Backup and Recovery of Virtual Servers

• Backup/Recovery Methods
• Availability of Methods
  • Virtual Server Type
  • Guest Operating System & Application/Workload
  • Storage Placement

There are several different backup/recovery options depending on several aspects of the virtual server (VM):

• virtual server type
• guest operating system (OS)
• storage placement
• application/workload
• specific customer requirements

Important Note

To confirm which methods apply to a specific VM, or to request a restore, contact your primary/secondary server admins (ITS-EI-MAS customers), ITS-EI-MAS-Specialized for co-managed customers, or ITS-EI-TPS Systems and Storage for customer-managed (co-location) customers.

Backup/Recovery Methods

Depending on the factors above, the following backup/recovery options may be available.  Restrictions on each option are detailed in subsequent sections.

• NetApp NAS volume snapshots (NetApp)
  • array-level point-in-time snapshot of volumes containing virtual disk images
  • crash-consistent (server apps or I/O are not suspended)
  • recovery is replacement of the current VM disk(s) with the copy from the snapshot
  • snapshots are replicated to another data center for additional protection
  • standard schedule/retention 
    • daily at noon - retained for 6 days
    • daily at midnight - retained for 14 days
    • Sunday at midnight - retained for 5 weeks
• Backup and Restore Service (Veeam)
  • support for image, volume, or file-level backup via VMware integration or backup agent
    • application-aware processing options available depending upon operating system and type of application
    • file-level recovery (some file systems may be excluded - see your ITS-EI-MAS/TPS contact for details)
  • active content (e.g. database files) may not be usefully recoverable without additional steps
  • backups are replicated to another on-premises data center upon completion
  • standard retention/schedule
    • daily backups between 6pm and 6am
    • 30 days stored on-premises
• VM snapshot
  • not a traditional backup -- useful for rollback in case of problems with planned/scheduled work on the VM
  • not crash-consistent unless VM is shut down first
  • manually created by ITS-EI-MAS/TPS staff on customer request
  • limited retention (recommend <2 weeks)

Availability of Methods

Virtual Server Type

The type of virtual server can limit which backup/recovery options are available.

• ITS-Managed (ITS-EI-MAS, Public or University Internal data classification)
  • no restrictions based on type
• ITS-Secure (ITS-EI-MAS, Restricted or Critical data classification)
  • no NetApp snapshots available
• Co-Managed
  • no restrictions based on type
• Customer Managed (Co-Location)
  • only NetApp snapshots available from ITS
  • customer is otherwise responsible for any backups and restores

Guest Operating System & Application/Workload

The OS and application or workload in the VM can impact which options are available.

• Any OS
  • work with your ITS-EI-MAS/TPS contact to plan for particular backup/recovery needs (e.g. database or other active content, very large disks or file counts, data to be excluded, etc.)
• Microsoft Windows
  • NetApp snapshots and Veeam backups should not be relied on for SQL Server -- work with the ITS EI TPS Data and Monitoring team for reliable SQL Server backups
• Linux (Ubuntu/RHEL)
  • NetApp snapshots and Veeam backups should not be directly relied on for active content backups, e.g. MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, etc. -- work with your ITS-EI-MAS/TPS contact to accommodate these needs
• Linux (Other)
  • work with your TPS contact to identify options and limitations
• Other (e.g. virtual appliances)
  • work with your TPS contact to identify options and limitations

Storage Placement

The underlying storage where the VM and its disks are placed affect which backup/recovery options are available. A VM might consume multiple types of underlying storage. Contact your ITS-EI-MAS/TPS contact for storage details of a particular VM.

• NetApp NAS
  • not available on ITS-Secure VMs
  • certain NetApp volumes are configured without snapshots
• Dell EMC SAN
  • not available on Co-Managed or Customer Managed (Co-Location) VM types
  • Veeam must be used if backups are needed
  • VMware RDM disks
    • VM snapshots are not available
    • Must use Veeam backup agent
• NetApp E-Series iSCSI (connected in-guest)
  • Veeam backup agent must be used if backups are needed