Configuring the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface in a vSphere environment

Update the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface profile on the system where the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI is installed.

1. Update the profile with these settings:

   VE_TSMCLI_NODE_NAME

   Specify the node that connects the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface to the IBM Spectrum® Protect server and the agent node (MY_VMCLINODE).

   Restriction: The VMCLI node does not support the SSL protocol or LDAP authentication when communicating with the IBM Spectrum Protect server.

   VE_VCENTER_NODE_NAME

   Specify the virtual node that represents a vCenter (MY_VCNODE).

   VE_DATACENTER_NAME

   Specify the virtual node that maps to a data center. The correct syntax is shown here:
   datacenter_name::datacenter_node_name
   

   • The datacenter_name value is case-sensitive.
   • Make sure to set this parameter for each data center in your environment (MY_DCNODE).
   • The Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI does not support data centers with the same name in the vCenter.

   VE_TSM_SERVER_NAME

   Specify the hostname or IP of the IBM Spectrum Protect server.

   VE_TSM_SERVER_PORT

   Specify the port name to use for the IBM Spectrum Protect server. The default value is 1500.

   An example profile with these settings is provided here:

   
   VE_TSMCLI_NODE_NAME    MY_VMCLINODE
   VE_VCENTER_NODE_NAME   MY_VCNODE
   VE_DATACENTER_NAME     MyDatacenter1::MY_DCNODE
   VE_TSM_SERVER_NAME     tsmserver.mycompany.xyz.com
   VE_TSM_SERVER_PORT     1500

   See Profile parameters for the complete list of available parameters, descriptions, and examples.
2. Set the VMCLI node password in the pwd.txt file.
   
   This password is for the node that connects the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface to the IBM Spectrum Protect server and the data mover node. It is specified by the VE_TSMCLI_NODE_NAME profile parameter.
   1. Issue the echo command to create a text file that contains the password:
      
      echo password1 > pwd.txt
      
      
      echo password1> pwd.txt

      A space must not exist between the password (password1) and the greater-than sign (>).

   2. Issue this vmcli command to set the password for the VMCLI node:
      
      vmcli -f set_password -I pwd.txt

      Important:

      • You must issue the vmcli -f set_password command as tdpvmware user, and not as root.
      • If you plan to generate application protection reports, you must specify the -type VMGuest parameter to identify that the password applies to a VM. For example:

        vmcli -f set_password -type VMGuest -I password.txt
        

        For more information, see Set password.
3. Verify that the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface is running:

   Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services and verify that the status of Data Protection for VMware command-line interface is Started.

   Go to the scripts directory (/opt/tivoli/tsm/tdpvmware/common/scripts/) and issue this command:

   ./vmclid status

   • If the daemon is running, proceed to Step 4.
   • If the daemon is not running, issue this command to manually start the daemon:

     /opt/tivoli/tsm/tdpvmware/common/scripts/vmcli --daemon

     These init scripts can also be used to stop and start the daemon:

     ./vmclid stop
     ./vmclid start

4. Issue this vmcli command to verify that the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface recognizes the IBM Spectrum Protect node configuration:

   vmcli -f inquire_config -t TSM

   See Inquire_config for details about this command.
5. Validate the nodes to confirm that no configuration errors occurred:
   1. Start the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI by clicking the icon in the Solutions and Applications window of the vSphere Client.
   2. Go to the Configuration window.
   3. Select a node in the table and click Validate Selected Node. Status information is shown in the Status Details pane.

What to do next

After successfully completing the three manual configuration tasks described in this section:

1. Setting up the IBM Spectrum Protect nodes in a vSphere environment
2. Setting up data mover nodes with the vSphere plug-in GUI

No additional configuration tasks are required to back up your VM data.For detailed instructions, see Backing up VMware dat.