This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Can Rapid Recovery backup VCenter Server Appliance 6.0 VM?

 I was wondering if RR can backup our VCenter Server Virtual Appliance(VSCA) VM and quickly export the VM in the event of a needed recovery?

  • The short answer is yes it can. Should it be, or do you need/want the core to be backing it up, is the discussion piece. The following KB article is published to answer these questions and illustrate the pros and cons of backing up a virtual center:

    support.quest.com/.../229098

    The long and short of it is usually if a vCenter (VC) goes down most folks use this as the opportunity to just deploy a new/updated VC. Primarily because unless you are using distributed switches, VVOLs or vSAN, the VC is just the single pane of glass and the hosts are what hold the intelligence. Rather than restoring one (then you also run the risk/variable that your VC is tied to another UUID than the original) usually the choice tends to be just deploy a new one and add the hosts. After the install and you add SSO, cluster and hosts, you can be up and running in pretty much the same amount of time with a new/updated VC, with zero UUID conflicts. 

    If you should choose to back it up, as the KB references, we'd suggest that you create a window where nothing else backs up, say from 9pm to 12pm and then back up the VC at 10:30pm, so that gives plenty of time for everything else to finish, and the backup of it to finish before anything else takes place. The problem here is that when you have the VC coordinating the opening and closing of snapshots for other VMs and that ask it to snapshot itself, and hope that while this is going on all the open/closing/consolidating of snapshots doesn't get messed up at all, usually something does. That is when you are left with disk consolidation errors and broken .vmdks chains.

  • Hey Phuffers, Thanks for the discussion on this.
  • You're welcome. It's not a 'right' 'wrong' type of a thing, just what works best for you and how to effectively accomplish what you're after. Pros and cons to everything, just need to know what you're getting into. Have a good one.