Creating VADP proxies

You can create VADP proxies to run VMware backup jobs with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus in Linux environments.

Before you begin

Review the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus system requirements in technote 6554468.

Ensure that you have the required user permissions to work with VADP proxies. For instructions about managing VADP proxy permissions, see Permission types.

Restriction: For running the steps to create VADP proxies, ensure that you have a user ID with the SYSADMIN role assigned. For more information about roles, see Managing roles.

Procedure

To create VMware VADP proxies, complete the following steps:

  1. In the navigation panel, click System Configuration > VADP Proxy.
  2. Click Register Proxy.
  3. Complete the following fields in the Install VADP Proxy pane:

    Hostname/IP

    Enter the resolvable IP address or a resolvable path and machine name.

    Obtain the server key and verify that the key type and key fingerprint match the host. Click Get server key.

    Get server key
    The SSH server key for the Linux-based host. You must complete this step when adding servers for the first time or if the key on the server changes.
    When upgrading to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.9, systems that are already registered in the previous version are set to trust on first use (TOFU) and the SSH key fingerprint will automatically be added to the registration information in the catalog.
    Key type
    The type of key for the Linux-based host is displayed. The following key types are supported:
    • RSA with a minimum key size of 2048 bits
    • ECDSA
    • DSA
    Key fingerprint
    The MD5 hash of the SSH key fingerprint is displayed. Confirm that they key fingerprint matches the key fingerprint of the host that you are adding.

    Select a site

    Select a site to associate with the proxy.

    Use existing user

    Enable to select a previously entered user name and password for the provider.

    Username

    Enter the user name for the VADP proxy server.

    Password

    Enter the password name for the VADP proxy server.

  4. Click Install.
  5. Click Yes on the confirm screen.
  6. Repeat the previous steps for each proxy you want to create.

Results

The proxy is added to the VADP Proxy table. You can suspend, uninstall, unregister, or edit a proxy server by clicking the ellipses icon ellipses icon to open the actions menu. Suspending a proxy prevents upcoming backup jobs from using the proxy, and jobs that use a suspended or unregistered proxy will run locally, which may impact performance. You can complete maintenance tasks on the proxy while it is suspended. To resume usage of the proxy, click the ellipses icon ellipses icon to open the actions menu and click Resume. After successful creation, the service vadp is started on the proxy machine. A log file, vadp.log, is generated in /opt/IBM/SPP/logs directory.

The connection between IBM Spectrum Protect Plus and a registered VADP proxy is a bidirectional connection that requires the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance to have connectivity to the VADP proxy, and the VADP proxy to have connectivity to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance.

To ensure a proper connection from the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance to the VADP proxy, verify that IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual can ping the VADP proxy by completing the following steps:
  1. Connect to the command line for the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance by using the Secure Shell (SSH) network protocol.
  2. Issue the following command: ping <vadp_ip>, where <vadp_ip> is the resolvable IP address of the VADP proxy.

If the ping fails, ensure that the IP address of the VADP proxy is resolvable and is addressable by the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus appliance and that a route exists from the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus appliance to the VADP proxy.

If the ping succeeds, ensure that there is a proper connection from the VADP proxy to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance by performing the following procedure:
  1. Connect to the command line for the VADP proxy by using Secure Shell (SSH) network protocol.
  2. Issue the following command: ping <spectrum_protect_plus_ip>, where <spectrum_protect_plus_ip> is the resolvable IP address of the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance.

If the ping fails, ensure that the IP address of the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance is resolvable and is addressable by the VADP proxy. Ensure that a route exists from the VADP proxy to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance.

What to do next

After you create the VADP proxies, you can complete the following action:
Action How to
Run the VMware backup job.

See Backing up VMware data.

The proxies are indicated in the job log by a log message similar to the following text:

Run remote vmdkbackup of MicroService: http://<proxy>

nodename, IP:proxy_IP_address