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Back Up Data Residing on VMware Virtual Machines

Arcserve Backup lets you back up data that resides in VMware VMs. Use the following steps to submit backup jobs on local disk-based virtual machines (VMs) and SAN-based VMs.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Backup Manager and select the Source tab to open the Backup Manager source directory tree.
  2. Expand the VMware Systems object to display the backup proxy systems, VMware ESX Host systems, vCenter Server systems, and VMs in your environment.
  3. Click the check box next to the objects that you want to back up. You can select volumes, an entire node, or any combination thereof as the source.

    Note: For information about browsing volumes, see How to Browse Virtual Machine Backup Volumes.

  4. Specify a Backup Mode for the job.

    Note: For more information about backup modes, see How Global and Local Backup Options Work.

  5. To filter VM backup data, right-click the VM and select Filter from the pop-up menu.

    Note: For more information about filters, see Filter VM Backup Data.

    Important! If the Backup Mode specified is Raw Mode and you specify filters, Arcserve Backup does not filter the VM backup data.

  6. To specify where you want to store the backup job, click the Destination tab or the Staging tab.

    Note: For more information about specifying a destination or using staging to back up data, see the Administration Guide.

    To use multistreaming to transmit backup data, click the Multi Stream check box.

  7. To specify the scheduling options for the job, click the Schedule tab.

    Note: For more information about job scheduling options, see the Administration Guide.

  8. To specify global filters, click Filter on the toolbar to open the Filter dialog.

    Note: For more information about filtering VM data, see Filter VM Backup Data. For more information about specifying filters, click the Help button on the Filter dialog.

  9. Click Submit on the toolbar to submit the job to open the Security and Agent Information dialog.

    You must provide credentials for the VMware ESX Host system or the vCenter Server system and the backup proxy system to submit the job.

    Illustration: Security and Agent dialog.

  10. Select the respective server and click the Security button on the Security and Agent Information dialog to open the Security dialog.
  11. Enter your login credentials in the User name and Password fields and click OK.

    Note: Arcserve Backup does not support logging in to systems with passwords that are greater than 23 characters. If the password on the system you are attempting to log in to is greater than 23 characters, you must modify the password on the agent system such that it is 23 characters or less, and then you can log in to the agent system.

    Arcserve Backup applies your security credentials and the Submit Job dialog opens.

  12. Complete the required fields on the Submit Job dialog and click OK.

    Note: For more information about Submitting Jobs, click Help on the Submit Job dialog.

    Arcserve Backup submits the job. For more information about viewing job status and other job-related tasks, see the Administration Guide.