Cloud Backup allows for both on-demand and scheduled backups of VMware virtual machines (VMs). Scheduled backup plans can leverage incremental backups for efficient and comprehensive data protection.
Because VMware data sources do not support backup vault replication, do not back up VMware data sources to the same backup vault as other data sources that require replication.
Prerequisites
Complete the required preparations. For more information, see Before you begin (on-premises VMware) or Before you begin (ACVS).
Before you add a vCenter, make sure that the backup gateway can access port 443 of the vCenter and port 902 of the VMware ESXi hosts.
Step 1: Add a vCenter
Before you back up VMs, add a vCenter in the Cloud Backup console.
Log on to the Cloud Backup console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
In the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the VMware Backup & Disaster Recovery page, click the Managed vCenter Servers tab, and then click Add vCenter Server.
In the Add vCenter Server panel, configure the following parameters and click Create.
Parameter
Description
Server IP
The address of the vCenter.
In the Alibaba Cloud VMware Service scenario, you need to obtain the vCenter address from the Alibaba Cloud VMware console. This address is the network address of the server.
NoteThe server address of a registered vCenter cannot be modified. To change the address, you must first delete the existing vCenter configuration and then add it again with the new address.
Username
The username for the vCenter.
In an on-premises VMware environment, the username is usually in the format of `username@domain`. Example: admin***@vsphere.local.
When you use Alibaba Cloud VMware Service, you need to obtain the vCenter username from the Alibaba Cloud VMware Service console. For example: cloud***@acvs.aliyuncs.com.
Password
The password for the vCenter user.
NoteThe vCenter registration may fail if the password contains the following special characters:
` ^ ~ = ; ! / ( [ ] { } @ $ \ & # % +
Description
A description of the server.
Step 2: Create a backup plan
Follow these steps to create a backup plan:
Find the vCenter that you added and click Create Backup Plan in the Actions column.
In the Create Backup Plan panel, configure the following parameters and click Next.
Parameter
Description
Plan Name
Enter a name for the backup plan. If you leave this empty, a name is randomly assigned.
Retention Period
The length of time to keep the backup data. Supported units are Day, Week, Month, and Year.
Consistency Mode
The method used to ensure data consistency during the snapshot process.
Crash Consistency (Default): Uses VMware software snapshots to perform a standard backup.
File System Consistency: Attempts to create a quiesced snapshot using VMware Tools to ensure application consistency. If the quiesced snapshot fails, it falls back to a crash-consistent snapshot.
Use LAN-free Backup
Attempts to back up data over a Storage Area Network (SAN) by hot-adding the VM's disk to the backup gateway. If the hot-add operation fails, the backup falls back to transferring data over the Local Area Network (LAN).
Backup Policy
Select Right Now or On Schedule.
If you select On Schedule, you must specify the Start Time, Backup Interval, and Enable Incremental Backup parameters.
To use an incremental backup policy, you must also specify the Start Time and Backup Interval.
ImportantIf Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is disabled for a VM, a full backup is performed instead of an incremental backup. For more information, see Enable CBT mode.
An incremental backup includes only the data that is generated or modified after the previous full or incremental backup.
Set different start times for incremental and full backups. It is recommended to schedule the full backup at least one hour apart from the incremental backup to avoid conflicts.
Start Time
This parameter is required only if the Backup Policy parameter is set to On Schedule. This parameter specifies the time at which the backup starts. Set this parameter based on your backup plan. The default value is the time when the backup plan is created.
Backup Interval
This parameter is required only if the Backup Policy parameter is set to On Schedule. This parameter specifies the interval at which backups are performed. Default value: 1 day. Units: hours, days, or weeks.
Enable Incremental Backup
This parameter is required only if the Backup Policy parameter is set to On Schedule. This parameter specifies whether to enable incremental backup.
No (Default): Incremental backup is not used.
Yes: Incremental backup is used.
Select the Select VMs and click Next.
On the Confirm tab, confirm that the backup plan name, backup retention period, backup policy, and selected VMs are correct. Then, click Create.
After a backup plan is created, HBR runs the corresponding backup jobs. On the Backup Plans tab, you can perform the following operations:
Click Run Now in the Actions column to run the backup job.
To pause a running backup job, click More > Suspend Plan in the Actions column. To resume a paused backup job, click More > Resume Plan in the Actions column.
Click More > Delete Plan in the Actions column. After you delete the backup plan, Cloud Backup stops running backup jobs for that plan, but retains the existing backup data.
(Optional) Specify a gateway for backups
By default, Cloud Backup automatically load-balances backup jobs across available gateways based on real-time factors like LAN-Free capability, current job count, and ESXi host performance.
If you have many VMs, deploy multiple backup gateways to improve backup efficiency. The procedure for deploying multiple gateways is similar to deploying a single gateway. For more information, see Before you begin (on-premises VMware).
After the deployment is complete, Cloud Backup schedules backup jobs based on the load of each gateway. You can also manually specify a gateway for a backup plan:
Log on to the Cloud Backup console.
In the upper-left corner, select a region.
In the left navigation pane, select .
On the Backup Plans tab, in the Actions column for the target plan, select More > Specify Gateway.
In the Specify Gateway panel, select a gateway to run backup jobs.
Click Create.
On the Backup History tab, determine which gateway executes the backup job for each virtual machine.
References
To learn how to restore a backed-up VMware VM to an on-premises VMware environment or Alibaba Cloud VMware Service, see Restore a VMware VM.
To learn how to restore a backed-up VMware VM as an entire machine to an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance, see Restore a VMware VM to the cloud as an entire machine.