Backup remains the best approach to data protection for physical and virtual machines, even in the face of new threats to data integrity and availability. Conversely, backing up virtual machines presents a challenge for IT administrators in terms of storage, virtual machine performance, resource efficiency, security, and recovery time. There are different methods to choose from to back up virtual machines.
This article explains the effective approach to save VMware vSphere Virtual machines use NAKIVO Backup and Replication. This solution allows you to follow VMware backup best practices and is managed in a user-friendly web interface.
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Method for backing up VMware virtual machines with the NAKIVO solution
- Prepare your environment for a backup:
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- Go to JobsClick on + to add a new job and click Backup for VMware.
- At Source New Backup Task Wizard step for VMware, select the virtual machines you want to back up. You can choose multiple virtual machines residing on different ESXi hosts and vCenter servers. Hit Following at each step of the wizard to continue.
- Select a backup repository in which to store VMware VM backups at Destination stage. We choose the built-in repository in this example.
- Configure scheduling and retention settings for a VM backup task. The NAKIVO solution offers a set of advanced features to configure scheduling and retention flexibly. You can create multiple schedules for a backup task, for example, the first schedule to back up a VM every day, the second schedule to back up a VM every week, and the third schedule to back up a VM monthly.
Each schedule has retention settings. You can establish the backup retention duration (recovery points) for each schedule and configure retention to meet the GFS retention policy. This way you keep daily backups for 10 days, weekly backups for 2 months, and monthly backups for two years (for example).
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You can enable immutability for a higher level of backup protection and reduce the risk of losing backup data in the event of a ransomware attack.
- Configure VMware backup task options. Enter a job name. At this stage, you can enable a wide range of useful features that improve backup speed, security, reliability and other useful options, including:
- Application-aware mode: Uses volume shadow copy mechanisms in Windows virtual machines to perform application-consistent backups when data is written to a running virtual machine.
- Edit Block Tracking – native VMware functionality for efficient incremental backup.
- VM Verification – test a backup after creation.
- Storage saving options – exclude swap files or partitions, truncate Exchange or MS SQL Server logs.
- Full Backup Options – configure how often to perform a full backup and the method to create a full backup. This approach reduces the risk of data loss in the event of corruption of an incremental backup chain.
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- Hit Finishing to save settings and complete the job on time or Finish and run to save and run the job immediately.
- Select a scope and job execution schedule if you are running the job right now, and then click Run
FAQs
What is the easiest way to recover an individual file from a backup with Nakivo Backup & Replication?
Browse or search files, choose the files you want to recover, specify where you want to recover them, click the button and that's it! The files are immediately recovered. To learn how to recover files with NAKIVO Backup & Replication, see File Recovery.
How much data can be stored in a single nakivo backup repository?
It is recommended that the individual backup repository in NAKIVO Backup & Replication contains up to 128 TB of backup data after compression and deduplication. You can generate up to 500 backup repositories per solution installation.
How quickly can Nakivo backup and replication be installed?
Install on Windows or Linux; deploy as a preconfigured VMware vSphere/Nutanix AHV or Amazon Machine Image (AMI) virtual appliance in less than a minute; install on NAS.
Is it OK to delete old save files?
For example, deleting old backups can increase the performance of your backups because you will have less data to transfer, encrypt, and verify. Deleting old backups can also improve the security of your backups, as you will have less data to protect against unauthorized access, theft, or ransomware.
Is NAKIVO backup free?
The free edition of NAKIVO for premium data protection. Download the free edition and start virtual, cloud, physical, and SaaS protection workloads without paying a dime.
Conclude
Mastering the art of backing up VMware virtual machines with NAKIVO Backup & Replication isn't just about data protection: it's also about securing your virtualized world with precision and comfort. By adopting the best practices outlined here, you not only protect your valuable data, but you also strengthen your infrastructure against unforeseen disasters.
With NAKIVO features, from incremental backups to granular recovery options, you have the power to tackle any backup challenge with confidence. So let your backups become the unsung heroes of your virtual environment, providing flexibility and peace of mind every step of the way. Start the NAKIVO free trial and test the endless protection features of virtualized environments.