in to the backup service. If you schedule backups to run, say, at 07:00, they will run when your machine clock reaches 07:00, regardless of the time zone where the vCloud infrastructure is physically located. If you change the time zone setting on the machine, the schedule will not change, but you will see different start time.

The following schedule types and the corresponding retention rules are available:

Daily backup

Schedule. Select the days of week and the time when to run backups.

Retention rules. Specify how long you want to retain the backups.

By default, the backups will run Monday through Friday at 22:00. The resulting backups will be retained for one week.

Weekly backup

With this schedule, the backups will run once in the specified number of weeks.

Schedule

1. Select the number of weeks.

2. Select the day of week and the time to run backups.

By default, the backups will run every week on Friday at 22:00.

Retention rules

Specify how long you want to retain the backups.

By default, the backups will be retained for four weeks.

GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son)

This schedule is useful for long-term storage of backups.

With this schedule, you have a single backup for each of the recent days and for each of the recent weeks. For earlier periods of time, you have a single backup for each month.

Schedule

1. Select the days of week and the time when to run backups.

2. Out of these days of week, choose the one to Do weekly/monthly backups on. Backups that are

performed on that day will be considered as weekly backups and monthly backups. Backups that are performed on other days will be considered as daily backups.

By default, the backups will run Monday through Friday at 22:00. Friday is chosen for Weekly/Monthly backups.

Retention rules

Specify how long you want to retain the daily, weekly, and monthly backups.

The retention period for weekly backups must exceed that for daily backups. The retention period for monthly backups must exceed that for weekly backups.

The default settings are the following:

 Daily backups: 5 days (recommended minimum)  Weekly backups: 7 weeks  Monthly backups: 12 months

Example

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

March 1–7

D D D D W – –

March 8–14

D D D D W – –

March 15–21

D D D D W – –

March 22–28

D D D D M – –

March 29–April 4

D D D D W – –

April 5–11

D D D D W – –

April 12–18

D D D D W – –

April 19–25

D D D D W – –

April 26–May 2

D D D D M – –

Suppose that you use the default settings (run backups Monday through Friday, Weekly/Monthly backups on Friday, the default retention rules) and apply the backup plan on Monday, March 1.

The following table shows which daily (D), weekly (W), and monthly (M) backups will remain on Friday, April 30. Backups that are shown on the gray background will be deleted by that day.

2.6.1.2 Backup options

On the Options tab, configure the parameters of the backup operation.

Encryption

Specify the password to be used for encrypting the backups.

The backups will be encrypted with the AES-256 encryption algorithm.

The password is not stored anywhere on the disk or in the backup file. Make sure you remember the password. Recovering a lost password is not possible.

If you edit the backup plan (p. 44) and change or remove the password, the retention rules will no longer apply to the backups with the old encryption setting. Also, separate entries will be shown in the backup storage for sets of backups with different encryption settings. During recovery, you will need to select the correct entry and type the correct password.

Notifications

Specify whether to send e-mail notifications after a successful backup, after a failed backup, or both.

Specify the address to send the notifications. Separate multiple e-mail addresses with a semicolon. For example: user1@example.com; user2@example.com

The notifications will be sent from the e-mail address specified by a system administrator.

Exclusions

Type one or more criteria. Files and folders that match any of the specified criteria will not be backed up.

This option is effective only for files and folders that are stored on the following file systems:

 FAT  NTFS  Ext3  Ext4

Regardless of the file system, this option is not effective for volumes that are managed by Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM), also known as logical volumes; and for multiple-disk (MD) devices, also known as Linux Software RAID.

How to specify criteria

You can use the following criteria:

 The full path to a file or folder, starting with the drive letter (when backing up Windows) or the

root directory (when backing up Linux).

Both in Windows and Linux, you can use a forward slash in the file or folder path (for example: C:/Temp and C:/Temp/File.tmp). In Windows, you can also use the traditional backslash (for example: C:\Temp and C:\Temp\File.tmp).

 The name of a file or folder; for example: Document.txt. All files and folders with that name will

be excluded.

Separate multiple criteria with a semicolon (;).

The criteria are not case-sensitive. For example, if you choose to exclude all .tmp files and the

C:\Temp folder, also excluded will be all .Tmp files, all .TMP files, and the C:\TEMP folder.

Wildcard characters

You can use one or more wildcard characters * and ? in a criterion. These characters can be used within the full path and in the file or folder name.

The asterisk (*) substitutes for zero or more characters in a file name. For example, the criterion Doc*.txt covers files such as Doc.txt and Document.txt.

The question mark (?) substitutes for exactly one character in a file name. For example, the criterion Doc?.txt covers files such as Doc1.txt and Docs.txt, but not the files Doc.txt or Doc11.txt.

2.6.2 Editing a backup plan

Important: The changes you make to a backup plan affect all virtual machines to which the backup plan is applied, both your machines and other users' machines.

To edit a backup plan

1. Open the Backup plans tab.

2. Select the backup plan that you want to edit, and then click Edit.

3. View or change the name, schedule, retention rules (p. 41), and backup options (p. 43).

4. Click OK.

Consequences of changing encryption

If you need to change the Encryption setting (to enable or disable encryption or to change the password), consider the following:

 Retention rules will no longer apply to the backups with the old encryption setting. You can only

delete those backups manually (p. 45).

 Separate entries will be shown in the backup storage for sets of backups with different

encryption settings. During recovery, you will need to select the correct entry and type the correct password.

The same happens when you apply a backup plan to a machine where another backup plan with a different Encryption setting is applied.

2.6.3 Revoking a backup plan

When you revoke a backup plan from a machine, a currently running backup (if any) is stopped. The machine will no longer be backed up until a backup plan is applied again. Backups of the machine are retained in the backup storage until you delete them manually (p. 40).

To revoke a backup plan

1. Open the tab with the organization name.

2. Select one or more machines from which you want to revoke backup plans.

3. Click Revoke backup plan.

2.6.4 Deleting a backup plan

When you delete a backup plan, it is revoked (p. 45) from all machines to which it is applied (both your machines and other users' machines) and it is removed from the list of backup plans.

To delete a backup plan

1. Open the Backup plans tab.

2. Select the backup plan that you want to delete, and then click Delete.

3. Confirm the deletion of the backup plan.

2.7 Generating usage reports

Usage reports provide historical data about using the backup service in your organization. You may need these reports to calculate how much your organization will be charged for the service.

Reporting parameters

The values of all parameters are checked every day at 23:55 according to the time settings of vCloud Director. The report uses the values as they were at that time.

The report includes the following parameters for the organization:

 Number of protected VMs: The total number of protected machines (that is, the machines to

which backup plans are applied), no matter whether backups of those machines exist

 Storage usage: The total size of all backups in the backup storage (in gigabytes)  Disk size of protected VMs: The total size of hard disks of the protected machines (in gigabytes),

regardless of the occupied space on those disks

 RAM size of protected VMs: The total amount of memory of the protected machines (in

gigabytes)

 CPU number of protected VMs: The total number of CPUs of the protected machines

To generate a usage report

1. Open the Backup storage tab.

2. In the Storage usage area on the bottom, click Generate usage report.

3. In Period, select the reporting period:

 Current calendar month: The report will include data from the first day of the current month

up to the current day (when generating the report after 23:55) or up to the previous day (when generating the report before 23:55).

 Previous calendar month: The report will include data from all days of the previous month.

For example, in April you will get a report for the time interval from March 1 through March

31.

 Custom period: The report will include data from the interval that you specify.

4. In Type, select the report type:

 Daily statistics: The report will include the values of the reporting parameters for each day of

the reporting period. The report also includes the summary: the minimum, maximum, and average values of each of the reporting parameters throughout the period.

 Summary report: The report will include only the summary (see the previous option).

5. Click OK. The report appears in a separate browser window or tab.

6. [Optional] To print the report, click Print. To save the report as a comma-separated values (.csv)

file, click Save as .csv file.

3 Terminology reference

Backup (operation)

An operation that saves the current virtual machine configuration and the content of the virtual machine's hard disks in a packaged form, for the purpose of recovery.

Backup (recovery point)

The result of a single backup operation.

A backup represents a point in time to which a user can recover the virtual machine. Physically, a backup is stored as one or more files in the backup storage.

Backup plan

A set of rules that define how to protect virtual machines.

The rules include the backup schedule, retention rules and backup options such as protecting backups with a password. For example: perform backup every day at midnight, delete backups that are older than one month, and protect the backups with a password.

Backup plan owner

An organization user who created the backup plan. Besides the owner, any organization administrator or system administrator can modify the backup plan.

The system backup plans have a special owner called System. The owner is also System for backup plans created by the system administrator within the organization.

Backup storage

A folder allocated by a system administrator for storing an organization's backups.

Organization administrator

A user who has the Organization Administrator role in vCloud Director.

An organization administrator can back up and recover any virtual machine in the organization.

Protected machine

A virtual machine to which a backup plan is applied.

Recovery

An operation that creates or overwrites a virtual machine by using the data that was earlier saved in a backup. When you select for recovery the same machine that was backed up, it is overwritten. Otherwise, a new virtual machine is created.

Retention rules

A part of backup plan that specifies how long backups are kept.

Storage quota (quota)

The amount of storage space allocated for an organization.

If the quota is exceeded, the system administrator and the organization users see alerts in the backup service interface. Restrictions on using the backup service are not applied unless the system administrator does this manually.

System administrator

A user who has the System Administrator role in vCloud Director.

A system administrator can back up and recover any virtual machine in any organization. A system administrator can allow organization users to back up virtual machines in their organization.

System backup plan

A ready-to-use backup plan predefined by the system administrator in order to make it available across many organizations. Organization users can apply system backup plans to their virtual machines.

Changes to a system backup plan affect all organizations to which it was made available.

User

A person who has a user account in vCloud Director.

Depending on the permissions that are assigned to the user account in vCloud Director, a user can be a system administrator, an organization administrator, or an ordinary user in an organization.

The backup service is available for system administrators and organization administrators.

vApp

A set of virtual machines that is created in vCloud Director and that can be managed in vCloud Director as a single entity.

“Acronis” and “Acronis Secure Zone” are registered trademarks of Acronis International GmbH.

"Acronis Compute with Confidence", “Acronis Startup Recovery Manager”, “Acronis Active Restore”, “Acronis Instant Restore” and the Acronis logo are trademarks of Acronis International GmbH.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

VMware and VMware Ready are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.

Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Distribution of this work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.

Third party code may be provided with the Software and/or Service. The license terms for such third-parties are detailed in the license.txt file located in the root installation directory. You can always find the latest up-to-date list of the third party code and the associated license terms used with the Software and/or Service at http://kb.acronis.com/content/7696

Acronis patented technologies

Technologies used in this product are covered by the following patents: U.S. Patent # 7,047,380; U.S. Patent # 7,246,211; U.S. Patent # 7,318,135; U.S. Patent # 7,366,859; U.S. Patent # 7,636,824; U.S. Patent # 7,831,789; U.S. Patent # 7,886,120; U.S. Patent # 7,934,064; U.S. Patent # 7,949,635; U.S. Patent # 7,979,690; U.S. Patent # 8,069,320; U.S. Patent # 8,073,815; U.S. Patent # 8,074,035.

Acronis Backup Recovery for vCloud Administrator's Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

1 Administrator's Guide

1.1 About this document

1.2.1 Software requirements

1.2.2 Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud architecture

1.2.3 Planning hardware resources

1.2.3.1 vSphere capacity requirements

1.2.3.2 Planning backup storages

1.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery for vCloud

1.3.1 Preparation

1.3.2 Installing and configuring RabbitMQ Server

1.3.3 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Management Server

1.3.3.1 Typical installation

1.3.3.2 Custom installation

1.3.4 Using the management console

1.3.5 Integrating the management server with vCenter Server

1.3.6 Deploying Agent for ESX(i)

1.3.7 Installing Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud

1.3.8 Configuring Acronis Backup & Recovery Agent for vCloud

1.3.9 Checking network connections

1.3.10 Uninstallation

1.4 Logging in to the backup service

1.5 Administering organizations

1.5.1 Monitoring organizations

1.5.2 Enabling backup for an organization

1.5.3 Disabling backup for an organization

1.5.4 Operating within an organization

1.6 Configuring the backup service

1.6.1 Managing system backup plans

1.7 Generating usage reports

1.8 Advanced cases

1.8.1 Recovery of files from a backup of a virtual machine

1.8.2 Disaster recovery of physical machines to vCloud

1.8.3 Changing the backup storage

2 User's Guide

2.1 About the backup service

2.2 Supported web browsers

2.3 Installing VMware Tools

2.4 Basic operations

2.4.1 Logging in to the service

2.4.2 Backing up virtual machines

2.4.3 Applying a backup plan

2.4.4 Overwriting a virtual machine with its backed-up version

2.4.5 Recovering a virtual machine

2.4.6 Monitoring protection statuses

2.5 Operations with backups

2.6 Operations with backup plans

2.6.1 Creating a backup plan

2.6.1.1 Schedule and retention rules

2.6.1.2 Backup options

2.6.2 Editing a backup plan

2.6.3 Revoking a backup plan

2.6.4 Deleting a backup plan

2.7 Generating usage reports

3 Terminology reference