NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard Quickstart Guide
NovaBACKUP
This article is meant for users just getting started with NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard.
The NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard User Manual is available to view, download or print:
The Virtual Dashboard training video is recommended viewing and shows an overview of the Virtual Dashboard showing its operation with both Hyper-V and VMware based VM backups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5-z-ikdJ6Q&feature=youtu.be
NOTE: For Hyper-V, the Virtual Dashboard feature that is part of NovaBACKUP Business Essentials, only supports connecting to and adding a Hyper-V based Hypervisor OS (Host OS for the VM's; the machine running Hyper-V Manager) running Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. Please read the guide for NovaBACKUP System Requirements.
Virtual Dashboard Requirements
NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard, Backing up and Restoring Virtual Machines with the ability to restore individual files, and Replication have separate system requirements than other parts of the product.
Supported Applications (Dashboard)
• Windows 7 SP1
• Windows 8
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 10
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2016
Supported Hypervisors (Virtual Dashboard)
• Windows Hyper-V 2012
• Windows Hyper-V 2012 R2
• VMware vSphere ESXi (w/vStorage API)
• VMware vSphere 4.1 (w/vStorage API)
• VMware vSphere 5.0 (w/vStorage API)
• VMware vSphere 5.1 (w/vStorage API)
• VMware vSphere 5.5 (w/vStorage API)
• VMware vSphere 6.0 (w/vStorage API) - critical bug for CBT in VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1a, released 10/06/2015 see http://dcsupport.novastor.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2239670-vmware-esxi-6-0-support-in-novastor-datacenter for more information
• VMware vSphere 6.5 (w/vStorage API)
Virtual Dashboard
The Virtual Dashboard is where all VMware and Hyper-V backups that are capable of restoring individual files take place. It is also the center of VMware and Hyper-V replication operations. These backups are not the same as backups that are done through the Backup tab.
Virtual Dashboard
In order to access the Virtual Dashboard users will need to start <AppName> and then click “Virtual Dashboard” from the “Home” tab.
Adding a host
Upon opening the Virtual Dashboard users will be prompted with the option to add a hypervisor. Click the Add button at the top of the Hypervisor’s menu. Once clicking “Add” users will be prompted to entering information relating to their Hypervisor.
Note: If there are already VMware hosts added through the legacy backup functionality in <AppName>, those servers will already be added to the Virtual Dashboard.
Adding a VMware hypervisor
Once users are in the “Add” menu of the Virtual Dashboard, select VMware. Users will then have four options:
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname / IP Address: The Hostname or IP address of the VMware ESXi or vCenter application
Username: The username with access to the ESXi or vCenter application.
Password: The password for the user
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Adding a Hyper-V hypervisor
Once a user is in the “Add” menu of the Virtual Dashboard, select Hyper-V. Users will then be presented with two options:
Adding a local Hyper-V hypervisor
If NovaBACKUP is being installed onto a local Hyper-V host, users will not need to enter user credentials to access the Hyper-V service. Users will need to add two fields of information.
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname: This is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or hostname of the Hyper-V host.
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Adding a remote Hyper-V hypervisor
If NovaBACKUP is being installed on a machine to manage a remote Hyper-V host, users will need to enter user credentials to access the Hyper-V service. Users will need to add four fields of information. If the Hyper-V host is remote, check “Connect using different credentials”
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname: This is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or hostname of the Hyper-V host.
Username: The local or domain username with access to the Hyper-V host
Password: The password for the user
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Editing a hypervisor
To edit a hypervisor, click “Edit” after selecting the hypervisor to be edited.
Editing a VMware hypervisor
Once a user is in the “Add” menu of the Virtual Dashboard, select VMware. Users will then have four options:
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname / IP Address: The Hostname or IP address of the VMware ESXi or vCenter application
Username: The username with access to the ESXi or vCenter application.
Password: The password for the user
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Editing a Hyper-V hypervisor
Once a user is in the “Add” menu of the Virtual Dashboard, select Hyper-V. Users will then be presented with two options:
Editing a local Hyper-V hypervisor
If NovaBACKUP is being installed onto a local Hyper-V host, users will not need to enter user credentials to access the Hyper-V service. Users will need to add two fields of information.
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname: This is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or hostname of the Hyper-V host.
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Editing a remote Hyper-V hypervisor
If NovaBACKUP is being installed on a machine to manage a remote Hyper-V host, users will need to enter user credentials to access the Hyper-V service. Users will need to add four fields of information. If the Hyper-V host is remote, check “Connect using different credentials”
Display Name: This is the friendly name for the hypervisor. This can be anything and is designed for ease of use.
Hostname: This is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or hostname of the Hyper-V host.
Username: The local or domain username with access to the Hyper-V host
Password: The password for the user
Test / Save: Test the provided configuration or Save the provided configuration. Clicking Save will also test the credentials.
Removing a hypervisor
To remove a hypervisor, click “Remove” after selecting the hypervisor to be edited.
Note: Removing a Hypervisor will remove all protected virtual machines and their backups from the Virtual Dashboard. Removing a virtual machine removes the ability to restore that virtual machine through the Virtual Dashboard
Adding a virtual machine
After adding a hypervisor, users will be shown a selection of virtual machines available for protection. Check the box next to the virtual machine needing protection in order to add it to the list of available virtual machines.
Backing up virtual machines
After adding a virtual machine to the list of protected virtual machines, users are able to create backup jobs that are able to restore individual files as well as directly back into the hypervisor.
When creating a backup job, files will be stored in a hierarchal folder structure rather than a single file. After selecting a target folder on the user’s machine, the Virtual Dashboard will automatically create another folder labeled <AppName> underneath that folder. Users may continue to select the original destination for all future backup jobs.
Example: A user selecting C:\Backups\ may continue to select this folder for all future backup jobs. After the first backup job runs, users will see a separate folder: C:\Backups\<AppName>\
Backing up VMware
VMware backups can be performed from any Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 machine or greater.
Changed Block Tracking
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that helps perform incremental backups. After clicking on a protected virtual machine, users will see an option for CBT in the bottom right of the virtual machine’s individual dashboard. Checking this box will enable CBT or show the current status of CBT on that virtual machine.
Without CBT enabled, users will be unable to create an Incremental or Differential backup.
Note: Enabling or disabling CBT may take time, as this is a VMware function change. See https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1031873 for more information on setting up CBT in VMware.
Setting up VMware backups
Name: The name of the backup job as it appears in the Virtual Dashboard
Type: The type of backup job to configure – Full, Incremental, or Differential
Retention: In either “Generations” (number of versions to keep or count) or “Days old” (number of days to keep available)
Run as: Users may choose to run the job as either the current user or as a specified user
Schedule: Users may choose to schedule the job in a variety of methods. If no schedule is desired, users my toggle the, “Schedule” switch in the top right to turn off the scheduler.
VMware Retention
VMware backups are able to maintain a retention value in either generations (count) or days for Full or Differential backups. In order to apply retention to an Incremental backup, users will need to target the same folder as their incremental backup with a scheduled or manually run full backup job that includes a retention value.
Full
A full backup is a backup of the entire virtual machine all at once. These backups can be very large in nature and users should be aware of how much storage space is available on the destination.
Incremental and Differential initial backups
If a user has not previously run a Full backup of a virtual machine, the initial Incremental or Differential backup job will execute as a full backup. This is intended behavior due to the required dependencies of Incremental or Differential jobs to their respective last full backup.
Incremental
Incremental backup jobs are backup jobs that base themselves on the last incremental backup job run. This means each incremental job is dependent upon the previous incremental backup in order to restore any particular file.
Differential
Differential backup jobs are backup jobs that base themselves on the last full backup job run. This means that each differential backup job is independent from each other and only the last full backup and the desired differential backup are required to restore a particular file.
Backing up Hyper-V
Hyper-V backups can be performed from either the Hyper-V 2012 or Hyper-V 2012 R2 host machine. Unlike VMware backups, <AppName> must be installed on the Hyper-V host where the virtual machine desired to be backed up is located.
Setting up Hyper-V backups
When creating a new backup job, users will be presented with the following options:
Name: The name of the backup job as it appears in the Virtual Dashboard
Retention: In either “Generations” (number of versions to keep or count) or “Days old” (number of days to keep available)
Run as: Users may choose to run the job as either the current user or as a specified user
Schedule: Users may choose to schedule the job in a variety of methods. If no schedule is desired, users my toggle the, “Schedule” switch in the top right to turn off the scheduler.
Hyper-V Retention
Hyper-V backups can currently only be run in a full mode. Retention maintains either a Generation (count) or number of Day’s.
Restoring virtual machines
Restoring VMware backups
To restore a VMware backup, browse to the previously configured VMware backup job. Immediately below the “Run Summary” section will be a list of old and new backup job logs. Backup jobs that are still available for restore will be listed with three commands: Mount, Restore and Log. To restore a VMware backup users are given two options:
Mount (Individual file restore)
Clicking the “Mount” button will mount the virtual machine’s virtual hard drives on the local computer as physical drives. Once the drive has been mounted a Windows Explorer will appear to browse the file structure. Additionally, if a drive is already mounted, users will be shown the current drive letter of the mounted image.
Once mounted, the Mount button will switch to Unmount. After a user is finished restoring any requested individual files from the Virtual Machine, clicking Unmount will disconnect that virtual machine’s virtual hard drive.
Restore (Restore to hypervisor)
Restoring an image directly to a hypervisor
Name: The name of the backup job within the Virtual Dashboard
Target VM Name: The name of the virtual machine at its destination hypervisor. This will default to whatever the current name is plus the suffix of “_rep”
Destination Hypervisor: This is the destination, or target, hypervisor. This will display any currently configured VMware hypervisors. If the desired hypervisor has not already been configured, users may click the blue “+” sign to add a hypervisor at this time.
Target Datastore: The target ESXi / vCenter datastore that the user wishes this VM to be replicated to
VM Folder: The target ESXi / vCenter datastore that the user wishes to replicate this virtual machine into
Restoring Hyper-V backups
To restore a Hyper-V backup, browse to the previously configured Hyper-V backup job. Immediately below the “Run Summary” section will be a list of old and new backup job logs. Backup jobs that are still available for restore will be listed with three commands: Mount, Restore and Log. To restore a Hyper-V backup users are given three options:
Mount (Individual file restore)
Clicking the “Mount” button will mount the virtual machine’s virtual hard drives on the local computer as physical drives. Once the drive has been mounted a Windows Explorer will appear to browse the file structure. Additionally, if a drive is already mounted, users will be shown the current drive letter of the mounted image.
Once mounted, the Mount button will switch to Unmount. After a user is finished restoring any requested individual files from the Virtual Machine, clicking Unmount will disconnect that virtual machine’s virtual hard drive.
Restore (Original Location)
Restoring to the original location allows a user to place the backed up copy of the virtual machine directly back in place to its original location in the Hyper-V server. This will overwrite any existing Hyper-V machines that might still be in place.
Restore (Alternate Location)
Restoring to an alternate location allows a user to export a copy of the backed up virtual machine to a new destination in so that it may be moved (example: restore to USB or NAS to manually move to an alternate location.)
Replicating virtual machines
After adding a virtual machine to the list of protected virtual machines, users are able to create replication jobs.
VMware Replication
VMware Replication uses the <AppName> Backup/Copy Engine to copy data from either a single ESXi / vCenter host to itself or from one host to another.
Changed Block Tracking
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that helps perform incremental backups. After clicking on a protected virtual machine, users will see an option for CBT in the bottom right of the virtual machine’s individual dashboard. Checking this box will enable CBT or show the current status of CBT on that virtual machine.
Without CBT enabled, replication jobs will be transferred in full each time the job is executed, which could increase replication time significantly.
Note: Enabling or disabling CBT may take time, as this is a VMware function change.
VMware Replication Retention
VMware backups are able to maintain a retention value in either generations (count) or days for Full or Differential backups. In order to apply retention to an Incremental backup, users will need to target the same folder as their incremental backup with a scheduled or manually run full backup job that includes a retention value.
Setting up VMware replication
After clicking “Replicate” users are presented with the following options:
Name: The name of the backup job within the Virtual Dashboard
Target VM Name: The name of the virtual machine at its destination hypervisor. This will default to whatever the current name is plus the suffix of “_rep”
Destination Hypervisor: This is the destination, or target, hypervisor. This will display any currently configured VMware hypervisors. If the desired hypervisor has not already been configured, users may click the blue “+” sign to add a hypervisor at this time.
Target Datastore: The target ESXi / vCenter datastore that the user wishes this VM to be replicated to
VM Folder: The target ESXi / vCenter datastore that the user wishes to replicate this virtual machine into
Retention: The number of previously available versions stored on the target destination ESXi / vCenter. These are stored as snapshots within the ESXi / vCenter.
Schedule: Users may choose to schedule the job in a variety of methods. If no schedule is desired, users my toggle the, “Schedule” switch in the top right to turn off the scheduler.
Hyper-V Replication
Hyper-V Replication uses the Hyper-V Replica technology through Microsoft’s Hyper-V service. The Hyper-V Replica technology is a block-level, asynchronous transfer from one Hyper-V host to another. After an initial full transfer, Hyper-V maintains a regularly occuring block transfer to the alternate destination.
Requirements
In order to successfully configure Hyper-V replication, users will need to properly configure their Hyper-V hosts. Hyper-V hosts must be Hyper-V 2012 or newer and all Hyper-V hosts are required to connected to a domain (for authentication purposes). Additionally, the target or destination Hyper-V server needs to be configured as a Hyper-V Replica destination.
Setting up Hyper-V Replication
After clicking “Replicate” users are presented with the following options:
Name: The name of the backup job within the Virtual Dashboard
Replica Server: This is the destination, or target, hypervisor. This will display any currently configured Hyper-V hypervisors that are not the source Hyper-V. If the desired hypervisor has not already been configured, users may click the blue “+” sign to add a hypervisor at this time.
Retention: The number of previously available versions stored on the target Hyper-V hypervisor.
Schedule: Users may choose a schedule for when the first initial replication takes place. If no schedule is desired, users my toggle the, “Schedule” switch in the top right to turn off the scheduler.
Note: Replication is a single-run job type and only needs to be executed once to initialize the replication. After being configured, the Virtual Dashboard reports on the current health of the virtual machine’s replication.
Glossary
Backup
Backups in the Virtual Dashboard are different than traditional virtual backups from the <AppName> Backup tab because they are able to restore individual files from them.
Changed Block Tracking
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that helps perform incremental backups. After clicking on a protected virtual machine, users will see an option for CBT in the bottom right of the virtual machine’s individual dashboard. Checking the CBT box will enable CBT as well as it displays the current status of CBT on that particular virtual machine..
Without CBT enabled, users will be unable to create an Incremental or Differential backup. See https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1031873 for more information on setting up CBT in VMware.
Replication
Replication is the act of copying a virtual machine from one hypervisor to another. There are two types of replication: VMware and Hyper-V Replication.
VMware Replication
VMware Replication uses the VMware’s vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) in order to copy virtual machines from one ESXi host to another. By enabling Changed Block Tracking (CBT), users are able to perform a complete full copy followed by smaller block level changes on a schedule chosen by the user.
Hyper-V Replication
Hyper-V Replication uses the Hyper-V Replica technology through Microsoft’s Hyper-V service. The Hyper-V Replica technology is a block-level, asynchronous transfer from one Hyper-V host to another. After an initial full transfer, Hyper-V maintains a regularly occuring block transfer to the alternate destination.
Retention
Retention is the act of removing older backups in order to reduce the amount of storage space required. After every backup job is run, retention is automatically performed based on the backup configuration.
Run as
Some domain or workstation configurations require running background applications as a particular user. The Run as section of each protection type allows for administrators to provide these credentials.
NOTE: For Single File Restore from a VM you would have to had completed a backup via the Virtual Dashboard and then click the “Mount” button and not the “Restore” button to the left of the “Log” button on each successfully completed backup job via the NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard. Single File Restore for VM’s only works if the backup was created in NovaBACKUP Virtual Dashboard and not with any other method such as via the “Backup” tab of the main software.
NOTE: If the Mount or Restore functions in NovaBACKUP B.E. Virtual Dashboard (v19.3 and newer) do not work to allow your Virtual Dashboard (AVD) produced backups to provide you with the restore and mount functions to utilize to restore your old VM backup sets, then you can utilize the following guides for Extracting files from a VMware backup set here and from a Hyper-V backup set here.
NOTE: If the "Recover Previous" function in NovaBACKUP B.E. Virtual Dashboard (v19.3 and newer) does not work to allow you to import your previous Virtual Dashboard (AVD) produced backups, to list them and show the backup history and provide you with the restore and mount functions to utilize to restore your old VM backup sets, then you can utilize the following guides for Extracting files from a VMware backup set here and from a Hyper-V backup set here.