Use these procedures to view, add, edit, and remove protected assets. These procedures include options to configure or modify various features. We recommend reviewing Preparing to manage assets for details on these features before running these procedures.
See the following topics to manage assets:
The Configure > Protected Assets tab displays assets in an inventory tree where:
• | Each physical asset and virtual host displays as a top-level node. |
Note: If you have opted to install the Unitrends agent on a VM, it is treated as a physical asset and displays as a top-level node. Use the physical asset procedures to protect the VM.
• | Each application displays as a sub-node under its host asset. |
• | Each VM displays as a sub-node under its virtual host. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Use these options to customize your view: |
• | View options: |
– | To view assets in a list, click View: List. Each row in the list describes a single asset. |
– | To view assets in a table, click View: Table. Assets display in tiles on the left. Click an asset to view its details. |
• | Display options: select to filter the display by asset type or appliance. |
Use these procedures to manage physical machine assets and VMs protected using a Unitrends agent.
Notes:
• | For VMs protected at the host-level, see the Managing virtual machine assets procedures instead. |
• | For iSeries assets, see iSeries Backups Overview and Procedures instead. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Add > Asset. |
3 | Enter the asset's hostname. |
4 | Enter the asset's IP address. This is optional in some cases, as described here: |
• | For Hyper-V hosts and Windows, Linux, or Mac assets, you can use DNS rather than entering a static IP address. |
• | DNS registration should be used for assets that obtain their network settings through DHCP. It is optional for assets with static IP addresses. |
• | If you do not enter a static IP address, make sure that both the asset and the appliance have DNS entries and that reverse lookup is configured. |
• | If you enter a static IP address, the appliance attempts to connect using this address, but if the attempt fails, it will try to add the asset using DNS. |
5 | Enter or select optional settings as desired. |
6 | Click Save. |
For agent-based backups, you can create aliases for a single asset and run separate, radically different backup schedules for each. For example:
• | Using aliases, you can break apart large data stores. Because backups are smaller, they run more quickly. Because less data is copied in the job, network traffic is reduced. |
• | You can have multiple fulls running at different times. Because a full cannot be purged until a new one is created, separating a large full into smaller ones can increase the space available on the appliance by allowing separate purging. |
When scheduling backup jobs for aliased assets, you must include the system state on the asset whose backups contain the boot and critical OS volumes (this is typically the C: volume) and exclude the system state on the other aliased assets.
You can exclude the system state from an asset's backups when creating or editing the backup schedule. For details, see To create a backup job for agent-based assets.
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the desired asset. |
3 | Click Edit. |
4 | Modify settings as desired. |
5 | Click Save. |
Caution! When an asset is removed, all associated backups of that asset are also deleted. Please use caution when removing an asset.
Preparing to remove an asset
Before removing an asset, you must remove the asset from all job schedules.
Notes:
• | Unitrends asset configuration settings are saved in the master.ini file. Note that deleting the asset from the Unitrends appliance also removes this file from the asset itself and any customized settings you have added are lost. Be sure to save the asset’s master.ini file before deleting if you think you may want to add the asset to this or another Unitrends appliance and want to use these settings. After adding the asset back to an appliance, replace the standard master.ini file with the one you have saved. |
• | If you are using Windows Instant Recovery and you remove the Windows asset while a virtual recovery is in progress, the deletion may not be instantaneous. The clean up takes time because the recovery is shut down and the virtual replica asset is removed. |
To remove an asset
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the asset you want to remove. |
3 | Click Remove > Confirm. |
Use these procedures to protect data stored on a NAS share using the CIFS, NFS, or NDMP protocol:
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Add > NAS. |
3 | Enter the NAS Name. The name cannot contain spaces. |
4 | Select the Appliance that will protect this asset. |
5 | Enter the NAS IP address or resolvable hostname. |
6 | Select the CIFS or NFS protocol. |
7 | The Port field contains the default for the protocol selected. If the protocol uses a custom port, enter that port number. |
8 | Enter the full directory pathname of the NAS share in the Share Name field. Do not use leading or ending slashes. |
Example pathname: parentShare/subDirectory1/subDirectory2.
• | To protect only the subDirectory2 share and its subdirectories, enter parentShare/subDirectory1/subDirectory2. |
• | To protect parentShare and all of its subdirectories, enter parentShare. |
• | If credentials are required to access the share and these credentials enable access to a parent directory only, enter the full path to the parent directory. You can specify desired folders and files to include in the backup when you create the job. |
9 | If credentials are required to access the NAS share, enter the Username and Password. |
10 | Click Save. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Add > NAS. |
3 | Enter the NAS Name. The name cannot contain spaces. |
4 | Select the Appliance that will protect this asset. |
5 | Enter the NAS IP address or resolvable hostname. |
6 | Select the NDMP protocol. |
7 | The Port field contains the default for the protocol selected. If the protocol uses a custom port, enter that port number. |
8 | Enter NDMP credentials: |
• | To use existing credentials, select one from the Credentials list. |
• | To add credentials, enter a Credential Name, Username, and Password. |
9 | Click Save. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the NAS and click Edit. |
3 | Modify settings as desired, and click Save. |
Caution! When an asset is removed, all associated backups of that asset are also deleted. Please use caution when removing an asset.
Preparing to remove an asset
Before removing an asset, you must remove the asset from all job schedules.
To remove a NAS asset
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the asset you want to remove. |
3 | Click Remove > Confirm. |
Use these procedures to manage application assets:
To protect an application, you do not add the application itself. Instead, add its host server to the Unitrends appliance using the applicable procedure in the table below. Once you've added the host asset, run backups as described in Creating backup jobs. Before adding and protecting an application, be sure to review the applicable requirements and considerations, described in these topics:
• | Exchange backup requirements and considerations |
• | SQL backup requirements and considerations |
• | SharePoint backup requirements and considerations |
• | Oracle backup requirements and considerations |
• | Cisco UCS service profile backup requirements and considerations |
Application |
Add host procedure |
---|---|
Exchange |
Add the Exchange server using the To add an asset procedure. All hosted databases or storage groups display under the asset you have added. |
SQL |
Add the SQL server using the To add an asset procedure. All hosted databases display under the asset you have added. |
SharePoint |
Configure and add the SharePoint server using the instructions in SharePoint backup requirements and considerations. The SharePoint application displays under the asset you have added. |
Oracle |
Add the Oracle server using the To add an asset procedure. All hosted Oracle instances display under the asset you have added. |
Cisco UCS service profiles |
Add the UCS manager using the To add a UCS manager asset procedure. The hosted service profile application displays under the asset you have added. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Add > Cisco UCS Manager. |
3 | Select an Appliance. |
4 | Enter the asset's hostname as follows: |
• | If your UCS is in a stand-alone configuration that consists of one physical UCS fabric interconnect that runs a single UCS manager, enter the hostname of the physical UCS node. |
• | If your UCS is configured in a cluster comprised of two physical Cisco UCS fabric interconnects (one active and one standby) with a UCS manager running on each, enter the cluster node name. Be sure to use the cluster name. Do not use the name of either fabric interconnect. With this approach, Unitrends can connect to the UCS manager regardless of which fabric interconnect is currently active. |
5 | Enter the asset's IP address, if required. (You do not need to enter an IP address if DNS is setup in your environment.) |
• | If your UCS is in a stand-alone configuration, enter the IP of the physical UCS node. |
• | If your UCS is configured in a cluster, enter the cluster IP address. Be sure to use the cluster IP. Do not use the IP of either fabric interconnect. |
• | Use DNS registration for assets that obtain their network settings through DHCP. This is optional for assets with static IP addresses. |
• | If you do not enter a static IP address, make sure that both the asset and the appliance have DNS entries and that reverse lookup is configured. |
• | If you enter a static IP address, the appliance attempts to connect using this address. If connecting by IP fails, the appliance attempts to add the asset using DNS. |
6 | Click Manage Credentials > Add, supply required credential information, and click Save. |
The credentials you supply must support native backup and restore of UCS service profiles. To ensure sufficient privilege, the user must have Cisco UCS administrator privileges.
7 | Click Save to add the asset. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the UCS manager asset (do not select the service profile application below). |
3 | Select the desired application and click Edit. |
4 | Modify settings as desired, and click Save. |
Caution! When an asset is removed, all associated backups are also deleted. Please use caution when removing an asset.
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the UCS manager asset. |
3 | Click Remove > Confirm. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click to expand the application's host. |
3 | Select the desired application and click Edit. |
4 | Modify settings as desired, and click Save. |
When a host asset is added, its applications are discovered and display in the UI. You cannot remove individual applications.
To protect VMs at the host level, you must add the VM's virtual host to the Unitrends appliance. This can be a vCenter, an ESXi server, a Hyper-V server, or a Citrix XenServer. Supported virtual hosts vary by Unitrends appliance, as described in the following table. (Additional version requirements apply. See the chapter Host-level Backups Overview for details.)
Unitrends appliance | Supported virtual hosts | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recovery Series |
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Unitrends Backup Installable Software deployment |
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Unitrends Backup on VMware |
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Unitrends Backup on Hyper-V |
|
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Unitrends Backup on Citrix XenServer |
|
Use these procedures to manage virtual hosts. For additional requirements and considerations, see Host-level Backups Overview.
Before you start, see Preparing to add a VMware host, Preparing to add a Hyper-V host or Preparing to add a XenServer host.
For VMware virtual machines, you can add standalone ESX hosts and vCenter servers. Note that you must add the vCenter server to protect templates or clustered VMs.
• | Working with vCenter servers - When you add a vCenter server, the appliance automatically detects all ESX hosts managed by the vCenter and all VMs and templates residing on these hosts. When a vCenter server is added, Unitrends can work with VMware’s vMotion technology to contact the appropriate server when backing up clustered VMs. |
In addition to adding the vCenter, we recommend that you also individually add each ESX host, so if your vCenter server goes down, Unitrends can contact the host directly to perform jobs.
• | About adding ESX hosts - If you are not adding a vCenter, you must add the ESX host to your Unitrends appliance to protect its virtual machines. If you want to use the instant recovery feature or protect templates or clustered VMs, you must add a vCenter server as well. |
Once a virtual host is added, all VMs on that host are automatically discovered and can be selected for protection.
Before adding the host, you must install the Unitrends Windows agent on the host. See Installing the Windows agent for details.
Host-level protection of XenServer VMs is supported on Unitrends Backup on Citrix XenServer appliances only. You can add only one XenServer host to the appliance. The host must be one of the following:
• | A XenServer pool master host meeting both of these criteria: |
– | The Unitrends Backup VM resides either on the pool master host itself or on one of the pool master's slave hosts. |
– | The Unitrends Backup VM has been granted access to the shared storage used by the pool master host. |
• | A stand-alone XenServer host where the Unitrends Backup VM resides. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Add > Virtual Host. |
3 | Complete all fields on the Add Virtual Host page. |
Note: The Hypervisor dropdown contains only the hypervisor types that can be protected on the Unitrends appliance. For supported hypervisors by appliance type
4 | Click Save. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the desired virtual host asset. |
3 | Click Edit. |
4 | Modify settings as desired, and click Save. |
The global quiesce setting applies to all VMware and XenServer VMs on the selected appliance. (Quiesce is not used for Hyper-V.) The setting controls how newly discovered VMs are quiesced in preparation for backup. There is also an option to overwrite the quiesce setting of existing VMs.
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click Manage Global VM Settings. |
3 | Select an Appliance. |
4 | Select Crash Consistent or Application Consistent. |
5 | (Optional) Select Apply to all current VMs if you want to overwrite the quiesce setting of existing VMs. Do not select this option if you want to apply the Quiesce Setting to newly discovered VMs only. |
Note: A VM's application aware quiesce setting is not overwritten by this procedure. A VM's quiesce setting is overwritten only if it was set to crash consistent or application consistent.
6 | Click Save. |
A virtual host's quiesce setting controls how newly discovered VMs are quiesced in preparation for backup. There is also an option to overwrite the quiesce setting of the host's existing VMs. This setting applies to VMware and XenServer virtual hosts. (Quiesce is not used for Hyper-V.)
Use this procedure to apply the selected quiesce setting to all hosted VMs.
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the virtual host and click Edit. |
3 | In the Quiesce area, select one of the following: |
• | Overwrite this hypervisor's VMs to Crash Consistent. |
• | Overwrite this hypervisor's VMs to Application Consistent. |
Note: A VM's application aware quiesce setting is not overwritten by this procedure. A VM's quiesce setting is overwritten only if it was set to crash consistent or application consistent.
4 | Click Save. |
Unitrends recommends upgrading virtual hosts to the latest supported version. Refer to the appropriate vendor documentation for instructions on upgrading. Note the following when upgrading:
• | Your Unitrends appliance continues to protect the host with existing schedules as long as the hostname and IP address remain unchanged. |
• | If you change the hostname or IP address during the upgrade, update these settings in the appliance UI as described in To edit a virtual host asset. Existing schedules can then continue to protect the host's VMs. |
• | If VMs are added or removed on the host during the upgrade, refresh the VMs on the appliance to reflect the changes by selecting the Options icon in the top-right and clicking Inventory Sync. |
Caution! When a virtual host is removed, all backups of its VMs are also deleted. Please use caution when removing a virtual host asset.
Use this procedure to remove a vCenter, an ESX host, a Hyper-V host, or a XenServer host from the Unitrends appliance. When you remove a virtual host, all backups of its VMs are also deleted. However, if you have added a vCenter server and the ESX hosts it's managing, the VM backups are not deleted from the appliance if you remove only the vCenter server. The backups are not deleted unless you also remove the ESX host servers.
To remove a virtual host asset
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the virtual host you want to remove. |
3 | Click Remove > Confirm. |
Use these procedures to manage VMs you are protecting at the host level.
For host-level protection of a VM, you do not add the VM itself. Instead, add its virtual host as described in To add a virtual host asset. All hosted VMs display under the host you have added.
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click to expand the VM's virtual host to display its VMs. |
3 | Select the desired VM and click Edit. |
4 | Modify settings as desired, and click Save. |
For VMware Windows VMs, you can opt to use the application aware quiesce setting to protect hosted Exchange and SQL simple recovery model applications.
Preparing for application-aware protection
Before you start, create administrative credentials for the Windows VM, as described in To add a credential.
To apply the application aware quiesce setting
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click to expand the VM's virtual host. |
3 | Select the desired VM and click Edit. |
4 | In the Credentials list, select the credential you created for this VM. |
5 | In the Quiesce area, select Application Aware. |
6 | Click Save. |
To encrypt an asset's backups
1 | Set up encryption on the appliance, as described in To edit an appliance. |
2 | Select Encrypt Backups using the applicable Edit Asset procedure. (See To edit an asset or To edit a virtual machine asset.) |
Credentials are used to establish a trust relationship between the Unitrends appliance and its assets. For an overview of how credentials are used, see Asset credentials. For credential requirements for the asset you are protecting, see the applicable Backups Overview chapter in this guide.
Use these procedures to add, edit, and delete credentials, and to apply credentials to your assets (physical assets, applications, virtual hosts, and virtual machines):
1 | Click Configure > Protected Assets > Manage Credentials > Add. |
2 | Enter credential information and click Save. |
This credential can now be applied to your assets.
Click Configure > Protected Assets > Manage Credentials.
All credentials defined for this appliance display.
1 | Click Configure > Protected Assets > Manage Credentials. |
2 | Select the desired credential and click Edit. |
3 | Modify information as desired and click Save. |
1 | Click Configure > Protected Assets > Manage Credentials. |
2 | Select the desired credential. |
3 | Click Remove > Confirm. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Click to select the desired asset. |
Note: To apply the credential to a VM or application, expand the host asset to view and select the VM or application instance.
3 | Click Edit. |
4 | Select the desired credential and click Save. |
Retention settings are used to control how long backups are retained. Retention settings are described below. See To apply retention settings to an asset to apply settings to assets.
Retention setting |
Description |
---|---|
Minimum Retention |
Minimum retention settings. |
Keep backups for N days |
Number of days backups must be retained. Backups that are younger than N days are not purged for any reason, including at the expense of new, incoming backups. The age of a backup is determined by the last backup in the group, e.g., the last incremental before a new full. |
Warn when less than N days of backups remain |
Use this option to receive an email notification if this asset has less than N days of backups stored on the appliance. |
Maximum Retention |
Maximum retention setting. |
Delete backups after N Days |
Number of days after which the appliance will delete backups. Backups are eligible to be deleted once the full has exceeded this limit. At this point, the full and all associated incrementals and differentials in the group are deleted. |
1 | Select Configure > Protected Assets. |
2 | Select the desired asset. |
3 | Click Edit. |
4 | Click Manage Retention. |
5 | Define settings as desired click Save. |