VMware Consolidated Backup

In today's virtualized IT environments, efficient and reliable data protection is crucial. VMware Consolidated Backup is a feature that aims to simplify virtual machine backups and improve backup performance. This article will discuss the benefits, and limitations of VMware Consolidated Backup and how it can help organizations protect their virtualized infrastructures.

What is VMware Consolidated Backup

VMware Consolidated Backup is a backup framework introduced by VMware for VMs running on VMware infrastructure. It is designed to centralize and offload backups from the host's resources to a separate backup proxy server. It provides a centralized backup facility for virtual machines that work in conjunction with many leading backup tools.

How does VMware Consolidated Backup Work

VMware Consolidated Backup facilitates the off-host backup of virtual machines via a centralized backup proxy server, utilizing existing backup software. When the backup operation initiates, an individual backup job is generated for each virtual machine and dispatched to the backup proxy server. This server then takes a snapshot of the virtual machine and mounts it via the SAN storage. An existing third-party backup agent on the backup proxy server subsequently backs up the content of the virtual machine, either as a virtual disk image or as a collection of files and directories. Ultimately, Consolidated Backup dismantles the mount and removes the virtual disk from snapshot mode.

Advantages

VMware Consolidated Backup offers a centralized platform for managing VM backups, integrating with third-party backup software to facilitate efficient, file-level, and image-level backups of VMs. This tool enables organizations to enhance their backup processes and performance, while significantly reducing downtime.
Moreover, for enterprises, VMware Consolidated Backup presents an efficient method for backing up various types of data on VMware. It provides full and incremental file backup techniques for the recovery of individual files and directories, along with a full image backup of virtual machines.

Limitations

Compatibility:
VMware Consolidated Backup often works with VMware Infrastructure 3 and VMware vSphere 4 to facilitate the centralized backup process. However, it may disappoint you that VMware has announced that the vSphere 4.1 and later versions are not supported by VMware. VMware recommends using other products for VM backup in newer versions.

Third-Party Backup Software Integration:
VMware Consolidated Backup relies on third-party backup software for actual data protection. This means organizations must invest in compatible backup software and may face challenges with integration and configuration.

Use EaseUS Backup Center as a Centralized Backup Solution

While using VMware Consolidated Backup is an effective way to back up your VMware environment, some users might be deterred by its complexity and the challenges of setting up the environment. In light of this, we recommend utilizing a reliable and user-friendly backup tool that offers similar centralized backup capabilities.EaseUS Backup Centeris an ideal choice that fully meets your requirements.

EaseUS Backup Center is a trustworthy and secure backup solution specifically designed to centrally back up both physical machines and virtual machines using the EaseUS Todo Backup. With EaseUS Backup Center, you can effortlessly create, assign, and review backup jobs for all clients from a single remote location. The following will demonstrate just how easy it is to operate and how seamlessly it works.

Installation
To begin with, EaseUS Backup Center needs to be installed on one of your machines as the server-side component. Launching the application will open a service login page using the default browser on the machine. After login, you can access the Management Portal to effectively manage your VMware backups.

Add clients
Incorporate your VMware into the management portal, EaseUS Backup Center provides 3easy methods to add your VMware or physical computers:

1. Configure Deployment
你可以直接安装EaseUS Todo备份欧宝体育官网入口首页r client VMware using three configuration deployment factors: Server Address, Matching Code, and Client Connection Port, all of which can be located in the EaseUS Backup Center.

2. Generate EaseUS Todo Backup MSI package
EaseUS Backup Center also offers an on-premise EaseUS Todo Backup MSI package with pre-configured authentication factors. To obtain the package, clickGenerateand install it on all client PCs. Once the installation is complete, the client PC will be automatically added to the management portal.

3. Static Group and Dynamic Group
EaseUS Backup Center also permits the creation of a dynamic group by designating a particular range of IP addresses or OS versions. Only clients within this specified range can be added to this group.

Create Central Backup Tasks
Following the above procedure, you can create a task to centrally back up your VMware. This service offers various backup options, including file, partition, disk, and system backup, to cater to your diverse backup requirements. Similar to VMware Consolidated Backup, after executing a backup task, the product will capture a snapshot of your data and automatically store the image at your designated destination.

The products provide advanced backup settings, allowing you to personalize your backup tasks according to your preferences. These settings includeBackup ScheduleandDeploy to Clients.

Backup Scheduleprovides aScheduleoption to automatically back up data at predetermined intervals, utilizeCleanup Backupsto optimize storage space, and use otherAdvanced Settingsto manage your backup tasks. Additionally, you can select the backup type as full, incremental, or differential, which aligns with the options available on VMware Consolidated Backup.
There is also a function namedDeploy to Clients, enabling you to select a group or assign the backup task to specific physical computers and VMware for centralized data backup. You have the flexibility to set this up during the process of creating backup tasks, or alternatively, during the finalDeploy Taskstage as the next step.

Deploy Task
With clients added, groups created and backup tasks built, you can now deploy the task to the group/client PCs needed. Select the task, and click Deploy Task. If you didn't set up the deployment task group during the backup task creation or if you wish to do it later, you can choose a group or the client PCs to deploy to at this stage and then clickOK. Following these steps will deploy the task to the Todo Backup agent on the client PCs.

Conclusion

VMware Consolidated Backup is a useful feature for organizations seeking to centrally back up VMware. Shifting backup processing to a dedicated proxy server enhances backup performance, minimizes the backup window, and eases management. However, current limitations have led organizations to encounter challenges with its use, thereby necessitating alternative backup solutions.EaseUS Backup Centeris a user-friendly solution for both physical and virtual machines. Its easy-to-use features and cost-effective pricing make it an excellent choice for business users. Thus, when compared to VMware Consolidated Backup, EaseUS Backup Center stands out as the most fitting tool.

VMware Consolidated Backup FAQs

1. What is the VMware backup host?
Backup Manager offers backup and recovery for VMware vSphere (ESXi) virtual machines. This is done by creating an identical virtual machine with the same operating system, hardware device settings (drivers for modems, network adapters, printers), and all the same content, including documents.
2. What is the difference between a VM snapshot and a backup?
The main difference between snapshots and backups is that the latter is isolated from the mainframe. That means snapshot copies are stored on the original network, unlike backup copies. Snapshots work well for frequent protection measured in minutes or hours while backups are used for regular protection.
3. Does VMware have a backup solution?
Yes, VMware does have a backup solution. It's called VMware Data Protection (VDP), a software suite designed to perform backup, recovery, and replication of data hosted on VMware virtual machines. VMware also offers VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) and integrates well with third-party backup solutions.