Preventive Service Planning
Abstract
This document details the hardware and software requirements for IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware 8.1.22.
Content
The Data Protection for VMware requirements vary by high-level functional component. Data Protection for VMware has the following high-level functional components:
- Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI
- Data mover
- Mount proxy
- Recovery agent
- When you upgrade the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI, all other functional components (data movers, recovery agents, and mount proxy nodes) must also be upgraded to the same fix pack level.
- When you upgrade a data mover from 8.1.22.x to 8.1.22.y (where x<y) you do not need to upgrade of all other functional components to 8.1.22.y. However, all the other functional components must be at the same fix pack level.
This document is divided into linked sections. Use the following links to go to the section of the document that you require.
- Software requirements for Data Protection for VMware
- More software requirements
- Support and limitations
- Hardware requirements for Data Protection for VMware
- Where to download IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments
- Hardware and Software requirements for other releases of Data Protection for VMware
Note: IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments support for third-party operating systems, applications, services, and hardware depend on the respective vendor. If a third-party product or version moves into extended support, self-service support, or end-of-life, IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments supports the product or version at the same level as the vendor. See also IBM Support General Guidelines and Limitations - IBM support for software on unsupported operating systems
Note: The product now known as IBM Storage Protect was named IBM Spectrum Protect in levels earlier than 8.1.19. To learn more about the brand change, see IBM Spectrum brand change to IBM Storage.
Software requirements for Data Protection for VMware
Supported VMware vSphere versions
The following VMware vSphere versions are supported:
- vSphere 6.7 and 6.7.x levels (beginning with 8.1.6)
Note: If the Data Protection plug-in is automatically turned off because of vSphere 6.7, follow the steps in the VMware KB article about how to revert the process: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/54751 - vSphere 7.0 and 7.0.x levels (beginning with 8.1.10)
- vSphere 8.0 and 8.0.x levels (beginning with 8.1.17)
Note:
- Only vSphere Web Client (HTML5) is supported.
- vSphere 6.0 is not supported by VDDK 7.0 and later, for that reason vSphere 6.0 is not supported by this Data Protection for VMware level.
- Beginning with Data Protection for VMware 8.1.21.0, VMware VDDK 8.0 is used. Since vSphere 6.5 is not supported by VDDK 8.0 and later, vSphere 6.5 is not supported by Data Protection for VMware 8.1.21.0 and later.
To view supported vSphere and ESXi host versions by VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) version, check the release notes of VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit. The release notes for the VDDK versions used are listed in the technote: IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware data mover compatibility guide with VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit.
Attention: The support statements listed in this Hardware and Software Requirements Data Protection for VMware technote supersede the supported vSphere versions that are listed in VDDK release notes. To determine hardware and software requirements for Data Protection for VMware, use this Hardware and Software Requirements technote as the definitive guide.
Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI
This functional component integrates the product with the VMware vSphere client for backup, restore, and manage virtual machines in the VMware vCenter and includes the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface.
- Notes:
- To enable file restore capability, the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI must be installed on a Windows system.
- To enable file restore for a Linux® virtual machine, in addition to installing Data Protection for VMware on a Windows system, a Linux mount proxy system must also be configured.
Note: For the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI to function correctly with tagging support, ensure that at least one data mover is installed on the same system as the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI.
Attention: Connection to the vCenter Server is required to install the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI. If your vCenter Server uses an RSA key with an encryption length greater than 2048 bits, then download and install the unrestricted JCE policy files before you install the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI. If your RSA key encryption length is 2048 bits or less, you do not need to install the JCE policy files. The instructions are described in the technote: Installing the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI: Download unrestricted SDK JCE files.
The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
The following features are enabled by the data mover:
- Off-host block level incremental backups
- Application protection for VM guests
The VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) 8.0.2 runtime files are used for backing up virtual machines by the data mover. The data mover supports the operating systems if they are also supported by the VDDK 8.0.2. For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations related to the VDDK 8.0.2, see the VDDK release notes web page.
The data mover uses the VDDK APIs to open, close, read, and write virtual machine disk (VMDK) data. To determine the level of VDDK used in each level of Data Protection for VMware, and compatible ESX/ESXi builds supported by the VDDK level, see technote: IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware data mover compatibility guide with VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit.
Details about the supported applications and required licensed software programs to restore databases or mailboxes with application protection for VM guests are listed in section: Support and limitations
The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
A mount proxy represents the Linux or Windows system that provides access to virtual machine disks backup or persistent snapshots. Mount proxy systems are required when you use the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI Mount wizard and the file restore portal.
You need a Windows mount proxy system to access a Windows virtual machine. You need a Windows and Linux mount proxy pair to access a Linux virtual machine.
For a mount proxy on a Linux or Windows operating system, IBM Storage Protect data mover must be installed and configured. To install a data mover on a remote system, run the Data Protection for VMware installer and take one of the following actions:
- On Linux operating systems, select
Customfrom theInstall Setlist in the configuration wizard. Ensure thatData Protection for VMware data moveris selected. This option is selected by default. - On Windows operating systems, select
Advanced Installation > Install the data mover feature onlyin the configuration wizard.
- Requirements for operations:
- For file restore operations from persisted snapshots on the local hardware storage (local backups) on VMware Virtual Volumes, VDDK is required on the mount proxy system and is installed by default when you choose the installation of the data mover option.
- For mount or file restore operations from server backups, iSCSI connection is required on the mount proxy system. For a Windows mount proxy system, IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments recovery agent must be also installed and configured.
- Note:
- For mount proxy on Windows operating systems, the iSCSI Initiator service must be running during the virtual machine disk mount operation and the file restore operation. By default, the iSCSI service is started manually. If the system where this service is running restarts, the iSCSI service must be restarted manually.
- For mount proxy on Linux operating systems, the iSCSI service must be configured and running during the VMDK mount operation and the file restore operation. By default, the iSCSI service is started manually. If the system where this service is running restarts, the iSCSI service must be restarted manually.
- Note:
The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
Note: The Btrfs file system is removed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. To restore objects that were backed up from a Btrfs file system, use a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) based mount proxy node.
This service enables the mounting of any snapshot volume from the IBM Storage Protect server. You can use iSCSI protocol to access the snapshot from a remote computer.
Note: To view the snapshot locally with read-only access on the client system, use IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware 8.1.4 or earlier levels.
In addition, the recovery agent provides the instant restore function. A volume used in instant restore processing remains available while the restore process proceeds in the background.
The recovery agent is accessed with the recovery agent GUI or command line interface.
The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
Operating systems support overview tables
Operating systems support tables for all Data Protection for VMware 8.1.22 functional components:
Operating systems |
Data Mover & Mount Proxy* |
GUI |
Recovery agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.9(1)(3) Client and Server Editions |
✔ | ✔ | -- |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.1(1)(3)(6) Client and Server Editions (RHEL 8 support beginning with 8.1.10) |
✔ | ✔ | -- |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.0(1)(3)(6)(7) Client and Server Editions (RHEL 9 support beginning with 8.1.21) |
✔ | ✔ | -- |
| SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES) 12 SP5 (2)(3)(4) Desktop and Server Editions |
✔ | ✔ | -- |
| SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES) 15 SP1(2)(3)(4)(5) Desktop and Server Editions (SLES 15 support beginning with 8.1.8) |
✔ | ✔ | -- |
✔ Indicates that the operating system version is supported by this Data Protection for VMware functional component. Later maintenance and modification levels to the operating system version are also supported.
*The data mover and mount proxy support the same operating system levels, which are also supported by the VDDK 8.0.2.
For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations about VDDK 8.0.2, see the VDDK release notes web page.
Note: Beginning with Data Protection for VMware 8.1.10 levels the functional components cannot support RHEL 6 and SLES 11 since those operating systems are not supported by VDDK 7.0 and later.
Notes:
- (1) For backup or restore VMware virtual machines, the libfuse.so2, libxml2.so, and libexpat.so, shared object libraries must be installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. Install the fuse-libs version 2 package. Some distributions might not install this fuse-libs version 2 package.
- (2) For backup or restore VMware virtual machines, the libfuse.so.2 shared object library must be installed on a SUSE Linux system. Install the libfuse version 2 package. Some distributions might not install this libfuse version 2 package.
- (3) To ensure that the data mover node is configured cleanly, the environment must have:
- A system-wide JRE installed on the data mover host.
- The system-wide PATH environment variable that includes the installed system-wide JRE Java™ path, see Setting up data mover nodes with the vSphere plug-in GUI.
Note: The Java GUI and Data Mover require Java: JRE 8
- (4) On SLES12SP4 and later or SLES15 and later, the installation of libssh2-1 library to implement the SSH2 protocol is required. The library is available to be installed from the media.
- (5) On a virtual machine with Linux kernel 5.1 or earlier, restore operations of a volume with the Linux kernel 5.2 or later Ext 4 casefold feature activated are not supported.
- (6) On RHEL 8.0 and later, the installation of the libssh2 library to implement the SSH2 protocol is required. The library is available for installation from the media or from the Red Hat repository.
- (7) On RHEL 9 and later, the system.devices file feature is enabled by default, and it replaces the LVM device filter. To run file level restore operations, it is required that the LVM device filter is enabled. To enable the LVM device filter, disable the system.devices file. For more information, see Disabling the system.devices file.
Operating systems |
Data Mover & Mount Proxy* |
GUI |
Recovery agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2016** (1) Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions (Beginning with 8.1.4) |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Windows Server 2019** (2) Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions (Beginning with 8.1.10) |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Windows Server 2022** (3) Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions (Beginning with 8.1.17) |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
✔ Indicates that the operating system version is supported by this Data Protection for VMware functional component. Later maintenance and modification levels to the operating system version are also supported.
*The data mover and mount proxy support the same operating system levels, which are also supported by the VDDK 8.0.2.
For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations about VDDK 8.0.2, see the VDDK release notes web page.
** Only Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) products are supported.
Notes:
- (1) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2016 for functions that are also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2016 Editions.
- (2) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2019 for functions that are also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2019 Editions.
- (3) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2022 for functions that are also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2022 Editions.
The following software is required to use Data Protection for VMware:
- IBM Spectrum Protect Server 8.1 and later interim fixes and fix packs
- Note:
- IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Server 7.1 reached End of Support date (EOS) at 31 December 2021. For this reason, this level cannot be used with Data Protection for VMware.
- Compatibility information is in the technote: IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Server and Client Compatibility and Upgrade Considerations.
- IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.2 or later and 7.1.8 servers provide an improved security protocol that uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 to encrypt all communication between the server and clients. For more information, see Security updates beginning in IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.2 and Tivoli Storage Manager 7.1.8.
Data Protection for VMware and the server are automatically configured to communicate with each other by using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. For more information, see Configuring security settings for Data Protection for VMware.
Data Protection for VMware components support the following applications:
- The following browsers are supported by Data Protection for VMware:
- Microsoft® Internet Explorer 11 on Windows
- Google Chrome 50 or later on Windows and Linux
- Mozilla Firefox 45 Extended Service Release or later on Windows and Linux
- Application protection for VM guests
Application protection supports the following 64-bit applications on the Windows x64 system for granular restore:- Microsoft Exchange Server
- Microsoft SQL Server
Application protection backup is enabled by the data mover for the operating systems that are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
Note: The data mover, which enables application protection backups, is only supported on Windows with 64-bit guest operating systems only.
In addition to Data Protection for Virtual Environment Recovery Agent and Data Mover, the application protection feature requires at least one of the following separately licensed software programs to restore individual databases or mailboxes:- For Microsoft Exchange Server: IBM Storage Protect for Mail
- For Microsoft SQL Server: IBM Storage Protect for Databases
Data Protection for VMware limitations:
-
During installation, the /tmp directory must have more than 2 GB free space and must not be mounted with the option
noexec
Hardware requirements for Data Protection for VMware
Hardware requirements vary and depend on the following items:
- Number of protected servers
- Number of protected volumes
- Data set sizes
- LAN and SAN connectivity
The following table describes the hardware requirements for installation of Data Protection for VMware:
Component |
Minimal requirement |
Preferred |
|---|---|---|
| System | Intel® Pentium D dual cores | Intel® Pentium D eight cores |
| Memory | 4 GB Random-Access Memory, 4 GB virtual address space |
8 GB Random-Access Memory, 8 GB virtual address space |
| Hard disk | 4.4 GB | 9.0 GB |
| Network | 1 GbE | 10 GbE |
For more information about data mover hardware specifications, see How to determine how many data movers are appropriate to protect a vSphere environment.
More hardware limitations are listed in section: Support and limitations
Where to download IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments
The Download Information: IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments 8.1.22 document provides information about how and where to obtain the package for this product.
Note: The download technote is published at General Availability date.
The download documents for other releases and fix packs for this product are on the website: Download Documents: IBM Storage Protect for Virtual Environments.
Hardware and Software requirements for other releases of Data Protection for VMware
The hardware and software requirements for other releases and fix packs for all components of this product are located in the website: Requirement Documents: IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments.
Related Information
Product Synonym
IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments
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Document Information
Modified date:
03 April 2024
UID
ibm17143944