Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V updates

Learn about new features and updates for IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Version 8.1.

Release	New features and updates
V8.1.7	Verify the integrity of a virtual machine backup without restoring its data You can run an instant access operation to help verify the integrity of a virtual machine (VM) backup without restoring the VM data or disks to the Hyper-V host. The instant access operation creates a temporary VM that you can verify. After you complete the verification, you can remove the temporary VM. You can use the data mover command-line interface, the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console, or Windows PowerShell cmdlets to run instant access operations. For more information, see the following topics: Running instant access operations Running instant access operations from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console Verify the integrity of a VM backup with cmdlets Vmrestoretype Vmautostartvm Restore VM Use parallel processing to help enhance the performance of restore operations Use the vmmaxrestoresessions, vmmaxrestoreparallelvms, and vmmaxrestoreparalleldisks options to optimize restore operations for VMs. For more information, see the following topics: Optimizing restore operations Restoring multiple virtual machines in parallel (optimized restore) Vmmaxrestoresessions Vmmaxrestoreparallelvms Vmmaxrestoreparalleldisks Preview restore operations You can use the -preview parameter with the restore vm command to preview the results of a restore operation without restoring VMs. For more information, see the following topics: Restore VM Preview virtual machine restore operations Include or exclude VM disks during restore operations Use the following parameters with the restore vm command to include one or more VM disks (VHDXs) when you restore a VM: Include: `vmname`:vhdx=`disk_location` Exclude: `vmname`:-vhdx=`disk_location` For more information, see Restore VM. View more details for active tasks in the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console To help you better understand the context of data protection operations, detailed information about active tasks is shown in the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. For more information, see the following topics: Tasks table Task Details Access diagnostic information from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console To help resolve issues with Hyper-V operations, you can access detailed error information from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console for diagnostics purposes. For more information, see the following topics: Task Details PowerShell cmdlets for Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Take advantage of the new licensing model for unused data movers After you install Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V, the IBM® License Metric Tool counts the data mover only if it is connected to an IBM Spectrum Protect server and is used for data operations. Subsequently, that data mover is always included in license calculations. Data movers that are not connected to a server and are not used for data operations are excluded from license calculations.
V8.1.6	Protect in-guest applications Use Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V to protect Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SQL Server that run inside Hyper-V VM guests in a Microsoft Hyper-V environment. You can make application-consistent backups of the VMs that host Microsoft Exchange Server or Microsoft SQL Server data. You can then restore selected application backups from the VMs. For more information, see: Protecting Microsoft Exchange Server data in Hyper-V environments Protecting Microsoft SQL Server data in Hyper-V environments INCLUDE.VMTSMVSS Verify the configuration of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V by using the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console or a PowerShell cmdlet To help you resolve configuration issues, you can use the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console or the Test-DpHvConfiguration PowerShell cmdlet to verify a Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V configuration. For more information, see: Verifying the configuration of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V cmdlet examples Configure an environment in which multiple tenants host virtual machines on the same server When you use the configuration wizard to configure Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V, a default naming convention is used for the nodes that are created automatically. However, if you want to support a storage environment in which multiple tenants host their virtual machines (VMs) on the same server, you must add a prefix, a suffix, or both to the default node names. For instructions, see Customizing node names. Back up VM disks that are up to 8 TB in size You can now back up VM disks (VHDX) that are up to 8 TB in size. Use the vmmaxvirtualdisks option to specify the maximum size of VHDX disks to include in backup operations. Use the vmskipmaxvirtualdisks option to specify whether to skip backing up VMs that exceed the maximum VHDX size or to fail the backup operation. For more information, see: Vmmaxvirtualdisks Vmskipmaxvirtualdisks Exclude VM disks from or include VM disks in backup operations on Windows Server 2012 For Hyper-V hosts on Windows Server 2012 operating systems, you can now select VM disks (VHDX) for backup operations. To select VM disks for ad hoc backup operations, see Running an ad hoc backup of a virtual machine. To select VM disks by changing settings in the options file (dsm.opt) or at the command-line interface, see the following topics: Exclude.vmdisk Include.vmdisk Domain.vmfull Backup VM Running an ad hoc backup of a virtual machine This feature was previously available only on Windows Server 2016. Take advantage of upgrade flexibility in a cluster environment In environments with multiple clusters and hosts, you can upgrade Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V on a staggered schedule. When you install a newer product version on one cluster or host, earlier versions of the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console and PowerShell cmdlets can connect to the newer version. This feature gives you more time to upgrade your environment. For more information, see Compatibility with different versions. Accept certificates for improved security To help ensure that your environment is secure, you are prompted to accept security certificates when you connect to new Hyper-V hosts. For more information, see: Starting the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console Preparing to use PowerShell cmdlets with Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Additional installation options are available In a typical installation, all components of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V are included. However, you can use advanced installation options to install only the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console or only the data mover. For remote management of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V, install only the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. For instructions, see Installing only the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. For backup and restore operations and in-guest application protection restore operations, install only the data mover. For instructions, see Installing only the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V data mover. The separate installation of the recovery agent is no longer available. The recovery agent is included in the data mover installation.
V8.1.4	Take advantage of the streamlined installation procedure The installation of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V is integrated into a single, simplified installation process with the suite installer. For more information, see Installing and upgrading Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V. If you want to install the IBM Spectrum Protect recovery agent separately, see Installing the IBM Spectrum Protect recovery agent. Simplify product configuration and daily operations by using the new management console Use the new Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console to help you simplify configuration and daily operations of Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V. You can use the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console to complete the following tasks: Configuring Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V with the wizard Managing backup schedules for a host or cluster machine Setting the at-risk policy for a virtual machine Viewing the schedule history for a Hyper-V host or cluster Viewing the backup status and backup history of a virtual machine Running an ad hoc backup of a virtual machine Restoring a virtual machine For a description of the main areas of the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console, see Navigating the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. With the availability of the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console, you no longer have to use the IBM Spectrum Protect backup-archive client GUI to run Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V operations. Restore files from a web-based interface After the configuration of the IBM Spectrum Protect file restore interface is completed, file owners can search for, locate, and restore files from virtual machine (VM) backups by using a specific URL that is provided by the administrator. Help desk personnel can also use this URL to restore files on behalf of file owners. For more information, see: Getting started with file restore operations Logging in to restore files Protect Hyper-V VM data by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets Windows PowerShell cmdlets are available to run Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V operations. For more information, see Protecting virtual machines by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
V8.1.2	Enhanced support for Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V running on Windows Server 2016 Back up virtual machines by using resilient change tracking (RCT) To improve the scalability and performance of virtual machine (VM) backups, resilient change tracking (RCT) is used for all VM backup operations of Hyper-V hosts that run on the Microsoft Windows Server 2016 operating system. For more information, see Virtual machine backups with resilient change tracking (RCT). Exercise more control over backup operations on VMs with physical disks You can control whether full Hyper-V RCT VM backups are processed if the VM has one or more physical disks (pass-through disks) provisioned. For more information, see the following options: Vmprocessvmwithphysdisks Vmskipphysdisks Specify the number of snapshot attempts and the level of data consistency for backup operations To determine the total number of snapshot attempts to try for a virtual machine that fails during backup processing due to snapshot failure, use the INCLUDE.VMSNAPSHOTATTEMPTS option. You can choose to attempt application-consistent or crash-consistent snapshots. For more information, see INCLUDE.VMSNAPSHOTATTEMPTS. Exclude VM disks from or include VM disks in backup operations You can use the exclude.vmdisk option to exclude a VM disk (VHDX) from VM backup operations or use the include.vmdisk option to include a VM disk in VM backup operations. For more information, see the following topics: Exclude.vmdisk Include.vmdisk Domain.vmfull Backup VM Enhanced support for Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V running on Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 Scalability and reliability of VM backups are improved VMs are logically grouped into a single snapshot to reduce or eliminate snapshot conflicts at the Hyper-V host level. Improved snapshot retry processing simplifies scheduling and improves reliability across cluster nodes. To control the number of VMs to include in a snapshot, use the vmmaxpersnapshot option. For more information, see Vmmaxpersnapshot. To control how many snapshot retries are attempted, use the vmmaxsnapshotretry option. For more information, see Vmmaxsnapshotretry. Use these grouping and retry improvements along with the vmmaxparallel option to help improve performance. For information, see: Tuning scheduled VM backups for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 clusters
V8.1.0	IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager is now IBM Spectrum Protect IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1 is the next generation of Tivoli Storage Manager. This new release represents more than a name change in the user interface and documentation. It is an evolution to a higher level of data protection designed to meet the complex demands of today's world. For more information, see Meet IBM Spectrum Protect. An administrative user ID is no longer created by default by the REGISTER NODE server command Beginning with IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1, the REGISTER NODE server command does not automatically create an administrative user ID that matches the node name. This product update is designed to optimize the process of authenticating when you authenticate users to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server. You can still manually create an administrative user ID with client owner authority over a node by specifying the USERID parameter on the REGISTER NODE command. For the latest information about this product update and its effect on storage environments, see technote 7048963. Virtual machine operations on the backup-archive client discontinued Virtual machine operations are available only if you are using the client as a data mover for the IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments products (Data Protection for VMware or Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V). You can no longer run virtual machine operations without installing IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments.