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This is more of a “hmmm”…

Background:

Currently we have a few “VMware backups” that are set up via a windows clients (installed on a VMs) that have the "Virtual Server" package installed.  There seems to be another way which is to literally just install a “VMware vCenter" client (I just installed one today). Both seem “similar” and I’m not sure why we would have set it up the other way in “the past”.

Questions:

  • Is the “windows client (installed on a VM) that has the "Virtual Server" package installed.” just an older way to handle this (which is why we likely have this configuration)?
  • Which is the preferred way to handle VMWare backups?  If both are “valid” are there benefits or reasons to choose one over the other? Since they both work I would assume both are “supported” but I’m looking to do it “the newer/better/cleaner/likely to be the path moving forward” way vs “it just works choose either and live with it” way.

Good afternoon.  Can you tell me if by “Windows Client (installed on a vm)” you are referring to the Windows File System agent that is installed on a client that is a VM?  By “VMware vCenter” client do you mean a VSA (Virtual Server Agent0 client?  

If so, I would recommend running the VSA agent to protect the VM.  It will most likely be faster than running the Windows File System agent to protect it.

Q: “Can you tell me if by “Windows Client (installed on a vm)” you are referring to the Windows File System agent that is installed on a client that is a VM?”

A: Yes. This server is a VM that has the Commvault Client software installed on it that also has Windows File System agent/package installed.

Q: “By “VMware vCenter” client do you mean a VSA (Virtual Server Agent) client?  “

A: I’m not 100% sure.  The “VMware vCenter” client is installed via going to the commserve server (top level object in the java UI on the left side, inside the “Commcell Browser” window), right clicking and selecting “All tasks”, then selecting “Add/remove software” then selecting “New Client”. Then, in the “Virtualization” section of the clients, there is a client named “VMware vCenter”. Image of this below. When clicking “properties” on this client in the Java UI, there is no indication “what it is”, but the instance nested below it is called “Virtual Server” and indicates that “iDataAgent” is “Virtual Server”, which I believe is the “Virtual Server Agent”?

 

From my initial post, a graphical look at “windows client (installed on a VM) that has the "Virtual Server" package installed.” is below, where the “A” is a Windows VM, that has had the commvault Windows Client installed on it, then the “Virtual Server” package. The other 2 packages (File System and SQL Server) were deconfigured at some point.  The blacked out part is the windows Vm host name, which is the vCenter server

 

The other install type is the “VMware vCenter” client”, which looks very similar, and is installed from the large graphic above. notice the blacked out part and the icon which is different. This isn’t installed on a server (as the above one marked “A” is/was) and instead appears more “associated with a vcenter server” in the configs.  I have blacked out the display name but its not a host name:

I feel these, when “configuring below the “Virtual Server” tree are “the same” BUT some things about the client are different, for example the “A” above (a windows client) has the configurations for “Additional properties”, and the “B” properties (of whatever this is) does not have additional properties as an option.

I’m just wondering: It seems “option B” is the “more proper way of performing VM backups/configuration” as it looks cleaner and is its own “Virtualization Client” and yet I have several “Option A’s” set up and I’m not sure why someone did it that way (or would do it that way on purpose)

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