Adding a VMware Protected Environment

Context

• When a VMware protected environment is added to the eBackup management system, if the name of a VM contains special characters such as %/\-.", the VM name displayed in eBackup management system will be inconsistent with the actual one, for example, a name containing % will be displayed as %25. For details, see the vSphere Web Services SDK Programming Guide. It is recommended that the name of a VMware VM not contain special characters.
• The system disk of the VMware VM to be backed up must be in slot 0. Or, the backup of the system disk will be displayed as a data disk after the VM is backed up to the cloud. Therefore, ensure that the system disk is in slot 0 before the backup. The following uses VMware vSphere 6.0 as an example. The GUI varies with the version.
  1. Log in to the VMware vSphere web client and locate the VM to be backed up.
  2. Choose Summary > Edit Settings.
  3. Click the system disk. If the value of Virtual Device Node is SCSI (0:0), the system disk is in slot 0. Otherwise, change the value of Virtual Device Node to SCSI (0:0).
     Figure 1 Confirming the system disk slot
     

Prerequisites

• Network connectivity is normal between eBackup servers and the VMware management plane.
• Accessibility Status of the eBackup servers is Accessible, and Register Status is Registered. For more information, see Managing an eBackup Server.

Procedure

1. Log in to the eBackup management system using the admin account.

   For details, see Logging In to eBackup.

2. On the navigation bar, choose > VMware.
3. Click in the Protected Environment area.
4. Set basic information about a VMware protected environment. Table 1 describes the parameters.
   Figure 2 Add Protected Environment
   

   Table 1 Parameter description

   Parameter	Description	Setting Rule
   Name	Name of a user-defined protected environment	The name contains 1 to 128 characters and can contain letters, digits, plus signs (+), underscores (_), hyphens (-), periods (.), and at signs (@).
   vCenter/ESXi IP	If vCenter Server manages VMs in a unified manner, enter the IP address of vCenter Server. If VMs are managed by an independent ESXi host, enter the management IP address of the ESXi host. NOTE: The ESXi host is not managed by any vCenter Server.	Obtain it from the VMware administrator.
   Username	Name of the user to log in to the VMware vSphere web Client
   Password	Password of the user to log in to VMware vSphere web Client
   Protocol	Network protocol used for communication between the eBackup management system and the management plane of vCenter Server or the ESXi host. HTTPS is supported.	-
   Port	Network port used for communication between the eBackup management system and the management plane of vCenter Server or the ESXi host	The default port is 443.
   Certificate	Certificate used to authenticate the protected environment Auto Match If you have imported certificates for the protected environment by choosing > Certificate, the system automatically discovers a matching certificate from the imported ones. Manually Upload Obtain the certificate using either of the following methods: Obtain certificates from the VMware administrator. Use a web browser to log in to the VMware vCenter environment and download the certificate package to a local directory. After the package is downloaded, change the file name extension to .zip and open the package. Find the file of *.0 format and change its file name extension to *.crt.	You are advised to import a valid CA root certificate. Or, the backup management system cannot authenticate the protected environment, resulting in security risks. To ensure compatibility of protected environments, the eBackup management system has no restrictions on protocol versions supported by certificates. Obtain certificates from the VMware administrator.

5. Click OK.
   

   • When a VMware protected environment is added, the system automatically obtains the VM information. The structure of the navigation tree is the same as that of the protected environment.
   • After the VMware protected environment is successfully added, view the environment name in the navigation tree on the left. You can see that the system automatically adds the IP address of the vCenter Server or ESXi host to the end of the name.
   • When you add a VMware protected environment for the first time, the system automatically scans for the environment information. You can view the scanning progress by choosing > Job.

     When the scanning succeeds, the icon next to the tier 1 node is , with the scanning date and time displayed in the labels of the scanning job icon. If the scanning fails or is in progress, the icon next to the tier 1 node is , with the latest scanning date and time displayed in the labels of the scanning job icon.

   • By default, the system scans for the environment information every hour. If the information is changed, you can click or next to each tier 1 node to manually trigger the scanning.
   • After a successful scan, go to the Protected Environment area and click to refresh the information in the navigation tree on the left.

Follow-Up Operations

The VM that you want to protect can be backed up only after it is added to a protected set. Select the VM to be protected and add it to a protected set by clicking Add to Existing Protected Set or Add to New Protected Set.