Use the procedure described here to create backup schedules for virtual machines. The procedure is the same for clustered and non-clustered VMs. To back up clustered VMs, you must select the cluster application in the Navigation pane. For non-clustered VMs hosted on a cluster node, you must select the host node.
1 Review Best practices for protecting Hyper-V virtual machines and Selecting Hyper-V VMs to protect for tips and guidelines on selecting virtual machines for inclusion in backup schedules.
2 Select the applicable Hyper-V application or navigation group in the left Navigation pane and click Backup.
The list of available VMs is determined by what you select in this step:
• Select the Hyper-V application to display all VMs hosted on the application.
• Select the navigation group to display only its VMs.
3 Select the Schedule Backup tab.
4 Enter a unique Schedule Name.
5 If desired, enter a Schedule Description.
6 Check the box next to Schedule enabled. If this box is not checked, the schedule will not run.
7 In the VMs to Protect area, check boxes to select all virtual machines that need to be protected by the schedule. To select or deselect all VMs in the list, click the gray box above the first VM’s checkbox.
Hover over the VM name to see more information. For example, you may see a message indicating that the VM is offline or Integration Services are not installed.
8 In the Schedule area, select a backup strategy from the list.
• Choose from Incremental Forever, Full with Incrementals, or Custom. See Hyper-V backup strategies for more information.
• Backups for the selected strategy display below.
Note: If the appliance is not currently storing a successful full backup for a VM included in a schedule, the appliance will run a full for this VM during the first scheduled backup even if you have not included a full backup in the schedule. An incremental backup cannot run for a particular VM until the appliance is storing a successful full backup for this VM.
9 Do one of the following:
For a non-custom strategy, define the frequency at which backups of each type will run using the fields below each backup.
For a custom strategy, click the Calendar icon to define the frequency at which backups of each type will run. Do the following for each backup instance:
• Drag a backup icon onto the calendar. Drag onto today’s date or later.
• In the Add Backup window, define the backup type, start date, start time, recurrence, and description (optional).
• Then click Confirm.
10 If desired, modify the minimum and maximum retention settings. These settings apply to all selected VMs. To set different values for each VM, do not enter settings here. Instead, go to Settings > Storage and Retention > Backup Retention. For details see About retention control.
11 If you would like to add new VMs to this schedule automatically, check the Auto-include new VMs box.
This option can be enabled in only one schedule for each Hyper-V server that the system is protecting.
12 Click Advanced Settings and perform the following:
• Check the Verify Backup option to perform a data transfer integrity check for each backup.
Caution: Failure to check this box can result in undesirable results when attempting to restore from the backup.
(Optional) Specify the following settings:
• Select the backup device to which backups will be written.
• Check the Email Schedule Report option to receive email notification upon completion of the scheduled backup jobs. You also have the option to receive a PDF attachment of the report in the email.
• Check the Email Failure Report option to receive email notification upon failure of any backup job on the schedule. You also have the option to receive a PDF attachment of the report in the email.
Click Confirm to save Advanced Settings.
13 Click Save to create the schedule.