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Revision as of 16:52, 11 November 2019

Copyright © SEP AG 1999-2024. All rights reserved.

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Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3 Beefalo. For previous documentation version(s), check RHV archive.


Overview

SEP sesam backup solution for RHV environments was developed together with Red Hat (RHV is a rebranding of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV).). SEP sesam uses RHV Manager backup API (libvirt API) to perform snapshot-based backups of virtual machines (VMs) in RHV and provide consistent, agentless backups of all RHV VMs, regardless of their workload or operating system. As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo, you can also perform snapshot-based backups of VMs by using Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) oVirt based platform. As OLVM is currently installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the SEP sesam backup procedure is the same for RHV and OLVM, as described in the section Backing up RHV virtual machines.

Key features

  • SEP sesam communicates directly with the RHV hypervisor, therefore any operating system may be running as a virtual guest. Windows, Linux, or any other operating system supported by the RHV hypervisor is treated as a virtual guest and backed up directly via communication with the hypervisor.
  • SEP sesam supports backup for RHV single server and RHV cluster with RHV Manager backup API or OLVM REST API.
  • The backup of individual VMs is supported on RHV single server as well as on RHV cluster.
  • The following backup methods are available for backing up multiple VMs in a RHV cluster/data center or RHV single server:
    • A config only backup backs up only the VM configuration.
    • Backup of individual VMs which can be grouped together in one task group running on multiple hosts via the RHV Manager.
      • Backup of VMs with specific disks (disks exclusion).
  • COPY backup is currently the only supported RHV backup level. This means that all data defined by the backup task is backed up (provisioned space), therefore it is recommended to use the SEP Si3 target deduplication for your RHV backups.

Backup workflow

The backup process uses the following workflow:

  1. A snapshot of the virtual machine (VM) is created.
  2. VM configuration is exported from the snapshot and backed up as the first saveset stream.
  3. The virtual disks represented in the snapshot are attached to the data mover VM.
  4. The data of the virtual disks is backed up.
  5. The snapshot of the VM is removed.

Prerequisites

To ensure error-free operation of SEP sesam and improve performance, make sure that the following conditions are met:

  • Check the support matrix for the list of supported RHV and OLVM versions.
  • Make sure your RHV environment is configured properly, as described in RHV Configuration.

LAN or LAN-free backup

To run SEP sesam backup and restore in the RHV environment with RHV Manager or OLVM, a SEP sesam Client is required. This client acts as a data mover (central communication element) between SEP sesam Server and RHV data center. For details, see Configuring RHV client as a data mover.

During backup, a VM snapshot is created and mounted to the SEP sesam data mover. The snapshots can be transferred via LAN or SAN (Storage Area Network). If a SAN storage device is available for SEP sesam, the transfer is done directly (LAN-free).

The following pictures show how to use the backup module for LAN or LAN-free backup. Steps 1-5 in the graphics are showing the direction of the connection establishment for communication and metadata transfer. Step 6 is showing the direction of the connection establishment for data transfer to the connected storage.

LAN based backup scenario
  1. Start backup process with connection to the RHV Manager host or OLVM host.
  2. Create consistent snapshot of VM with RHV Manager backup API or OLVM REST API.
  3. Mount snapshot to SEP sesam data mover VM.
  4. Transfer snapshot from SEP sesam data mover VM to SEP sesam Server via LAN.
  5. Store a snapshot on the connected storage devices (SEP sesam data store, SEP sesam Si3 deduplication store, tape library).
  6. LAN based backup
    SEP-sesam-RHV-LAN-Based.png
LAN-free backup scenario
  1. Start backup process with connection to the RHV Manager or OLVM host.
  2. Create consistent snapshot of VM with RHV Manager backup API or OLVM REST API.
  3. Mount snapshot to SEP sesam data mover VM (SEP sesam Remote Device Server) which is directly connected to the storage device via SAN.
  4. Transfer snapshot from SEP sesam data mover VM (SEP sesam RDS) to connected storage via SAN.
  5. Store a snapshot on the connected storage device (SEP sesam data store, SEP sesam Si3 deduplication store, tape library).
  6. LAN free backup
    SEP-sesam-RHV-LAN-Free.png

Backing up RHV virtual machines

Create a new backup task for the RHV Manager or OLVM client. You can only back up one VM per backup task. You must configure a separate backup task for each VM that you want to back up.

  1. In the Main Selection -> Tasks -> By clients, select the RHV Manager or OLVM client and then click New backup task. The New backup task window opens.
  2. Specify the Source of the VM you want to back up. You can browse for the source or enter it manually. If you browse for the source, the task type and task name are set automatically. If you enter the source manually, you have to enter the task name and select the RHV task type from the drop-down list.
  3. File:RHV bck task Beefalo.jpg
  4. You can exclude individual disks from backup by entering them in the Exclude List field. You have to use the logical disk name(s) as they are shown in the RHV managment center. If you want to exclude multiple disks, enter them one by one followed by a comma with no whitespace, for example: disk_name1,disk_name2.
  5. If you want to define other options (such as pre/post backup and restore commands, set encryption, consolidate individual tasks under a specific task group, or assign a task to the schedule), click the corresponding tabs in the New backup task window.
  6. Click OK to create the task.
  7. If you want to start the newly created task immediately, right-click the name of the task and click Immediate Start. If you want to create a periodic backup, you have to create a schedule for your backup task: Click New schedule under Main Selection -> Scheduling -> Schedules and set up a schedule. For more details, see Creating a Schedule.
  8. SEP Tip.png Tip
    You can also add your backup task to an existing schedule by double-clicking the backup task, selecting the tab Schedules and adding it to one or more schedules. Additionally, you can group your backup tasks to task groups. For details, see Adding a Task to the Task Group.
  9. Once you have configured a schedule, you must create a new backup event for it. Note that COPY is currently the only supported backup level for SEP sesam RHV clients. For details, see Creating a Backup Event.

You can view the status of your backup jobs by selecting Last backup state in the Main Selection window. The backup status overview provides detailed information on the last run of backup jobs, including the task name, start and stop time of the last backup, backup level, data size, throughput, assigned media pool, etc.

Known issues

If you have problems, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

See also

RHV ConfigurationRHV Restore