4 4 3:Citrix XenServer Requirements and Configuration

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Any form of reproduction of the contents or parts of this manual is allowed only with the express written permission from SEP AG. When compiling and designing user documentation SEP AG uses great diligence and attempts to deliver accurate and correct information. However, SEP AG cannot issue a guarantee for the contents of this manual.

Icon archived docs.png This is not the latest version of SEP sesam documentation and, as such, does not provide information on features introduced in the latest release. For more information on SEP sesam releases, see SEP sesam Release Versions. For the latest documentation, check Citrix documentation.

Overview

This article describes the requirements and configuration steps for SEP sesam integration with Citrix XenServer. Note that the procedures introduced in this article are the configuration steps required to set up Citrix XenServer SEP sesam integration. For details on Citrix XenServer integration key features and backup configuration, see Citrix XenServer Backup.

Requirements

  • Check the SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix for the list of supported Citrix XenServer versions.
  • SEP sesam Server v. 4.4.3 Beefalo or higher. Citrix XenServer backup client is already included in all SEP sesam packages.
  • Check Hardware requirements for SEP sesam Client, SEP sesam Server or RDS.
  • Each XenServer must have a dedicated management interface.
  • In a cluster configuration where more XenServers are organized in a pool, the pool master XenServer must be configured as a SEP sesam Client.
  • Ensure that Network Block Device (NBD) is enabled on your Citrix XenServers. The NBD protocol is used for publishing block devices over TCP and is required for transporting CBT backups. For details, see the section Configuring NBD on network interfaces for CBT.
Information sign.png Note
The backup traffic always goes over the management interface of the XenServer. Make sure you get good network performance, for example 2x 10 Gbit network interfaces as bond on both the XenServer and the backup server.

SEP sesam data mover for Citrix XenServer (SDM-CX)

A SEP sesam data mover (SDM-CX) is required to run a SEP sesam backup and restore in a Citrix XenServer environment. Normally nothing has to be done to make the SEP sesam Server itself work as a data mover without any customization. The only reason to change the data mover would be that the data stream received from the XenServer should not be processed by the SEP sesam Server but by an RDS. A data mover role for Citrix XenServer can be combined either with a SEP sesam Server, SEP sesam Remote Device Server or a SEP sesam Client. Any of these can serve as a SEP sesam data mover (SDM-CX) to transfer (send or receive) data between SEP sesam Server and Citrix XenServer. When Citrix XenServers are organized in pools, the SEP sesam data mover (SDM-CX) has to communicate directly with the pool master. When the backup starts, the pool master tells the SDM-CX on which Citrix XenServer the VM is located and forces a communication switch to the appropriate Citrix XenServer (mapping).

  • Any of the following SEP sesam components must be installed: SEP sesam Server, RDS or client.
  • A regular path backup has to work. For details on typical backup configuration, see Standard Backup Procedure.


Configuring XenServer as a SEP sesam Client

To protect your virtual machines, you must configure your XenServer as a SEP sesam Client. Ensure that the prerequisites are met before you begin the configuration. The options for configuring the XenServer may differ slightly depending on your SEP sesam version.

  1. From Main Selection -> Components -> Topology, select the relevant location and click the New Client button. The New Client window opens.
  2. In the New Client window, enter the management interface DNS name of the pool master. If you fail to enter the correct DNS name of the pool master, browsing XenServer environment will not work.
  3. Under Platform drop-down list, select UNIX.
  4. Under Operating system drop-down list, select Citrix XenServer.
  5. The only supported access mode is PROXY, which is set by default when the Citrix XenServer operating system is selected.
  6. Add client XenServer Beefalo V2.jpg
  7. Click the tab Citrix XenServer and enter root/admin credentials for XenServer.
  8. Select a Data mover. The data mover must be the hostname of the SEP sesam Server or RDS. For details on requirements, see the above section SEP sesam data mover for Citrix XenServer (SDM-CX).
  9. Add client-account XenServer Beefalo V2.jpg
  10. Click OK to add the new client.

Selecting https instead of http connection

SEP sesam uses http protocol as the default connection to ensure better performance when transferring data from XenServer to SEP sesam Server. Backups over https can cause up to 98% CPU load on XenServer.

However, you can change the protocol to the secure https (secure with SSL) connection by specifying the https protocol under Backup task -> Properties -> Options tab -> Backup options as follows:

 -a http=https

Configuring NBD on network interfaces for CBT

As of v. 4.4.3.84 SP3, SEP sesam no longer automatically enables Network Block Device (NBD) on all available network interfaces. NBD is required for transporting CBT backups.

To activate NBD on all network interfaces, connect to the Poolmaster via SSH and execute the following command:

for uuid in $(xe network-list | grep uuid | cut -d":" -f 2); do xe network-param-add uuid=$uuid param-name=purpose param-key=nbd ; done

This configuration may cause problems if there are networks the SEP sesam data mover cannot reach. Examples of such constellations are storage networks or a DMZ. In this case, the further configuration might be needed by using the following commands:

  • to get a list of available interfaces
  • xe network-list
  • to get the network properties
  • xe network-param-list uuid=<network-uuid>
  • to enable NBD for a specific interface
  • xe network-param-add uuid=<network-uuid> param-name=purpose param-key=nbd
  • to disable NBD for a specific interface
  • xe network-param-remove uuid=<network-uuid> param-name=purpose param-key=nbd
  • to deactivate NBD for all interfaces
  • for uuid in $(xe network-list | grep uuid | cut -d":" -f 2); do xe network-param-remove uuid=$uuid param-name=purpose param-key=nbd ; done

For more information, see Citrix Hypervisor Documentation.

Known issues

If you have problems with Citrix XenServer, check the Troubleshooting Guide.