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vCenter Configuration Manager Backup and Disaster
Recovery Guide
VCM 5.3
This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all
subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To
check for more recent editions of this document, see
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-000472-00
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You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
docfeedback@vmware.com
© 2006-2010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and
intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at
http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.
VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All
other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
VMware, Inc.
3401 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
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Contents
About This Book 5
Implementing a Disaster Recovery Plan 7
Performing Backup Procedures 9
Backing Up the Database 9
Perform a Full Backup 10
Perform a Differential Backup 17
Perform a File System Backup 23
Back up HTTP Certificates 23
Performing Recovery Procedures 29
Import HTTP Certificates 30
Restoring the Databases 35
Restore the System Database 35
Restore the Report Server Database 37
Restore the VCM Databases 39
Installing VCM 41
Restoring File System Components 43
Script for Exported Reports 43
Index 45
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About This Book
This manual, VCM Backup and Disaster Recovery Guide, describes the steps required to ensure the
preparation and implementation of a successful disaster recovery plan for VMware vCenter Configuration
Manager (VCM). This document contains the following information:
n
Backup procedures
n
Recovery procedures
n
Database restoration procedures
Read this document and complete the associated procedures to prepare for a successful disaster recovery
plan. The VCM Backup and Disaster Recovery Guide covers VCM version 5.3.
Intended Audience
The information presented in this manual is written for system administrators who are experienced
Windows or UNIX/Linux/Mac OSX system administrators and who are familiar with managing network
users and resources, and performing system maintenance.
To use the information in this guide effectively, you must have a basic understanding of how to configure
network resources, install software, and administer operating systems. You also need to fully understand
your network’s topology and resource naming conventions.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send
your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.
VMware VCM Documentation
The vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM) documentation consists of the VCM Hardware and Software
Requirements Guide, VCM Hardware and Software Requirements Guide, VCM Foundation Checker User's Guide,
VCM online Help, and other associated documentation.
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Technical Support and Education Resources
The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book
and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone
Support
To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product
and contract information, and register your products, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for
priority 1 issues. Go to http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.
Support Offerings To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs,
go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Professional
Services
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study
examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools.
Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot
programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services
provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual
environment. To access information about education classes, certification
programs, and consulting services, go to http://www.vmware.com/services.
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Implementing a Disaster Recovery Plan
1
To provide a disaster recovery plan for vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM), VMware recommends
the following procedures be implemented for an “Active Production / Standby Spare” recovery model.
This guide provides a baseline for configuring the proper backup schedules and information on how to
recover a system using these prepared backups. The frequencies and retention values provided may be
adjusted to meet specific service-level agreements and retention requirements.
When implementing a Disaster Recovery Plan, ensure the following:
n
Historical data should be retained, and will be as current as the last scheduled database backup.
n
Duplicate hardware of the production VCM Collector will be available in an alternate location for
recovery tasks.
n
The recovery Collector will be prepared with all software prerequisites for a VCM installation matching
the product versions of the production Collector.
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Performing Backup Procedures
2
The following steps should be taken to ensure that all required databases have been properly backed up in
compliance with your corporate standards. The maintenance plan created for this process should be used
in addition to other database integrity and re-indexing maintenance plans. Although both backup plans, as
well as other maintenance tasks, may be combined into a single SQL Maintenance Plan, creating separate
plans can assist in future troubleshooting and Maintenance Plan organization.
IMPORTANT Although the procedures in this document apply to SQLServer, you should apply the
concepts about backing up your data to any third-party software you are using.
Backing Up the Database
The example provided in this guide assumes a weekly full backup and a daily differential backup of each
database. Transaction log (point-in-time) backups are not available, as the VCM databases are configured
in Simple Recovery mode and should not be modified.
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Perform a Full Backup
Full backups will remain available on-disk for four weeks and differential backups will remain available for
seven days. When adjusting the frequency or retention of backup schedules, ensure that the required
amount of disk space is available for the maximum number of backup sets.
Procedure
1. Start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Connect to the VCM Database Server using an account with SQL Administrative privileges.
3. In Object Explorer, navigate to the Maintenance Plans node.
4. Right-click Maintenance Plans, and then select Maintenance Plan Wizard.
5. Click Next, and then enter a name and description for the maintenance plan.
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6. Click Change to create a schedule for the Full Backup Plan.
7. Ensure that the schedule is enabled as a Recurring schedule type.
8. Configure the schedule at a time when minimal Collector activity will be occurring.
9. Click Next. The Select Maintenance Tasks page appears.
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10. Select Back Up Database (Full), and then click Next. The Select Maintenance Task Order page appears.
11. If you are combining this backup task with other tasks, set an appropriate execution order. VMware
recommends performing the backup after all other tasks. The Define Back Up Database (Full) Task
page appears.
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12. Click the Database(s) drop-down menu and select the databases to be backed up.
The following databases should be included in the backup set (select corresponding databases if
alternate names were used during the initial installation): CSI_Domain, master, msdb, ReportServer,
VCM, VCM_Coll, and VCM_UNIX.
13. Click OK to select the databases and return to the Define Back Up Database (Full) Task.
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14. Click OK to select the databases and return to the Define Back Up Database (Differential) Task.
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Configure the additional settings:
n
Backup set will expire: Specify After 28 days. Depending on your corporate backup policies, and
disk space available, you may need to modify this setting to match your policy.
n
Back up to: Select Disk.
n
Create a backup file for every database: Select this option and the sub option: Create a subdirectory for each database. Then specify the folder for the designated backup drive and folder
structure.
n
Backup file extension: Specify the extension as bak.
n
Verify backup integrity: Select this option.
15. Click Next. The Select Report Options page appears.
16. On the final Maintenance Plan Wizard page, verify all selected options.
17. Click Finish to complete the maintenance plan.
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18. Ensure all tasks complete successfully.
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Perform a Differential Backup
You should perform a daily, differential backup.
Procedure
1. Start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Connect to the VCM Database Server using an account with SQL Administrative privileges.
3. Navigate to the Maintenance Plans node in the Object Explorer.
4. Right-click Maintenance Plans, and then select Maintenance Plan Wizard.
5. Click Next, and then enter a name and description for the maintenance plan.
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6. Click Change to create a schedule for the Differential Backup Plan.
7. Ensure that the schedule is enabled as a Recurring schedule type.
8. Configure the schedule at a time when minimal Collector activity will be occurring.
9. Click Next. The Select Maintenance Tasks page appears.
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10. Select Back Up Database (Differential), and then click Next. The Select Maintenance Task Order page
appears.
11. If you are combining this backup task with other tasks, set an appropriate execution order. VMware
recommends performing the backup after all other tasks. The Define Back Up Database (Differential)
Task page appears.
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12. Click the Database(s) drop-down menu and select the databases to be backed up.
The databases that should be included in the backup set include (select corresponding databases if
alternate names were used during the initial installation): CSI_Domain, msdb, ReportServer, VCM,
VCM_Coll, and VCM_UNIX.
13. Click OK to select the databases and return to the Define Back Up Database (Differential) Task.
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Configure the additional settings:
n
Backup set will expire: Specify After 7 days. Depending on your corporate backup policies, you
may need to modify this setting to match your policy.
n
Back up to: Select Disk.
n
Create a backup file for every database: Select this option and the sub option: Create a subdirectory for each database. Then specify the folder for the designated backup drive and folder
structure.
n
Backup file extension: Specify the extension as bak.
n
Verify backup integrity: Select this option.
14. Click Next. The Select Report Options page appears.
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15. On the final Maintenance Plan Wizard page, verify all selected options.
16. Click Finish to complete the maintenance plan.
17. Ensure all tasks complete successfully.
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Perform a File System Backup
File system backups may be performed using corporate standard tools or simple scripted file copies. It is
not necessary to back up the entire file system or the VCM Program directory structure.
At a minimum, VMware recommends you create a backup of the entire contents of the CMFILES$ share
(default location: C:\Program Files\VMware\VCM\WebConsole\L1033\Files). If customizations
have been made to your Collector, or if reports have been exported to a non-default location, you must
also ensure that these additional files are backed up as needed.
Back up HTTP Certificates
If HTTP Agents are in use, you must ensure that your HTTP Certificates are available for disaster recovery
purposes. The certificates must only be exported once for each new server and maintained in a secure
location for disaster recovery purposes.
Procedure
1. On the Collector server, click Start | Run.
2. Enter mmc to start the Microsoft Management Console.
3. From the File menu, select Add/Remove Snap-in to add a new Snap-in. The Add/Remove Snap-in
window appears.
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4. Click Add. In the Add Standalone Snap-in window, select Certificates, and then click Add. The
Certificates snap-in window appears.
5. Select Computer account to manage certificates for a computer account
6. Click Next.
7. Select Local computer for the snap-in to manage certificates on the local computer. Click Finish.
8. Close the Add Standalone Snap-in wizard page, and then click OKto close the Add/Remove Snap-in
wizard page and return to the Console.
9. From the Console Root, navigate to Trusted Root Certificate Authorities and select Certificates.
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10. Right-click VMware VCM Enterprise Certificate and select Export. The Certificate Export Wizard
appears.
11. Click Next. The Export Private Key page appears.
12. Select to export the private key with the certificate. Click Next.
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13. Accept the Personal Information Exchange default setting to enable strong protection. Click Next. The
Password page appears.
14. Enter a password for the certificate export. Click Next. The File to Export page appears.
15. Enter a location and name for the VMware VCM Enterprise Certificate.
16. Verify your selected options, and then click Finish to complete the export process. The Certificate
Export Wizard should report the export was successful. Click OK.
17. Locate your Personal Certificate.
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18. Repeat the steps above to export your personal Collector Certificate, selecting the VMware VCM
Collector Certificate as the Personal Certificate to export.
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Performing Recovery Procedures
3
You must verify that the prerequisites check completed successfully and that the SRSReport folder is
accessible.
Procedu re
1. Use the VCM 5.3 Installation and Getting Started Guide to install and validate all VCM prerequisites on
the recovery server.
2. Ensure the prerequisites check completed successfully.
3. Open Internet Explorer.
4. Navigate to http://[SERVERNAME]/reports, where SERVERNAME is the name of the recovery
server.
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Import HTTP Certificates
You must add the Certificate snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console.
Procedure
1. On the Collector server, click Start | Run.
2. Enter mmc to start the Microsoft Management Console.
3. From the File menu, select Add/Remove Snap-in to add a new Snap-in. The Add/Remove Snap-in
window appears.
4. Click Add. In the Add Standalone Snap-in window, select Certificates, and then click Add. The
Certificates snap-in window appears.
5. Choose Computer account to manage certificates for a computer account
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6. Click Next. followed by the option to manage certificates on the local computer.
7. Click Finish.
8. Close the Add Standalone Snap-in wizard page, and then click OK to close the Add/Remove Snap-in
wizard page and return to the Console.
9. Locate the Trusted Root Certification Authorities and the Certificates store.
10. Right-click Certificates, select All Tasks, and then select Import. The Certificate Import Wizard
appears.
11. Click Next. The File to Import page appears.
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12. Locate and select the VCM Enterprise Certificate from the production system.
13. Enter the required password and verify the "Mark this key as exportable" check box is selected. Click
Next. The Certificate Store page appears.
14. Select to place all certificates in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store. Click Next.
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15. Verify the Certificate Import operation, and then click Finish complete the wizard. Make sure the
wizard reports that the import was successful.
16. Repeat the steps above to import the VCM Collector Certificate into the Personal certificate store.
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Restoring the Databases
4
Database restoration must occur in three phases, and in the proper order. First, to restore proper user
access and scheduled jobs, the system database will be restored. Next, to recover SQL Reporting Services,
the SQL Report Server databases will be restored. Finally, the VCM Database will be restored.
Restore the System Database
You must take extra steps to properly restore the system databases. To restore the master database, you
must first place the SQL Server in single-user mode. After the master database has been restored, you
must run a command to update the SQL Server name.
Procedure
1. Place the SQL Server in Single-user Mode by accessing the Control Panel and selecting Administrative
Tools | Services.
2. Right-click the SQLServer (MSSQLSERVER) service and select Stop.
3. Start the SQL Server service in single-user mode with the following command:
NET START MSSQLSERVER /c /m
4. Wait for the service to start successfully.
5. Start SQL Server Management Studio.
6. When you are prompted for login credentials, select Cancel to avoid launching the Object Explorer.
7. Click New Query to start a new query definition.
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8. Log into the SQL Server with the local SQL account.
9. In the query window, enter the following command to restore the MASTER Database from backup:
10. Click Execute. Upon success, the SQL Server will be restarted and display the following message:
11. Select New Query to reconnect to the SQL server using Administrative privileges using the local
account or Windows Authentication.
12. Rename the SQL Server @@servername definition with the following command:
13. Click Execute.
14. Restart the SQL Server Service and reconnect using an account with Administrative privileges.
15. Restore the msdb database with the following command:
16. Click Execute.
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Restore the Report Server Database
To recover SQL Reporting Services, you must next restore the SQL Report Server databases.
Procedure
1. Stop the SQL Server Reporting Services service by accessing the Control Panel and selecting
Administrative Tools | Services.
2. Right-click the SQLServer Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER) service and select Stop.
3. Stop Internet Information Services (IIS) with the following command: iisreset /stop. Wait for the
services to stop.
4. Restore the ReportServer Database from SQL Management Studio.
5. Click Execute.
6. Right-click the SQLServer Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER) service and select Start.
7. Open a command window and reset the encrypted key store using the following commands:
rskeymgmt –d
When prompted to delete all encrypted data from the report server database, enter y.
rsconfig -c -s <SQLSERVERNAME> -d ReportServer -a Windows
Wait for the command to complete successfully.
8. Restart the SQL Server Reporting Services service.
9. Restart IIS using the following command:
iisreset /restart
Wait for the IIS services to stop and then restart successfully.
10. Open Internet Explorer and enter http://[SERVERNAME]/Reports/ to navigate to the Report
Server and verify that SRS is operating properly. The Report Manager window appears.
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11. Select ECMReports to access and edit the shared connection string.
12. Click ECM to select the shared data source. The Properties General tab appears, displaying the
Connection string.
13. Select Windows integrated Security, and then enter the following value into the Connection string
field:
Integrated Security=SSPI;Data Source=SERVERNAME;Initial
Catalog=VCM;LANGUAGE=us_english;
14. Click ECM Reports to begin the process of removing any stranded accounts in SRS.
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15. Click the Properties tab, and then click Securities.
16. If any users other than the BUILTIN\Administrators and ECMSRSUser exist, click the check box next
to each user account, and then click Delete.
Restore the VCM Databases
You must restore the VCM Databases.
Procedure
1. Log into SQL Server Management Studio as a user with Administrative privileges.
2. Restore the VCM database by entering this command, and then click Execute:
3. Restore the VCM_UNIX database by entering this command, and then click Execute:
4. Restore the VCM_Coll database by entering this command, and then click Execute:
5. Restore the CSI_Domain database by entering this command, and then click Execute:
6. Drop the definition of the VCM_Raw database, which is a temporary database that is automatically recreated during the installation.
7. Update the path of exported reports by using "Script for Exported Reports" on page 43.
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Installing VCM
5
The recovery server is now ready for the installation of VCM. During the installation, you will select the
existing database instances and certificates. For all other installation options, refer to the VCM Installation
and Getting Started Guide.
Procedu re
1. Start the VCMinstallation.
2. Select Run Installation Wizard, and continue through the wizard, to the Configure Components page.
3. When prompted to select a database instance, make sure your existing database name is selected, and
then click Validate.
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4. Continue through the wizard to the page to select or generate certificates.
5. When prompted to select or generate a certificate for HTTP Agents, click Select, and then select the
VMware VCM Collector Certificate to use the existing HTTP Certificate. The Collector Certificate
and Enterprise Certificate fields will populate with the selected certificate.
6. Continue through the installation until the process completes.
7. Click Finish to complete the installation.
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Restoring File System Components
6
After the VCM installation is complete, you must restore the file system components from the CMFiles$
share locations, along with any other corporate standard items. If additional custom components are
installed, refer to the disaster recovery guides for each customization.
Script for Exported Reports
The majority of scheduled report exports from the old Collector will have a hard-coded server name.
These scripts will update the old server name export location with the new name by modifying the
parameters passed and the UI string. Any UI strings that are over 8000 characters must be handled
differently. The exports will still work correctly, but editing the scheduled job will still show the old
location. If you edit one of these exceptions and click Finish without correcting the export location, it will
break.
IMPORTANT You must remember to edit the @oldserver and @newserver variables before running this
script.
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A
about this book 5
accessibility to SRS report folder 29
B
back up additional files
customizations to Collector 23
reports exported 23
backup procedures 9
database 9
differential, daily 17
file system 23
full backup 10
HTTP Certificates 23
C
certificates 23
import 30
compliance 9
corporate standards 9
D
daily/differential backup 17
database
backup 9
restoration 35, 37
disaster recovery plan 7
duplicate hardware 7
F
file system
backup 23
restoration 43
full backup 10
H
historical data 7
HTTP certificates 23
import 30
I
import HTTP certificates 30
installation 41
M
maintenance plan 9
R
recovery
Collector 7
procedures 29
server installation 41
report folder access 29
restore databases 35
configuration management 39
report server 37
system 35
restore file system components 43
S
SRS report folder 29
Index
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