If you offload backup workloads to a vStorage backup server in a vSphere environment, set
up the data mover nodes to run the operation and move the data to the IBM Spectrum Protect™ server.
Before you begin
Important: If the data mover is installed on the same Windows system as the
Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI and Create
Services was selected during the data mover configuration, the following steps are not
required.
In a standard
Data Protection for VMware
environment, a separate
dsm.opt file (Windows) or
dsm.sys file stanza (Linux) is used for each
data mover node.
When multiple data mover nodes on a vStorage Backup Server are used for data deduplication, and
these nodes have authority to move data for the same
datacenter node, then each
dsm.opt file or
dsm.sys file stanza must include a
different value for the
dedupcachepath option. For best results, specify a
different
schedlogname and
errorlogname option for each
dsm.opt file or
dsm.sys file stanza. The minimum set of
required options is provided in Step 2.
A physical data
mover node typically uses the SAN to back up and restore data. If you configure the data mover node
to directly access the storage volumes, turn off automatic drive letter assignment. If you do not
turn off letter assignments, the client on the data mover node might corrupt the Raw Data Mapping
(RDM) of the virtual disks. If the RDM of the virtual disks is corrupted, backups fail.
Restriction: Data Protection for VMware does
not support scheduling the vStorage Backup Server (that is used as the data mover) to back up
itself. Make sure that the vStorage Backup Server is excluded from its own schedules. Use a
different vStorage Backup Server to perform the backup of a VM that contains a vStorage Backup
Server.
Required services: The data mover
requires the client acceptor service, the remote client agent service, and the data mover scheduler
service as described in the following steps. If you remove a data mover from a datacenter, uninstall
and delete these services for the data mover.
About this task
Tip: All steps in this procedure are completed on the vStorage Backup Server.
Procedure
- Create the dsm.opt or dsm.sys options file in the
following location:
- Windows:
C:\Program Files\tivoli\tsm\baclient
- Linux:
/opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin
- Copy the options from the sample options file for the data mover to the
dsm.opt or dsm.sys file. To find the sample file for the data mover:
You can update these options if required for your environment.
For a description of the
options, see Options reference.
For instant access, instant restore,
or mount (file restore) operations, make sure to add VMISCSISERVERADDRESS to
the data mover options file. Specify the iSCSI server IP address of the network card on the vStorage
Backup Server that is used for the iSCSI data transfer during instant operations. The physical
network interface card (NIC) that is bound to the iSCSI device on the ESX host must be on the same
subnet as the NIC on the vStorage Backup Server that is used for the iSCSI transfer.
- Issue this command to set the VMware vCenter user and password for the data mover node:
dsmc set password -type=vm vcenter.mycompany.xyz.com <administrator> <password1>
- Set up the client acceptor service and data mover scheduler service by completing the following
tasks:
- Start a data mover command-line session with the -asnodename
and -optfile command-line parameters:
dsmc -asnodename=VC1_DC1 -optfile=dsm_DM1.opt
Make sure that after your initial sign-on, you are not prompted for your password.
Attention: To prevent the IBM
Spectrum Protect scheduler from failing, make sure that the
asnodename option is not set in the dsm.opt file (Windows) or dsm.sys file stanza (Linux). The scheduler queries the IBM
Spectrum Protect server for schedules associated with
nodename (data mover node), not asnodename (datacenter node). If asnodename is
set in dsm.opt or dsm.sys, schedules associated with
asnodename (and not nodename) are queried. As a result, scheduling
operations fail.
Complete these tasks:
- Verify the connection to the IBM
Spectrum Protect server
by issuing this command:
dsmc query session
This command shows information about your session, including the current node name, when the
session was established, server information, and server connection information.
- Verify you can back up a VM by issuing this command:
dsmc backup vm vm1
In Steps 5b and 5d, vm1 is the name of the VM.
- Verify that the backup completed successfully by issuing this command:
dsmc query vm "*"
- Verify that the VM can be restored by issuing this command:
dsmc restore vm vm1 -vmname=vm1-restore
- Verify that the client acceptor and agent are set up correctly:
- In a web browser, enter IBM Spectrum Protect vSphere Client
plug-in
address. For example:
https://guihost.mycompany.com/vsphere-client/
- Log in with the vCenter user name and password.
- In the vSphere Web Client, click .
- Ensure that Verified is shown in the Status column
for the data mover. If Failed is shown, hover over the status to view the
failure message.
Tip: When the IP address changes on the system where the
Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI is installed, you must complete the following:
- Complete the tasks described in Troubleshooting.
- Set up the client acceptor again so that the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI becomes enabled for operations.
Otherwise, the Plug-in Manager shows the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI status as
disabled.