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Best Practice How to Backup/Restore VMware vCenter VCSA Content Library (Emphasis: CONTENT LIBRARY)

  • 28 June 2022
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What is Commvault's direction for correctly backing up vCenter Server Appliance [VCSA] and to include the Content Library metadata and library contents? The library contents are stored on a vSphere datastore and may include any type of file, including VM Templates Folders (containing .vmtx, .vmdk, .vmsn, .nvram files), .ova, .ovf, .iso, and other file types. So it would seem there needs to be a special backup subclient created to include all of the above contents (not just the Virtual Server Agent [VSA] default subclient).

Perhaps VMware publishes the API and Commvault has a configured the VSA for this task? But I can't find any documentation in Commvault’s extenstive Expert documentation site.

More background: Recently we had reason to backup and restore the vCenter 7.0 U2 VCSA (vCenter Server Appliance) during a new vSphere installation with Cisco and VMware support. At their direction I used the VMware built-in VCSA Backup/Restore functionality. After restoring, noticed that the Content Library "library" was completely missing. Now understanding the limitations of a VCSA backup (it does not include any vSphere datastore) it is clear to me there are going to be several moving pieces that need to their backup orchestrated to get a Content Library backed up or restored. I had also used Google searches hoping to find answers on this topic and did not find anything from VMware or Commvault. I did find some articles for using Veam to perform this task.

Has anyone set up a subclient to backup VCSA Content Libraries?

 

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Best answer by Damian Andre 19 July 2022, 23:32

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Hey @George,

For a while now VMware has recommended backing up the VCSA using standard VM backup methods. For restore, you could target an ESXi host directly (obviously since vCenter would be offline).

If your content library is on NFS you can target it with a filesystem agent - however if its on a VMFS volume that wont work. In that case, your best option is to script copying the files over SCP from an ESXi host with access to the files to a staging location and then scooping them up with a regular file system agent.

Unfortunately there is no direct integration to protect raw files on a datastore.

 

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Thanks @Damian Andre ,

By any chance do you have a link to where “VMware has recommended” Content Library backup?

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Thanks @Damian Andre ,

By any chance do you have a link to where “VMware has recommended” Content Library backup?

Hey George, sorry to get around to this late. I’m not sure about content library backup, but as I mentioned, VCSA can be backed up using standard image backups (i.e VM backups):

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.install.doc/GUID-1C73996F-8312-4BBD-A16C-B2C8FC3C0D31.html

 

As an alternative to vSphere Data Protection, you can also use third-party products that are integrated with VMware vSphere Storage APIs - Data Protection.

VMware vSphere Storage APIs - Data Protection is a data protection framework that enables backup products to perform centralized, efficient, off-host LAN free backup of vSphere virtual machines. For information about VMware vSphere Storage APIs - Data Protection, see the VMware Web site. For information about the integration of backup products with VMware vSphere Storage APIs - Data Protection, contact your backup vendor.

 

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LOL, “contact your backup vendor”  I opened a case with Commvault and they burned it as not available because VMware has not provided an API for Content Library content. In other words, the meta data within the VCSA PSC is backed up using the VSA snapshot, but the actual library content (e.g., .vmx, .vmdk, .iso, .ovf, .ova files on vSphere datastores) is not backed up when the VCSA is backed up.

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hi Folks,

 

Now my VMWare admin has switched from distributed local templates to Content libraries templates, then I get myself in the same situation as @George .

Commvault does not ‘see’ any template except on the ‘root’ of the content library, not on the ‘distributed’ locations on the datastores, like what I would call ‘remote sites’ from the main VCSA location.

 

Is this in the roadmap then ? @Mike Struening sorry for the ping, but maybe you can ask to the right people about this internally ?

Thanks,

 

Laurent. 

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Hey @Laurent , let me see what I can find out!

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@Laurent , we have a Customer Commitment Request for this feature (Commitment Request :: 337541).

To get added, reach out to your Account Rep (it’s not something I can do).

I have no ETA, but it’s in the CCR List.

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Thanks Mike, will do.

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